You Did Nothing Wrong

by C.G. Drews, Saskia Maarleveld (Narrator)

8 hours, 50 minutes

A relentless, horror-inducing psychological suspense for fans of The Push and Baby Teeth by New York Times bestselling author CG Drews.

Single mother Elodie’s life has become a fairy tale. She’s met Bren, equal parts golden-retriever devoted and sinfully handsome. He’s whisked her and her autistic son, Jude, to the crumbling family house he’s renovating. She has a new husband, a new house, and a new baby on the way. Everything is perfect.

Then Jude claims he can hear voices in the walls. He says their renovations are “hurting” the house. Even Elodie can’t ignore it–something strange is going on. The question is, is it with the house, or with her son?

Then the one secret Elodie has been hiding is revealed, and no one is safe anymore.

A pulse-pounding, clever take on the haunted house novel, You Did Nothing Wrong examines the complexities of motherhood and the twisted bonds of family as it races to its shocking ending.

Genres: Horror, Thriller, Gothic, Audiobook, Mystery, Fiction, Fantasy

9 pages, Audiobook

First published March 17, 2026

About the author

CG Drews is the award-winning NYT Bestselling author of Don’t Let The Forest In, Hazelthorn, and You Did Nothing Wrong. Their work has been translated into over 12 languages, was nominated for the 2020 CILIP Carnegie Medal, and won the B&N 2025 YA Book Awards, and are also Indie Next Picks and Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selections. CG lives in Australia under a pile of unread books. Find on Instagram as @paperfury and TikTok as @cgdrews or at cgdrews.com.

Reviews

[C.G. Drews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hello! I am the author of the book. If you'd like a list of content warnings please see my website here.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 page turning ⭐️s

For once, the synopsis gets it right, offering just enough to intrigue without giving too much away.

Single mom Elodie has a whirlwind romance with Bren when he visits Australia. The two quickly marry, and he whisks her and her autistic son, Jude, off to the US to start their new life together. They move into the dilapidated home he’s renovating, which he inherited from his deceased parents. With a new husband and a baby on the way, everything feels like it’s finally falling into place.

Until Jude starts hearing voices in the walls, warning that the renovations are hurting the house. Elodie doesn’t know what to make of it. Is something wrong with the house, or with her son?

You Did Nothing Wrong by C.G. Drews is part domestic suspense, part psychological horror, and I absolutely devoured it. Once I started, I couldn’t put it down. The tension is there from the very beginning and never lets up. The atmosphere is deeply unsettling, and I never knew who to believe or trust. The unreliable narrator was well done in this story and had me questioning everything. The emotions this one evoked were visceral. It made me sad for Jude, it frequently made me angry, and it even brought back memories of my own kids having meltdowns when they were little, that overwhelming sense of helplessness parents can feel.

I’m not sure if we’re meant to feel sympathy for Elodie, but I’ll be honest, I didn’t like her at all. Being in her head didn’t always work for me. It felt exhausting at times and occasionally repetitive. That said, it didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment of the book.

This was my first by this author, but it definitely has me wanting to check out her backlist.

Now available! My thanks to St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley for my digital ARC.

[Emily May · Rating 3 out of 5]

It lodges in her skin like a splinter, this idea that this is all her life is, a game of who will win.

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this one, with my main area of contention being the writing. There were parts so overwritten it was jarring, the kind of writing that makes me think: “Um… what?”

Here are some examples of the main offenders:

She pauses, restarts like a car with an engine frosted over during the night.

A swift, brittle pain slices through her chest with each hurried step through the gates, as if she has swallowed sewing needles and scissors and they are working hard to vivisect her from the inside out.

A good wife would be considerate of the latter. Elodie is full of curdled cream with a tongue that feels like meddling.

She wonders if he tastes the rot of her half-truths staining her tongue as he kisses her. Or if the darkness caught between their teeth is actually all his.

Jude keeps watching her, an unnerving stillness to him, as if he still has her secrets in his mouth, tucked into his cheeks like marbles.

Still, the story was very engaging, occasionally scary. I genuinely wanted to know what was going on, and I sped through it whenever I had a chance to read. Plus, I always have room for a creepy house— which is where Elodie finds herself, along with her 6 year old son Jude, after her whirlwind romance and marriage to Bren.

There's a lot going on, which is both a strength and a weakness. Horror regularly has us questioning whether we're in the realm of the supernatural or dealing with mental illness, mixing metaphor with scares, and all of that is true here. There's a house that may be malevolent, Elodie’s clashes with her autistic son that are becoming increasingly difficult to handle, the constant floating of a dark past suggesting something more to the story, plus the possibility that Bren may not be all he seems.

I did read in a bit of a state of confusion, which is clearly what the author intended. Elodie is unwell, that's obvious almost immediately, but even so— can the things she sees in the house, and her growing suspicions towards her new husband, all be untrue?

While the climax is not particularly ambiguous and we do get answers, some things are not fully explained. Without giving away spoilers, there are some elements of the book that conveniently allow the author a way out of explaining. But I still have unanswered questions. Such as: who actually did put the glass in Jude's food? If Elodie, why? And what really happened when her foot got sucked into the floor?

One thing is for certain: long before you discover exactly what is going on with Elodie and Bren, you'll be thinking for goodness sake, someone please save this poor kid. So: warning for depiction of child abuse.

Last note I want to make: I did really enjoy the idea of a mother as a metaphor for a home, and vice versa.

[Jaime Fok · Rating 4 out of 5]

My MIND omg. This was a psychologically haunting story. And CG Drews has the most absolutely gorgeous writing… in the most disgusting way 😂

Paragraph one hit me like a brick and there was no turning back from there. I was immediately captivated. The way this author describes things is incredible.

I think as we were going through the story, there was one section in the middle that maybe started to lull for me. But the lush writing definitely kept me captivated the entire way through.

And the layers of everything that were revealed in the last portion? WOW. I did not see where this was going, this was such a ride.

[Alexia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would have received a higher rating if Elodie had gotten what she deserved at the end, but unfortunately, because she chose to spite me even further, she did not. Poor Jude, how unfair it all feels.

What can I say? I feel disappointed overall. The twists that were supposed to elevate the story's impact failed to do so. I saw every single one coming from quite early on, none of the surprises actually caught me off guard.

I kept holding out hope that there would be a final twist, something that would leave me stunned and make the ending worth it. Instead, it was anti-climactic. I was waiting for a revelation that never materialized.

Elodie was undeniably a deeply flawed and toxic individual. She's the kind of person I might literally punch if I ever crossed paths with her on the street, her personality and actions provoke such intense anger. She lives immersed in delusions, and these delusions don’t just damage her, they hurt others around her as well.
I did feel sorry for her and understood her up till a certain point, but she became way too unhinged after that point and I no longer had any sympathy for her.

I hated her intensely. When I say I hated her, I mean I HATED her with a burning, uncontrollable passion. Poor Jude, my truly innocent and helpless Jude.

Elodie and Bren quite frankly, deserved each other, in my opinion. Still, Bren was somewhat better than Elodie. Don't get me wrong, Bren wasn’t perfect and was also quite messed up, but at least he wasn't entirely lost like Elodie.

The fact that she could do such things to someone she claims to love wholeheartedly indicates an extraordinary level of psychological disturbance and derangement.

Jude is the only reason I managed to push through this entire story. He was the only spark of hope and warmth in this otherwise bleak and dark story. I loved this little guy so immensely, he truly was the one bright spot amidst the chaos.

In conclusion, I'm disappointed with this. It pains me to say it because I loved, adored, and became obsessed with the author's other books, but this one was missing something crucial. It lacked the atmosphere that makes a story like this truly gripping. I never once felt the chills, anxiety, or fear that should have been present to heighten the tension and immersion.
But the writing was as beautiful as this author is known for.

[Court Zierk · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 1/2

If you’ve ever experienced the nerve obliterating tension of a toddler’s emotional and physical meltdown, or the mind warping impact of interdependence born out of a trauma bond, then you know real horror. And this book taps into those horrors with incredible effectiveness.

Elodie’s inner monologue shows a refreshingly honest mix of pure and vindictive thoughts. You know, the kind that all of us have but will never admit to. Her relationship with Bren is toxic, but interesting. It undoubtedly conveyed a sense of looming menace necessary to ratchet up tension. Their push and pull dance of who is rational and who is right feels chaotic, but also amplifies the building dread.

Her unhealthy, wholesale dependence on Jude to provide her with personal meaning is tragic but sympathetic given her backstory. I see myself in Elodie in how she seeks to repair old wounds through present wrongs. Through external forces because of her inability to surface her own self worth.

This book does an excellent job of walking a tightrope between the supernatural and the unreliable narrator, never quite revealing which is the culprit until the time is right.

I think this was one of the best books I’ve read this year. Period.

[Ricarda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another entry for the list of books that show me that I'm perfectly fine without kids. Raising children is a full-time job on its own and if they start saying stuff like "the house will eat us" and "there's something living in the walls" I just couldn't do it. So the main character Elodie had my respect when I started reading the story. As a teen mom she had to take care of her son Jude all on her own, with the father nowhere in sight and her parents mostly just ignoring her. But after she met the seemingly perfect Brendan at 22-years-old, she was able to start a new life with a handsome husband, a big house and another child underway. Elodie really tries to make the perfect family work to secure a future for her and her son, but the façade is cracking all over. She barely knows her husband, the house needs all the renovations possible and six-year-old Jude hates the place anyway. Even Elodie begins to think that the house might really be eating people or that the walls are filled with blood, but that's hardly a good base for some mother-son bonding. Elodie turns out to be a very messy and unlikable character full of intrusive thoughts. She needs the role of mother to keep her sanity, while taking care of Jude actually drives her insane every day. He is clearly a kid with special needs, but she is not willing to admit that or ask for help from professionals. The portrayal of motherhood was super intense to me, showing the vast array of emotions involved. From unconditional love to wishing that the child would just be quiet and out of sight for once to complete jealousy when it connects with someone else. Elodie taking care of Jude makes up a huge part of the story to the point where the first half feels more like contemporary fiction with some darker undertones than an actual horror or thriller. Later I would categorize it as something like a domestic thriller, but if you were hoping for straight up horror you came to the wrong place. The beginning also felt slow and the childcare got really exhausting to read, but that might as well have been the point. There still was great atmosphere right away and I also liked that the story started when they were already living in the new house. It makes this book stand out from the typical haunted house story, but you can hardly call it that anyway. It's more of a character focused story with every character getting more fucked-up and every relationship getting darker as the book goes on. In the end we were at a point where things got very dark and disturbing and I liked that the author managed to get me to that part. I can imagine that it's not really what readers were expecting, but I was slowly pulled in and then became quite invested in the story.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Liana Gold · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️ 4.5 ⭐️ The house is hungry for little boys.

This book bites. It has teeth and claws and voices that will make you afraid of the dark. It’s a psychological horror story that explores the complexities of motherhood, neurodivergent mind and mental health. It’s creepy, it’s unnerving, it’s neurotic. Its paranoia will crawl under your skin and peel you apart. It’s a deep dive into compulsion, obsession and generational trauma. It’s a new voice in the psychological horror genre and C.G. Drews leaves no crumbs behind. She gives it disturbingly all with a messiness that will take you down a spiral of all the dark places that motherhood can take us.

Elodie is a 22 year old mother to a 6 year old autistic son named Jude. Now Jude isn’t just a typical autistic boy, he is small and fragile and very creepy. Growing up in Australia along with Eloidie’s family, Elodie craved a different life. She and Jude are whisked away when she hurriedly marries Bren on a whim. He brings them to America and they settle into his old parent’s house. Now that house isn’t your typical house, it’s a crumbling mansion and in the process of renovation. As they settle in, Jude begins to hear voices coming from within the walls of the house. He says that the house whispers and screams and will eat those who hurt it. There is constant thudthudthud. Initially disregardful, Eloidie begins to sense the same of the house and the walls and her world begins to unravel as the house comes to life while we learn about her past. Something more sinister is growing and evolving not just within the walls but much closer to her.

In under 305 pages, You Did Nothing Wrong packs on anxiety like you have never experienced before. The horror vibes are immaculately layered into the character arcs. The stuff that Jude says to Elodie is beyond creepy, it’s scary and dark and things a 6 year old shouldn’t be saying. His mind was so fragile, he reminded me of a baby bird with a broken wing that can no longer fly. Having an autistic child myself, I can attest to how hard it is to raise one. Their minds work differently, their processing is hard to understand. The representation here was so spot on, I want to applaud the author for an accurate portrayal.
For giving us an inside look into the tender, gentle and perhaps broken mind of a child that needed more stability, love and comfort more than anything else.

The relationship between Elodie and Jude was very hard to read because it was raw and painful and I quickly understood that Elodie wasn’t your typical, clingy mother. She’s mentally broken with demons that fogged her every thought. She’s someone who is mentally unstable, someone with clear psychotic tendencies. She’s had delusional thoughts and behaviors towards Jude that are super toxic and disturbing—as a mother they really left me petrified. But what consumed her the most was fear of never being loved and needed. Her desperation was evident in how she raised Jude—in constant need of control and containment. Her inner monologue was brilliantly tense, paranoid, watchful. We are often taken back into her past to help us understand what she went through as a child and what she did that caused her to become who she is now.

Having read Hazelthorn sometime last year, C.G. Drews impressed me with the internal and external pressures of ‘losing yourself’ that she builds in all the characters. I can tell she’s an advocate of mental health and healing. She has a way with words that makes you question the reality—is this happening or am I imagining it? This is her adult break into psychological horror and it’s one pulse pounding ride. It is best to go into this blind!

If you’re interested in reading this book, here’s a discount code for you! Join BOTM, just for 5$ for the first month.

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Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and the author, C.G. Drews for an early ARC!

Publication date: March 17, 2026

[Rachel Hanes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me start off by saying that I don’t think I was in the right “mood” when I read this. I should have been, because this book is dark, and quite disturbing- which is just perfect for the fall season. However, I was repulsed by our main character of Elodie, and I think that ruined the book for me unfortunately.

This story starts off with Elodie being newly married to Bren (Brendan), and they have a baby of their own on the way. Elodie is already a mother to a six year old son, Jude. Jude has always been hard to manage for Elodie. Jude does not listen, he’s extremely small for his age, and he hates the new house that they’ve just moved in to. Jude claims that the walls are speaking to him at night. Is Jude right? And can Elodie hear and see the voices and shadows in the walls too?

Bren is so happy to finally have a family, it’s all he’s ever wanted- especially since his parents died when he was a young boy. Bren is working all day to fully provide for Elodie, Jude, and their new baby on the way. He then comes home at night and begins to remodel the house that was left to him by his deceased parents. Jude is growing more and more attached to Bren, but Elodie is growing more miserable by the day. Why can’t Bren seem to make Elodie happy?

As I mentioned above, this book was very dark and disturbing, and I did not like Elodie at all. I think I was supposed to feel sorry for her at one point (and I did to an extent), but for the most part- no. It also states in the synopsis that Jude is supposed to be autistic. However, I think Elodie just made him out to be a child who is afraid to eat, sleep, be around certain people, etc… That is just my take/opinion from reading this story, as I am not a doctor or any type of professional-so please don’t come at me!

After reading this, I definitely need a book break or something much lighter to read. I think I may have just read this book at the “wrong” time.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and the author for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest opinion.
Publication date: March 17, 2026
Genre~ Mystery & Thrillers, Horror, General Fiction (adult)

[Teru · Rating 5 out of 5]

Happy release day 17th March! Almost everyone did a few things wrong 🖤💚

I’ll need somewhere between five and a hundred business days to recover from this...

I never know how to review CG Drews’ books properly, they always leave me overwhelmed, staring at the wall and shaking from the adrenaline crash, while I’m trying to process. You Did Nothing Wrong is no different.

This title, I swear to god. I have a hard time thinking of one truly right thing anyone (when it comes to adult characters) did right in here. Jude...Oh god, Jude...

Drews takes their time with the pace at first, carefully establishing the connection between the characters, filling me with sympathy for both Jude and his young mother Elodie, showing us the dangerously hungry sort of love between Elodie and Bren, the toxicity this new small family is steeped in. Two monstrous people chock-full of secrets, taking care of a six-year-old autistic child, moving into a decrepit Victorian house Bren insists on renovating by himself? Whatever could go wrong 😬

The insidious atmosphere is built up in a way that feels like having a hand around your neck slowly squeezing, putting more and more pressure, until it gets genuinely hard to breathe. This book is a brilliant psychological horror (and family drama - I absolutely agree with the comparison to The Push, which I also loved and hated in equal measure) that utilizes an unreliable narrator very efficiently (read - I’m fucking traumatized). Is it also paranormal? I’ll let you be the judge of that after you read the book. Misery loves company, sharing is caring, all that shtick, trust me! 😏🖤

It’s not exactly a perfect read for me, the beautiful macabre prose Drews is now irreversibly linked with, loses some of its spark when overused, making the imagery less impactful because it feels way too familiar by now. My rating is probably closer to 4,5 ⭐ but I would round up anyway for the amount of tears this little monster squeezed out of me.

I do admit to being a bit smug about figuring most of the revelations out, though as You Did Nothing Wrong isn’t a mystery, the crumbs were quite obvious, and I definitely won’t be the only one seeing them. It didn’t make the story predictable, it was more like watching an incoming collision your gut tells you is about to come, and you’re terrified of what comes after.

And what came after was such a stressful time; I had to take so many breaks. It’s been a damn while since I’ve been this distraught over a horror - it doesn’t tend to be a genre that leaves me in exhausted, tearful hysterics by the end of it, but here we are. CG Drews... I’ll definitely pick up your next adult story, but I’ll be WARY 👀

Many MANY thanks to Sara Eslami from St. Martin’s Publishing Group and NetGalley for kindly allowing me access to this e-ARC!

[annes_mesmerizing_books · Rating 5 out of 5]

He was her baby hurricane in a jar, and she had never been able to twist on the lid.

Oh Jude …

Even though this story is told through Elodie’s point of view, it isn’t really her story. At the center is her six-year-old autistic son, Jude.

Oh Jude …

By now, I believe C.G. Drews can only write masterpieces. Don’t Let the Forest In and Hazeltorn are among my favorite YA books ever, so of course I had to read C.G. Drews’ adult debut too. The first pages pulled me in—and stalked me even when I wasn’t reading. You Did Nothing Wrong is feverish, frantic, page after page after page, raw and furious.

Jude has begun to tire himself out, screams ebbing, his limbs no longer thrashing as he squeezes himself into a tight ball on his bed, his hands over his ears as tears streak down his cheeks in abject despair.

The undercurrent of this story is love—especially the hunger to love someone, to be loved, and not to be left on your own—until it turns so toxic it holds you in a chokehold.

”I’m the one who’s broken.” Her voice feels faraway and he is the only thing keeping her from breaking apart. “I’m unfixable.”

Elodie’s and Jude’s desperation is palpable in every word, every sentence. A shiver ran through me when Jude told Elodie the house didn’t want the renovation. My stomach churned every time Elodie didn’t know what to do with her son while Bren seemed so oblivious.

”My only crime is falling in love with you, and how could I not? You were everything to me from the first time we kissed.”

As I read, the radars in my head kept spinning. Nothing really happened on the surface, but that’s exactly why this is such a fantastic psychological thriller. So many layers. Was the house really haunted? Was Bren manipulative? Was Elodie an unreliable narrator? All of these? Or something else entirely? I sat on the edge of my seat just wanting to know if Jude would be alright. I had a few inklings beforehand, and then, around 70%, something clicked in my head. Oh my f… god. C.G. Drews scattered so many breadcrumbs, but I was so blind to them.

Until Bren, no one thought about her. Now she is thought of all the time.

That last part made me want to scream, cry, slam my fists into the wall. The feverishness dialed up to 100, and all I could think about was Jude.

Oh, Jude …

C.G. Drews, you really did nothing wrong with this gem. It’s pure perfection, and I’ll read anything you write.

Thank you, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley, for this bone chilling, beautiful ARC! This book should be a bestseller, a movie, the thing everyone talks about.

Follow me on Instagram

[hannah ꕤ]

soft dnf for now 🥲

[TheConnieFox · Rating 4 out of 5]

This horror novel is one I will never forget! WOW!! It is full of tension and dread. It filled me with claustrophobia and paranoia. It is extremely dark and emotional. Do not let this beautiful cover of a book fool you, it is a horror story that will leave you thinking about it for days and days!

It does start off on the slow side, but once it builds up, it grabs your attention and makes you wonder what is really going on. It is extremely atmospheric, which I absolutely loved about this book. The ending had me in a chokehold! If you are into horror novels like I am, this book is a must read! Overall, I give this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley, author CG Drews and St. Martin's Press for this incredible eARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

This book is expected to be published on March 17, 2026!

[Dutchie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do you know when you’re reading a novel and you absolutely just can’t put it down? This is one of those!!

Elodie believes she has just won the jackpot with her new husband, Bren. He has swept her off her feet and has welcomed her and her young son, Jude, with open arms. They move into his childhood home that Bren inherited from his parents. The house is in need of a lot of TLC and Bren begins remodeling each room. Things are going absolutely splendidly. Nothing could go wrong, right?! Ha! Not too long after moving in, Jude begins to act out and swears the house is going to hurt him. Elodie begins to have similar suspicions.

This was not your traditional haunted house spooky read. There was much more focus on the characters themselves who I found to be really well developed, specifically Elodie and Jude. I think psychological suspense mixed with a bit of horror is definitely my favorite genre. This book definitely ticked both of those boxes and I absolutely could not figure out where this one was going. You can just feel the tension building the further along you get. My only quibble is the ending went a little bit over the top for my liking, but how it finally concluded was satisfying.

I most certainly can recommend giving this one a try and look forward to seeing what else this author will come up with in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

[꧁ ༺Minne༻ ꧂ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was devastatingly good and utterly nerve wracking. I’m doing a little happy dance as I type this review.



Thank you, Gabriela. Her review got me to read this.

This is my kind of psychological thriller/horror. One that makes you feel sharp and ugly emotions back to back. I felt murderous, guilty for feeling that way, then sad and helpless. I was so invested in this story.

◤──•~❉᯽❉~•──◥ ◤──•~❉᯽❉~•──◥ ◤──•~❉᯽❉~•──◥

Elodie has the life she is supposed to want. A loving partner, a new home, and a child she is meant to adore without question.

When her family moves into an old house still under renovation, cracks begin to show in more than just the walls. Her son becomes increasingly difficult, her partner feels increasingly distant, and Elodie finds herself trapped between exhaustion, guilt, and thoughts she is terrified to admit even to herself.

The house seems to watch. To breathe. To close in.

As pressure builds inside and outside her mind, Elodie is forced to confront an unsettling possibility. Is something in the house affecting her family, or is she unraveling under the weight of being the perfect mother?

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ First of all, I need to talk about the writing. It’s quite heavy handed and lyrical. Personally, I love heavy handed prose as long as it’s not distracting. But something that stood out to me is how sometimes I read a book and I don’t even notice that it’s written in third person. It was so jarring here and I don’t really know why.

The story circles around the suffocating urge to be everything at once: a good wife, a good mother, and perhaps most painfully, to look like a good mother. The constant performance of perfection. The corrosive guilt of having a child who is difficult, unpredictable, and frankly exhausting. The forbidden thought that cuts through her like glass: what if I didn’t have him?

And all of this unfolds inside an old house: half home, half ruin, still being renovated. The house looms like a presence, a decaying witness to everything unravelling within it, its creaking walls mirroring Elodie’s own fractured inner world.

I can’t tell you how much I love being in the mind of unhinged characters. Being inside Elodie’s is disorienting. Her emotions never sit still and are at constant war with each other: love and hate, guilt and justification, gratitude and resentment, possession and fear, trust and suspicion.

She is obsessive and controlling and it feels like her emotions can tip over at any moment. Yet she never lets it happen. In doing so, she ends up suppressing everything: her rage, her fear, her violent thoughts, even her love until it starts to rot under the surface. I felt pity for her.

This story resonated with me because, for me, it’s about the terror of responsibility. About how love can turn poisonous. About motherhood not as softness, but as endurance, performance, and erosion of self. It is also about finding comfort in toxicity, decay and abuse. Elodie and Bren are really two toxic peas in a pod.

In time, we are forced to ask:

➳ Who is Elodie really when no one is watching?
➳ Who was she before Bren, before motherhood, before this house began closing in on her?
➳ And perhaps most unsettling of all, how much of what is happening is real, and how much is the mind trying to survive itself?
➳ How does a story like this end?

I find the title to be quite ironic. I started the book thinking the title was so apt, but when I got to the thick of the story, I couldn’t help but think about how Elodie did literally everything wrong.

[Gabriela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Welcome to the adult horror genre! I am…unsettled. Drews is a master at taking those dark obsessive thoughts we tuck in the back of our minds and bringing them to life with exaggerated and haunting accuracy.

Elodie has gone from being a young single mom living in her parent’s garage in Australia to a suburban housewife in the US within a few months of meeting Brendan January. She’s living a dream she never thought she’d experience until her 6 year old son Jude starts hearing voices within the walls of their old Victorian house.

This story initially took me back to the complicated emotional insecurities of being a brand new mother. At first I related to Elodie’s overprotectiveness, her need to be the sole provider of Jude’s needs and affection. These two only have each other until she marries Bren. And she carries this responsibility while pasting on a smile and pretending that the exhaustion and isolation of all that control are nonexistent.

I do think this is the beauty of Drews’ writing. Taking familiar and relatable emotions and twisting them into a vivid story that is both cathartic and wildly horrendous. Then the narrative slowly evolves into a nightmarish realm that left me feeling like I was the one devoured by a hungry house.

And this sweet little family, that seems like they were brought together through fate and luck and need, begins to feel unhealthy. Obsession is a key theme here, particularly in the context of childhood trauma and neglect. The desperation of both Elodie and Bren to feel needed and loved morphs into a sinister codependency. And it’s unclear exactly who is the most unhinged.

Drews’ writing is macabre, beautifully dark, with prose that leans to the purple edge of lyrical but stylistically fits the narrative. I will say I’m happy with my choice to read Don’t Let the Forest In first, knowing it is a reader favorite. I think a story about teens is easier to swallow, in the sense that they are more malleable and therefore their problems feel less permanent.

Herein lies my reason for a 4⭐️ rating, which I don’t always feel the need to explain. I felt uneasy in how the decisions and actions of these characters affected not only each other, but a 6 year old child. I’m not sure if this would be the case for someone who does not have or regularly interact with children, so I want to acknowledge my bias. I am also not implying Drews wants readers to feel comfortable with this story, I’m assuming the opposite. I also thought some of the botanical metaphors, while beautiful, didn’t always fit with the “haunted house” setting.

Overall this is a striking adult debut. I will continue to read Drews’ other works, perhaps with some emotional caution in the future.

I would also like to acknowledge the incredible narration by Saskia Maarleveld with her intonation and all voices in this story.

Many thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ALC.

[aeryn rose · Rating 1 out of 5]

1⭐️

Well...um...I really didn't like this book. 😭
I'm starting to learn that this author is probably not for me since this is the second chance I'm giving them. I tried really hard to get into this but I just had so many problems with it.

For starters, I hated every single character in this book. I don't think that any of them had any redeemable qualities and they just simply weren't likable. There was no depth, no actual substance in the nearly 300 pages that this book was. I'm not sure if this is a thriller or a horror or probably a bit of both, but it just sucked in my opinion.

I don't think this was written well and I felt like the plot was all over the place and made zero sense. We jump from point to point with no explanation; it felt like very much black and white writing. The best thing about this book was that it was short and I was able to binge it in a matter of hours. I really wanted to like this but it was definitely not for me.

After finishing this book, I'm kind of just sitting here thinking...what the hell did I just read? Please do not ask me what the plot was or for me to describe this book to you because I genuinely have no idea what I would say. I finished this book with a bad taste in my mouth and it definitely sits at the top with some of the worst horrors I've read. This wasn't skin crawling or giving me goosebumps. Hell, this didn't feel that creepy in general. This horror novel felt kind of bland and watered down.

Overall, I have one more book of this author on my TBR and I will read it simply because I have it, but honestly? I don't think I'm really going to like it. This is my second book by this author and this is her most recent release as of yet, but I was so damn disappointed. I went into this with realistic expectations and it just missed the bar by a mile. It is currently the wee hours of the morning and I spent all night reading this off and on and I'm kind of pissed that I didn't sleep much reading a pretty crappy book (it's not because of the book being good or not I literally just have a horrible sleep schedule lmao). Take this review as you will, but I will definitely say to stay away from this book if you have the chance.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

𝓟𝓻𝓮-𝓡𝓮𝓪𝓭: 🖤🥀

I've been told I'll either really like this or really hate it because of how I felt about C.G. Drews other book (Don't Let the Forest In) 😅
I liked it enough to want to read her other books but I'm not completely sold yet so I hope I enjoy this!!

[jenny reads a lot · Rating 5 out of 5]

BEWARE: You will not be able to put this book down. It will eat away at your day and seep into your dreams. It will knock at the walls of your mind, a constant tap, tap, tap, to remind you it’s still there. You Did Nothing Wrong will consume you.

And honestly, you should let it.

I have no coherent thoughts to provide about this book other than…

This book is totally toxic, sufficiently creepy and seriously f*cked up. I loved it so much.

I read this book in a single sitting. I started the audiobook while I tackled my weekly cleaning, finished those tasks in record time, then proceeded to deep clean my house—just so I could keep listening. Y’all I sat on the floor and hand scraped the pet fur from my area rugs bc I needed to keep listening. Why didn’t I just relax on the sofa to finish the audiobook? There is no relaxing while reading this book! It had me on the edge of my (figurative) seat, heart pounding, and desperate to find out what happened!

Check your content warnings and then GO READ THIS FREAKING BOOK!

I think the audiobook might be the superior reading experience bc Saskia Maarleveld absolutely knocked it out of the park with her performance!

Audio Narration: 5/5 Saskia Maarleveld is officially a new favorite audiobook narrator! What a killer performance! The pacing & pausing were absolute perfection. The inflection, all the different voices, her ability to absolutely NAIL the male voice?! Standing ovation!!! She totally brought this book to life and made it impossible for me to put this book down!

5⭐️| IG | TikTok |

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted book. All opinions are my own.

[Krysta ꕤ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ★

”When a monster sees something else monstrous, he only thinks it pretty.”

i usually don’t enjoy reading books about motherhood or children, but i was right to have faith in CG Drews. following Elodie as she struggles to be a good mother to her autistic son Jude was an interesting experience. you could argue that she is trying her best, but it’s very clear that she’s also someone who just shouldn’t have kids in general. Jude has some problematic behaviors that are obvious, but idk if i really blame him since he’s also been subject to abuse at the hands of someone who’s supposed to love and protect him above all else.

“Bren will never understand how much she loves her son; she doesn’t need him to. She just needs Jude to be safe. She will make him safe.”

this book was so intense, between the potential haunted house aspect and the psychological horror.. i just didn’t know what to think the whole time. Elodie’s husband Bren was sketchy to me from the start and i even started to question him as much as Elodie was. then when we get the reveals? my jaw was on the floor cause i seriously was not expecting any of that. i think the exploration of grief, guilt and that overwhelming feeling of wanting to be needed and loved was executed perfectly in this story, the last line of the book killed me.

➛ many thanks to NetGalley, the author and St. Martin’s Press for the arc, all opinions are my own.

[Fernanda (ivyfer_isreading) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is in no way something I would pick up on my own, but I like the author and was really curious to see what they would do with an adult novel. I personally don't like books about motherhood, or kids in general if I'm being honest, it's just not something I would reach for, ever, so I can't say it was a perfect read. But that's just my personal opinion, so I'll talk from a technical standpoint. 
This was a creepy read, it was disconcerting in a good way. I was tense throughout the entire book. It's very different from don't let the forest in and Hazelthorn(my favorite), those ones I thoroughly enjoyed, the botanical horror is something that just does it for me I guess, while weird houses and mother and son relationships truly don't. 
The writing is less flowery and atmospheric and more thriller-esque, it goes by really quickly because you can't stop reading. When I saw where the title of the book came from I gasped out loud, so that was a surprise. 
You Did Nothing Wrong is creepy, weird and uncomfortable to read, but that's what people look for in horror so I would say it is perfect if you love the genre.

Thank you St. Martins Press and Netgalley for the ARC!

[Sidney · Rating 5 out of 5]

oh...i'm as unwell as Elodie right now.

contains spoilers⭑.ᐟ

CG Drews is 3/3 for me & is 100% going on my list of auto buy authors. Don't Let the Forest In? So good. Hazelthorn? Ripped my heart out. You Did Nothing Wrong? Left me speechless. This was so hard to put down. The last 100 pgs had me in a choke hold... I was sweating, I was anxious, I was uncomfortable, but I just HAD to see how everything ended.

I hope I wasn't supposed to feel bad for Elodie because let's get one thing clear...I hated her. She's so desperate to be loved & have attention it was exhausting. Elodie was despicable & also...had about twenty screws loose in her head, the girl is really not ok. The way she neglects the fact that Jude is autistic & refuses to accept any sort of help with him, completely ignoring his needs and the way she had him malnourished had me fuming. Girl...disrespectfully, if you were my mother I would have hated you too. Not even getting a glance at her childhood made me feel sympathy for her nor is her childhood an excuse for her to be an unhinged bat shit crazy person & I said what I said. Instead of running off with a man she recently met & getting married to escape her past she should of taken her ass to therapy because she clearly needs to heal.

The writing as always was amazing. If there's one thing I've come to realize about CG Drews, it's that they definitely know how to create eerie, creepy atmosphere. This was simply just haunting & disturbing in so many ways. My little baby Jude deserved so much better. By the end of this I was ready to yeet my kindle across the room. I did guess like two twists but even then the twists just kept twisting. This was a perfect psychological horror/thriller in my opinion. I can't wait to get my fat grubby hands on a physical copy so I can read it again & be in my feelings all over again.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review

[Suesyn Zellmer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I knew within minutes that I would not enjoy this book. When one of your worst pet peeves shows itself that early in a story, you know you're in for it. Bad creative writing that feels like an assignment a teenager would hand in. Not just bad, but overwhelmingly everywhere in the book. Literally, almost every page is filled with overwrought descriptions, and it's just way too much. How anyone considers this beautiful writing is beyond me, but apparently, some people enjoy it. I'm not one of them.

Here's how Elodie describes (to herself) how she feels being apart from her son when he's at school: "...feeling spores of terror taking root deep in the nubs of her lung tissue, blossoming gangrenous and foul the longer she is away from him." Really?? And almost EVERY page in this book is filled with descriptions like this! It doesn't help that the plot is not much better.

Elodie and Bren have married after a whirlwind courtship and moved her and her young son, Jude, into Bren's inherited house in the U.S. and away from Australia. Then everything slowly falls apart, and either the house is eating them or Elodie is losing her mind. I mean, that's really the best synopsis I can come up with. Jude is six and autistic, and Elodie has clearly struggled with raising him on her own and doesn't want Bren's help, even though he's his stepfather and has to practically beg her to let them spend time together.

She's way too attached to Jude and has clear issues. She suffered from the way her parents treated her and Jude when she lived with them, but that was nowhere near enough trauma to cause her to act as she does. And when the reader is finally given a (possible?) scientific explanation for behavior, it doesn't hold water. Her behavior is way beyond any logical explanations. And then by the end, it just veers straight into crazy town. And I think the author really underestimates the damage even broken power tools can inflict.

But by that point, I was just glad that it was over.

[Brooke 𝜗𝜚 · Rating 4 out of 5]

╰┈➤ 𝟺.𝟸𝟻 ✰ ꜱᴛᴀʀꜱ

❝𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆’𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆; 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈
𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆…❞

📚: 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐲 𝐂.𝐆. 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐬
📜: 𝐏𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬: 𝟸𝟿𝟿
🏷️: 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: 𝙿𝚜𝚢𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚐𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕 𝚃𝚑𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚛, 𝙷𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚛
📖: 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭: 𝙺𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚕𝚎
📆: 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝: 𝟼/𝟸𝟽/𝟸𝟼-𝟼/𝟸𝟾/𝟸𝟼
💬: 𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬
「 ”Single mother Elodie's life has become a fairy tale. She's met Bren, a devoted and sinfully handsome handsome. He's whisked her and her autistic son, Jude, to the crumbling family house he's renovating. She has a new husband, a new house, and a new baby on the way. Everything is perfect. Then Jude claims he can hear voices in the walls. He says their renovations are "hurting" the house. Even Elodie can't ignore it; something strange is going on. The question is, is it with the house, or with her son?”」

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · · · · ─ ·✶· ─ · · · · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

❝𝑯𝒆’𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒇𝒊𝒙𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆; 𝒉𝒆’𝒔 𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒓𝒔.❞

ᴍʏ ʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ: ★★★★.25
ɢᴏᴏᴅʀᴇᴀᴅꜱ ʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ: 𝟹.𝟼𝟻 ☆ ꜱᴛᴀʀꜱ
ꜱᴘᴏᴏᴋɪᴇꜱ: ½ 👻
ᴘᴀɪʀ ᴡɪᴛʜ: ꜱᴘᴀɢʜᴇᴛᴛɪᴏꜱ
ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ɪ ʀᴇᴄᴏᴍᴍᴇɴᴅ?: 👍🏼
ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ: ʜᴏᴜꜱᴇ — ᴄʜᴀʀʟɪ xᴄx ᴀɴᴅ ᴊᴏʜɴ ᴄᴀʟᴇ
2:09 ———♡——— 3:14

⇄ ◃◃ ⅠⅠ ▹▹ ↻

╭───
┆
╰⪼ I think I’m gonna die in this house, I think I’m gonna
die in this house…

⊱ ────── {⋆ ‧₊˚♪𝄞 ⋆} ────── ⊰

ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
🏚️ ᴀᴜᴛɪꜱᴍ ʀᴇᴘ
🏚️ ᴍᴏᴛʜᴇʀʜᴏᴏᴅ ʜᴏʀʀᴏʀ
🏚️ ʜᴀᴜɴᴛᴇᴅ ʜᴏᴜꜱᴇ ᴠɪʙᴇꜱ
🏚️ ᴜɴʀᴇʟɪᴀʙʟᴇ ɴᴀʀʀᴀᴛᴏʀꜱ
🏚️ ᴜɴꜱᴇᴛᴛʟɪɴɢ ᴀᴛᴍᴏꜱᴘʜᴇʀᴇ

❝𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆, 𝒂 𝒉𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒗𝒆𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔.❞

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · · · · ─ ·✶· ─ · · · · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

💭: 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬
• Oh how I do love a good unhinged motherhood book. Is that too niche of me? I had such a good time reading this, I could’ve easily fished it in one setting. It even got me paranoid at night walking through my dark hallway.
• I wish we could’ve gotten more answers about if the house was truly haunted or not, but I think the author left that up for us to decide.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · · · · ─ ·✶· ─ · · · · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

❝𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒊𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕, 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍. 𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝑨𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝑾𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅, 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒐𝒐𝒍𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔;
𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅.❞

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elodie became a mom at just 16 years old to a baby boy named Jude. Jude's father is nowhere to be seen leaving her on her own. She lives in the garage of her parents house. Parents that want nothing to do with her ever since her little brother drowned in the tub at 2 years old. She thought a baby might thaw their chill but she couldn't have been more wrong. They seem to despise her even more. She'd do anything to escape from them.

In walks handsome Bren who she meets at a ballet soiree. He's handsome and kind and everything Elodie has ever dreamed of. After just a few short months he whisks her away from Australia to the United States where Bren was left the family home after the death of his parents. It's a fixer upper to be sure but Bren has a vision and in that vision is his family with Elodie and Jude and another little one on the way. Everything is perfect!

Until Jude claims that the walls whisper to him leaving him terrified and inconsolable. He's sensitive on the best of days but the house is making matters so much worse.

Elodie assumes it's just her sons wild imagination until she begins to notice strange happenings. Is it possible the house is indeed haunted? You'll have to read this to find out.

My first C.G. Drews novel but definitely not my last. The menacing atmosphere was palpable. I loved that I truly had no idea what was happening. There are some jaw dropping revelations and an explosive ending that left me satisfied. My only let down was a bit of editing. From 60-80% it got a little monotonous being in Elodie's head. The lovely turns of phrase that I had been enjoying so much started to become tiresome leaving me to skim here and there until the action picked back up. And boy did it pick back up. I promise sticking with this one is worth it. 4 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my complimentary copy.

[Heathers_readss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Possessed house? Yay!

Elodie and her family move into a new home which requires a lot of work, especially with a baby on the way. Whilst renovations are underway, Elodies son Jude begins to freak out claiming that they are hurting the house. A claim that is initially overlooked, until bad things start happening and the couple begin to question what’s really going on.

There’s an unknown aspect to the book, everyone seems suspect, is the mum the problem with her spacing out, losing time and inability to control her child? Is the new husband the problem, he seems like an endlessly patient angel but are we waiting for the shoe to drop and his true colours to reveal themselves? Is the son the problem with his toxic behaviour and jealousy? It’s so hard to figure out what’s really going on until the end!

honestly i really wish it ended differently!!

Publish date: March 17th 2026

[Aisvarya [back ig]]

✨Pre-read:
Book two for the Summerween reading challenge!!

Prompt - New to me author.

I know the author's previous works are more popular and well loved than this one, but I need a quick audiobook to listen to, and this one is perfect.

[Zoulfa Katouh · Rating 5 out of 5]

unhinged and haunting

[Nikki Lee (Nikkileethrillseeker) · Rating 3 out of 5]

First, the narration on this is excellent. She can switch her accent for the characters perfectly. I was able to follow along perfectly. She’s truly talented.

Elodie and Bren move into a new house with Elodie’s son, Jude. Bren has promised to fix up the house and give it a full remodel. Only, Jude doesn’t like the house and he says he can hear it breathing.

First, I will stress that this is not a horror book. There are very little spooky scenes. Most of the book focuses on Jude. Jude is an autistic boy and Elodie struggles with parenting him everyday. I did appreciate the way she focused on the autism.

My quibble with the novel is the whole book focuses on her obsession with Jude and how she babies him. Elodie is a disaster of a main character. I would call her an official basket case.

I did enjoy a huge twist towards the end. That one got me. But, we never get any answers about the house. I just feel I’m not the right reader for this one and many have loved it. So, please check out other reviews.

3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Pub Date - 3/17

[Beth Morvant · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gaslit me for 300 pages and I thanked it afterwards.

Wow.

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

You Did Nothing Wrong is the first book I’ve read by C.G. Drews and won’t be the last.This is exactly what I want when I read horror. This has a little something extra with domestic suspense thrown in. It’s a very fast read. That desire to see what’s next had me glued to my seat.

Elodie is a single mother to Jude. A frail, small child, he needs extra nurturing. Elodie meets Bren and quickly marries. He hurries Elodie and Jude from Australia to the United States where they will live in an old mansion that Bren will renovate for the 3 of them. It’s during these renovations that Jude exhibits very peculiar and spine tingling behavior. He’s scared of the house and makes outlandish claims. Elodie is overprotective and going back to her past, gives many details that shapes her character. This book delivers the creepy vibes of horror while being very suspenseful as this family struggles to keep it together as the situation with Jude intensifies and Elodie faces her past head on. The characters of Elodie and Jude are rich and well defined and the ending! This is an unputdownable read and recommend for horror and suspense fans.

Thank you NetGalley and St.Martin’s Press for early access.