Mayhem

This title is marketed as feminist mashup of the lost boys and the craft. I'd throw in a dash of practical magic. The 80s vibes with the witchy side. The powerful Matrilineal line. I admire the female bonds between the Brayburn family. How messy but still caring family can be. The story starts when the Roxy and Mayhem Brayburn flee from Mayhem's stepdad. They flee from Texas to Santa Maria, California.

After kidnappings happen in Santa Maria, Mayhem makes it her goal to use gifts to seek revenge and save the girls.

Mayhem screams Kristen Stewart. Mayhem comes of cold and Stewart would do great. I stand by it Stewart is talented AF. Go watch Speak and Personal Shopper. Mayhem has a silent rage and needs someone like Stewart.

I really enjoyed the writing but the pacing is slower burn. You really have to like or read about Mayhem as character to read forward. Seeing other review I see where they are coming from. One thing to add this book is weird. We're sliding in to Fabulism territory. What I really enjoyed. Mayhem is part Brazilian but it feels more like a white character painted biracial. I side eyed it a couple of times

This is a personal reason but I can't stand that the lead ,Mayhem calls her mom and aunt by their first names in her narration and dialogue. It's a constant eyesore. I know that the Brayburn see each others as sisters but it was annoying and felt White. Us south Americans would not dare to speak to our parents that way. This also a reason why it didn't feel real. I finished this book feeling a 3 out of 5. Great writing with a interesting lead but why what feels like a painted over white character.

oop I really didn't like this

This is one of those books that makes me want to start up my booktube channel again because I just gestures.

Pitched as The Lost Boys meets The Craft, MAYHEM is burdened by its source material rather than breathing new life into tragically outdated tropes. It reads more like a novelization of the two movies mashed together, rushed and backloaded, like it ran out of page space to give due diligence. Because those two movies are so deeply integrated into the very fibers of the story, it never feels more than the sum of its parts.

☽ Full review on my review blog. ☾