A review by charles_rowland
Don't Let the Forest In by C.G. Drews

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

i am quite genuinely in shock and in tears. i don’t think i have read a book so viscerally haunting in every way of the word. to say this is my new favorite book doesn’t do my feelings towards it justice whatsoever. each sentence felt like the title of an oil painting. i could feel everything andrew described, i could see the monsters and the imagery depicted so perfectly in my head there were times i wondered if i was imagining it all. i don’t like to reread books really ever, but this is one i will certainly be doing just that over and over again. for gods sake i started taking notes so i made sure to remember all my favorite parts (there were too many to count). i can’t get over the imagery in this book. it was beautiful in a way that can only be described through art, i feel. as an asexual gay man, andrew’s feelings were ones i struggle with often. however as an artist similar to thomas, with devotion deep in my heart, i ached with them both. i could feel the despair they both felt. the grief and the fear. i don’t know if ill ever be over this book and i fear it may become the entirety of my personality. i will admit that i read the last 5 pages while listening to ‘doubt comes in’ from hadestown and timed it perfectly with the last sentence so as orpheus turned around i finished it and that did NOT help