[Book Review]

Don’t Let The Forest In | @paperfury
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy/Gothic/Mystery/Thriller
Publisher: Fiewel & Friends

🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳

If you are a fan of:

✔️ Forestcore
✔️ Dark Academia
✔️ Fairy Tale Monsters
✔️ Friends 👉🏼 Lovers

This was the MOST anticipated book of the year for me and it did not disappoint.

From page one until the end, I could not put this book down, and acquired one epic bookish hangover 😵
When you work life gets in the way of your literary one 😒

What an amazing cast ensemble, short chapter sequences and the most unique storyline I’ve ever read 🙌🏽

All your senses are engaged with CG Drews practically writing the reader into this book.
At times I felt like I was there alongside Andrew and Thomas during their forest visits: smelling the moss, feeling the mud, seeing the vines…

Not to mention a plot twist I never saw coming 😮
Well played, CG, well played 👏🏼👏🏼

A huge thank you to @netgalley @fiercereads and of course, @paperfury for giving me the opportunity to experience my favourite forestcore book yet!
#straighttothepoolroom

You can get your hands on this beauty Tuesday 29th October, 2024
Set your calendar alarm ⏰
Don’t walk, run! 🏃🏻‍♀️

5/5 ⭐️
Everyone that has been raving about this book is absolutely correct, this was hauntingly beautiful. The story reminded me a little of Ava Reid’s almost grotesque horror mixed with Mike Flanagan’s use of allegory and then mixed with Olive Blake’s style of revealing the harsh realness of humans and their experiences.
This story is dark and atmospheric and beautiful and filled with so many lines I found myself highlighting. For example:
“I think someday you’ll hate me. You’ll cut me open and find a garden of rot where my heart should be.” “When I cut you open, all I’ll find is that we match.”
And
“I think it sucks to be ace.” “I think the world sucks for making you feel this way.”
I loved the allegory of the dark, sentient forest for grief. I loved how the main character’s experience with anxiety and depression was represented, feeling more real than I have seen anywhere else. I loved the conversations about love and sexuality. I loved the folk tales interspersed throughout. But I especially loved the mystery. We were constantly told just enough to wet our appetite to keep going. Then one mystery would be sort of answered to only then reveal a new mystery. Then the plot twists! It lured me one way only to smack me across the face with the real twist. Then the ending!
This story was exactly what I needed after feeling so meh about every book I’ve been reading lately. Plus it is perfect to get you into the fall, spooky season. I cannot recommend this enough.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for providing an advance reader copy of this book for my honest review.

I enjoyed the relationships between the two main characters as they both struggled with their own issues that came together. The atmosphere in the book is perfect for autumn!

This book was an absolute masterpiece, a symphony of words that flowed like poetry, transforming a mere story into something transcendent. From the first page, I was captivated, drawn into a world that seized me completely—only to spit me out, leaving me utterly exhilarated by the experience. The characters' struggles gripped my heart, and I felt every high and low right alongside them. I’m in absolute awe of both the book and the author’s incredible talent.

*sob* I think I need to sit by myself for a little bit after that.

This was a story about an anxious and desperate boy, the larger than life one he loves, and the forest and its monsters that threatens to uproot everything. These were some of the most visceral horror scenes I have ever read and I will absolutely be reading again.

This is a digital advanced readers copy I received from netgalley and Macmillan children’s publishing group, this has no affect on my rating nor my review.

The main characters has amazing development, the angst between the characters was top tier.
This was written beautifully and addicting to read, I was comfortably disturbed and filled with suspense!!

Andrew enjoys writing twisted fairy tales and Thomas his bestfriend brings them to life with his art. Thomas protects Andrew from the bullies in their school. Dove ,Andrew's twin, is the complete opposite of her brother being ambitious and competive. The start of a new school year starts with Dove still angry with Thomas about an argument from the previous year and Thomes showing up with what suspiciously looks like blood on his shirt sleeves. Police show up the first day to talk with Thomas about his missing parents and blood found in their home. Thomas is acting strange and disappearing into the woods at night. Andrew is worried for his best friend and grappling with his feelings for him. Could Thomas be into something dark and malicious?

The cover for the book is what drew me in initially. It is such a beautiful and intriguing cover art. The writing is what made me stay around. It is dark and ominous perfect for this dark academia setting. I would have finished this in one setting if I didn't have work. The concept of someone's artwork coming to life to go after you and your loved ones is such an intriguing idea.

The school I think is portrayed very realistically. The dynamics of the bullies, wallflowers, and popular kids is done in a way that makes the school come to life. I couldn't help but root for Andrew throughout the whole book. I was very much like Andrew when I was in school but luckily had a better support system.

The relationship between Andrew and Thomas is toxic, condependent. It is unsettingly but beautiful at the same time. From the very beginning you sense that something is not right but you just can't look away.

" Every one saw Andrew as shattered and fragile, and maybe he was to them. But when Thomas looked at Andrew's sharp edges, he thought them dangerous and beautiful-not weak."

" They were beautiful together, they were magic and monstrous, and they had created a whole vengeful world between them."

Do not sleep on Don't Let the forest in by CG Drews. This is the perfect book for spooky season.

Thank you to Macmillan publishing and Netgalley for an arc.

Thank you Feiwel & Friends and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. I love a good dark academia! Andrew enjoys writing fairytales but they’re all a little twisted. However Thomas loves them and brings them to life with his drawings. It’s the start of their senior year and Thomas is acting strange and the cops are asking questions. Andrew’s twin sister, Dove, and Thomas aren’t speaking either. This just adds to the strange. Secrets are being kept, strange things are happening, and the woods are a place Andrew needs to avoid especially after last year. Can he figure out what’s going on? Exciting, dark, twisted, and so intriguing! I couldn’t put it down!

This is my perfect type of book. It has a gothic vibe and is a YA queer book. I think this is my new favorite book of the year and I want the book when it comes out. I’m HOPING this author has other books I can read because seriously, I think I am in love with the book. Everything is where it should be and would make an excellent movie or tv series. This is a MUST READ for sure! It will be released on October 29th (right after my birthday but before Halloween which is perfect timing for it to be released.) I preordered it right after reading it. This is going to be a super popular book! I cannot wait for others to read it!

This is an ARC read for NetGalley. Thank you so much to the Author and NetGalley for allowing me to read this art! I can’t wait to get my book! This is my honest review and I was not paid for it.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an E-ARC to review!
This does not in any way shape or form alter my opinions or rating of this books.
I’m just going to say WOW! I have not had a book that has given me literal goosebumps and verbalizing “but what do you mean?”” I was shocked and I could not help but read this book without a break. Few psychological thrillers I’ve read actually follow through, but this one I would recommend 100%. 5/5

Wow. I really enjoyed this book, while the pacing was slow everything else was wonderful. The characters were very easy to love and understand. Normally I have a hard time sitting through YA books but this one was captivating I didn’t want to put it down. The concept of the monsters coming to life is what hooked me on this on this one and the author wrote it perfectly. I definitely recommend this to anyone who wants a perfect fall read!!!

3.5. stars. This is a dark, lyrical tale with surrealism and haunting atmospheres. There really is an unsettling quality throughout and the narrator pulls you in, despite the pacing being a bit slow at times. Come for the character development, stay for the spooky vibes and themes on grief. A good addition to your fall TBR.

The only thing high school senior, Andrew Perrault, find more comfort in than writing his dark fairy tales is Thomas Rye, the boy he’s secretly given his heart to. Thomas seems to know exactly how to draw the monsters from Andrew’s tales. When Thomas’s parents go missing Andrew is willing to do anything to help his friend but first he needs to uncover what Thomas is keeping from him. When he follows him into the woods one night he finds Thomas fighting a monster straight from his sketch book. As the boys grow closer the monsters become stronger and they are running out of options to stop them.

Don’t Let the Forest In immediately captured my attention with its unique horror plot and beautiful cover art. As much as I wanted to love this novel I had a hard time getting into it. It’s definitely a dark and twisted tale perfect for adding to your Fall reading list. Just because I had a difficult time connecting to the characters doesn’t mean other readers will not fall in love with this dark horror infused romance…it just wasn’t a good fit for me.

Don't Let the Forest In is incredible. Creepy and atmospheric, haunting in its ability to stay with you, latching onto your mind until you question if you're part of the story as well.
This book is an experience. I didn't just read it, it wormed its way into my subconscious until I was stuck thinking about it for weeks on end. I still don't know what was real or not. I cannot wait for my physical copy to arrive so I can reread it and try to pick out all the little intricacies that I know I missed in my first read thru.
The story is fantastic but more than that, the entire story reads like a dark poetic fairytale. It is hands down one of the most beautifully written books I've read. Even in the beauty of the prose I have to reinforce that it is not a romance or a quaint story, it is dark. There are creepy creatures, dark themes, and botanical horror. Just thinking about parts of it make my ears itch.
I can't recommend Don't Let the Forest In enough.

A boy and the boy he longs to call more than best friend tread into their school’s forest each night to fight monsters which have originated from one of their artwork.

Wow. Okay. So I really should be doing so much more horror. The whole time I read this I was questioning what was real and what wasn’t, if I had a reliable narrator, and what was causing all this turmoil with the forest in the first place.

The whole book was full of rich imagery that made the monsters come to life and there was spook galore. Also the monsters were very pagan coded which I loved.

The subplot in this was our mc dealing with his identity of gay and ace and it was both agonizing and rewarding to watch him grapple with what his desire for his best friend meant to him.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: None
POV: Solo 3rd Past

I read this in practically one sitting. C.G. Drews knows damaged characters and I'm here for it.

This book will literally rip your heart out and offer it to a forest of lies.

I'm going to start by saying the ending is ambiguous. I really wanted a "5 months later" or some sort of closure for a few of the strands left hanging. Heck it could have been from someone else's POV. This is 100% personal/my brain can't handle so much ambiguity. So If you can't handle it either, I'm telling you in advance. The ending is good, but there are still questions.

The emotional mess that is Andrew pulls you through the story, there's so much damage and questioning that it's hard to put down the book. I was so hung up on his emotional aura I didn't see the twists and turns coming at all once we got to the final hurrah. But wow was that layered in the whole story. Such poetic goodness happening between Thomas and Andrew. The beginning of the story really snaps together by the end and it's just pure magic how it all comes together right under your nose.

These characters are so well developed. Like even the side characters. There's none of that over dramatized YA stuff, just true to real life high school drama which we all know and hate. But how must of it is real? HOW MUCH OF IT IS REAL C.G. DREWS?!? I NEED THESE ANSWERS!

I have questions. I know there is no book 2 to answer them, so I will just steam over them. But seriously, if you love dark academia, with light horror and things that go bump in the night, you're going to love this book.

“Everything inside me is in ruins," Thomas said. "For you.”

Yes please. More of this tragic sad panda heartbreaking work. I need it to feed my soul.

REVIEW

“𝘐𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘈𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘸’𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘧 𝘰𝘧 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵.”

Can I make this whole review just quotes?? I’m absolutely blown away by CG’s gorgeous writing style. The story is beautifully tragic, the characters are so damaged and traumatized and obsessed, the shiver I get up my spine is so real. I LOVED THIS.

I’m not one who typically sees a movie in my head when I read, but I could really see things with the way the scenes were so vividly described. I don’t know if that is so great considering this is a horror and a lot of it was describing flowers coming from eyes and vines curling into your rib cage but…it was visceral and gritty.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘈𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘸'𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘴. 𝘐𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘴𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘐𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘺𝘦𝘴.

I think I have a new favorite trope in unhealthily obsessed boys trying to deal with their issues in basically the worst way possible. I will eat it up! Andrew slowly going insane over the course of the story…except not really? It’s all in his head…or is it? GAH. Just the underlying uneasiness and shivers of how scary one can describe plants was so well done.

"𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘦.' 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘴'𝘴 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘈𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦. "𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦.”

And spoilers here, but I’m losing my own mind finding out that twist at the end. Going back and reading early chapters, the foreshadowing is so potent! I love being able to backtrack and see how the story ended up where it did.

𝘏𝘦'𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴.

If you enjoyed books like Summer Sons and These Violent Delights, this is right up your alley; creepy monster core, horrific vine imagery and codependent trauma boys.
Read Erin Morgenstern or Pascale Lacelle for similar language/writing style.

Thank you SO MUCH NetGalley and Feiwel & Friends for this incredible ARC. And to CG Drews for writing it!

Never has an eerier ode to delulu been written, and honestly? Good for them!

Aussie author C.G. Drews makes an extraordinary comeback to the publishing scene with "Don't Let the Forest In", a dark academia novel where eldritch forest horror ends up being the least of the main characters' problems. Even though Andrew Perrault has never been any good at making - let alone keeping - friends, him and his twin sister Dove have always had Thomas, the autumn-haired boy with as many freckles as he's got issues. The boy with an insane talent for drawing, whose pencil brings Andrew's eerie fairy tales to life... Perhaps all too literally.

Something I always look forward to when reading dark academia is the at times fever dream-ish, at times truly angushing, vibe. Confusion and vague impending doom are exactly what the subgenre is all about, and I can't express how well C.G. Drews understood the assignment. With every turn of the page, Andrew and Thomas' grip on reality slips a little bit further away, to the point that one doesn't know whether they are reading about two boys, about a forest, or about neither and both at once. Despite how vague the stakes may seem at times, nothing about this story lacks polishing. Instead, every single line helps build up a sense of uneasy strangeness that will keep you glancing over your shoulder just in case.

Although there are countless ways in which this little gremlin of a book stands out, one of the most important ones is the nuanced asexual representation. Being both autistic and ace, Andrew does not experience attraction the way others might, and what might have fallen flat had this been written by a great but not brilliant author shines bright with C.G. Drews. One cannot separate autism from everything else, and I personally found this book to be extraordinarily nuanced in terms of showing the reader how autism intersects with everything else the person is or feels or wants.

This book reads like the bastard child of the Tunnel of Horrors and a particularly haunted forest, and it's one of those stories that will stay with you for weeks once you've turned the last page. I must thank the author and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy, which was given to me in exchange for an honest review! Now, on to buying a physical copy as soon as it's released!!

HOLY SHITE WHAT THE EVER LOVING #*$! DID I JUST READ?!?

First, I need to thank NetGalley and Macmillan Childrens Publishing group for the opportunity to experience this incredible story before publication. And thank you to CG Drews for writing a book that had me in a chokehold from start to finish. The representation of the LGBTQIA community was refreshing, and the way they brought the characters to life was something I haven’t seen in a long time. Andrew had my heart from the beginning because he reminded me a bit of someone I love with all my heart. And his relationship with Thomas was just so beautiful and even heartbreaking at times.

I truly think that this book will help anyone who deals with anxiety or panic attacks, or who is part of the LGBTQIA community and who maybe hasn’t found their people to feel a little less alone. (I hope that makes sense. It made sense in my head!)

I leave you with three words that I hope you pay close attention to. READ THIS BOOK.

You will not regret it.

This book right here is PERFECT for those who love dark grim fairytales. This is a story about a prince and a poet. The poet; Andrew loves to write dark fairytales and his best friend Thomas draws those grim fairytales. Thats the story of how they met, two young boys who expressed themselves with words and art. Dove, Andrew twin sister is the opposite of Andrew but that never stopped her from standing up for him.

The atmosphere was horrifying, I mean monsters coming to life and every night both Thomas and Andrew had to fight them off. Drew’s did such an amazing job writing this book, it read like a dark fairytale and unlike any book I’ve read before. I loved how they also added short snippets of Andrew’s writing, it gave the book more of a depth and gave better visuals of how horrifying the monster's were.