I’m not sure how CG Drews managed to shock me even more than Don’t Let the Forest In, but here we are. I’m convinced anything they write is gold at this point.

CG Drews doesn’t just write a story, they construct a living, breathing organism of a novel. It entangles you, lures you in with deceptive, eerie whimsy, and then without warning tightens its grip with plot twists you can’t predict.

From the very first chapter, Drews sets the tone with prose that is both lyrical and cunningly precise. There’s an occasional sly playfulness to Laurie, but the story dances over a dark undercurrent, a whisper that says: you do not know who to trust here. And that’s right. You definitely don’t.

One of the book’s greatest strengths is its relentless unpredictability. Just when you think you've figured it out, Drews throws you off the path…then suggests the path never existed in the first place. You’ll question your own sanity and wonder if what you read was fabricated in your own mind or a trick of the plot (of course, Drews masterfully does this on purpose). Characters you swore were enemies then allies then enemies again reveal shadows under their smiles.

The ever-present question of is the garden friend or foe? becomes a metaphorical and literal refrain. The garden itself deserves special mention. Drews gives it an eerie, almost sentient presence that keeps you questioning whether it's a setting or a character in its own right. It watches. It listens. It lures. The way the garden is slowly revealed more and more throughout the story (no spoilers) was a hauntingly magical experience.

And the plot twists!! Each revelation feels earned, layered, and devastatingly effective. Drews writes in a way that dares you to keep up. You will, but only barely. And you’ll love the breathlessness of it. In a literary world saturated with predictable beats and formulaic endings, Hazelthorn is a rare bloom. Dark, beautiful, and impossible to tame. CG Drews has planted something unforgettable in these pages, and its roots are deep.

Once again another 5/5 stars from me. CG Drews is an incredible lyricist in this world of garden and forest rot. I will forever read anything they write.

Yet again CG Drew’s writes a book that has me staring at the wall in pure shock. This book is unhinged in the best way possible.

To fans of The Summer Hikaru Died—you need to read Hazelthorn.

If that story haunted you in the best way, if you loved its eerie intimacy and quiet horror, Hazelthorn will absolutely devour you.

Exhilaratingly thorny and beautifully haunting, C.G. Drews’ poetic prose is like nothing else. Honestly, words can hardly describe how this book made me feel. The closest I can get is this: reading Hazelthorn made me feel like the mansion itself, with a garden blooming inside me. From the first page, I was hooked. I felt this ravenous hunger to keep reading, to uncover every shadowy secret. Next thing I knew, I was losing sleep just trying to finish it. And now that it’s over? I’m left with a hollow ache in my chest—and a hunger that still lingers.

First, huge thanks to C.G. Drews, NetGalley, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and Feiwel & Friends for allowing me read Hazelthorn ahead of its release. It’s truly been an honor.

This story is unsettlingly lyrical, richly atmospheric, and emotionally harrowing. It explores the ugliness of self-loathing and contrasts it with a romance that proves love can still grow—even when monsters bloom beneath your skin. It’s the kind of story that stays with you long after the final page.

If you loved The Summer Hikaru Died, this is so for you. Hazelthorn perfectly nails that queer gothic horror vibe with a slow-burn dread that creeps under your skin. I don’t often feel fear in books—but this one disturbed me in all the right ways. Not with gore or jump scares, but with something more intimate: subtle, botanical horror that takes root in your mind and festers.

The unreliable narrator? Flawlessly done. I felt so deeply connected to Evander—I was right there with him, unraveling the mystery of the Lennox-Halls. And sure, maybe you’ll guess the twist. I had my suspicions. But when it hit? It still felt like a slap to the face. In the best possible way.

Once again, thank you to C.G. Drews for this story—for satisfying my craving for queer horror after Don’t Let the Forest In and feeding my Hikaru-shaped hunger.

The gothic, botanical vibes this book has is what kept me picking it up. It started off a little slow, but once it picked up, it didn’t slow down. The descriptions in this book are gross, but in a good way. Evander and Laurie are two characters that will be hard to forget. The twist at the end is honestly not what I expected AT ALL. Will definitely be checking out this author’s other works.

First off, I want to thank NetGalley for the arc of this book. I didn’t know how this book was going to go because I didn’t read their last book. However, after reading this book, I do think I want to go back because the vibes in this book were so visceral and potent. That is something I will say for this book is that the vibes were immaculate I got everything that the author was trying to say about the setting and about the people. I feel like I guessed what the truth might’ve been from the beginning, but I almost couldn’t put this book down because I wanted to know if I was right and just what the truth, the big truth, was. The writing itself was pretty good. However, I don’t think I’ve read a book that used so many metaphors and similes basically in every other sentence. I understand that there will be people who like this sort of writing, but I can also understand the people who don’t. I feel like the focus was definitely on conveying the emotions and how the main character was feeling over plot, which is fine, but that sort of left the plot by the wayside. However, I liked my time reading this book and I do plan on reading whatever else this author decides to publish.

ARC review! Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group!

This book is so gorgeous and it made my skin crawl. And nothing in this story is what it seems, I was steadily mindblown throughout the whole thing.

This author is exceedingly good at graphic descriptions of the most beautiful depictions of botanical body horror. At least enough for me to list a trypophobia warning despite there not being an actual image to look at. I was pleasantly surprised there were some pretty drawings of flowers and plants included in this ARC though!

In general, please do look up all the trigger warnings for this book because it covers some heavy stuff. Despite all of that, this book isn't all depressing, and I read it straight through. And it is possibly one of the most painfully romantic stories I've ever read. Evander and Laurie are so heartbreaking and they deserve the world.

Hazelthorn is likely my absolute favorite book now, after finishing it. Firstly, I want to thank NetGalley for allowing me to read an earc of this lovely, wretched book, and of course the publishers, for helping it come into the world, but especially, the hugest and most sincere thanks to CG Drews themself, for writing this beautiful story, with all of its pains, thorns, and blooming poisonous plants.
If you enjoy books with teeth, books where the forest bites back and lives and breathes (almost) as we do, books with shimmers of love and hope but mainly pain and rather consistent worries of what the forest is up to, botanical body horror, Hazelthorn is for you.
CG was most certainly not lying when they said, “feral garden rot”, as it rather well sums up what you’re in for from the very first page to the last.

Long may you rot. 💗

This was my first time reading a book by CG Drews, and I was completely blown away.… Hazelthorn is one of those rare stories that grabs you from the very first sentence and refuses to let go. The writing is lush, haunting, and packed with so much description that every scene stuck in my mind as vividly as if I were there. The novel follows Evander, a 17 year old boy who has always been treated as an outsider by the Lennox Hall family the same family who owns Hazelthorn and keeps him hidden away within the manor’s walls. Ever since a near death incident in the gardens, Evander’s life has been rigidly routine… until one day, everything changes. Without giving away spoilers, the story spirals into shocking revelations, dangerous secrets, and a chain of events that forever alters his understanding of the world and himself. Beneath its surface, this is more than a tale of one boy and an estate brimming with secrets. It’s an exploration of loneliness so profound it feels capable of splitting the earth, a meditation on human greed, and a fierce testament to belonging, love, and the theft of free will.

I am absolutely feral about CG Drews writing, The story caught my attention from the very first page. The mystery was intriguing and so were the characters. It felt like a fever dream. It was gory, chaotic, and disturbing. The imagery that this story evoked was vivid, like I was with Laurie and Evander. I also may be slightly afraid of gardens now. This is one of my favorite reads of this year. This story will stay with me for a very long time. I'll read anything this author writes.

4.5

thank you to Feiwel & Friends for the e-ARC!

this book was SUPERB. I like this author’s last work, but this one was a step up—even more immersive and suspenseful. such an evocative and gripping narration style that hooked me and kept me in the anxious emotional state of the characters.

it had me not wanting to put the book (metaphorically) down; I was all freaked out and nail-biting. just such a good horror, with somewhat knives out vibes combined with plants that go Bump in the night.

“who tells you to be quiet all the time? pain is meant to take up space or else we wouldn’t know how to scream. fuck making your agony silent to avoid disturbing others. maybe they should be disturbed.”

i wanted to read this because i was obsessed with Don’t Let the Forest In, but i didn’t think i would love Hazelthorn even more.

the writing is hauntingly beautiful and poetic but still so easy to read. C.G. Drews writes amazing characters; i was constantly rooting for evander and i was just as captivated by laurie as evander was. i felt so deeply for both of these boys 😭

i will definitely be reading it again when it comes out in october because it has all the spooky vibes you could ask for.

thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC!! it’s the reason i signed up!!

I absolutely devoured this book! This book is gripping from the very start and I didn’t think I’d love it as much as I did. This is such a unique book and I’m really becoming a fan of botanical horror!

still in awe at how incredibly horrific n achingly beautiful this book was. c.g drews knows how to write the kind of story that crawls under ur skin n lingers in ur mind even after the story ends, i really loved n adored evander n laurie in every way possible, they were so excellent🤍
codependent gays with monstrous tendencies we love u!
thanks netgalley for the arc

I love books with eerie, gothic settings and this book had that in spades. I had no idea what was happening for the first half of the book. The sense of unease and dread was palpable. Highly recommend.

WOW. WOW. WOW.

I truly wish it was possible to give this a higher rating. Five stars seems inadequate. I was, once again, blown away by the storytelling and the prose. There's an enchanting quality to everything C.G. Drews touches. I hadn't read too much gothic horror before Don't Let the Forest In and I was obsessed with it. I still am obsessed with it! However, Hazelthorn has taken the cake for me.


Some of my favorite quotes:

"He is not clever; he is not poetry. He is just a boy who speaks too bluntly when what he wants most is to figure out which pretty, magical words will finally make him understood."

"Words don't make sense in the space between them, when Laurie's heat is a molten promise against Evander's bones. They are wrong like this - they should be flint against sharpened teeth if they touch. But instead, Laurie curves himself like a supplicant who would hollow out his own body if only it could be used to fit a lovely god inside. He is real. He is so very real." (I loved how Evander's attraction and obsession with Laurie was depicted as something gory and gorgeous).

"'Who tells you to be quiet all the time?' Laurie's words are a low, thickened spill of warm honey. 'Pain is meant to take up space or else we wouldn't know how to scream. Fuck making your agony silent to avoid disturbing others. Maybe they should be disturbed.'"

"If pain is a language of bruises, Laurie has worn his so long under his skin that he's found comfort in the pattern and his bored, disinterested facade is to hide just how much he hurts."

"All he says, his voice soft and reverent and broken all the way through, is, 'God was stronger than me when he made Adam and didn't fall in love with him.'"

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group/Feiwel & Friends for sending me an ARC of this book!

This author has turned into an auto buy author for me. I read their other book and was hooked and I was hooked with this book too. Very very good. Gothic and atmospheric, perfect for fall.

Bloodthirsty plants aren’t the only monsters buried within the pages of CG Drews’s unsettling sophomore novel. Greed and bloody rage swirl into a perfect, atmospheric storm of a book as Evander attempts to track down his guardian’s murderer and resist the irresistible pull of the boy who tried to kill him seven years ago. Complete with lyrical prose and alluring illustrations, Hazelthorn left me as hungry for more as the garden lurking within the manor’s halls.

The first half ofo the book drags a bit and I put it down for a while. But after I picked it back up, I did not regret! It is definitely a heavy and spooky book, but I loved the setting and the writing and am excited to read more.

I’m officially obsessed with C.G. Drews’s brand of environmental/forest horror. Hazelthorn feels like it’s set in the same world as Don’t Let the Forest In (or maybe dreamed up by Andrew and Thomas), but it never feels derivative. It’s more like Drews knows exactly what we loved from her last book and keeps delivering it at full force.

The book kicks off with a murder mystery hook: Byron Lennox-Hall is dead, and Evander suspects foul play, but that’s just the bait. Before long, the plot shifts into something much stranger and more unsettling: the sprawling Hazelthorn estate is overrun by a bloodthirsty, very alive garden that refuses to stay outside. Think Knives Out meets The Secret Garden meets botanical body horror. None of the characters’ choices made sense… until suddenly they did, and then I was all in.

Evander tested my patience early on: passive, withdrawn, almost too resigned. But as the story unfolded, I grew to understand and appreciate him. Meanwhile, Laurie is going through so much, but he’s so lovable and magnetic that you can’t look away. Drews nails the push-pull of wanting control over your life while wrestling with deep self-hatred. Surprisingly, there’s a lot of delicious, seething feminine rage baked into a book about gay boys, but maybe that's just me.

CG Drews knocks it out of the park with this YA horroromance (horromance?). How do they do it every time?!

Hazelthorn is truly such a unique book, I am in awe of the writing and the descriptive nature and the horrific yet beautiful aspects of it. After reading "Don't Let the Forest In", I was curious about Drews next project following it, considering I believe it was such a unique horror book in the YA genre. After reading Hazelthorn, I think CJ Drews has truly found her craft in writing gothic horror related to plants and botany.

The descriptions of the plants and the imagery of their existence through the lense of the main character, Evander, was so interesting. The way the garden truly is a character in itself throughout the book really adds to the narrative. The writing of the garden truly is top tier and crafted in a grotesque yet beautiful way. I cannot emphasize how much unique imagery and descriptions and detail was in the writing, it gave life to the narrative.

I am a huge fan of Laurie, my poor boy was going through it but he truly is wonderful and so lovable. Evander is also a lovely main character, I found myself a little annoyed at his lack of action in the beginning of the book, but he grew on me and I understood him a lot more by the end. The author does well with incorporating themes of wanting a sense of control of one's life and accepting yourself, but also feelings of self hatred and what they look like. This book explores a lot of internal turmoil and conflict, and the botanical imagery really adds to these moments.

I think the beginning of the book was paced a little slowly, but I do enjoy how everything wrapped up in the end. I flew through the last 150 pages. My heart rate really picked up towards the end, I think it's true to the horror genre. I was feeling like the ending was a little too happily ever after but the last lines of the book really make me question it all, which is a strength of the book and makes me think deeper about it. The whole mystery part of the book I feel wasn't the strongest, but I do enjoy how everything has an explanation and there are no loose ends left. I was satisfied by the course of the plot and the mystery. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys horror, personified gardens, and murder mysteries.

Thanks to Feiwel & Friends for an ARC of this book!