I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. I wanted to love this book. The theme of abuse and the effects of toxic mother-daughter relationships are important and need to be addressed, and, after reading the first chapters, I really thought that I would be captivated by this book. Alas, the spell ended long before the final chapter.

For such a short book, there are a number of plot lines that felt extraneous (or haphazardly constructed), and the relationships between characters did not always feel organic. Though I was ultimately disappointed with this book, I still want to make it clear that I think Estelle Laure has some impressive prose, and I think that with a little reorganization and a clearer focus this text could have been magic. 2.5/5 stars

I received an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for honest review.

Mayhem touts itself as "a mashup of The Lost Boys and The Craft with a bit of the Manson family thrown in for good measure" and I find that to be quite an apt description. It reads like a combination of many familiar elements, taking bits from 80s/90s movies and pieces from other YA novels (it gave me recall to Twilight, and any VC Andrews, to name a few). It goes on to describes itself as "original" which gave me pause- is this the best choice of words for something that admits to being a mashup of familiar genres?

Regardless, Mayhem is a very well written story that draws these familiar elements together in an interesting way. Placing the story in 1987 and including the family history gives it a sort of timeless quality. It builds on layers as the story progresses, beginning fairly mundane and slowly unearthing the hidden supernatural of Santa Monica, and I enjoyed the progression. I found the relationship between Mayhem and her mother, Roxy, a little confusing at first as it is not the typical mother/daughter dynamic and she does not refer to her as Mom. Readers should be aware that there are troubling depictions of domestic violence, abuse and trauma throughout this narrative.

I would feel remiss not to mention how beautiful and fitting the cover art is. It's spectacularly well done.

Estelle Laure’s ‘Mayhem’ is a brilliantly crafted coming-of-age story that interweaves mysticism with realism in a wholly unique way. It’s also a story steeped in a powerful sense of matriarchy, with deep familial bonds that stretch across generations.

Mayhem Brayburn has always felt like she doesn’t fit in. Stuck in a small town in Texas with her mother, Roxy, and abusive stepfather, Mayhem knows she was meant for more. When they finally flee the abuse and return to Roxy’s home town, Mayhem unearths what all Brayburn women intrinsically know: that she is powerful beyond what she ever thought was possible.

I loved everything about this book. There are strong female characters who are nuanced, complicated, and deep. There are interesting supernatural elements to the story that evoke both elements of witchcraft and vampirism. There’s an examination of familial lines, particularly matriarchal, and what it means to be a part of said bloodlines. There’s a beautiful budding romance that enhances the plot, and there’s an exploration of the idea of what it means to protect and what the costs of protecting are. There are so many achingly human parts to the story that it successfully manages to capture the nostalgia of youth and also the pain of growing up. In my mind, it’s difficult to quantify or categorize this novel, which is probably what I love most about it.

As part of the narrative, there are depictions of sexual and physical abuse, suicide, and murder, though all of these are treated the dignity, and are not overtly descriptive or explicit. All aforementioned depictions serve as drivers to the narrative itself, so nothing feels overtly prurient or exploitative.

In all, this is a book about growing up, finding yourself, and having the courage to become what you’re meant to be. Whether you’re typically a YA reader or not, add this to your TBR stack immediately.

**Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.**

As someone who has watched The Lost Boys countless of times, I knew I needed to read this book. The movie and 80's are super iconic and so the premise quickly drew me in. Unfortunately, there was too much that drew from the movie and it took away from my overall experience.

The beginning of the book draws you in with a letter written from one character to another. Other letters can be found throughout the book and I thought that was a nice touch. They make it easier to understand why the Brayburns are who they are and the secrets they keep.

As for the mashup of The Lost Boys/ The Craft, bit of Manson family, I can speak for two minus The Craft since I have never seen the movie.

I wouldn't say that anything resembled the Manson Family. There is nothing in here that is really cult-like, at least I didn't see it. I think that it is a stretch to put this in the premise.

I mentioned there being a lot from The Lost Boys and I will talk about that here. The setting definitely stands out and mirrors the setting in the movie quite a bit. A boardwalk with a vhs store, comic book store, rides, and even bonfire parties with a sexy sax man. There is mention of the iconic Frog brothers who's family owns a comic shop that they work at. They wear a beret and headband. They also are obsessed with vampires. The only difference between them and their movie counterparts is that they are only mentioned twice and don't actually do anything. I could talk about all the other references but there is a lot.

Even though it did draw a lot from The Lost Boys, the plot did steer from the movie and the author did try to create their own. The problem was that it was pretty slow and there wasn't much action going on. For me, it didn't actually start picking up until after the 50% mark. I also didn't care for the romance that seemed to have been just thrown in.

Overall, the book was a bit of a letdown. It had it's interesting moments but it just mirrored The Lost Boys too much for me to actually enjoy.

I requested this book from NetGalley because it was called "a mashup of The Lost Boys and The Craft." (With a dash of the Manson family, apparently.) As the world's leading expert on those two movies, I decided I would be the judge of that.

Well, I didn't quite see the resemblance to The Craft. It was more like if the witches from Practical Magic did more murder. However, it was more than clear the author borrowed from The Lost Boys—almost too much actually, and it began to hamper my enjoyment.

1. The book is set in 1987, in a fictional beach side town with a thriving boardwalk culture and a little too much murder and missing people. There is also a secret hideout, much like the sunken hotel in the movie.

2. The literal Frog brothers from the movie are in this book. Edgar and Alan, dressing in military-type clothes, working a comic book shop, speaking in faux-action hero parlance, and totally obsessed with vampires. How is this possible? How can the author take characters directly from a movie and put them in her book without making any changes to them?

3. The sax player from the movie also makes an appearance. Shirtless, oiled, curly-haired, totally outrageous. It was a bit on the nose.

4. The book even borrows a quote from the grandpa in the movie, where he says the one thing he could never stomach about Santa Carla was all the goddamn vampires. The book gives the quote to one of the Frog brothers, changing "Santa Carla" to "Santa Maria."

While I really love The Lost Boys—or maybe because I do—I started not to like these references so much as they became more and more obvious in the text. You can't just straight up lift things from other creative works and lay them directly down in your own.

I loved the beginning of this book a lot. It was so good. My enjoyment plateaued after a while, when things actually started to happen. It was such a great setup, and the characters were varied and interesting (with pretty great wardrobes). I don't know exactly what I expected, but this book just didn't have the punch I was looking for.

2.5 stars.