Review: Mayhem by Estelle Laure

Mayhem by Estelle Laure

Mayhem Brayburn and her mother are on the run, not away from home, but back to it: Santa Maria, California, a beach town that looks like paradise, like carnival rides and street food and bikinis under the hot sun.

It’s where Mayhem has always wanted to be. It’s where generations of Brayburns have lived and thrived, and she has never understood what made her mother leave Santa Maria in favor of the arms of her abusive stepfather.

But when she befriends her aunt’s foster kids and they take her to their hideout, decades of secrets unravel, and Mayhem is thrust into a world of chaotic magic, a serial killer’s mind, and finally, even the answers to her own past.

Set in 1987, MAYHEM is a mashup of The Lost Boys and The Craft with a bit of the Manson family thrown in for good measure. It’s original, compelling, and a little bit rock-’n’-roll, and reading it will leave you feeling deliciously wicked.

I loved the idea of this book more than the actual book. It sounded amazing but the execution could have been better. The writing style was beautiful, I loved it. The descriptions were so wonderfully written and creates such a lush visualization of the characters and settings.
I’ve never seen The Craft or The Lost Boys but I’ve seen multiple reviews saying it borderline copies The Lost Boys at various points, which if that’s the case, I’m not a fan of direct copying someone else’s work.
The biggest downfall I found was how slow this book is. If the pace was quicker, I’m sure I would have loved it but I just didn’t have the patience for the dragging pace of the plot. I also thought the last half of the book changed it tone rather quickly and felt like a different person was writing the story. The characters started acting completely differently and it felt so disjointed from the first half of the book.
I wish there was a better build up to the action, that it wasn’t forced into the last half of the book. And even though there was an attempt at speeding up the pace, it still felt slow to me.