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glitterkitter's review against another edition
3.0
Almost a 4 star book. It started out so strong and with some great ideas, but a lot of stuff just fizzles out, like there's about three different parts of the story that get seemed like they're heading to something big, but before they get to the interesting bits, the story just has half a page tying it up and suddenly everything is okay? idk, nothing felt satisfying in how it ended.
(and i kinda wish this book had been from Neve's pov instead and that the book hadn't shoved her (and Jason and Kidd) aside as not being important bc they weren't from the right bloodline)
(and i kinda wish this book had been from Neve's pov instead and that the book hadn't shoved her (and Jason and Kidd) aside as not being important bc they weren't from the right bloodline)
smittenforfiction's review
4.0
I am a horrible book reviewer. I wouldn't even blame you if you didn't read this. I haven't posted anything since July 6th. I don't even know why. Just, unproductive. Reading lots, but not writing much. I'm going to try and post a bunch of reviews over the next few days to get caught up, or maybe I'll do full reviews just for the ARCS and Blog Tours then mini-reviews for backlist books. Let me know if you have a preference on that. Today, I'm here with a book review for Mayhem by Estelle Laure.
About The Book
ladynightwolf's review against another edition
5.0
It’s 1987 and Mayhem Brayburn and her mother, Roxy, are living in small town Taylor, Texas, and things aren’t good. Life in general for Mayhem isn’t great. She doesn’t have friends, and her home life is a horror show. One night, Mayhem’s stepfather, Luke, takes things too far. As Mayhem and Roxy flee the abusive home, Roxy head toward the last place she wants to be. Santa Maria, California. Home.
The second they pull up to the Brayburn farm, Mayhem feels an almost immediate connection to the family homestead, even as her mother seems hesitant. As she gets to know her aunt’s adopted kids, she begins to uncover things about her family, things her mother has tried to hide from her throughout her life. As the petals of her inheritance begin to unfurl, Mayhem begins to understand what it truly means to be a Brayburn. She also begins to fall in love with the town where her family’s legacy has been firmly rooted, and when she finds out about the Sand Snatcher, someone who has been stalking the beaches at night and kidnapping young teen girls, she feels compelled to do something about it. True power and impowerment is found, Loyalties are tested, the true meaning of “home” is explored, and the balance between good and evil is rocked in this epic beach read.
I absolutely LOVED this book! It’s the perfect summer read and reminds me so much of the books I enjoyed as a teen when chilling on the beach with my friends. Dark and empowering, “Mayhem” is a triumph in contemporary YA fantasy. It is a spiraling staircase of emotion, power, and learning who you truly are as a person during a pivotal time in your life. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to get totally lost in an awesome read. I will absolutely be picking up more from Laure in the future!
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of this book given in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions in this review are mine.
The second they pull up to the Brayburn farm, Mayhem feels an almost immediate connection to the family homestead, even as her mother seems hesitant. As she gets to know her aunt’s adopted kids, she begins to uncover things about her family, things her mother has tried to hide from her throughout her life. As the petals of her inheritance begin to unfurl, Mayhem begins to understand what it truly means to be a Brayburn. She also begins to fall in love with the town where her family’s legacy has been firmly rooted, and when she finds out about the Sand Snatcher, someone who has been stalking the beaches at night and kidnapping young teen girls, she feels compelled to do something about it. True power and impowerment is found, Loyalties are tested, the true meaning of “home” is explored, and the balance between good and evil is rocked in this epic beach read.
I absolutely LOVED this book! It’s the perfect summer read and reminds me so much of the books I enjoyed as a teen when chilling on the beach with my friends. Dark and empowering, “Mayhem” is a triumph in contemporary YA fantasy. It is a spiraling staircase of emotion, power, and learning who you truly are as a person during a pivotal time in your life. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to get totally lost in an awesome read. I will absolutely be picking up more from Laure in the future!
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of this book given in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions in this review are mine.
questsandcrimes's review against another edition
4.0
Mayhem Brayburn and her mom, Roxy, have finally moved home to California to escape Roxy’s abusive husband. In Santa Maria, they move in with Elle, Roxy’s sister and the three orphans she has adopted. Mayhem learns that her mother has been running from her past and the gift and curse of the Brayburn family. There’s a darkness in Santa Maria and it’s the task of the Brayburn’s to keep it at bay. Can Mayhem love you to the Brayburn legacy?
Mayhem is bitched as The Craft meets Lost Boys. I didn’t really get a lot of The Craft, but I definitely got Practical Magic vibes. Two sisters, a line of cursed women with magical powers, a house set away from all the others. I loved these aspects. I also loved that it was set in 1987.
Interspersed with Mayhem’s perspective, you get journal entries from past Brayburn women. These chapters provide background on how the Brayburn magic and legacy cane to be. It made everything more relatable.
I’ve never read Lost Boys, and I don’t remember much of the movie, so here’s my word of caution: people have said this is not inspired by Lost Boys, but it is a replica. I love a feminist rewrite. I LOVE IT. However, if it’s too similar it is cause for concern.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for my review copy. It is an excellent audiobook. A narrator can make or break a book, and Chloe Cannon does such a fantastic job.
Mayhem is bitched as The Craft meets Lost Boys. I didn’t really get a lot of The Craft, but I definitely got Practical Magic vibes. Two sisters, a line of cursed women with magical powers, a house set away from all the others. I loved these aspects. I also loved that it was set in 1987.
Interspersed with Mayhem’s perspective, you get journal entries from past Brayburn women. These chapters provide background on how the Brayburn magic and legacy cane to be. It made everything more relatable.
I’ve never read Lost Boys, and I don’t remember much of the movie, so here’s my word of caution: people have said this is not inspired by Lost Boys, but it is a replica. I love a feminist rewrite. I LOVE IT. However, if it’s too similar it is cause for concern.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for my review copy. It is an excellent audiobook. A narrator can make or break a book, and Chloe Cannon does such a fantastic job.
paragraphsandpages's review
2.0
The premise of this one was quite interesting, but it just didn't quite work for me.
This book deals with a lot, and weaves in a bit of magic to do so. Mayhem comes from an abusive step-father, and the story starts right after they've escaped back to her mother's hometown. However, this hometown has secrets, and the women in her family inherit a certain type of magic that they use to protect the town. Mayhem is wrapped into this magic, and learns how to use this magic alongside hearing rumors of a serial killer in the town.
One of my friends said that this book could have benefitted from being longer, and I have to agree. There were a lot of interesting parts of the story that simply didn't get enough time to grow, especially regarding the magic. The magic of this family is wrapped in so much history, and it feels like we're given a crash course in it, rather than really seeing the depth of this history and the hold it has on this family. I feel like the ending also didn't interrogate the role of this magic and family in the town as much as it could have, and leaves the morality of vigilante justice sort of up in the air, even though this discussion is started at a few separate points. Overall, if more time had been spent here, I could've found myself really enjoying this book.
Another issue that is common with magical realism is that it often can feel sudden and jarring, rather than blending seamlessly with the story. While there were some aspects of the magic that felt like it blended well with the rest of the story, the switch to having a story with magic was very sudden, and it took me a second to catch on to what was going on. It wasn't clear at first if there was actually some sort of magic involved or if these kids were just, insanely high on drugs.
Overall, this wasn't my thing, though I do wish I had enjoyed it because the concept itself was quite interesting.
This book deals with a lot, and weaves in a bit of magic to do so. Mayhem comes from an abusive step-father, and the story starts right after they've escaped back to her mother's hometown. However, this hometown has secrets, and the women in her family inherit a certain type of magic that they use to protect the town. Mayhem is wrapped into this magic, and learns how to use this magic alongside hearing rumors of a serial killer in the town.
One of my friends said that this book could have benefitted from being longer, and I have to agree. There were a lot of interesting parts of the story that simply didn't get enough time to grow, especially regarding the magic. The magic of this family is wrapped in so much history, and it feels like we're given a crash course in it, rather than really seeing the depth of this history and the hold it has on this family. I feel like the ending also didn't interrogate the role of this magic and family in the town as much as it could have, and leaves the morality of vigilante justice sort of up in the air, even though this discussion is started at a few separate points. Overall, if more time had been spent here, I could've found myself really enjoying this book.
Another issue that is common with magical realism is that it often can feel sudden and jarring, rather than blending seamlessly with the story. While there were some aspects of the magic that felt like it blended well with the rest of the story, the switch to having a story with magic was very sudden, and it took me a second to catch on to what was going on. It wasn't clear at first if there was actually some sort of magic involved or if these kids were just, insanely high on drugs.
Overall, this wasn't my thing, though I do wish I had enjoyed it because the concept itself was quite interesting.
starzyrose's review against another edition
3.0
It's the 80s, and we follow Mayhem and her mother who have just moved back to the mother's family home after escaping an abusive relationship. Mayhem soon comes to realise that there's more to their family than she ever would have thought. This book promises 80s vibes, mystery and magic and has heavy nods to the 80s cult classic 'The Lost Boys'.
Let me start off by saying that 'The Lost Boys' is my favourite movie.
I was clearly excited by this book when I received an email offering me access to an ARC... but overall I was left with mixed feelings.
I enjoyed the writing, general vibes of the book, and some aspects of the story. The book also felt very nostalgic which does make me question who this book is for as it is a YA but how many current teens will feel nostalgic about the 80s? I personally didn't live through the 80s but I felt that nostalgia having grown up on 80s movies and having had such a love for 'The Lost Boys' since I was fourteen.
Then the last page of this book happened which completely lost me. There is so much present within this book which was ripped directly from the film to an extent it was uncomfortable. The last page of this book featured a quote directly from 'The Lost Boys' which really had NOTHING to do with this book and was given to a different character (but still one from the movie) which added insult to injury.
Honestly removing the quote and the presence of the brothers within this book (or leaving them at one brief cameo) probably would have left me with much more positive feelings overall but I've had a hard time getting past it to enjoy everything else this book had to offer.
I think for now I'm settling on a rating of 2.5.
Let me start off by saying that 'The Lost Boys' is my favourite movie.
I was clearly excited by this book when I received an email offering me access to an ARC... but overall I was left with mixed feelings.
I enjoyed the writing, general vibes of the book, and some aspects of the story. The book also felt very nostalgic which does make me question who this book is for as it is a YA but how many current teens will feel nostalgic about the 80s? I personally didn't live through the 80s but I felt that nostalgia having grown up on 80s movies and having had such a love for 'The Lost Boys' since I was fourteen.
Then the last page of this book happened which completely lost me. There is so much present within this book which was ripped directly from the film to an extent it was uncomfortable. The last page of this book featured a quote directly from 'The Lost Boys' which really had NOTHING to do with this book and was given to a different character (but still one from the movie) which added insult to injury.
Honestly removing the quote and the presence of the brothers within this book (or leaving them at one brief cameo) probably would have left me with much more positive feelings overall but I've had a hard time getting past it to enjoy everything else this book had to offer.
I think for now I'm settling on a rating of 2.5.
starzy's review against another edition
3.0
It's the 80s, and we follow Mayhem and her mother who have just moved back to the mother's family home after escaping an abusive relationship. Mayhem soon comes to realise that there's more to their family than she ever would have thought. This book promises 80s vibes, mystery and magic and has heavy nods to the 80s cult classic 'The Lost Boys'.
Let me start off by saying that 'The Lost Boys' is my favourite movie.
I was clearly excited by this book when I received an email offering me access to an ARC... but overall I was left with mixed feelings.
I enjoyed the writing, general vibes of the book, and some aspects of the story. The book also felt very nostalgic which does make me question who this book is for as it is a YA but how many current teens will feel nostalgic about the 80s? I personally didn't live through the 80s but I felt that nostalgia having grown up on 80s movies and having had such a love for 'The Lost Boys' since I was fourteen.
Then the last page of this book happened which completely lost me. There is so much present within this book which was ripped directly from the film to an extent it was uncomfortable. The last page of this book featured a quote directly from 'The Lost Boys' which really had NOTHING to do with this book and was given to a different character (but still one from the movie) which added insult to injury.
Honestly removing the quote and the presence of the brothers within this book (or leaving them at one brief cameo) probably would have left me with much more positive feelings overall but I've had a hard time getting past it to enjoy everything else this book had to offer.
I think for now I'm settling on a rating of 2.5.
Let me start off by saying that 'The Lost Boys' is my favourite movie.
I was clearly excited by this book when I received an email offering me access to an ARC... but overall I was left with mixed feelings.
I enjoyed the writing, general vibes of the book, and some aspects of the story. The book also felt very nostalgic which does make me question who this book is for as it is a YA but how many current teens will feel nostalgic about the 80s? I personally didn't live through the 80s but I felt that nostalgia having grown up on 80s movies and having had such a love for 'The Lost Boys' since I was fourteen.
Then the last page of this book happened which completely lost me. There is so much present within this book which was ripped directly from the film to an extent it was uncomfortable. The last page of this book featured a quote directly from 'The Lost Boys' which really had NOTHING to do with this book and was given to a different character (but still one from the movie) which added insult to injury.
Honestly removing the quote and the presence of the brothers within this book (or leaving them at one brief cameo) probably would have left me with much more positive feelings overall but I've had a hard time getting past it to enjoy everything else this book had to offer.
I think for now I'm settling on a rating of 2.5.
maeghin's review against another edition
3.0
I really wanted to like this book a lot more. The Lost Boys references were too exact to enjoy, the Frog brothers, the sax player on the beach, the hideout. Every time there was a reference it took me right out of the story…it was distracting.
Brayburns, she would say. In my town, we were the legends.
I wanted to know more history about the Brayburns, more fleshed out. This book would have been more enjoyable and unique without mentioning The Lost Boys so directly.
Brayburns, she would say. In my town, we were the legends.
I wanted to know more history about the Brayburns, more fleshed out. This book would have been more enjoyable and unique without mentioning The Lost Boys so directly.