A review by baoluong
Mayhem by Estelle Laure

3.0

C O N T E N T  W A R N I N G :  R A P E ,  D O M E S T I C  A B U S E

Hello everyone and welcome welcome to my first ever book blog tour! As you can tell I cannot contain myself. I don’t even know if I’m doing this right? Ok, so since I opted to write a snazzy review, here are my honest and unfettered thoughts. Let’s goooooooo

Mayhem is a Brayburn woman in a long line of Brayburn women. After a harrowing attack by her step-father, Lyle, her and her mother escape back to Santa Maria. Mayhem is greeted by her twin aunt and three foster cousins. It seems everyone but her knows why the town is careful around the Brayburns. Everything from the watchful birds, to the creepy rhymes, and gifts constantly being left on the farm is a part of the mystery. But all Mayhem wants is a new chance to make friends and hopefully have a better relationship with her mother, Roxy. Her new relatives, Jason, Kidd, and Neve seem to be in on the secret as they disappear every night and sleep until the afternoon. Mayhem soon gets left behind until she uncovers a power unlike anything.

I have to say the story does drag but it emphasizes the lack of communication and honesty in the family. When Mayhem does get in contact with the power, the jig is up and there’s a quick training chapter. Everything comes easier to a Brayburn and Mayhem picks up quick what she has to do. Santa Maria attracts certain types of bad energies and somehow the Brayburns are guardians of good and evil. Although there is an attempt to ask the BIG QUESTIONS, the book doesn’t dwell on it. It’s assumed the universe has plans and everything happens for a reason which makes for some of the most awkward conversations about rape and home invasions. I did not feel comfortable, but it’s left open ended with the implication that perhaps “the universe doesn’t give you more than you can handle”. I had to restrain myself from rolling my eyes. I have to say that the handling of Neve’s character was sloppy and inconsistent. I know the power corrupts but she doesn’t seem out of line. What happens when the justice system is flawed and you KNOW someone is guilty? I don’t understand how some people are allowed to roam just because they decided to not commit crimes in Santa Maria but elsewhere. I guess that’s not the point but it raised messy questions without any intentions of sitting in it. It’s more used as a backdrop to give a sense of conflict but not really because everything neatly works out in the end without loose ends. I was severely disappointed in the ending and wish the book could have been longer to flesh out the two “villains”.

That being said, the other plot revolves around Lyle coming back. I felt this storyline was more developed and drew out the complexity between having a codependent mother and child relationship where the child takes on more responsibility. The challenges of not blaming the other parent since they’re a victim too is one avenue I think could of had an intense climax. Instead, we get something a little more anticlimactic with a toss of magic. I guess the impact was lost on me because sometimes the bad guys don’t get their comeuppance which I thought was a part of the theme especially when it came to Neve. There’s a lot going on but not enough time dedicated to following anything to it’s logical conclusion the story sets up. I’m not asking for neat answers but something more satisfying then just because “we said so”. There were a lot of memorable moments in the story and the magically elements were unique without bogging down the particulars. If that were the case, I wish that attention to detail could have gone into character development instead.

I recommend this for fans of magic, feminism, and beach side parties.