Don't Let The Forest In

Don't Let The Forest In by CG Drews

Genres: Fantasy, Dark Academia, MM Romance, Mental health Rep

Pages: 336

Cover: Hardcover

Age rating: 13+

Buy on: Amazon, Barnes & Noble

As Andrew and Thomas enter their senior year, weird things start to happen. Thomas's abusive parents mysteriously disappear, and Thomas is the main suspect. Andrew, wanting to know what happened to his best friend, followed Thomas into the forest, their sanctuary, and was met with a horrifying sight. Monsters, drawn from Thomas's sketchbook, had come to life, haunting the boys.

To make sure the monsters don't harm anyone else, the boys battle the monsters every night. But as their bond and obsession grew, so did the monsters. Now, Andrew had to figure out his feelings for Thomas and find a way to stop the monsters once and for all.

Review:

Characters and Plot

I am obsessed with Andrew and Thomas's relationship, the tension, the yearning, WAS PURE PERFECTION. Andrew's yearning for Thomas was something else; he literally will not be able to function without Thomas, and while that is not healthy, it makes sense for someone like Andrew. Andrew wants to infuse their ribs together so they will never be separated, like my guys were YEARNING. Thomas would die for Andrew, and he confirmed it. Andrew asked Thomas if he would die for Andrew, and Thomas immediately said, "Of course". I'M SCREAMINGGGG.

It's so funny seeing how oblivious Andrew was towards Thomas's feeling, my guy spend half the book sulking that Thomas probably see him only as a friend, and that Thomas love Dove. SIR, THOMAS WOULD LIT DIE FOR YOU, he had a soft spot for you, and spend all his time moon eyeing you, Andrew, please read the room :))

I love that there are illustrations of the monsters in the book; it adds to the ominous and spooky vibe. Now, I want to talk about how the adults in this story fail the boys in so many ways. Andrew had panic attacks daily for YEARS, and no one thought to contact a therapist or mental health treatments for him, especially his father. Not to mention that the school wants to expel him because he hasn't been "completing his assignments" and has been breaking rules, I'm sorry but the school, A PRIVATE FANCY SCHOOL, hadn't been making any efforts to have someone check up on him. They didn't single out a teacher or a counselor to help him with school, knowing that Andrew had panic attacks easily. The school is nothing but a shady front that wants to get rid of the "problem" kids, not to taint their prestigious and Ivy League acceptance statistics. They also ignore the bullying that Andrew went through by Bryce, because apparently, Bryce's family is wealthy and holds all the power, OF COURSE.

I had to say that the plot twist at the end was kind of predictable since the beginning, but it didn't lessen the impact. I also love that the bad guys in the story get what's coming to them, especially Clemens and Bryce. My blood boil when Clemens claimed that Andrew was faking his mental illness to gain sympathy...

The ending... now I'm not really satisfy with the ending, there are so many problems left unaswer, and it was an open ending, and those are not for me. I want to see Thomas and Andrew heal, seeing Andrew get the mental health treatment they deserve, but I know that's too much to ask.

Conclusion

Overall, I really enjoy this book, it was easy to read, the romance had me screaming with all that sizzly tension. The plot was addicting, and it was a great dark academia read.