River of Ashes : Review

 I don't think I've ever given a book five stars and said I wouldn't read it again. I had to wait till my brain had calmed down and re-congealed after finishing this before I could think clearly enough to describe my experience with this novel.

And yet, even after almost two days have passed, WOW is still the only word that comes to me. In both the good and not so good aspects of variety.

River of Ashes Alexandrea Weis & Lucas Astor is an energetic display of sadistic writing. It is told from a psychopath’s point of view, mostly. So seeing the world through his twisted eyes was a new thing to me.

"There were secrets buried in their small town, especially about the Devereaux family".

Beau Devereaux. The richest and most well-liked boy in the town. He is idiolized by everyone. Beau needs to be stopped since no one is aware of the darkness he is harbouring. 

Beau is dating Dawn because he can't have her twin sister Leslie since Leslie hates him and is dating Derek. Both the sisters are two sides of a coin. What Beau wanted was Leslie only. This always provokes him but he hides his anger. He is following his Dad's instruction of not letting anyone see who he really is.

 I thought that the first half of the book was nothing short of BRILLIANT as an indictment of the period. However, that is not where the book ends and it's the second half of the book that, while equally well written, was arguably the most disturbing writing I've ever read.

WARNING: It is really disturbing, if that makes sense. It includes rape, violence, and a psychopath's POV. 

I wanted to be sure to say that because, despite the warnings I mentioned above, I will still recommend this book as long as readers are aware of how graphic the book's descriptions are. It's not a book I'd recommend for leisure reading. But I do think this is a work that is important and will be remembered.

P.S. The cover of the book is mind blowing.