“Don’t Let the Forest In” by CG Drews is utterly enchanting. One of my favorite reads of 2024. The story was exciting and heart wrenching! Full of moments of adventure and passion and gore. This story is a beautiful blend of fantasy, romance, and horror. It is simply heart wrenching. Have I used enough adjectives to describe how much I adored this novel?

Just read it! I doubt you will be disappointed!

Thank you to NetGallery and the Publisher for allowing me to read the ARC and the opportunity provide an unbiased and honest review.

I had mixed feelings about this one. On the one hand, the writing was so much fun! On the other, I thought the LGBT rep/discussion was a bit heavy handed. Andrew as an MC was whiny, but the ending saved it. The twists, they’ll keep you up at night.

Highly recommended to fans of haunting young adult reads, with a bend towards monsters, mental health, and dark academia. It wasn't particularly my cup of tea, because it reads VERY teenager, but I could tell that if I were a teenager or had different tastes I would absolutely love this. It's eerie and dramatic with a lot going for it. I hope the people who need this book find it and love it.

Tragic and heart-wrenching but beautiful and a great exploration of mental health, growth, and love. The story pulls you in and refuses to let you go. The poetic prose will leave an imprint on your mind and soul:

The cover of this book drew me to wanting to read it. It was pretty good, it's a YA book, but I enjoyed it. I gave this book a 4 stars.

"Life didn't fit against his skin and it never had and sometimes everything was just too much."

YES!!! This is what I want to read when someone pitches me a "dark academia" book. I want the gruesome, I want the gory, I want the rich bullies, and the dismissive administration. Don't Let the Forest In is the story of Andrew, Thomas and Dove. Andrew and Dove are twin siblings and Thomas is their third. The three of them are best friends until they are not, and Andrew can't seem to remember why they broke up or why he smashed a mirror with his fist last year.

He only knows the forest has something to do with it.

Thomas and Andrew have been cowriting dark stories about forest monsters. Andrew writes them and Thomas illustrates them. Except their dark creations are now coming to life and Thomas is going into the forest each night to hunt them. When Andrew finds out what Thomas is doing, he helps him, except the darkness of the forest infects him, and the love he feels for Thomas seems like something he doesn't deserve and can't have.

This is an asexual love story that grips deep and hard with the all-consuming, almost destructive passion of wanting someone so completely. The purple prose and figurative language help carry this story almost like it is a macabre painting of its own. As a dark love story, this hits every single mark. As a monster mystery, there are a few plot holes that pulled me out of the story otherwise this would have been a solid 5 stars.

Beautiful and macabre. I loved the complexity of Don't Let the Forest In. Between the raw, unapologetic portrayal of mental health and personal growth, this story kept me rooting for the characters and their relationships—whether familial, romantic, or platonic.

Don’t Let the Forest In had some interesting ideas, but it didn’t completely work for me. The atmospheric, eerie tone and dark, lyrical writing were highlights, and I appreciated how the forest felt like a living, breathing character. Andrew’s love of writing and Thomas’s art brought an intriguing creative dynamic, but the story sometimes felt slow and overly introspective, which made it hard to stay fully engaged.

The themes of identity, grief, and co-dependency were handled thoughtfully, but the pacing dragged in places, and the characters didn’t always feel fully fleshed out. The twist near the end was surprising, but I wish the buildup had been a bit stronger to make the reveal feel more earned. Overall, this was a decent read with a haunting vibe that fans of dark YA might enjoy, but it didn’t quite pull me in as much as I’d hoped.

This book was CRAZY. Andrew, Thomas, Dove. Each of them had such different characteristics. The story was creepy but also beautiful. I loved the concept of drawings coming to life. Horror stories becoming real. The last 5 chapters had my heart RACING. I 100% did NOT see that coming. Completely caught me off guard. I want to experience this story for the first time all over again.

The premise of this book is really interesting. The writing is well done and there are some really interesting tonal shifts, as well as a significant twist that I did not see coming. The story and the love story was really interesting and unique, in my opinion. It also features an ace main character and the rep is well-presented.

That being said, this book is VERY angsty, to the point of melodrama. The boys are so in love with one another that they say things like they need to staple each other's lungs to one another in order to breathe, or they need to feed on one another to survive. And, because of the subject matter, that just all feels a little too intense, to the point of actually creating points of levity for me that were unintended.

This might possibly be the best book I read in 2024, and I read A LOT of books this year. What can I say about Don't Let the Forest In without spoiling what a deliciously dark, heartbreaking little fairytale it is?

Andrew Perrault is hopelessly in love with his best friend, Thomas; they're two halves of one very messed up whole. Andrew writes dark fairytales of princes and monsters, and Thomas brings his words to life with a couple pen strokes. Except...what if Thomas's drawings actually came to life? Now, in between puzzling out his feelings for Thomas, his own sexuality, and his complicated relationship with his twin sister Dove, Andrew must join Thomas every night to fight monsters and keep their school safe.

This book feels nostalgic in ways I can't explain, and it cuts like a knife. Drews's prose is some of the cleanest, most perfect writing I've ever read. Each line feels handcrafted and devastating, flowery without ever being purple prose-y. Also, might I say the Halloween release date is the perfect timing? The atmosphere here is truly impeccable. But it's not just all style and no substance! The complicated relationships here are amazing; they feel authentic, which makes the moments that Thomas and Andrew are in danger feel even more devastating.

And speaking of authenticity, I loved the ace rep here, and I love the mental illness rep for Andrew (and possibly Thomas? He's got a lot going on in his head, but it's close POV for Andrew only, so we don't quite get that same view of the other MC). All the representation here was beautifully done in ways that I wish more YA stories would replicate. And if that doesn't sell you on how perfect this book is, it has drawings y'all. I'm sold.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Feiwel and Friends, and C G Drews for gifting me this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review! NetGalley, you've done it again! I have a new auto-buy YA horror author to add to my growing collection!!

um... hello!??!! i had to go take a shift at work after finishing this book before writing this review to give my thoughts enough time to stew but i don't think it was enough. the first thing i want to say is that the depictions of grief in this book are RAW and remind me a lot of my own experience with the loss of a close family member, safe to say i was a little misty-eyed by the end. the story itself started a little slow for me, but once the action got rolling it was hard to put down. the prose was lyrical and i LOVED the poet/prince motif throughout. all around a great read, I'm just kicking myself that it took me this long to get around to!

Don't Let the Forest in carved space in my brain and nestled within it. I loved the story and the writing so much, I probably would devour it again just so it can break me a little more. Beware, this book will haunt you once you turn to the last page. Thank you NetGalley for providing access to this book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for providing me with an eARC of Don't Let the Forest In in exchange for my honest review!

There's such a dark and tragic atmosphere that pulses throughout this book and keeps it compelling. It adds quite a few layers to the toxic codependency in the central relationship. Sure, there are parts where it can feel a bit too YA for my taste, where the characters can behave too immaturely (even for their age), but I'm still able to ride along with the horror and the romance of it all. I definitely admire how much the gothic horror tone weaves in nature—the trees, the moss, the flowers, all of that earthly material to thicken the paranormal mood.

Overall, I'm officially rating Don't Let the Forest In 3.75 out of 5 stars, which I'm rounding up to 4 stars. I'll keep an eye out for more of C.G. Drews's work.

4.75/5

Thank you to NetGallery and Feiwel and Friends for the ARC. This is my honest review

I really have no words. This was an amazing book. The writing is fantastic, the story is engaging, the atmosphere is perfect. Only reason it’s not a 5 star for me is because I questioned Thomas and Andrew’s relationship in some places and it took me a few pick ups to get into the book.

The author did a great job with the twists. They were hinted at enough that I could figure them out before being told but didn’t take away from the big reveal. And the grief, conflicting emotions, and raw emotions were felt on the page. I was so invested in the characters and their journey. I don’t identity as LGBTQIA+ but this seemed like good representation, really hoping I’m not wrong about that.

I really needed more. I appreciate that things weren’t fully wrapped up in the end, that’s life, but I needed to know how things ended up. I will be forever haunted about this.

**Be sure to check trigger warnings.

I genuinely had to sit alone in a dark room for a good hour before I could even think about continuing with my life, much less writing this review. Wow. It is hard for me to find the words for just how much I loved this book. It will probably never leave me and I hope I will think about it for a long while. I have no words for the devastation it has left me with, but also the fascination in the world and relationships.

I love nature-based queer thrillers. It seems to be a nice genre, but all the books I have read in it have left me in pieces and I think of them at least once a week. This book will be added to that rotation. The heart of this book is the relationship between Andrew and Thomas, which is somehow so deeply ingrained in both boys it has become a co-dependency that would rival that of me and my Kindle. Andrew can't even think of a life without Thomas, and Thomas would do anything for Andrew. He does do anything for Andrew. When talking about this book to my friend, the only way that I could describe the prose was 'delicious', and I stand by that. I wanted to eat this book. You might think that's a strange thing to say, and you'd be right, but I can't explain it any other way. It was so rich and terrifying and detailed that my mind felt full and satisfied reading it. Again, a strange thing to say but also true. I want to read everything by this author. I will be coming back to this book for a while

This book will haunt me for the rest of my life, rent-free.

5/5 Stars!

oh the YEARNING! the PAIN! the CO-DEPENDENT RELATIONSHIP! oh the UNRELIABLE NARRATOR!!!

I had dragged my heels on getting this one done and God I wished that I read it sooner! There were many times during this read where I wanted to just bundle Andrew into a hug and just cry because so many bad things happen to him and I relate so much with his constant anxiety with other people. And God Thomas?? Need me a guy so die hard for me as Thomas. Like they are so adorable and painful at the same time and it is so bittersweet and if you love the long fanfics full of longing, yearning, and idiots not knowing they are in love with each other despite it being completely obvious to everyone, I definitely recommend this one!

The twist had me GOOPED but I do think it was a tad abrupt, but I think you could see it through Andrew's lens and it would fit just as well!

I had so much fun with this and was on the verge of screaming at work the whole time!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this work (despite it having already been out for 2 months at this point)!

Andrew and Thomas are friends that share a common interest. Dark fantasy stories and drawings. Andrew enjoys writing about fairytales with a dark twist and Thomas draws pictures to go along with the stories. Until one day Thomas comes to school with blood on his sleeve and news of his parent's disappearance. Andrew tries to get through to his friend who doesn't want to share what had happened.
Andrew's curiosity gets the better of him and he follows his friend one night. What he finds is a deep dark secret that Thomas has been hiding. A well written story that has fantasy and a mystery thrown together. The characters and the plot of the story are entertaining and enthralling. Genuine storytelling. In my opinion, a must read for fantasy lovers.

Disclaimer: Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing group for this review copy and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Don’t Let the Forest In by CG Drews is a gripping and eerie read that kept me hooked from start to finish. It’s got a dark, atmospheric vibe with a twist of fantasy, and I really loved how the forest itself felt like a character—creepy and mysterious but also oddly beautiful. The main character, Fern, is really relatable. She's trying to figure out what’s real and what’s not, and you can totally feel her fear and confusion as things get weirder. The pacing was great; it didn’t drag at all, and the plot had enough twists to keep me on my toes. There are some really emotional moments too, which made it more than just a creepy story.

Overall I enjoyed Don't Let the Forest In - I'm a sucker for woodsy gothic stories - but I thought the prose, though lovely, was occasionally overdone, and that there wasn't quite enough to it all, story and style alike, to stretch out over a full book's length. Fab vibes, not quite enough else to be perfect, in my book. I did like the ending a lot, though.

For fans of Your Blood, My Bones, These Fleeting Shadows, A Darker Mischief, and We Were Restless Things.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC.