River of Ashes
by Alexandrea Weis and Lucas Astor
3/5 stars
Dates read: 1.10.2023 to 1.20.2023
Pub date: 8.2.2022
Some truths are better kept secret. Some secrets are better off dead.
ALONG THE BANKS OF THE BOGUE FALAYA RIVER, sits the abandoned St. Francis Seminary. Beneath a canopy of oaks, blocked from prying eyes, the teens of St. Benedict High gather here on Fridays. The rest of the week belongs to school and family—but weekends belong to the river.
And the river belongs to Beau Devereaux.
The only child of a powerful family, Beau can do no wrong. Star quarterback. Handsome. Charming. The “prince” of St. Benedict is the ultimate catch.
He is also a psychopath.
A dirty family secret buried for years, Beau’s evil grows unchecked. In the shadows of the haunted abbey, he commits unspeakable acts on his victims and ensures their silence with threats and intimidation. Senior year, Beau sets his sights on his girlfriend’s headstrong twin sister, Leslie, who hates him. Everything he wants but cannot have, she will be his ultimate prize.
As the victim toll mounts, it becomes clear that someone must stop Beau Devereaux.
And that someone will pay with their life.
Review
I grew up in Covington, Louisiana which is where the Bogue Falaya River runs through. During the spring and fall as a child, there would be concerts at the river that my family and family friends would attend. Then, in high school, the Bogue Falaya was a place to hang out at night on the weekends, just like in the book.There aren’t many high schools in the area; Covington High, St. Paul’s all boy Catholic school, St. Scholastica all girl Catholic school, Northlake Christian School, and Archbishop Hannan. It was interesting to see Covington High and St. Paul’s represented in the book and I found it interesting that the main school in the book was St. Benedict, which the actual Saint Benedict was Saint Scholastica’s twin brother. I’m not sure if that was intentional or not on the author’s part.
I also found it interesting that Beau Devereaux’s family ran a brewery that was nationally known, which reminded me of Abita Brewery, which is near Covington. The Abbey in the book I’m betting is based off of St. Joseph’s Abbey too, which is where we went to mass every Sunday. The similarities to real-life Covington were enough to make the story real for me but also a bit distracting because the author changed a few things and I found myself researching to see if it really existed or if it were geographically correct.
What I didn’t like was that certain phrases and descriptions were too repetitive to where it almost seems like they copied and pasted to add word count. There’s a spooky element with a legend about a woman in white and wild dogs which didn’t really fit well in the story until the very end. The story also didn’t really get going until about 70-75% in to it. There’s an author’s note at the end which explains her purpose for writing about this topic so I understand she was trying to make a point, but I feel like it could have been executed better. There are many trigger warnings so be sure to check those out before you read.
The last 15-20% had a few twists that made me want to read book two to see what happens but, other than that, I'm not sure yet if I’ll finish the series. I think if you're a fan of high school drama, Natasha Preston's writing style, and a slow burn, you'll enjoy this one.
Thank you to @Katieandbreypa and @Vesuvianmedia for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!
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