Great magic system! Loved the writing, it was absolutely beautiful. I definitely thought there would be more horror elements in the book, but didn't see anything resembling that. That being said it was still fantastic.

This book was beautifully written, and had the circumstances been slightly different I think I would have rated it higher. The book just relies a little too heavily on Lost Boys for me. There were far too many similarities for me to not feel it was more than just "research." There is also a lot going on in the book with romance, magic, thriller, and family issues. It was just a little much at times, and coupled with the Lost Boys references, it just fell a bit flat. I will say that I would pick up her other books because the author does write beautifully. She is descriptive, and how she writes her characters makes the books more enjoyable. She has great descriptions, but the fact that so much was going on the plots didn't feel fully explored.

I have never read the Lost Boys and The Craft but I wanted to read it anyway. I hoped that I would not lose perspective without the prior knowledge of these books. Unfortunately, I think that some of the details were lost for me and I was left wanting more throughout the book. There were hints of things to come that were not fully developed. Even the description of the book had hints of details that were not fully developed in the story. That being said, I enjoyed the premise and the writing. The book would have resonated better if I didn't feel confused throughout. The magic wasn't clear, the ending wasn't clear and I was left wanting more. All thoughts are my own. Thank you to Netgalley for my copy of this book. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3

This is a concept that worked better than I might have expected. Avenging angel women forged in fire and blood. Obviously, there's some sort of magic involved with the water but the tie to the blood gives it an internal logic, both for the abilities of the family members and the effect on outsiders. And I liked the parallels between abuse, addiction, and revenge. We can understand why an abused person could justify causing the death of an abuser or murderer. The plot also explores the balance between revenge and justice. It's a genuinely interesting plot with complex characters but the edges are a bit rough. A compelling if not comfortable read.

When I requested this novel I was into the idea of reading this novel but I discovered that I was unable to provide feedback on this book due to the series being archived prior to download and file/download issues. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience of not being to review and thank you for taking the time to provide me an ARC of this novel.

Storytelling: Estelle Laure shares a very heartfelt note about how Mayhem came to be. This note shattered my soul. Mayhem is a book that deals with very powerful and heavy themes, such as abuse, domestic violence, rape, suicide, and vicious murders (Triger Warning!). Laure doesn't take on these matters lightly and she explores them respectfully through Mayhem and her family.

Now, I need to address the elephant in the room: the misconception of feminism. Feminism is not about reversing power roles. Feminism is not about women being superior to or better than men. This perspective is called radical feminism. Feminism is about gender equality. Feminism is about having the same opportunities and rights. Mayhem does discusses women gaining power and no longer being the meek and feeble creatures that the patriarchal society expects them to be. The story portrays women standing up for themselves and protecting their sould and bodies from a patriarchal order that turns a blind eye to their suffering. However, throughout the story, a few times the discourse gave me radical feminism and neo-feminism vibes. Every evil soul belongs to men. Only men can be assassins. Believe me when I say that this type of discourse hurts more than helps feminism (I'm telling you this from experience). With this said, I hope the word "feminism" stops being used in the wrong context because our society is far from equal and when such an important message is wrongly expressed, a cause loses its power.

Characters: On the whole, the characters are intriguing (even though some of them are underdeveloped) and I quite enjoyed the bond built between them -- minus the insta-love that felt very weird. I loved the sisterly bond between Mayhem's mother and her aunt. Years may pass by, but they are sisters forever. The only character I was bothered by was Neve. I could not empathize with her at all! (It probably makes me an awful human being.)

The characters in this novel are morally gray due to what the magic asks of them (I need to learn how to add a "spoilers" button so that I can add explanations). After learning her ancestry and understanding who she is, Mayhem questions her destiny as a Brayburn woman and wonders what is the right way to use the power that runs in her blood. Her will to question the past was something I liked a lot about Mayhem. She decided how she wanted to use her magic and did not just accept something because her family's history told her so.

World Building: I've grown some fondness for the eighties because of Stranger Things and the recent cinema adaptation of It by Stephen King. So, it was more than natural to be excited about how Mayhem was going to portray this decade. Sadly, as I flipped the pages, I found too many similarities between Santa Maria and Santa Carla from The Lost Boys. From the Frog Brothers to the beach and the hideout, everything was too much alike! I was expecting something inspired by and not receiving so many The Lost Boys vibes. Also, the magic system needed more work -- the journal entries do give some background, but these were not enough. Besides, more often than not, the journal entries left me with more questions than answers. All in all, the world building was a little bit of a letdown.

This book had me interested from the first chapter but unfortunately fell a little bit flat for me. I found myself wishing for a bit more character development and more plot between the family drama and the mystery aspect of the story. Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the opportunity to read this for my honest review.

The premise of this book looked great: feminism, youth, and supernatural abilities. Unfortunately, the slow development and the feeling that not much is happening totally does the opposite of what the author was going for here. I enjoyed the 80s backdrop & even The Lost Boys comparisons, but the characters are quite likable and you get the feeling that there's no motivation behind their actions. It was a quick read and enjoyable but didn't quite hit the mark.

Okay, so a lot of the early buzz for this book pitched it as being for fans of “The Craft” and “The Lost Boys.” I’ll be completely honest guys…I legitimately do not think I have seen either. Yesterday I saw it pitched as something for fans of “The Secret Circle,” and okay, I have read/watched that. I would also say that this book gives me some “Practical Magic” vibes as well.

There were some parts of this story that were extremely riveting, but then there were other times where I found it a tad dull. I did like the hints of magic for a while, and the eerie vibes that came with all the mystery and secrecy and such.

The dynamic between Mayhem and Roxy was an interesting one, and most of the time May seemed to be the parent more than her mom, who she actually does call Roxy instead of mom about 90% of the time–was that normal in the ’80s? I wouldn’t exactly know since I was born in ’88.

Anyway, this was a simpler time in a lot of ways, since there is no social media, no dependence on cell phones or other technology, etc.

Oh, so the reason why this book made me think of “Practical Magic” was not just because of the power/magic passed through the females of the family line, but also because of the history of pretty much doomed romance throughout. All they Brayburn women are destined to have one love, and as we learn more about Mayhem’s family, it seems like her grandmother and great-grandmother and on up the family tree all come to the same fate…they die after losing their love.

We see a lot of different female and family relationships in this one: sisters, mother-daughter, aunt-niece, adopted family, female friendships, females interested in other females, etc. It was pretty cool.

Honestly though I think my favorite character was either Elle or Kidd. Though Mayhem was still a pretty cool character. After all, she’s the character who is there to introduce us to the magic and the family legacy, and the character we use to question morality and vigilantism and consequences of choices and actions.

This was not a bad story, at all. I do think that some of it could have been fleshed out more, and some of it was a bit predictable, and I mentioned the occasional dull bits earlier, but otherwise it was a pretty worthwhile read.

3.5 stars

The Lost Boys vibe was fun, and I enjoyed it but I really don't think a Frog brothers cameo was needed. Like, at all. That's when it became a little Too Much.

I kind of don't know what to say? I liked it just fine but it wasn't amazing, and I didn't feel terribly connected to any of the characters.

“Whatever ghosts she thought she was escaping all those years ago were here all along, just waiting for her to come back.”

Mayhem is the name of a young woman, a girl really, and the main character of this story. She has just moved back to her birthplace when her mom, Roxy, finally dragged the two of them away from her abusive soon-to-be-ex-husband. They’re staying in the old Brayburn house with Roxy’s sister Elle and the assortment kids she’s adopted over time. As they take time to get back on their feet, having left their old home behind in Texas for their new, old home in Santa Maria, California, Roxy drinks and bickers with Elle and Mayhem considers how to find out the answers to some of her burning questions. Secrets plague the odd family, some that have persisted for generations, as Mayhem reads in her great-great-grandmother’s diary. And even in the present, there is something dark and magical brewing just below the surface as tensions rise in the small beautiful town plagued with horrific deaths and disappearances.

“Everything comes with a price. Every victory has a trail of blood behind it. Maybe the sorrow I am dragging behind me means a victory is coming my way.”

The Lost Boys meets Wilder Girls in this supernatural feminist YA novel.
•
Trigger warning for the book:
- rape
- abuse
- suicide (mentioned, but not shown on page)
•
Mayhem and her mother Roxy move back to her mother's place of birth, where her sister lives with her kids. It doesn't take long for Mayhem to sense that something is very wrong and that her new family isn't telling her everything. The people from the town bring offerings to their house, there's a crazy amount of crows sitting all over the farm, and there's a kidnapper that snatches young girls away on the beach.
•
If that intrigues you, you should totally pick up the book when it comes out on the 14th this month!
•
My review:
The beginning of the book confused me very much, so much that I actually made a mind map to figure out who is who. I think what threw me off the most was that Mayhem, our main character doesn't say "mom" to her mother, but is calling her by her first name. But once that was finally settled I could start to enjoy the book.
I love that every character is really different and not all of them had the same attributes. But, Neve really got on my nerves. You knew pretty much from the beginning that something was off and that the family was hiding something, but Neve was the one always teasing with some information or was saying stuff along the lines of "Can we finally tell her now?", and every time someone would intervene and Mayhem didn't get the information she wanted. That happened several times and started to drive me nuts.
I love the whole beach setting and the scenery in general was very nice!
The plot and pace were pretty nice as well.
The trigger warnings I listed already have been playing a pretty big role in the book, especially the rape and abuse part, so if you don't want to read about those things, because you get to experience them with the character in the book, then please stay away from this book, it was very hard for me to read it, so if any of those affect you, please stay away from this book.
•
I still enjoyed this book a lot, even though I was annoyed a good chunk of the book because of Neve.
4/5 stars

had pretty high hopes for this one, but this book ended up being really weird and honestly just.. underwhelming? The writing itself was great, but the story as a whole felt like it was all over the place and it didn't work for me the way that I was so hoping it would. I'm interested to read more from Estelle Laure after finishing this, but I don't think that Mayhem was the book for me.

The description sounded promising Lost Boys Meets the Craft. Right away I got Lost Boy vibes. With the brothers on the beach anxious to find vampires and make sure new
People are interrogated. I didn’t get the Craft. I was thinking more of a siren meets Practical magic? I had high hopes but I found it slow and repetitive. I though maybe i skipped apart it it it was put together wrong but nope, that’s how it’s written. I’m not happy with the ending either. I would say skip this one.

This was a very enjoyable read for me! It was quick and kept me engaged the entire time., The Lost Boys is one of my favorite campy '80s movies so I was happy to see the inspiration reflected in the story. And I obviously appreciated how some tougher topics like abuse were handled. The angst was present, emotional, and driving. THe story really worked for me in the first half, and slowed quit a bit in the latter, but it was still an enjoyable read.

The description sounded promising Lost Boys Meets the Craft. Right away I got Lost Boy vibes. With the brothers on the beach anxious to find vampires and make sure new
People are interrogated. I didn’t get the Craft. I was thinking more of a siren meets Practical magic? I had high hopes but I found it slow and repetitive. I though maybe i skipped apart it it it was put together wrong but nope, that’s how it’s written. I’m not happy with the ending either. I would say skip this one.

Received in exchange for a honest review.

So I am on the fence with this book. there are some aspects i love but others I just shook my head at.

I love the concept of the book. How this family is tied to this area and the water. How it is the water that gives them strength anfd power and if anyone else goes to the source of the water where the power is and accepts it, it can drive them to insanity or worse. I like how we have these three kids who have seemed to have accepted the powers and are overcoming the affects from it. Or it seems they are at least. THe powers of the water are seductive and addictive but also dangerous. How these powers and this family protect this town and in return the town pays homage I like but not really. I don’t like the town’s reaction to the family. That is a wee bit over the top for me.

The characters I am split about. Mayhem is alright. She has pretty much raised herself for her mom is just selfish and useless. Her stepdad was not great as a person. Roxy was Mayhem’s mom who ran from the water after what happened to Mayhem’s dad. I think it was the water’s pull and missing it that drove her to take drugs and alcohol. Mayhem’s aunt was interesting. She seemed to be hippie but wasn’t really. She took her role as protector of the town seriously. It was her that had the three foster kids and was training them that Mayhem and Roxy went to when they needed to run from Mayhem’s stepdad. Jason and Kidd are great. I love how protective of his sister Jason is. How he tells it like it is to Mayhem about the water and it’s seductive and addictive powers. Neve I thought was off her rocker. I think the water has changed her and not in a good way. When they get to her aunt’s house is when things get odd for Mayhem.

The town has had a series of kidnappings going on and Mayhem gets embroiled in this. The story is slow in how it is told. We have multiple views and this kind of clogs the the story down. I think that not all of the storyline meshes with the plot as well. For example: Roxy. Her attitudes and how she is living doesn’t fit in with the kidnapped girls. It is there as filler. The story seems disjointed at times. And you can’t always feel the characters emotions. We see the characters change drastically in this book and not always for the good. Especially Neve. That change was really wacky. As for being like Craft I don’t really see this. I see the growing of powers and how it takes over bit with the crazy one but not much else. Craft was more dark and twisted when it came to the powers whereas here the powers were dark but more focused around this family. In craft it isn’t where they got the powers and how it didn’t belong with them that drove them nuts or just one of them nuts but it was what the powers gave them that was seductive. I never saw the Lost boys so not sure if that one rings true or not.

My meh as may have already been seen are as follows:

too many storylines that were disjointed and not really leading back to the main plot. Examples: Roxy and her attitude and how she was living. Roxy and the stepdad.

Neve’s side story was a little iffy to me. I like that it showed the dangers but it wasn’t written like a precautionary part of the tale. It was more showcased than the main plot of the missing girls to me.

the feeling of sometimes not really feeling things from the characters. For example: Mayhem stating Neve is her best friend. Throughout this book you don’t get that sense. To me they are more on each other than besties. TO me it was Jason and Mayhem that were close and not Neve and Mayhem.

the comparison to craft. In the aspect that is shows what power can do when in the wrong hands yes but no other way.

Overall I enjoyed the story. I enjoyed how Mayhem had to learn about her family and their legacy. I enjoyed watching Mayhem learn what she can do and how to use those powers responsibly. How she had to make choices and how those choices affected her. I enjoyed Jason and Kidd and I enjoyed the story of who was the one kidnapping the girls. Would I try this author again? Yes but not if it was a continuation of this story. Not unless she changed how she went about writing the story for these characters.

Murder and magic, what more could a girl ask for? This was a really fun read, with such powerful feminist undertones. I loved it. The characters are all interesting and I loved Mayhem! Also the setting of the 80s was vivid and really fun. If you love the Craft or the first season of Sabrina you'll love this.

› Mayhem is a contemporary fantasy that takes place in the 80s. Mayhem Bradbury and her mother, Roxy, move back to Santa Maria, California, in an attempt to escape Roxy's abusive boyfriend. Roxy isn't happy about moving home because her husband killed himself there and she blames her sister, Elle. Back in Santa Maria Roxy meets up with her close friend Rebecca and gets cozy with a guy from high school that had a crush on her. Mayhem meets a group of interesting kids who Elle helps care for. One of them is actually named Kidd. They're a strange group.


"The kids my mother is talking about, the ones sitting on the white picket fence, look like they slithered up the hill out of the ocean, covered in seaweed, like the carnival music we heard coming from the boardwalk as we were driving into town plays in the air around them at all times. Two crows sit on the posts beside them like they're standing guard, and they caw at each other loudly as we come to a stop. I love everything about them immediately and I think, ridiculously, that I am no longer alone."


› That quote is from chapter 3 and it had me hooked. This gave me the best weird, magic-in-the-air vibes and I knew I was going to love this read. Nevie has a wall around herself, Jason is eighteen and Kidd is Jason's younger sister. Neve can see your truth by touching you, and can even make you speak that truth out loud. They have other cool "powers" too, but I'll leave that for you to discover. I love the relationship between Roxy and her sister Elle.


"What's going on with your armpits? May not eat meat but you got animals under there, looks like."

"Shaving is subjugation."

"Shaving is a mercy for all mankind."
They erupt into laughter and hug each other again.



› Young girls have gone missing and turned up dead. The serial killer is nicknamed, Sand Snatcher. As Mayhem learns more about her family history, she teams up with Neve, Jason and Kidd to try and figure out who the Sand Snatcher is.

› The story is told in the 80s and with flashbacks. Laure's writing style creates a moody atmosphere filled with intrigue and magic. I can't wait to read more of her work. It is slow and weird and maybe a little confusing at times, but it just felt so cool to me and perfect to read in the summer, preferably outside by the beach or lake.

› Reviews on Goodreads have said Mayhem is a copy-cat of Lost Boys and I haven't seen that movie in a long time so I don't remember much to be honest. I'm not sure exactly how much was exactly the same and how much was inspired by it. I think I will watch Lost Boys sometime soon and maybe I'll come back and provide an update.

› As of May 2020, I use the CAWPILE method to rate books.

My Goodreads Rating ★★★★

› Final Thoughts
• Mayhem reminded me of Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno and Blue's family from The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. I really enjoyed this one, and I hope you do too!


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review.


*Quotes taken from an ARC copy and subject to change*

Mayhem by Estelle Laure|Book Review|
fictiveescapes Book Reviews July 23, 2020 2 Minutes
Mayhem by Estelle Laure is one of the most interesting novels that I have seen come out of modern publishing in a long time. Normally, when you see a franchise begin to cross over into different media types it’s something modern and ultra-popular like the Five Nights at Freddy’s series.


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Mayhem takes its readers all the way back to the universe of the 1987 movie The Lost Boys. But instead of following the vampires of Santa Carla; Estelle shows us an entirely original type of supernatural beings.

The novel follows Mayhem, a young teen girl, whose mother whisks her away to Santa Carla so that they can escape the wrath of her abusive step-father. In Santa Carla, Mayhem meets her Aunt (and her adopted children) and learns more about herself and her family history than she ever wanted to know.

Mayhem’s family are Santa Carla’s protectors against the true evils in the world meaning rapists and killers, and the hypotheticals (vampires- although true fans and The Frog Brothers know the truth).

This book has everything that a reader could ever want and then more on top of that. But, I do have to warn that there are intensely vivid scenes of abuse against both Mayhem and her mother, as well as race and drug use both in the form of pills and the water that Mayhem and her family gain their powers from.

I enjoyed every moment of this novel. It’s always nice to get to return to a universe that you have fallen in love with. It’s the main reason why FanFiction is so popular on the internet, right? My favorite part was getting to see Mayhem learn to grow and accept her wan power as an individual. It is something that most female characters don’t get the chance to experience.

The only negative that I felt was that the ending just kind of happens out of the blue. It wasn’t bad by any means… i just wasn’t ready for the story to be over as a reader. I hope that Estelle Laure gets the okay to write more installments; I would willingly read them all.

I recommend this novel to anyone who likes The Lost Boys. Or, if you like seeing young girls owning their powerful voices instead of hiding them away. Thank You NetGalley for the free review copy.