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A review by truequeenofchaos
This Is Our Story by Ashley Elston
5.0
A ten-point buck and a dead body make the same sound when they hit the forest floor.
A group of five extremely close boys, known as The River Point Boys, go on a hunting trip one weekend in their home state of Louisiana. What's the problem? Only four come back alive. None of the boys are talking, there's no DNA evidence, and the boys' wealthy fathers have the local judge in their pockets. With nothing to go on, the police have practically given up. But the case lands on the desk of an old district attorney, aka Kate's boss, and they start to dig deep to uncover the truth.
The mystery itself was so freaking well done, that for the first time in my life, I truly couldn't figure out who the bad guy was. I kept switching back and forth and coming up with all these different theories, so I was definitely full of suspense the whole time trying to figure it out. I was truly shocked by the ending, although it totally makes sense.
“If one of us goes down for this, it’ll be as bad as all of us going down for this,” I say. “We can’t let that happen.”
The characters were all so complex and layered that they felt very realistic. Every one of The River Point Boys had ulterior motives and seemed extremely sketchy and I am so here for that. I love morally grey or just "bad" characters in general plus it made the mystery that much harder to figure out. But even the MC, Kate, and the rest of the cast were all great as well.
This was my first time reading a novel by Ashley Elston but I absolutely loved her writing style. The writing itself really set the eerie mood and made the plot creepier than it already was. And my favorite thing about the entire novel was how it was narrated. Of course the majority of it was told from Kate's POV, and her perspective was highly enjoyable. But we also got to see video surveillance of the initial interrogations from the police of The River Point Boys. (Basically this part was done similarly to The Illuminae Files) But the absolute best thing about the narration is that we get a POV from the murderer!!!! But we don't know who he is. It was FANTASTIC.
Honestly the only issue I had with This Is Our Story was the romance, and even that was only minor. It flowed with the storyline well, but it seemed a little cliché. But that's my ONLY complaint.
“We’re in this together. We stick together.”
I lean forward and the other three do the same. Hovering over poor, dead Grant, I say, “Okay, this is our story…”
Characters - 17/20
Plot line - 16/16
Originality - 16/16
Writing Style - 15/16
Pace - 15/16
Ending - 15/16
94/100
5/5 stars
I'd highly recommend this novel to anyone! It's a highly enchanting thriller that definitely keeps you on your toes. I think anyone would like it.
A group of five extremely close boys, known as The River Point Boys, go on a hunting trip one weekend in their home state of Louisiana. What's the problem? Only four come back alive. None of the boys are talking, there's no DNA evidence, and the boys' wealthy fathers have the local judge in their pockets. With nothing to go on, the police have practically given up. But the case lands on the desk of an old district attorney, aka Kate's boss, and they start to dig deep to uncover the truth.
The mystery itself was so freaking well done, that for the first time in my life, I truly couldn't figure out who the bad guy was. I kept switching back and forth and coming up with all these different theories, so I was definitely full of suspense the whole time trying to figure it out. I was truly shocked by the ending, although it totally makes sense.
“If one of us goes down for this, it’ll be as bad as all of us going down for this,” I say. “We can’t let that happen.”
The characters were all so complex and layered that they felt very realistic. Every one of The River Point Boys had ulterior motives and seemed extremely sketchy and I am so here for that. I love morally grey or just "bad" characters in general plus it made the mystery that much harder to figure out. But even the MC, Kate, and the rest of the cast were all great as well.
This was my first time reading a novel by Ashley Elston but I absolutely loved her writing style. The writing itself really set the eerie mood and made the plot creepier than it already was. And my favorite thing about the entire novel was how it was narrated. Of course the majority of it was told from Kate's POV, and her perspective was highly enjoyable. But we also got to see video surveillance of the initial interrogations from the police of The River Point Boys. (Basically this part was done similarly to The Illuminae Files) But the absolute best thing about the narration is that we get a POV from the murderer!!!! But we don't know who he is. It was FANTASTIC.
Honestly the only issue I had with This Is Our Story was the romance, and even that was only minor. It flowed with the storyline well, but it seemed a little cliché. But that's my ONLY complaint.
“We’re in this together. We stick together.”
I lean forward and the other three do the same. Hovering over poor, dead Grant, I say, “Okay, this is our story…”
Characters - 17/20
Plot line - 16/16
Originality - 16/16
Writing Style - 15/16
Pace - 15/16
Ending - 15/16
94/100
5/5 stars
I'd highly recommend this novel to anyone! It's a highly enchanting thriller that definitely keeps you on your toes. I think anyone would like it.