Don't Let the Forest in

My partner recommended this book to me as the main character is ace and it became my new obsession The writing is perfect and with every page it becomes more twisted and dark and in the end you are lost with the characters not knowing what is true and what not I rarely read books a second time and this one I read three times by now and I have it just 2 months

Es handelt sich hier um Horror. Bereits früh wird klar, dass Andrew ein unzuverlässiger Erzähler ist. Die Monster sind einen echte Bedrohung für die Protagonisten. Selten kommen sie ungeschoren davon. Die Atmosphäre ist bedrückend, denn nicht nur die Monster sind furchteinflössend: Unfaire Lehre, Bullys, Panikattacken und die Angst verlassen zu werden, sorgen dafür, dass Andrew in ständiger Anspannung lebt. Als Protagonist funktioniert Andrew gut. Panik, Halluzinationen, das Gefühl anders zu sein, weil er asexuell ist, und die Angst, dass er seiner obsessiven Liebe Thomas deshalb nicht genügen wird, sind kombiniert mit seiner Essstörung ein bisschen viel. Doch die Kombination funktioniert für mich. Das ganze Buch ist recht melodramatisch. Ich fand leider den grossen Reveal um seine Schwester Dove vorhersehbar. Cover und die Illustrationen der Monster finde ich wunderschön. Der Schreibstil ist übertrieben poetisch und wahrscheinlich hätte das Buch für mich besser funktioniert, wenn es in der Ich-Perspektive geschrieben wäre. Dadurch wäre es besser ersichtlich, dass Realität und Andrews Einbildung nahtlos ineinandergreifen. Ein spannender Horror, der sich um einen queere Romanze dreht und viel Raum zur Interpretation lässt.

When I tell you… I ATE THIS UP! I was completely captivated by the dark and visually immersive setting of the story. The author masterfully blends reality and fantasy through Andrew’s perspective - constantly blurring the lines between what’s real and what’s not. The narrative delves into the intense, obsessive relationship between two boys and the monstrous creations that arise from their art, ultimately drive them into madness. *insert sparkle emoji* “I don't care how dark the world is for you. I'll hold out my hand until you find it, and I won't let go.“ || • ya horror fantasy • botanical body horror • dark academia • very “be gay, do crime” • asexual + bisexual rep • friends to lovers

"Not every fairytale has a happy ending" This one is an absolute masterpiece of queer dark academia with a bit of horror. A boy who writes fairytales about monsters and a friend who brings them to life in his drawings. Andrew and Thomas have been friends for years but when they return to school this year everything changes... What happens when all of their monsters actually come to life? Can two boys stand their grounds against the forest?

Andrew and Thomas, both students at Wickwood Academy, are best friends and artists. Andrew writes dark, haunting fairy tales, and Thomas brings them to life through his drawings. But soon, what they’ve created on paper seems to bleed into reality - and night after night, the two must face the monsters emerging from the forest. The story is definitely intriguing, but there was something I couldn’t quite connect with. This was my second book by C. G. Drews, and while I admire the author’s storytelling, this one didn’t reach me as deeply as I’d hoped. Andrew and Thomas are characters you want to care about, and I expected to feel their emotions and trauma more strongly. Unfortunately, that emotional depth didn’t fully land for me. Maybe it’s because, from the very beginning, the story reminded me of A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness - and since I had a sense of where the book was heading, it couldn’t quite surprise me. Some parts of the story also felt a bit repetitive and predictable to me. I can’t fully put my finger on it, but something kept me from connecting with the story the way I wanted to. What I really appreciated, though, were the themes the book explores - especially the representation of different sexualities and the portrayal of anxiety. Those elements were handled thoughtfully and added real depth to the story. Still, the book as a whole didn’t completely win me over. That said, I read it quite quickly because it is engaging and has a strong sense of atmosphere and tension. It’s a story with both heart and darkness, even if it stumbled a little for me personally.