Synopsis:
“The Lost Boys meets Wilder Girls in this supernatural feminist YA novel.
It’s 1987 and unfortunately it’s not all Madonna and cherry lip balm. Mayhem Brayburn has always known there was something off about her and her mother, Roxy. Maybe it has to do with Roxy’s constant physical pain, or maybe with Mayhem’s own irresistible pull to water. Either way, she knows they aren’t like everyone else.
But when May’s stepfather finally goes too far, Roxy and Mayhem flee to Santa Maria, California, the coastal beach town that holds the answers to all of Mayhem’s questions about who her mother is, her estranged family, and the mysteries of her own self. There she meets the kids who live with her aunt, and it opens the door to the magic that runs through the female lineage in her family, the very magic Mayhem is next in line to inherit and which will change her life for good.
But when she gets wrapped up in the search for the man who has been kidnapping girls from the beach, her life takes another dangerous turn and she is forced to face the price of vigilante justice and to ask herself whether revenge is worth the cost.
From the acclaimed author of This Raging Light and But Then I Came Back, Estelle Laure offers a riveting and complex story with magical elements about a family of women contending with what appears to be an irreversible destiny, taking control and saying when enough is enough.”
About the Author:
Estelle Laure, the author of This Raging Light and But Then I Came Back believes in love, magic, and the power of facing hard truths. She has a BA in Theatre Arts and an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults, and she lives in Taos, New Mexico, with her family. Her work is translated widely around the world.
Author’s Social Media:
Buy the Book: https://wednesdaybooks.com/galaxies-and-kingdom/mayhem/
Review:
*ARC was provided to me for to read and review via NetGalley by the publisher. Mayhem comes out on July 14th, 2020. All opinions stated are my own.*
I really enjoyed this book. It was definitely a pleasant surprise for me as I had not heard to much about it before reading it.
I really enjoyed Mayhem as a character. She definitely grew on me as the story went on. I also enjoyed all of the side characters. I loved the friend dynamic that Mayhem had with her group of friends.
I think the plot was the strongest part of the book. Like I mentioned above, the friendship dynamic was great. I loved the fantastical elements as well. I’m not usually a big reader of the speculative side of the fantasy genre but it really did work well in this case for me. I do wish that the world had been developed a little more and just a little bit more backstory but overall it was fantastic.
I really enjoyed reading this book. I definitely looking forward to reading books by this author in the future (and also checking out her backlist titles). I think that if you are beginner when it comes to speculative fiction like I am, then this will be a great one to pick up when it comes out on July 14th!
RATING: 4/5
