I went into Hazelthorn because I loved Don’t Let the Forest In, and somehow C.G. Drews managed to sink the claws in even deeper. This book wrapped its vines around me, pulled me under, and didn’t let go until the final page.

This is a story about grief, identity, abuse, autonomy, longing, and the desperate need to be loved for exactly who you are. It is also about a deeply suspicious garden that may or may not be everyone’s problem.

What struck me most was the writing. C.G. Drews writes with an almost obsessive lushness that turns every emotion into something tangible. Hunger becomes love. Love becomes grief. Fear becomes devotion. The prose is gorgeous, decadent, and just a little rotten around the edges. There were entire passages I had to stop and reread because they were that good.

The relationship at the heart of this story completely consumed me. Every interaction feels charged with loneliness, fear, tenderness, and longing. Drews creates a connection that feels both fragile and intense, making it impossible not to become invested in these characters and their journey.

The book’s handling of abuse and conditioning was especially powerful. Some of the most heartbreaking moments come from seeing the lasting impact of control and cruelty, and the ways people learn to survive within impossible circumstances.

And then there’s Hazelthorn itself. The house and garden create an atmosphere so immersive that they feel inseparable from the story being told. Every hallway, locked door, and overgrown corner contributes to the sense that something is always waiting just beneath the surface.

One of my favorite things about this book was how much it trusted the reader. It doesn’t rush to explain everything immediately, instead allowing questions, mysteries, and emotions to build naturally over the course of the story. As someone who spent the entire book theorizing, I had an incredible time.

This book made me question everything, trust nothing, and happily scream my theories into the void for days. Even when I was wrong, I was having an incredible time. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

yearning, vibes, beautiful prose with well rounded characters and a love so strong they’d be willing to die and kill for each other, what more could a girl ask for

I don’t know why I always have such a hard time reviewing books I loved, and I just loved this one.

The horror aspect in this book is strong and very explicit, which was very much up my alley and I actually wished it even had been a little stronger. There’s a really good blend of body horror and physiological horror, with the way the hive and some scenes are described, but also with what Crane has to go though in his live as a pregnant trans man and someone who’d rather burn alive than continue to live in the body he currently has.

Crane being a trans man is a huge part of this book, where you get to understand how he’s come to start his transition, what his life was like before the hive and how he felt/feels about his body. These descriptions are so personal and raw, it makes you connect with the character in such a deep way and truly understand him. His thoughts aren’t pretty or positive, but they’re real.

The audiobook was sooo good and I highly recommend it. The narrator did an amazing job at delivering different emotions, showing exactly how Crane felt with shaky voices and dragging words, not to mention just how sick (complimentary) it was to hear the hive and just how much it enhanced the spooky vibes.

I will defend Elodie until I take my last breath 🙂