Rachel Schommer Reviews: 6.23.25
- Rachel Schommer
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
What a week it has been. All I have to say is I'm so grateful to be here sharing my favorite dark reads with you all.
DON’T LET THE FOREST IN by CG Drews
1. This is a YA monster story with LGBTQIA+ representation. Please don’t let the YA categorization dissuade you though, the writing is beautiful with vivid imagery and a dark plotline.
2. I bought this mostly for the cover which is absolutely gorgeous; thankfully I was not at all disappointed with the words behind the cover. Drews has a very poetic way of writing that only accentuated the story as our MC is the author of short dark stories – which you do get a very small taste of in the book.
3. The characters. Oh, the characters…excellent execution. I felt as if I belonged in the group with Andrew, Thomas, and Dove. And all the side characters were equally as endearing, or aggravating.
4. I purposefully saved this one for pride month, however, the storyline begins at the start of the school year with a culmination on Halloween, so saving this for either a back-to-school or Halloween read would be totally appropriate if you’re a mood/season reader like I am.
5. There’s a heck of a twist. I caught on a tiny bit early, but it didn’t ruin anything for me. There’s a specific part about 3/5 of the way through that tickled a thought in the back of my mind and then a chapter or two before the reveal I had the idea on lock. And, holy cow, does it change the entire feel of the book. If you reflect on everything, it brings a whole different perspective and set of emotions to every. single. interaction.
6. Because I loved Drews’ writing style, here are a few of my favorite quotes:
“He couldn’t risk allowing his mouth to say the things he only dared scream in his head.” (pg. 15)
“…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.” (pg. 48)
“Moths ate holes in his mind and their wings beat a frantic migraine behind his eyes.” (pg. 179)
Very much recommend!
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