Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Publication Date: October 28th, 2025


Synopsis:

This story follows Evander, a 17 year old boy, who has spent the last several years living inside the New England based mansion, Hazelthorn, owned by his guardian Byron Lennox-Hall. When Byron suddenly dies, Evander suddenly finds himself the owner of Hazelthorn with a strong suspicion that Byron was murdered.


Review:
I’m stunned. Dazed. C.G. Drew just took my breath away. Again.

This book is an absolute masterpiece of gothic horror! The eerie atmosphere, the lush yet chilling descriptions, and the thrilling mystery kept me hooked from start to finish. It’s haunting, immersive, and deeply emotional—a perfect blend of horror and romance that lingers in your mind long after you turn the final page. I highly recommend this mesmerizing gothic queer thriller to all readers! This story is so good that I’m almost mourning the fact that I can’t read it for the first time ever again.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group/Feiwel & Friends for the oppurtunity to review this ARC!

4.5 stars

"Curiosity is a poison and Evander is furious at himself for being unable to resist." (Pg 18)

A story of an orphan locked a room... for his safety... sequestered from the rest of the world. His own world starts to close in on him when the door opens mysteriously and his caretaker/benefactor is perhaps murdered. His mundane existence is upset. Under a canopy of sheltered whimsy and a subtle glare full of fear, hate, and emotion, Evander is still haunted by an unclear traumatic accident that happened to him in the past and the one who he thought caused it.

Darkness steals time from him.

"What if this isn't the first time your door has opened at night?
you'd never know
you have no idea what stares at you from the dark
what touches you
they make you sleep
you don't have a choice" (Ch 7)

Paranoia creeps in close, and he suspects everyone as he tries to weed out the murderer. His tormentor mocks, yet lures him with curiousity... and the forbidden.

There are deep, dark horrifying things and secrets at Hazelthorn, and Evander is tangled within its vines and roots.

"....just a boy who speaks too bluntly when what he wants most is to figure out which pretty, magical words finally make him understood." (Ch 10)

Evocative imagery, poignant, monstrous, and wondrous. Part of the time, you don't know what is real or imagined around Evander. Flashing back through the fragmented greenhouse of his memories is like a compost of stirring anxiety, angst, confusion, and other mercurial emotions. This story is curious, strange, horrific, and intriguingly peculiar.

Hazelthorn is a dark, whimsical fairytale full of sharp edges and soft hearts. C.G. Drews spins a lush, lyrical tale of curses, found family, and magic that bites back. The prose is beautifully written, the emotions hit deep, and the world feels like something out of a haunted dream. Perfect for fans of gothic horror/fantasy.

a botanical horror destined to be a classic. the writing is somehow claustrophobic, hypnotic, and elegant all at once, the characters are gorgeously written, the plot is as toxically lush as the garden is, and... yeah. this one is amazing. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

"If you start unlocking doors, you might find things you don't want to see. Or worse, you might wake up."

4.5 stars ⭐️ At the heart of Hazelthorn is a mystery: who killed Byron Lennox-Hall? But it is so much more than that. Hazelthorn follows Evander trying to unravel the mystery behind Byron’s death, navigate his relationship with Laurie—Byron’s grandson and the boy who once tried to kill him—and come to terms with his newfound freedom after Byron’s death.

The plot was mysterious and full of twists. I never knew where we were headed or what was going to happen next. The atmosphere was thick and claustrophobic, the garden and estate depicted in vivid, haunting detail: overgrown, gothic, and with a mind of its own. The setting, at times, was a main character within the story. And while the mystery was compelling, I found myself more interested in the characters than the actual plot of the story.

"What if you're wrong? What if this is all I am?" Evander hates the way the words tear from him, unsteady and wet and so close to a snarl. "What if the worst of us is the only part that's real?"

Laurie is real and raw with a sharp-toothed exterior. I really can’t help but have a soft-spot for him, he is so much more than what he seems on the outside. Evander is almost doe-like, exploring the world on unsteady legs, his actions strange and off-putting. And he tries so hard to be normal and thinks that, deep down, there is something inexplicably wrong with him. I particularly liked exploring this feeling, this otherness. He yearns so desperately to be normal, to be loved, to understand himself. I found myself loving both of the main characters.

"If he wants to find a killer, he has to ask questions. Talk. Even if he has to reach down into his lungs and pull each syllable out one by one. Words have always sat like dead moths and dried flowers in his mouth, unheard because no one is ever interested in what he has to say."

Overall, this was incredible. I never wanted it to end. There is something so undeniably compelling about this story, about how everything panned out, that still has its thorns in me. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

🍃⛲️🌱☕️

"Evander is breathless as he follows, but doesn't know what scares him more: Wondering if the garden has sunk its hooks so deep inside him that it's made him monstrous. Or if it didn't force him at all."

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group/Feiwel & Friends for providing me with an e-ARC of this phenomenal YA horror novel in exchange for my honest review.

I hate books with body horror imagery. I despise reading them. I despise being able to vibrantly see that imagery in my head. And worse, I despise when plants are at the forefront of causing the horrors to a body (take The Last of Us -- no thanks).

That being said, I am incredibly weak when it comes to beautiful covers and Hazelthorn by CG Drews, by far, has the most hauntingly enchanted cover that my eyes have ever laid upon.

I mean, just look at this picturesque beauty.

To read this book, I conquered my fears. I held my breath during all of the plant/ body imagery and I triumphed. This book is full of beauty and rage. Of murder and nurture. Of mystery and curiosity.

This is the best book I have read by far this year -- and that is no light feat. I was captivated by how dark this story was, but stayed because I wanted to say I challenged my fears and read a book about the new thing I hate the most.

To summarize: Hazelthorn is about a boy, Evander, who lives in isolation. He has three rules given to him by his guardian: he must not leave the mansion, he must never go out to the gardens, and he is absolutely forbidden from being left alone with Laurie Lennox-Hall. You see, seven years before the events of the story, Laurie tried killing Evander and burying him in the garden.

But Evander is obsessed with Laurie. No matter where his thoughts lead, they always go back to Laurie.

When his guardian suddenly dies, Evander not only inherits the Hazelthorn mansion (and wealth), he suspects his guardian was murdered by one of the greedy family members who have come to "pay their respects." More shockingly, the garden is overgrowing and reaching its vines into the house. Evander turns to the boy he's supposed to stay away from to help uncover what monstrous secrets he's inheriting.

This story of Evander is a story about viscous rage but also love, and how the two, from a young age could be confused for each other. Evander believed that his guardian loved him. Despite the fact that he never was given any autonomy and was only given gifts when he behaved. He'd block out all of the memories of what happened when he didn't behave. After his guardian dies, he's finally granted the freedom that he's never had before and that discovery leads him down the dark path of discovering his worst.

The writing in this book is gothic and beautiful. There was so much imagery of plants being trapped in the body that equally unsettled and mystified me. The opening started with choking on dirt: creepy but opened up to the foreshadowing of later events. Not only that, but these plant references continued throughout the book, which added to the mystery and horror with each new revelation.

My favorite part of the story is Evander himself. He's an interesting character because I didn't trust him at all throughout the book, but compared to everyone else, he's the most trustworthy in the sense that he has no idea what was happening. He tries his best to be quiet and pleasant (which most of us people pleasers do), but by the end of the book he accepts himself and his circumstances with certainty.

Despite being a rather slow read (mostly my fault as I was soaking up all the details), I finished this book in one day. I devoured each page with a ravenous hunger of solving this mystery filled with twists and turns.

Overall, Hazelthorn sticks its thorns in you and leaves you enthralled with its lush and emotional message and haunted by the gothic and eerie imagery. I'm giving this book five out of five stars because it was a delightfully chilling read.

If you are a fan of gothic horror, deadly botany, and queer and/or autistic representation, I highly suggest checking out this book.

Thank you to Feiwel & Friends and NetGalley for the eARC!

I finished this book and Goodreads sent me an email that said, "You finished Hazelthorn. What's next?" and my response was: well, screaming, mostly.

I'm not normally a horror reader. Actually, horror is one of the only genres that I *don't* generally read. This isn't because I'm anti-horror. This is because I'm a huge baby and I have a lot of nightmares, and I find that interacting with horror media tends to fuel them. HOWEVER. One of my book clubs selected Don't Let the Forest In as our January 2025 book pick, and I lead the book club, so I had to read it. I'm so glad I did, because that book took over my personality for several weeks while I told everyone I know to read it and is still haunting me now, 6 months later. Did it scare me? A little bit. Did I love it? Oh, yes. So when I saw CG Drews had a new YA horror book coming out later this year, I knew I had to read it.

Hazelthorn, luckily (but not surprisingly), did not disappoint. Like DLTFI, it was immersive, haunting, gothic, creepy, and somehow also full of deeply felt yearning. I felt Evander's rage and wanted to go into the pages and send vines through the people who were hurting him myself. I felt like I was inside of his head, which was both horrifying but also a mark of such good writing. The twists were twisty, the garden was terrifying, and I couldn't stop racing through to find out what happened. Also, CG Drews' writing is truly transcendent. I read so many lines in this book and had to pause for a second to absorb how beautifully they were written. They truly have a gift for the written word, and I just feel lucky to get to put my eyeballs on those words. Guess I'm a horror girl now.

I picked up an ARC of Hazelthorn by CG Drews because it looked so gothic and dark. Evander is a tragic character, locked away in a room on an estate, he is told, for his own protection. He is sickly and weak with some mysterious illness and surgery, but also the readers know that Laurie, a boy his age who he used to be friends with, tried to kill him 7 years before in the garden. Laurie's grandfather is the owner of the mansion, and Laurie himself is forbidden to come to the grounds until one day when the grandfather dies, leaving the property to Evander and nothing to his grandson. Evander becomes obsessed with solving how the old man died while the family arrives to try to get inheritance and Laurie is hoping Evander gets his missing memories back. The description of the wealthy, mysterious mansion and estate tucked away in New England is enough to make the story feel old timey and gothic while still being set in the present; the garden is appropriately creepy as the story unfolds, and the sketches are a nice touch. It's also a queer romance, but not in a good way; in a violent, unhealthy way.

The dialogue is stitled, which could just be a function of Evander being such a different character, but it gets a little over-the-top, adding to Evander's ethereal or tragic nature, depending on how you read it. At one point he's literally eating dirt, and it's just written off as part of one of his "episodes," which do eventually become explained, but early on add to the stilted style. The plot is confusing and dark on purpose, and it should be enough to hook teen readers as it unfolds into increasingly dark storylines that teens who would like a more horror-infused Inheritance Games may like. As an adult reader, it was a little too jumpy to be enjoyable, however. Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for this ARC.

I went into Hazelthorn with pretty high expectations—I had fallen in love with the cover, the marketing, and the very funny author across all their social media. I started craving any bit of information about this dark, queer, flowering story—so when it was announced that ARCs were available for request, I all but dashed to open NetGalley.

And I am so thrilled to say it fully exceeded every expectation.

The first hook into my tender little heart was reading Evander describing his illness and his fear of leaving his room in case someone saw his brittleness. As someone who is chronically ill and struggles with the exact same fears, I immediately felt connected to Evander. As someone neurodivergent, I felt connected to his struggles with the world around him being too loud, too tight, too overwhelming. Evander was a master class of characters who grow while still staying true to who they are, and not needing anyone to “fix” him. The painstaking care and vulnerability Drews wrote into their characters, bare flaws and all, spoke to me as someone who not only loved these people, they hoped we would love them and all their thorns.

I admit, as much as I adored Evander, I was as smitten with Laurie as he was. Something about a character with a cocky facade and soft underbelly gets me every. Single. Time. Laurie’s determination to be unlikable only made him all the more charming, and the more the mystery unraveled, the more obsessed I was.

I like to think of myself as a savvy reader, one who can often predict plot twists or follow the breadcrumbs left by the author to piece together a greater, overarching plot. I’m delighted to say Drews’ web of mystery fully outsmarted me. From beginning to end (which was roughly 4 hours since I just couldn’t put it down) I was entranced. If the rich, haunted descriptions of this crumbling manor and lush gardens hadn’t already drawn me in, I would’ve kept reading just for the mystery of it all. This, to me, was a crowning achievement of queer, gothic fantasy and I could read it again and again (and, in fact, I think I will!)

One particular quote stood out to me more than any other and truly took my breath away:
“Pain is meant to take up space or else we wouldn’t know how to scream.”

If you take anything away from this review, I hope you take the fact that Drews made sure to let you know that your fears and your suffering are valid, but they do not define you. You can bloom where you are planted, and you deserve tenderness.
You also deserve a smart mouth blond man, but that’s beside the point.

Thank you to CG Drews and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for providing me this ARC. I will treasure it always!

This book was utterly captivating from the very start. Don’t Let the Forest In was one of my favorite books from last year and I didn’t know if I would ever find something to compare. I was wrong, because this book is right up there with it.

“He has always known that to scream is to believe there is someone out there who cares.”

The pain that both Evander and Laurie feel is palpable and believable, and I ached for both of them.

“I’m only a monster because they made me monstrous.”

I hate what was done to both the boys, and though I have mixed feelings about my feelings about it, I liked the justice that was served at the end. I love how Evander found himself and how Laurie loved him regardless.

“What if the worst of us is the only part that’s real?”

This story was just beautiful and I loved every minute of it. I want to reread it again and again.

5⭐️ | Absolutely stunning Hazelthorn was one of those books I didn’t want to end. C.G. Drews writes with this soft, aching kind of beauty that just wraps around you. The story is full of raw emotion—grief, hope, love—and every page felt honest. The characters aren’t just memorable—they feel lived in, like people you know and want to hold close. I didn’t just read it—I felt it. And I know I’ll be thinking about it for a long time.

This book gave me the same amazingly eerie vibes that Don’t Let the Forest in did! If you love creepy imagery and misunderstood main characters this is a must read.

Someone gave the concept of murder mystery to an eldritch horror of the forest, and they ran with it. 10/10 experience, full review to come.

Hazelthorn is a stunning, sensory-rich triumph of gothic horror and tender achillean romance. CG Drews masterfully creates a world that feels like it's blooming and decaying all at once, lush, eerie, and entirely alive. The personification of nature is visceral, haunting, and emotionally consuming.

Evander is heartbreakingly easy to empathize with, and Laurie? Laurie surprised me in every possible way. Beneath his biting charm and smirks is a boy so thoroughly broken and tender that his gentleness with Evander shattered me. Their chemistry is slow-building and fragile, but utterly magnetic.

The writing is addictive; I stayed up until 3 a.m because I physically could not put it down. Drews explores themes of memory, trauma, and autonomy with immense care, and the twist behind Evander’s imprisonment and the murders is both gutting and satisfying.

If you’ve read Don’t Let the Forest In and loved its gothic beauty, prepare for Hazelthorn to haunt you even deeper. This book is a masterclass in atmosphere, emotional depth, and slow-burning intimacy. I can’t wait to get a physical copy for my shelves and recommend it to all my students and friends who crave a romantic, haunted fairytale with thorns.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Time for a very overdue ARC review! Hazelthorn is a gothic story about two LGBTQ teens who are discovering who they really are. The main character, Evander, has a mysterious childhood filled with holes in his memory. Due to an unnamed illness Evander has been locked away in a room for years, just waiting for things to change.

Although a bit slow at first, the plot reveals and twists really drive this story. I absolutely flew through the back half of this book because I just had to know what happened next. The author expertly threads themes of rage and identity through this story and I found it truly captivating.

Hazelthorn is a great read for Pride Month! It’s YA, but still has slightly spooky vibes. If you’re interested in discovering what monsters live in Hazelthorn I highly recommend this! It doesn’t publish until late October, so keep an eye for it!

#netgalley #bookreviews #hazelthorn #arcreviews

I want to start this review with a quick apology to C.G. Drews. Evander and Laurie are my children now, since you clearly cannot be trusted to look after them properly. I don’t care that they are 17 and I am 25, they are still better off with me. Now that’s out of the way, onto the actual review.
What originally drew me to this book was the gorgeous cover! I recognized the style from Don’t Let the Forest in and was happy to see this was by the same author. One thing I like about C.G. Drews’ work is the poetic language the author incorporates. Though both this work and Don’t Let the Forest in are novels, there are moments where it feels more like reading a poetical work. This is a style that I grew fond of reading things like Homer and Dante but have rarely seen in contemporary works.
When I heard that one of the characters was neurodivergent, I was a little concerned. I think anyone who has cared about someone with Autism can relate to that. Too often the representation in media that is meant to reduce stigma only makes things worse. Autistic individuals are depicted as emotionless, unintelligent, and unaffectionate or worse as childish. I am happy to say that is not the case in this book! While the word Autistic is never used, we do see someone who struggles with sensory issues yet craves physical affection. Someone who feels emotions deeply, and forms strong bonds with others. I can’t speak for others, but when I say I want to see more Autistic representation in media this is what I mean.
I highly recommend this book to fans of Don’t Let The Forest In and Mexican Gothic. I will warn you though, this book will absolutely take you on an emotional rollercoaster.

The way C.G. Drews writes is so incredibly unique and captivating!! It feeds my soul (and the garden)!!
From the first page of Hazelthorn, I was swept into
Evander's world, and it was such a special experience.
We thought the forest was intense?? Just wait until you step into Hazelthorn Estate!! I was so incredibly immersed in the story and the vivid descriptions!! I could feel the vines reaching for me and imagine walking through the halls of the estate. The story unwove in a brilliantly horrific way and I could not get enough of it!!

I thought the commentary involved in this novel was broached very well. The isolation of feeling different and battling against that was an important theme in Hazelthorn. Evander and Laurie were three-dimensional characters that one is able to truly feel for. I was not expecting where the ending lead at all- the show not tell effect was executed to perfection by Drews.

A unique, incredible read!!! This is not the last time you will hear me raving for Hazelthorn and C.G. Drews!!!

This story was deliciously haunting and descriptive and beautiful and is not a book I would normally go for but I have it a shot and was HOOKED from the first page. Creepy and stunning, I highly recommend!

I LOVED this book! I can’t believe how detailed and creative it was. My one comment is after reading Don’t Let The Forest In this was very similar to that. I enjoyed this book a lot, the twists were entertaining, and the book was atmospheric. I felt like I was in the garden.

This was a very weird gothic book about a man taking care of a sick kid. I originally picked it because of the cover and I kept seeing it everywhere. It was a good read for the most part.