Santa Maria has witches, and they belong to the Brayburn family. But with power comes sacrifice, the Brayburn women have made many. Roxy Brayburn loses her husband to suicide and flees from Santa Maria in the hopes of saving her daughter Mayhem from the terrible legacy of her family. But circumstances bring her back home along with a teenaged Mayhem. Together with Roxy's twin sister Elle and her foster children - Jason, Neve and Kidd, Mayhem explores the dark painful secrets and the magical abilities of the Brayburn witches - a power that comes with a catastrophic cost. With a serial killer on the loose, abducting girls from the beaches of Santa Maria. Mayhem and her gang must catch the murderer before another goes missing.
I loved how the characters grew and fought back. The message this book brings out is heavy but simple - we must stand and fight. We must say- No! This is enough! This book shows us how abusers hide behind their charm - beating their victims into submission until they stop fighting. Obsession and possession is NOT the same thing as love. Men get away with abuse, rape, murder and torture in this world and their victims are drowned in a sea of doubts and ridicule and technicalities. It infuriates me. Mayhem is no different. She is realistic. She is scared. She is no do-gooder from the usual YA novels but she isn't afraid to fight back.
This is more of a character based novelthana plot based one but it was interesting throughout the length of the novel. The story has a slow build-up - the first half is mostly setting the scene but the second half is fast (too fast, in my opinion). I liked the Lyle-Roxy-Mayhem angle more than the serial killer angle. But I l really liked the sunny beach setting (instead of the usual castle-twilight-autumn-witchy vibes we read about in most books).
I enjoyed reading reading this book, although I would have loved it more if it had more supernatural elements. The magic system was a bit vague. Overall, it was a good read. Recommended.

TW for rape, physical violence, domestic abuse, drugs.

Thank you Netgalley and Sarah Bonamino of St. Martin's Press for the e-ARC.

Mayhem lives with her mother Roxie, and abusive stepfather, in a small town. When they finally escape him one day, Roxie takes them to the town she grew up in, a place she has always said she’d never return to. Mayhem can’t understand why Roxie has never brought them back – as far as she’s concerned, this is the first right decision Roxie has made. Living with her aunt and the foster kids she is raising, May desperately hopes she can fit in with them. After doing the kids a favour one night, she’s invited into their inner circle and finds out there is much more to their story, and her family history, than she knew.

Dealing with addiction, troubled families, and the struggle to figure out the right choices in hard circumstances, Mayhem is a dark and exciting book, with just the right dash of magic, it had me engrossed the entire way through.

I’ve seen this one compared to both The Lost Boys and The Craft and I could see those influences throughout the storyline, but I think Mayhem holds its own as a book that’s both familiar and original enough to feel like something new.

I’d recommend picking this one up if you loved The Lost Boys, The Craft, Practical Magic and Buffy.

It's 1987 and unfortunately it's not all Madonna and cherry lip balm. Mayhem Brayburn has always known there was something off about her and her mother, Roxy. Maybe it has to do with Roxy's constant physical pain, or maybe with Mayhem's own irresistible pull to water. Either way, she knows they aren't like everyone else. But when May's stepfather finally goes too far, Roxy and Mayhem flee to Santa Maria, California, the coastal beach town that holds the answers to all of Mayhem's questions about who her mother is, her estranged family, and the mysteries of her own self.

There she meets the kids who live with her aunt, and it opens the door to the magic that runs through the female lineage in her family, the very magic Mayhem is next in line to inherit and which will change her life for good. But when she gets wrapped up in the search for the man who has been kidnapping girls from the beach, her life takes another dangerous turn and she is forced to face the price of vigilante justice and to ask herself whether revenge is worth the cost.- Goodreads

TW | Suicide, Rape, Domestic violence, Drugs, Murder, Abuse

Before I begin my review, I would like to note that the author addresses the difficult topics within this book in a letter to the reader. When I began reading this book, I wasn't expecting the topics, I listed, to be so prominent in this book. I honestly didn't know there would be these many trigger warnings.  I hope that if you do decide to read this book, understand that the magic within this book does not cover, hide or brush aside these traumas. 

Now my review. This book was drawn out to oblivion. I struggled with connecting with Mayhem because although she is in a time of her life where everything changes, she doesn't exactly practice what she preaches. What I mean by that is she wanted family. So being back at the family home was the opportunity to do so but she didn't dig deep into the family history, ask the right questions or even push for the information she needed to know. Yes, she did find out what she needed but to know but that was it. Even at the end of the book there was still so many things that could have been said about her family history. There was so many things that Mayhem could have known but she was solely focused on what was in her face.  I mean she is from a list of women who can use magic to save the day. There was so much to learn. 

However, I loved how flawlessly the author was able to blend the magical aspects of this book with everyday life.  It was written extremely well and she made it made sense. But when I talk about the magic, I have to also talk about how there was not enough detail. Yes, you know how the family came to retrieve that magic, you know what it does to you but it is mentioned in the book that Mayhem's aunt did a lot of research and looked up as much information as she could to collect for the next generation. This was not focused enough in the novel. This should have peaked Mayhem's interest but it didn't. 

But overall, the book was slow and drawn out. There wasn't enough care for details, creativity in creating this magic world or depth within the surrounding characters. Also the romantic interest had no chemistry. It just happened. 

I would read this author again because I love to growth. 

2 Pickles

What I Loved:
I loved the mystery involved in this story. There is a mystery surrounding the girls’ deaths and a mystery about Mayhem’s history. I enjoyed watching both unfold.

How I Felt:
Mayhem is a story that created a lot of emotions for me. I was really impressed with the author’s ability to put such feeling into the story. The characters deal with abuse and drug use, and the emotional rollercoaster that goes with it.

The character Mayhem, has moved to California with her mother and ends up caught up in this murder mystery, while also discovering some secrets about her own bloodline. I liked her character growth as she learned more about herself, and I enjoyed her relationship with her mother.

The plot was a draw and somewhat of a negative for me. The claim that this was for fans of Lost Boys had me intrigued, and it was very closely aligned to Lost Boys. I think that it was a bit too much sometimes. I enjoy retellings, but I would have liked to see a bit more deviation.

I thought that the first half of the book was very emotional and would be a great story for readers that enjoy the emotional angst a story can bring out. The second half though felt different. It was raw and paranormal with a very different vibe from the first half. So I think it works well for anyone that enjoys an ever-changing feeling to a book.

Overall, I enjoyed Mayhem because of the mystery and the emotional pull of the story. I would have liked to see more variation from Lost Boys, but that’s just me, and I think that anyone that hasn’t been introduced to Lost Boys will not be affected by this at all. It’s a gripping story that takes you places in the story you weren’t expecting, and I loved that.

To Read or Not To Read:
I would recommend Mayhem to readers that like a paranormal YA mystery.

I was provided a gifted copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

I was drawn to the description of this book, the witchy premise, and the great cover art.

The story follows Mayhem and her mother Roxy as they escape her abusive husband back to Roxy's hometown. There Roxy uncover secrets about her family history that will change their lives forever.

While the story started off with a bang, I began to lose a bit of interest a couple chapters in.

I am a lover of YA books and I was very intrigued by the premise of this story. Set in the mid-eighties, I knew it would be a reminder of my younger days and I loved the supernatural element. This is my first read by Estelle Laure and based upon the plot and smooth writing, I don't see this being the last book by her that I'll read. The kicker here is the great cast of characters, with strong personalities marred by dysfunctional families and tragedy. Not surprisingly, Mayhem and her Brayburn lineage is at the center of the story.

The women of the Brayburn family, with power cultivated by the water from a specific cave along the coast of Santa Maria California, have a unique power to see people's actions. Mayhem is particularly adept at this; at finding someone by feeling them, seeing their deeds, feeling their presence. The story is driven by Mayhem accepting and developing this power, by the escape she and her mother have made from her step-father, and of a serial kidnapper/killer deemed the Sand Snatcher, who needs to be stopped.

Supporting this is Mayhems' aunt Elle, her mother Roxy's twin sister, and a three kids who found the cave, therefore they are taken in by Elle (Neve, Jason and Kidd). The four kids form a bond of sorts, and Mayhem is on her way to leading the pack. It's an equally fun and scary story. The passive aggressive Neve drives conflict Mayhem, the draw of attraction between Mayhem and Jason, and the fear of the step-father tracking them down is enough in itself to put the reader on edge.

I would recommend to readers of YA who enjoy a the supernatural twist. There are a few triggers with abuse and worse, but nothing too graphic.

Set in 1987 against the backdrop of Santa Maria, with a girl and her mother fleeing their abusive household, Mayhem is a poetically wrought mess that disappointed me the more I read.

The core message of the story is sound and impactful, about taking control and power in an environment where you're offered little of either, but it's heavily stifled by a tangle of storylines and genres that gets thrown onto your lap without much fanfare. From research, it seems that the book is less of a mashup of The Lost Boys and The Craft and more of a direct retelling with a few changes made here and there. Which is a little eyebrow-raising considering how the marketing did its usual "If you like X and Y, you must check this out!" and made it out to be a book that takes elements of those films while still remaining an original, not a near-same story with a different filter. And I would have been fine with that, since I didn't know much about the source materials to begin with, if it wasn't obvious that the book is multiple stories awkwardly cobbled into one. It tries to fit magical witchy elements, mother-daughter relationships, new friendships, budding romance, navigation of past trauma, an abusive husband/stepfather on the loose, and a serial killer mystery in 300 pages.

It just doesn't work.

It picks up a plotline then pushes it aside in favour of a different one, resolves the latter with underwhelming speed, and returns to the old one only to leave it hanging or tied in the messiest knot imaginable. Characterization suffers because of this. There are just too many people introduced all at once--Roxy, Roxy's twin sister Elle, the three children living in Elle's attic, Roxy's old friends--and Roxy, the one character aside from May who should have had been the main focus throughout, fades into the background in the second half. The other side characters are surface-level interesting, but again, never given enough time for me to get attached to.

The writing is beautiful, however; that's what hooked in the beginning. And environmental storytelling is the story's strongest suite. Laure knows how to create quiet scenes that expand with each sentence, and some of the chapters read like haunting vignettes, a moment in time frozen by the lingering memories of what May and her mother endured. There are scenes that made my throat close up in empathy and anger, and the horrors of abuse and assault are depicted with care.

If Laure had just taken that and expanded on it for the rest of the book, focusing solely on the relationships between the characters and their individual pains and journey to healing, while introducing the magic as a subtle undercurrent? How complete the story might have been.

As it is, Mayhem knows what it wants to accomplish, and the emotional depth is well present, but it tries to go about it with more tools than it can hold and falls in the execution.

Review posting on July 9th: http://pagesbelowvaultedsky.wordpress.com/

There's are things to love in this book, but also things that I found lacking.

What intrigued me was definitely the 80s setting and the magical realism. It was my first MR read and I enjoyed it. It helped this story and these characters.

The main character Mayhem lives with her mom Roxy and her step father in Texas. The step father is abusive towards Roxy, and has been like that as long as Mayhem can remember. They live in fear, and Roxy in drug and alcohol haze. When Mayhem gets beaten for the first time by this man, they finally make the choice to run away, back to Roxy's hometown in California.

They move in with Roxy's twin sister Elle and her adopted children. In this house Mayhem starts to learn about the family history and the reasons why Roxy moved away in the first place. Why she wouldn't go back to her family home, and chose to live in an abusive family. There's something dark and magical in this family, and Mayhem needs to accept her destiny or follow in her mother's steps.

The pain behind the abuse and the drug use is real and raw and painful. You can tell it comes from experience. The moment where both women find the courage to stand up and change their destinies was great to see. The characters were aplenty, and interesting in some ways, but not deep. There's not much depth to them. Some even unnecessary (besides connection to the blurbed movie?). I enjoyed the weird magic and would have loved deeper history of these witches, not just a one letter from each period.

Overall an interesting coming of age story, just not as strong as I hoped especially when it came to standing up for yourself and growing up.

Mayhem is a story I immediately felt compelled to read. I was very interested in following Mayhem’s journey.

Mayhem left Texas with her mother, Roxy, after her step-dad crossed a line. They returned to Santa Maria where her last name is practically considered royalty. As the story goes, Mayhem learns about her family and starts to see Santa Maria for what it is. As the truth unravels and a series of disappearance shakes the town, Mayhem will learn that nothing is as it seems.

This story tackles heavy topics, and I have to say that the author did a pretty good job there. The format of the book is engaging – a novel broken at times by journal entries from other characters. This part gave a deeper dimension to the story and allowed me to better understand what was happening.

I would say the first part of the book is pretty slow, but the story takes off in the second part. The mystery with the disappearances, the family’s secrets, and the dynamic between the foster kids drew me in. The magic system was definitely interesting. The ending was too. I’m pretty neutral on this book. There is a lot to like about this story, but it missed the mark on a few things for me. With that said, I would read more from this author.

Warning: Physical/Mental abuse, Suicide, Mention of rape, Substance Abuse, Depression, Murder, and Suicide.

Huge thanks to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review and for the honor of being included in the Mayhem blog tour.

This story follows Mayhem as she navigates the world of her mother's past and the roots of her power. This book contains an unexpected murder mystery element which I fully enjoyed. The plot is rich and powerful. The characters are addictive and strong. I loved the female protagonists especially the unapologetic Mayhem. I loved the supernatural elements and how they were woven into the modern world. I stayed up all night and read this book in one sitting because I had to know what happened. This was the emotional rollercoaster I didn't know I needed.

I gave this book 4.5 stars because of how strongly it has stuck with me. I would definitely read this again and recommend it to a friend.

*** Thank you to the publisher for reaching out to me to review this book and for Netgalley providing me with an e-arc! The arc was sent to me unsolicited, but all thoughts are my own.***

**THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS**

Mayhem is a contemporary magical realism about a girl named Mayhem Brayburn and her mother, Roxy fleeing Mayhem's abusive stepfather, Lyle and going back to Roxy's mysterious hometown of Santa Maria, California. Her family the Brayburns are known throughout the town and respected, but also feared. Much has happened to the town since Roxy left thirteen years before when her husband, Mayhem's father, Lucas jumps off a cliff. Roxy and Mayhem left when Roxy could no longer handle the pain of losing her husband; since then Roxy has been taking pain pills to cope and is constantly sick. Once they have returned to the Brayburn farm where Roxy's twin sister Elle resides with the three kids she cares for, they learn that five girls have gone missing on the beach nearby and the person who took them is being referred to as the "Sand Snatcher", but have no clue who it is. The Brayburns are a very magical family, Mayhem's great-great-grandmother Julianna delved into witchcraft when she was younger, and after a terrible thing happens to her behind the stage of the production of Romeo and Juliet she is in, she curses herself and her daughter, which leads to the power that the Brayburn's possess. This power comes from a water source in the cave that is so addicting that a Brayburn will never be able to stop drinking the water. To anyone who isn't a Brayburn, it could kill them. We see in the Brayburn book, a book full of diary entries and other information pertaining to the Brayburns and their magic. Mayhem find out that as being a Brayburn, the water gives them power to protect people and take down those who do harm to the city of Santa Maria. They learn that they have to find out the Sand Snatcher is and stop him from taking these girls.

So I know this book is said to be a mashup of The Lost Boys and The Craft (which I have seen neither, but did a tad bit of research on beforehand.) I can definitely see the reference to these two movies and how it works with the story. One thing about this book is it has A LOT going in it. From the traveling back in time through the diary entries of the Brayburn women, to the search for the Sand Snatcher, to Mayhem learning everything about herself and her family. I did not think that so much packed into this book would work but it. I liked learning all the history of the Brayburn family going all the way back to the 1900's with Julianna to 1987 when the book is set. At times though, I felt it was more centered around Mayhem's mother than Mayhem herself. Mayhem and her mother are very close after everything they have been through, but I didn't expect so much of the story to surround Roxy. Although I think this book was interesting, it didn't feel spectacular to me. It was good and definitely different than my normal reading tastes. It is dark and magical and I recommend you check it out if it is your type of book.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the gifted copy, all thoughts are completely my own

I thought the concept of this book sounded intriguing but it just wasn't for me.

This is like a mash up of Rory Powers’ writing and a Baz Luhrman movie. Very colorful and things are shown for effect but it doesn’t make much sense. I wanted to love it for the nostalgia and beach setting. The Lost Boys’ references border on plagiarism.

Mayhem by Estelle Laure was, overall, a nice read that was reminiscent of watching a movie or reading a book from the 80s. The nostalgia was set up nicely, not by throwing things like Back to the Future in readers' faces, but by being ingrained into the atmosphere, the setting, itself.

Many people have connected it to The Lost Boys, but having never watched that cult classic, I feel the comparison it pulled from me was to Practical Magic. Well, if the witches in the movie killed people for a living. A lot of the feelings I get while watching Practical Magic, I also got while reading this. But, I must admit, Mayhem unfortunately lacks that extra something that makes Practical Magic the film that it is.

Mayhem follows a girl of the same name as she and her mother move the town of Santa Maria, California, the hometown their family has called home for many, many years. Mayhem hopes for a better life now that she and her mother have escaped her abusive stepfather. She expects to lay on the beach and do all the teenage things she never was able to experience under the brutal gaze of her stepfather. What Mayhem doesn't expect is to be pulled into a family secret that will make her one of Santa Maria's saviors. But, there's a serial killer known as the Sand Snatcher on the loose, and it's up to Mayhem and her family to put an end to his, and other's, wicked ways.

While Laura does great with getting readers in this dreamlike, stuck-in-the-80s state, parts of the story fall apart at the edges. The relationship Mayhem has with Jason feels like it truly comes from nowhere and escalates very quickly. Scene's that should be climactic fall short and are over nearly as quickly as they start. And the ending, well, just kind of ends. As someone who loves love and endings that are tied up in a nice bow, even if they upset me, this book fell short of those expectations.

I appreciate this book for what it is and what it was trying to be. I'm sure if you're not digging too deeply or just want a different kind of read, this will be a great book for you! Overall, I definitely think it's worth reading!

3.5 stars

Overall, I enjoyed this. I didn't quite enjoy it as much as I expected. There was a slowish start but it picked up. The vibes and mood really worked for me but the characters and plot were a bit lacking. It was all very surface level. It was worth the read but not exactly what I expected or hoped for.

I have never seen The Lost Boys so I didn't have too many expectations and I don't know how similar Mayhem really is to that movie. I found it to be a quick, enjoyable and very unique read that explores many important and heavy themes such as physical and emotional abuse, rape and addiction.

What I liked

-The cover is amazing!!
-Its uniqueness. I've never read anything similar (keep in mind that I've never seen The Lost Boys) and I really liked the concept of this book.
-The relationship between Mayhem and her mum 
-Strong women standing up to injustices and to their abusers
-I enjoyed reading the letters and the diary entries that Mayhem's ancestors wrote and getting to know pieces of their stories too.
-The general atmosphere. California in the 80s is a great setting for this story.
-The way the author explores so many important themes in this book without making it too heavy.


What I didn't like

-The plot focuses a lot more on the relationship between Mayhem and Roxy and their past (a detail I actually liked) than it does on the whole "there's a kidnapper on the loose" part of the plot which felt quite irrelevant at times. 
-I think that the magic elements could have been better explained and more developed.
-Most of the characters felt pretty flat to me while the romance was too rushed and I couldn't feel any chemistry between the two characters (even though I liked the fact that the romance was not the main focus of this book).

Overall, it was a good and unique read, perfect for those who like revenge stories, magic and the 80s.

After tragedy strikes, Mayhem is whisked away by her mother as a toddler to start a new life far away from the burdens of being a Brayburn. It’s now 1987 and over a decade has passed when they return to the old family farm, running from the threat of an abusive stepdad and husband. But are the sandy beaches and picket fences disguising something more sinister in the town of Santa Maria? ⁣
⁣
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗱:⁣
⁣
The majority of the characters were either likable or compelling to read about, particularly the teenagers. There were times that they felt like kids and times that they didn’t, where they’d say something profound in a way that felt completely realistic... out of the mouths of babes as they say. ⁣
⁣
I especially liked the first half of the book where Mayhem is acclimating to her old home and family, both biological and chosen, and dealing with hers and her mother’s trauma from her stepdad. The mystery of what was happening in the town and how the Brayburn family could be connected kept the pages turning for me throughout. I’m not always a fan of diaries in books but I thought the voices of past Brayburn women added a really interesting layer to the story as well. ⁣
⁣
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗱:⁣
⁣
I wish the paranormal elements had been fleshed out a bit more. Their nature wasn’t fully explored so you just see vague (albeit interesting) powers. Since that’s the focal point of the second half, I could’ve used more detail in that regard. The book also felt like it could’ve taken place in any contemporary time which felt like a missed opportunity to explore the differences in women’s societal status now vs 30 years ago, particularly as Mayhem’s powerlessness changes within the story. ⁣
⁣
I did want to mention that I’ve seen some other reviews speak to the specific similarities between the book and The Lost Boys. As I haven’t seen the movie, I can’t compare them to each other, so my review is purely based on my general enjoyment of the book.

3.7⭐️

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Mayhem was a wild ride from start to finish. Laure's writing style was just so captivating, the chapters were short and the main story was really hard not to put down. You follow kinda two stories; one where our main character - Mayhem - discovers what she can do and where she comes from and the other about how Mayhem and her mother flees to get away from Mayhem's mothers abusive husband.

I know that these type of stories exist, but I think it is the first time that I've read a contemporary with fantastical elements that was this good. I was hooked the entirely of the book and was invested in the characters, the murders and the history of the main characters. The feeling and atmosphere of the book was on point, I felt that kind of mysteriousness and the summer vibes mixed with some light magic. I wished we have gotten more of the history and more detailed explanation of the magic and the whole second half of the book felt kind of rushed. Not in a bad way, but I wouldn't have minded if we had just stopped the plot to hang with the characters and get to know them better.

I'll definitely try something else by Estelle Laure.

The book starts off with Mayhem and her mother Roxy coming to live with Roxy's sister Elle in Santa Maria, California, the epitome of a beach-y tourist town. The bright, colorful description of the boardwalk and the usual spectres that haunt it lends a stark contrast to the broody, raw undercurrent of a lingering threat, presented in both the ever constant reminder that Lyle - Mayhem's stepfather - is still out there and that a serial killer will claim his next victim at any moment.

Along with Elle's three adopted children, Neve, and siblings Jason and Kidd, Mayhem discovers a secret hide-out - a cave possessing magical water that grants power to the drinker. With these newfound powers, Mayhem takes it upon herself to uphold her family's legacy as protector of the city.

This story has all the workings that should otherwise make me fall in love with MAYHEM, but it falls flat on its face in execution.

The plot is one of the weakest elements of the book. If you think about it too much, it crumbles to pieces. The rhythm is all over the place. It's bursting with exposition almost 75% of the way through the book which leaves the ending rushed and nonsensical and characters drop off the page, like they never mattered in the first place, and the magic is never fully explained - we don't know if Mayhem is a witch, or a vampire, or something else entirely, and it reads as vague and half-baked.

If you're at all familiar with The Craft, you can predict almost exactly how the book will end. There is little to no deviation from the source material. At what point does paying homage become plagiarism? And, like The Craft, MAYHEM inadvertently questions who deserves power - those who are born with it compared to people who seek it out for themselves.

Pitched as The Lost Boys meets The Craft, MAYHEM is burdened by its source material rather than breathing new life into tragically outdated tropes. It reads more like a novelization of the two movies mashed together, rushed and backloaded, like it ran out of page space to give due diligence. Because those two movies are so deeply integrated into the very fibers of the story, it never feels more than the sum of its parts.

Perhaps because of it, that's why none of the characters feel like they're trying to leap off the page. It operates as if we, the readers, are already familiar with the source material and can coast along with the pre-determined archetypes. Storylines are introduced and dropped just as quickly, characters are bland clones, and in trying to "say" a lot of things it ends up saying nothing at all.

Unfortunately, I have to give MAYHEM by Estelle Laure 2 out of 5 stars. While the story was melodic at times and easy to read, I had a hard go of getting around all its shortcomings.

The minute I saw this cover I was hooked, and then I read the synopsis and saw The Lost Boys and knew that I had to pick this up. I was only more than slightly obsessed with The Lost Boys during my early years of High School.

I liked how this began, the story was set up nicely but I think that got lost in the middle a little bit and eventually refound itself. Mayhem and her mother Roxy were interesting, but I think that the only character that was really well developed was Mayhem as everyone else felt a little two dimensional. I don't think that the romance with Mayhem was convincing, and the one between Roxy and her love interest was a bit bland.

I was intrigued throughout the story regarding the main story line with the water and I wish this had truly been explored more, I think towards the end it was dropped off a bit. In comparison the story line with Roxy's husband / Mayhems step father was kept up throughout and I'm glad it came to a good ending, it just wasn't exactly what I came for.

I did feel it was very similar to The Lost Boys in many ways, but because I haven't seen the movie in 6+ years I can't remember what happens all that much. I really loved the 80's vibe of this, and that really added to the story.

Overall a fun story, with a few minor issues that I think can be overlooked as I did feel myself very interested and had trouble putting it down at times.

3.5/5