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#QueerBC October buddy read is Don‘t Let the Forest In by CG Drews

Has anyone read this? Was anyone planning on reading this? Everyone is welcome to join even if they aren't part of the book club

It's on KU at the moment so I think I'll add it to my list

Thank you to everyone that voted!

I‘ve set up a buddy read on SG - https://app.thestorygraph.com/buddy_reads/93468150-c7f1-446f-8c7b-92f024aa28da

I enjoyed the first few hours of the book, but the rest felt pointless, repetitive, and hollow. There's some good messaging, there's an attempt at discussing mental illness, etc, as well as good LGBTQ+ rep, but it wasn't enough to keep me engaged with the novel. I found the writing good for a while, until it just started to be overdramatic and attempting to build atmosphere by throwing words around that didn't end up meaning anything.

Very beautifully written, and very dark. The teen angst/love got a little repetitive and annoying, but overall enjoyed it a lot.

#Bibliophile #NatureVibes 🍂

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs

Narration was top notch!

This one was giving “The Wicker King” vibes, and I liked Ancrums more. Fans of this book definitely should check it out.

A heartbreaking story!

⭐️⭐️The cover is better than the actual book. I figured it out early on. It‘s an interesting concept but it didn‘t work for me. Forest vibes are one of my faves, I wish we spent more time there rather than in the MC‘s head repeating things over and over again rather than move the story forward. Pacing was off. But the cover is stunning.

Ooh! This was rather delicious - had me nervously wondering if Thomas & Andrew were going to survive the telling of the tale.

I‘m a long term admirer of CG (highly recommend their Instagram @ paperfury) but first time reader and have to say love the forestcore horror vibe with an unreliable narrator with plenty of secret to reveal, twists to unravel and events (and beautiful sentences) that make you go like this 🫢

Teen angst & fantasy YA novel, it was good enough that I was rooting for the MC and had me at the edge of my seat.

#snowflake #snowflakes #papersnowflakes

Read this recently and I really enjoyed it. Some parts were horrifying (mostly the monsters). It even has illustrations of some of the monsters.

#BookBracket2025
Top Pick for January is Don't Let the Forest In by CG Drews
I loved this book so much. I thought I figured out one of the mysteries pretty early in the book but near the end I started to question myself. It's a great balance of mystery, supernatural, LQBTQ+, mental health and friendship.

I'm currently reading 2 different books where the characters are obsessed with Tim Tams. Last night I bought some and have to say they are pretty good.

It was strange, how when something moved in the dark, everyone's first instinct was to go inside and hide under the covers.
As if monsters couldn't open doors and crawl into bed with you

#WeekendReads
Weekend goals. 2 of my waitlist books from the library came in, so I'm going to read them and the next book in the millennium series.
@rachelsbrittain

#FirstLineFridays
It hadn't hurt, the day he had cut out his own heart.

@ShyBookOwl

My favorite book for December is The Nightmare Before Kissmas, but my favorite book for the year is Don't Let the Forest In 💚
#TopRead2024 #ReadingBracket2024

A teen with a head full of dark fairy tales struggles with his mental health and a crush on his best friend. But when danger encroachs from the forest, it's only the two of them against a never ending deluge of monsters. This was so wonderfully dark and twisty. Reminded me of Wilder Girls just a bit, and I think it may be the best asexual rep I've ever read! Wasn't totally taken with the ending, which felt abrupt, but it was still incredible.

I absolutely loved this book. It's a dark fairy tale about two boys that go to Wickwood, a private boarding school that is right next to a forest. Andrew has been writing fairy tales and Thomas drawing them for years together, except now they have started coming alive 🖤
#WinterGames2024 #HolidayBookDragons @LiseWorks #WGWordSearch #WickedWords #Virginia @AsYouWish
#WinterClearDown #SeasonalMonsterSmash @PuddleJumper #AVeryMerryBingo @Jadams89

Glad I got sucked into the marketing & aesthetic of this one because it was so good. A mysterious horror lurks outside an elite boarding school where friends with a codependent relationship ended up spending more time fighting monsters than doing school work. It‘s creepy, it‘s queer, it‘s moody. Lots of dark fairytale elements. 💀🍄🌿

Quality time with this read while I sit in the doctors for a 3 hr glucose test. 🙃 🤰🏻

I have a lot of complicated feelings about this novel but I think perhaps that was the author‘s intent. It felt like a fever dream.

The prose was so poetically written and was so vivid with its intense dark imagery. It would make an excellent film. Elements felt predictable but the ending truly lived up to the grim fairy tale theme in a way that felt sad and impactful.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

#NetgalleyReads #Netgalley #Arc #AdvancedReadersCopy