raereadsabundantly 's review for:

Don't Let the Forest In by CG Drews

3.0

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

I had absolutely no expectations going into this which is probably a good thing or I wouldn’t have picked it up.  I was not expecting a gothic horror novel but while I don’t typically read horror, apparently I like it better than watching it.  CG Drews’ writing and characters are dark, complex, and beautiful.  Mental health and sexual identity are core aspects of the characters lives right along with the monsters they fight and may be hard for people who can relate to them to read.  Andrews’s rock bottom self esteem and high levels of depression and anxiety really hit home for me so even though I enjoyed the book it was difficult to get through and I had to start and stop a lot.  It also helped to be listening to it and do something else at the same time so that I wasn’t completely immersed in Andrew’s spiraling thoughts.  It was also at times extremely confusing and the open ending did not help.  I had a hard time understanding what was real and what wasn’t and what it all meant.  I probably would have rated this even lower or not finished at all, if not for the gorgeous writing and being invested in Andrew and Thomas.