Before I write out my thoughts, I want to say that this book has some VERY triggering content. So, please check TW before reading.

River of Ashes will haunt me for a long time. This was disturbing, twisted, DARK, and incredibly intense. Absolutely gripping. The story follows a sociopathic teenage boy Beau whose rich family basically owns the small town it is set in. We also have two FMCs, Leslie and Dawn, twins who at first are at odds as Dawn is Beau's girlfriend. Beau, however, is obsessed with Leslie and is only using Dawn to get closer to her. I had no idea how disturbing this tale would get, but it just continued getting more twisted the further I read.

The writing is excellent and the way that the authors got into Beau's mind was incredible. His POV felt almost too real at times. I was gripped by the story woven through the pages. Beau's obsession with control and his thoughts on how others were at fault for his mistakes felt so real.

I definitely recommend reading this to those who can handle really dark themes, but please check TW before starting. Absolutely a great book.

Thank you Vesuvian Books for the ARC

This book did what every good horror movie or book should do, it kept me uncomfortable the whole time. River of Ashes is mostly told through Beau Devereaux point of view. A Creepy voilent highschooler, who is obessed with "owning" women, and really brings a new meaning to rapey creep.
Defiently check the trigger warnings before embarking on this one.

I appreciated the comittment to Beaus POV, his chapters where incredibly destirbing and rage enducing. If you think your safe when switching POVs, your not. I felt like Beau turned up on every page. Honestly this book really does give that horror movie dread, hoping for a bit of leverity or break from the terror.

I was going to rate 3.5stars because I do feel it needed a little bit of levity or more comic relielf, but reading Weis's author note at the end, really gave the book more meaning, and I feel that, that lack of relief is very intentional. I really appreciated her note.

Definently a must read if you can handle it

If you like psychopathic dark and twisty vibes then this is the book for you. Beau Devereaux is not your typical high school senior. Sure, he’s a hotshot football player, has the cheerleader girlfriend, and his family runs the town but that’s about as typical as he gets. Beau thinks he is invincible and is entitled to anything he wants, even girls. He has absolutely crazy fantasies and does whatever it takes to lure the women to his secret area in the forest, but it’s not enough. It’s not the girl he wants so badly. Beau has his eyes set on his cheerleader girlfriends twin sister and is determined to be with her- no matter the cost. ❌ Please be sure to check the trigger warnings before reading this book.

The book had a steady story line and then BAM- the last few chapters had the big plot twists that I was not expecting. I cannot wait to see what comes next in this series.

Thank you to Netgalley and Vesuvian Books for this ARC.

River of Ashes was a fast-paced psychological horror/thriller that I read in one day. What a chilling, well-written story with strongly defined characters and an atmospheric setting. I went into this book hoping it would be at least as good as the description, and was I ever surprised that it surpassed my expectations. The first quarter is character introduction/development and tension building, right down to a ghost haunting the river. After that, you're fully immersed into the world and the town that one rich family controls. I really can't say I "enjoyed" being in the head of a deranged young man (Beau Devereaux), but I will say it was the most intriguing book experience I've ever had. It felt real. Too real. Notice the trigger warnings for those who have a harder time with certain content. This isn't a fairy tale.

Part southern gothic soap opera, part psychological thriller, the well developed world of St. Benedict would make a binge worthy movie or TV series. There are a lot of layers to peel back and even then you find more twisted goodness. I can't wait for book two!

Wow!!! This book was creepy and crazy good!

“The scariest monsters are the ones that lurk within our souls. Edgar Allan Poe,”

The main character in this book is a whacked out Beau Devereaux. This book takes bullying to a whole new level. He’s rich and thinks he is entitled to whatever he wants. Much of the story is told from his pov so you really get a idea of just what’s going on in his head.

“‘The mighty have a longer way to fall than the helpless. That is why the impact of their demise resonates like a dying star throughout the heavens. But beware their wrath. Such a fate can fashion the monsters men come to fear.’”

The river and the Abbey play a large role in the background throughout the story.

Leslie is one of the only people who see what lurks behind the Golden Boy Persona. It’s come between her and her twin.

“What about the wild dogs? Have you seen them around The Abbey?” “Not to worry, love, I’ll protect you from ghosts, wild dogs, and Beau Devereaux.”

Legend has it that when they appear, death is near.”

This story kept me on the edge throughout the whole book. The twists and turns just kept coming to the very end.

I can’t wait to read the next book in this series.

"There were secrets buried in their small town, especially about the Devereaux family".
Beau Devereaux is the richest and most popular boy in the town. Everyone idiolizes him. What they don't know about is the darkness within him, which is why Beau needs to be stopped.
This book involves violence, rape and bullying. Reading Beau's POV was difficult but also interesting. I could see what the men like him have in mind. He truly deserved what happened at the end of the story.
There are so many victims of violence and rape. I loved how girls in this book found their strength and took revenge. Can't wait to read more about them in the second book!

Thank you to Netgalley for the arc!

Beau Deveraux is a high school golden boy with a dark secret. Underneath his charming persona he is violent and angry. No one seems to notice except for his girlfriend’s twin sister Leslie. As his life seems to spiral he sets his sights on control over her.

This is a dark novel and reads as a psychopath’s manifesto. It is graphic and depicts sexual assault and bullying throughout. It was hard to get through some of the scenes because of the violence. Overall this is a fast read but gruesome and will likely be difficult for many readers. Putting these scenes in the high school setting makes it that much more disturbing.

Ah, high school… Most of us would never want to go back.

However, I don’t think anyone would want to attend the school in this book to begin with because of a slick monster as a classmate.

With a name like Beau Devereaux, captain of the football team, and two hundred years of family prominence, how could you not be popular? This perpetrator is one that you’ll love to hate!

I say that lightly, but be prepared for dark subject matter because a viewpoint throughout the book is that of a sadistic and disturbed teenager. His demented thoughts toward women are very unsettling so I appreciated the publisher’s trigger warning.

The slightly Gothic setting with the abandoned Abbey and small town somewhere in the southern states sounded picturesque but added to my unease.

The story seemed to be aimed at a younger audience but contains an important message for all ages. I thought that the author’s explanation at the back of the book and her motivation for writing it was informative and moving.

Thank you to Alexandrea Weis, NetGalley, and Vesuvian Books for my advance review copy due to publish on August 2, 2022.

I really enjoyed Have You Seen Me by Alexandrea so I was really thrilled to be able to get my hands on this book which looks like it is going to be the first in a series. This book sucks you in from page one into the southern gothic atmosphere of a small town in Louisiana and one of the wealthy families who rules the town. Beau is able to get away with everything because of who his family is…. And unfortunately who he is, is a psychopath. When he becomes obsessed with his girlfriends twin sister…we start to get shades of You. The more he focuses on her, the more the body count rises at the river. But be careful because the river may take back what it feels it is owed.

Thank you to Netgalley for the arc

My first impression of the cover was that this was a fantasy novel, or at least magical realism (some may say it is in a way) but was shocked to find out otherwise. I have a habit of starting books based on a blurb or cover without reading much into it because I like to be surprised.

Boy, was I surprised?

This is the first book I have read where one of the POVs is from a psycho; it was wild and disturbing to be in his mind. Keep in mind that this is a very violent and graphic novel involving rape, obsession, bullying, drugs, drinking, etc, but I think it will really hit home with a lot of people who have been around the culture of rich boys and/or athletes getting away with such awful crimes because of who their daddies are or what they contribute to the sports world. You see it in the news all the time. This book reflects the world we live in today.

But this is also a revenge novel and one that will open your eyes. One of the twins notes that she should have seen what the victim was going through (she suddenly became withdrawn and started to dress differently) but it's not her fault at all. We can all learn from it.

This was an unsettling, atmospheric book that reads like a thrilling soap opera. The movie, The Virgin Suicides, comes to mind when thinking of comp titles.

Oh and that ending! I was REELING. I cannot wait for book two :D

I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars. First, the cover was phenomenal and one of the reasons that I requested this ARC. Secondly, the description pulled me in, as I am a fan of suspense and horror. The forward momentum of the story was slow and I even considered DNF’ing it at one point, but the pace does pick up about halfway through the book. The ending was slightly disappointing and not as climatic as I had expected. That being said, the epilogue made me want to read the next book.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ebook ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The big man on campus at St. Benedict's has a dark side that others don't always see. He wants what he wants and will do whatever it takes to get it, which as much of a psychopath as he is, can be brutal. But what secrets can remain hidden and who will see his real face.

This was a tad darker for me than I usually like and yet I enjoyed the read. But I wish the rape hadn't been as traumatizing for the reader as it was for the character.

Holy goodness!! This book was ah-mazing! I understand how some of the scenes can be bit triggering for some people due to SA. Reading a book with a villain as the first character was a first for me and it made it interesting. This book kept me sucked in, it took me a few more days that I like to take because I had to stop a few times and take a mental break due to how intense some of the scenes were. I can't wait to see what is going to happen with the Deveraux family! Seriously cannot wait for the next one

What a tense and atmospheric read... I couldn't stop reading the novel as it kept me totally engaged and 'pulled out' all my feelings off - despair, anger, shock, sympathy, fear and disbelieve. A brilliant novel that steps into control, manipulation and abuse by a rich dominating young man. The writing and storyline are exceptional and deserve the highest rating of five (5) stars. River Of Ashes is very highly recommended to all contemporary readers.

A dark psychological thriller with gothic vibes.

Beau Devereaux is a very well written character and you always will question yourself if ou lobe him or not.
Fast read .
Grabs your attention from thes start
And you not seeing coming.I can not wait to read River of Wrath.
Highly recommend!

Adult content check trigger warnings.

Man, this blew.

The end of this book features an author's note where Weis speaks about sexual assault and rape and says she hopes to bring attention to how widespread and underreported it is. And it's very touching and I do think she is being completely genuine and heartfelt and has the best intentions.

But this book was Not. It. It was just poorly done. The characters were all barely fleshed out tropes, particularly the main trio of Dawn, Leslie, and Beau. And unfortunately, the author tries to bring to light the atrocities of sexual violence by telling a story filled with excessively indulgent depictions of sexual violence. I think that had the focus stayed on Leslie and Dawn, without highlighting Beau's POV, this would have come across better. However, we are so frequently in Beau's head as he delights in raping, assaulting, and murdering young women that it comes off as intentionally gratuitous and tasteless. Dawn's character, in particular, had the potential to become quite a bit more (especially after she realizes Beau's true intentions), but she is brutally sacrificed to forward the plot for Beau's downfall.

I wish this had been done differently, because the result as it is is a mess of misogyny and poorly written archetypes. Content warnings include but are not limited to: assault, physical violence, sexual violence, gaslighting, rape, drinking, etc.

One word. Excellent. This book filled me with rage at times, those times being around every 10 pages or so. It was spot on with the way it addressed social issues that are so relevant right now like bullying and sexual harassment, which was portrayed in such a harrowing way. I feel like I connected with the characters, whether that was through love or hate (both, it was both), and the antagonist Beau made me want to rip my hair out constantly. If you like a teen based (but definitely adult) thriller with a whole load of twists and turns and a whole load of "oh my god just punch him in the face", please make sure you pick this one up. I’m so hyped that there’s a second book. I definitely feel like this would work really well as a movie, I got a '90s teen thriller vibe from it.

Please check trigger warnings.

Beau Devereaux is the golden boy of St. Benedict's high school. He's the star quarterback, has perfect grades, and the perfect girlfriend… but Beau wants something else. Something he can't have. He wants his girlfriend's Dawn twin sister Leslie, and nothing will stop him from getting what he wants.

River of Ashes is an unsettling psychological thriller, written by Alexandrea Weis and Lucas Astor, and it does not disappointment. I highly recommend reading the trigger warnings before you read this book, as it does deal with torture and rape. I felt thoroughly uncomfortable reading throughout this entire story. I had to stop and process what I read a few times, which makes for a great thriller. The plot is incredibly realistic, having Beau present a fake persona to the world, and then having thoughts of a much darker nature. While I do wish the ending was a little more in depth, I do feel that the story answered all of my questions.

“But beware their wrath. Such a fate can fashion the monsters men come to fear”

Well, I gotta admit, I’m a little bit traumatised after this book. Beau Devereaux is truly an evil little shit, and this book definitely earned its trigger warnings.

Throughout every scene in this book, you can feel a build up to something that makes you both impatient and apprehensive. You know something bad is going to happen, and you don’t want it to happen, but you need it to happen so that you can get it out of the way and breathe easier. You know what I mean?

For a few nitpicky points as to why it doesn’t get a 5 star rating:
- A lot of the book is written with short sentences which I find quite jarring, though I didn’t notice it as much later in the book.
- By around 55% of the book, I wasn’t sure where this was going. It felt like it was just a book about a shitty, albeit terrifying, boy thus far with no real sense of direction. But I urge you to stick with it.
- The decisions made in the last 20% of the book made very little sense to me. I’m putting this aside for the fact that they’re teenagers and teenagers don’t always make good choices.

I can’t say I enjoyed reading this book because it’s not a book that you can or should enjoy, but it is a well written story that kept me hooked, and I would tentatively recommend as a traumatic horror.

This books was a nice read, thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC in exchange for a review.
The book is really interesting. All of the narrators have a different insight and something different to say. The story didn’t hooked me that fast but still awoke my interest. The best part of the book was the insight of the narration. Each character manages to get lost in their thoughts, all of them with unique stories. This may be horrible of ,e to say, but instead of the main characters (i still loved her) the got who got me to keep reading was the “villain”. Not because I liked him, he is sick and does terrible things. But is not so common to get the mind of a psychopath obsessed with control. The female main character gives strength to the story. The development is stolen form her by her twin sister, a cheerleader who things she is living the dream. Each characters bring something to the story. It it also important to highlight the critiques about how society and power work over the people. How appearances can fool thousands and how hard it is to speak up in close communities.
Even if it is an interesting reading I must warn that it is a violent one. The book contains strong scenes that cold trigger an unwanted reaction.