By Nina Tadic
C.G. Drews is an award-winning author whose most recent release, Don’t Let the Forest In, has swept the world in just a few short months. Don’t Let the Forest In, Drews’ first excursion into YA horror, is gripping, beautiful, and haunting. It comes as no shock that Drews’ next release, Hazelthorn, coming out October 2025, is the perfect follow up. For those who love botanical and body horror, lush imagery, and page turning suspense, this release is sure to be a favorite of 2025. The tale follows Evander, a sickly 17-year-old boy who lives with his estranged guardian, Byron Lennox-Hall, in his vast, secluded estate in the New England hills (Hazelthorn), following the death of his parents. When Mr. Lennox-Hall suddenly dies under suspicious circumstances, Evander is left questioning what is and isn’t real, and why Lennox-Hall’s last words were “Don’t go into the gardens.”
Drews holds many talents, but one of their strongest is creating such rich visuals to accompany the thrills of their stories. It takes a certain writer to be able to paint such a multi-faceted photo of their main character’s internal dialogue, perceptions, and environment, and explicitly do so with such meticulous wording that ties in beautifully with the concept of botanical body horror. Drews draws comparisons that are full-fledged paintings of each moment. The wallpaper is described as “breathing like wind through hedgerows”, Evander “a creature made of gossamer moth wings pulled over fragile stick bones”, and so on and so forth. Drews is also extremely well-equipped with the ability to verbalize such intense emotional feelings and visceral human reactions. When describing Evander’s anxiety, they say that “Unease hooks under Evander’s ribs and he can’t quite catch his breath,” and describe his anxiety as leaving him perpetually cold. When he’s overwhelmed a minute later in the book, “his chest is full of matchsticks, his tongue greased wick, and he thinks any second now the flint will strike and he will simply explode.” These feelings of overwhelm, rage, anxiety, terror, are feelings that everyone has experienced to some extent, but very few could articulate in a way that pulls one right back into those feelings in an instant.
Drews not only guides readers into these feelings and moments – they put readers right into the Hazelthorn manor, feeling every ache, shake, and terrifying nightmare-come-to-life moment. Readers experience the story’s development in real time just as the characters do, and (cleverly, on Drews’ part), only know and understand as much as Evander does. When Evander is confused, panicked, and racing to try to find an answer, readers are right there beside him itching for the same answer, flipping through pages as fast as they can to see how the plot will resolve itself. And in true Drews fashion, they’ve managed to give their readers the runaround until the very last second. As the plot thickens like the lush ivy of the Hazelwood gardens, and the plot darkens like the petals of a deadly nightshade, Drews maintains an unpredictability in Evander (and his proclaimed nemesis, Laurie), to the end.
In Evander, Drews has written an adolescent boy grappling with a plethora of feelings towards a boy he sees as a forbidden friend, fantasized lover, and current enemy. He consciously knows to steer clear of Laurie, but everything in him wants to do otherwise – and his internal battle to understand why is a motivator for every move he makes from beginning to end. While Evander is trying to fill in the blanks of what he’s missing with Hazelthorn, he is also trying to fill in the blanks about what his feelings and emotions mean, and what he’s doing with them. There are moves that Evander makes, however, that are so morally gray that readers will be stuck asking “Is this love, obsession, fear, or sickness? Can all four be the same? Can desire be so strong that it is all-consuming?” Countless moments leave readers begging to understand, trying to figure out ulterior motives, and more so wondering what is truly “real” in the manor of Hazelthorn. Perception is everything, and as Evander’s perception changes, so does the story.
When it comes down to it, this book has everything you could dream up for a queer YA thriller, and a botanical body horror. If The Westing Game went awry, and took place in a land where foliage is not only beautiful but deadly, and passion, greed, and love ruled everyone’s lives – this is what it would become. Hazelthorn is sure to be one of the most anticipated and best releases of 2025 – and is a hell of a release from CG Drews. Just remember when reading: once the garden has a taste, it wants the rest.
For those who want a taste of Hazelthorn, check out our unofficial book soundtrack below.