Book Review: Hazelthorn by CG Drews

GOODREADS SUMMARY:

Evander has lived like a ghost in the forgotten corners of the Hazelthorn estate ever since he was taken in by his reclusive billionaire guardian, Byron Lennox-Hall, when he was a child. For his safety, Evander has been given three ironclad rules to follow:

He can never leave the estate. He can never go into the gardens. And most importantly, he can never again be left alone with Byron's charming, underachieving grandson, Laurie.

That last rule has been in place ever since Laurie tried to kill Evander seven years ago, and yet somehow Evander is still obsessed with him.

When Byron suddenly dies, Evander inherits Hazelthorn’s immense gothic mansion and acres of sprawling grounds, along with the entirety of the Lennox-Hall family's vast wealth. But Evander's sure his guardian was murdered, and Laurie may be the only one who can help him find the killer before they come for Evander next.

Perhaps even more concerning is how the overgrown garden is refusing to stay behind its walls, slipping its vines and spores deeper into the house with each passing day. As the family’s dark secrets unravel alongside the growing horror of their terribly alive, bloodthirsty garden, Evander needs to find out what he’s really inheriting before the garden demands to be fed once more.

TEE'S THOUGHTS:

First can I say....I love this cover and it was THE reason I picked this book to review. I love anything botanical, so it just spoke to me. 

BUT....

If you are craving something moody and gothic with a strange botanical twist then by all means this is the book for you. This book did not let me down, it kept me reading well into the night, and it lives up to the Gothic genre because the house of Hazelthorn, along with its garden, could truly be its own character.

Main character Evander is bound by rules of the house, his illness, and by the legacy of Hazelthorn. He is kept far away from the gardens and told never to go into them by his keeper, Byron, the owner of the house. But when Byron dies, the house is left to Evander, and it breathes and the garden grows.

The writing in Hazelthorn is as rich as the gardens soil. The descriptions are both beautiful and unsettling, beautiful decay is how I would describe it, and it is creepy, but there is also a lot of heart in this story, however twisted. Evander's love for Byron's grandson Laurie, who when they were children, tried to kill him in the garden, is tender and fierce,but does not steal the story.. 

I loved the way the author was able to write a story that weaves through the aspect of being trapped in a body or mind that is labeled fragile, or to strange, and how Evander struggles to find himself, and an identity throughout it all. 

Let me say, this is not a light or even easy read. It is dark and sometimes very intense. There are times where you will hold your breath as you read. Would I recommend it? Absolutely. I am a big fan of gothic horror, gothic romance, anything that resembles gothic lit, and the landscape of Hazelthorn alone will give you that. Add in some queer representation and the natural world being a bit of a threat and you pretty much have a perfect book.