Hazelthorn out now from Feiwel & Friends; 368 pages
Content Warning: Gore, child abuse, medical abuse, ableism, eating disorders, body horror
About the Author: “CG Drews is the award-winning author of The Boy Who Steals Houses and NYT Bestseller Don’t Let The Forest In, which is also a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, Indie Next Pick, and Barnes & Noble YA Book Club Pick. Their next YA horror, Hazelthorn, is out October 28th, 2025, with debut adult horror, You Did Nothing Wrong, coming in 2026. Their work has been translated into six languages, received a nomination for the 2020 CILIP Carnegie Medal, and won the 2020 CBCA Honour Award. CG lives in Australia, never sleeps, and is forever buried under a pile of unread books” (Bio from author’s Goodreads profile).
Find C.G. Drews on the following platforms:
Evander lives at Hazelthorn, an old estate with a sprawling garden and silent halls. When his parents died years ago, he was taken under the wing of Byron Lennox-Hall, a reclusive billionaire, and hasn’t left the estate since. He lives his life chronically-ill in a locked bedroom, interrupted only by routine meals and the medicine the butler brings. But it’s not just Evander at Hazelthorn; there’s also Laurie, Byron’s rougeish, handsome grandson, the same boy who tried to kill and bury Evander in the garden when they were little. After that, seeing each other was forbidden. When their guardian, Byron, suddenly and mysteriously dies, and the will says Evander will inherit everything, he suspects murder and will do anything to solve the case, even if it means joining forces with Laurie. To figure out who killed his guardian and the true nature of the dangerous garden encroaching on the house, Evander will have to uncover the bloody secrets buried under the soil of Hazelthorn—and those in his own mind.
Hazelthorn, in the best way possible, had its hooks in me from beginning to end. I couldn’t tear myself away from its sinister, gothic nature, which is, in part, because of Drew’s writing style: lush, poetic, and darkly imaginative. However, the beauty of the prose is balanced by visceral body horror and an underlying sense of rage, particularly stemming from the injustices Evander faces as a queer and autistic character. Drews masterfully interweaves these elements, crafting an irresistible, insightful horror story. Not only that, but at the heart of the story is the slow-burn romance between Evander and Laurie. It’s a complex, imperfect relationship, one scarred by the past and Hazelthorn’s history, but the chemistry is palpable: a tender, verging-on-obsessive yearning. I was so invested in these two characters, and the story itself, that I had to cover the next page with my hand so I didn’t inadvertently spoil it for myself—if that says anything. There are also vivid botanical elements in the story, such as the inky drawings of plants on the book’s pages and the unnaturally sentient garden eager for blood. As a plant lover myself, I was both fascinated and pleasantly disturbed by their creepy depiction. Overall, this story is a must-read; if you’re looking for a gorgeous, haunting, queer horror book, look no further!
Danielle Hartshorn, Pine Reads Review Writer and Editor