Four high schoolers suffer daily humiliation from bullies, the ignorance of adults and indifference of their peers. When the friends accidentally open a door letting ungodly creatures into this world their lives change forever. Gifted by the same magic that opened that door these freaks set out to punish their tormentors. With dead bodies piling up the freaks know that with great power comes great responsibly they set out to hunt the monster they freed. But it wont be easy with meddling adults, ignorant police officers and nosey "homeland security" agents. This story is very much Chronicle meets Stranger Things. I did enjoy that we got to experience everyone that is involved point of view. I did not care for the personally of a lot of the characters.

I received an audiobook via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The narrator, PJ Morgan, did a great job. She had to read from 7 different characters perspectives and was able to differentiate between each.

Freaks follows a group of 4 teenagers who are bullied by 3 guys at school. The 4 play LARP games and one stumbles across a trunk full of an uncles occult items. The kids decide it’s a great idea to dress up in robes and read from one of the books. They open a portal, letting in beings from other dimensions and end up with special abilities.

What I liked:
Super powers-who doesn’t want them?
Revenge of the nerds
Monsters
Good vs evil

What I didn’t like:
The 4 main characters are bullied for being different. They’re all kind of nerdy. 1 is black, 1 is Jewish, and 1 is gay. It felt a little too easy to “other” them.
The bullies. They don’t have a reason for being so awful.
The characters are kind of 2 dimensional and fulfill stereotypes.

For a good portion of the book I was not loving it. Then the last 6 or so chapters have an epic battle between our main characters and the creature they let in. It was well written and suspenseful. I really enjoyed the ending and it raised the book for me.

Trigger warnings: bullying, homophobia, racism, antisemitism, violence

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher/author for providing me with an ALC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was exactly what I wanted it to be! I loved it. I will make sure to check out other books by this author. When I requested this I was just intrigued by the concept of it and I loved how it turned out. This story had a great plot and if you have read this and enjoyed it, This was so much. It was such a great story. I would say give this one a try. I will continue to follow this author. Way to go to this author for not letting me down.

I highly enjoyed the narrator of the audiobook. Kept me listening.

There were several comments in this book that were sexist, which I didn't think I would find in a book written in 2021, considering that this is also targeted towards younger audiences. The way that the characters refer to other boys as a 'pussy' (,etc.) and girls as 'such a girl' are both outdated and wrong to include in a book where these phrases aren't challenged, and where the characters don't learn from their mistakes

I agree it would be much better if it was set in the 80’s or something, the style was old fashioned with regards to how kids act and their attitudes etc. If it was immersive in a time period, this could really have elevated it and made it way more believable.


Once you move past that it is a great story - Super powers, mysticism, interdimentional holes and monsters, I’m sure Young Adults will enjoy it (it is pretty violent though so I wouldn’t recommend for too young) However I did find the characters to be underdeveloped.

This book reminded me of freaks and geeks ironically, only they became tragic and psychotic heroes. Check it out!

I received the audio book for Freaks and it was a nice listen. The casting of PJ Morgan to read this book was a phenomenal decision. I highly recommend that if you're a audiobook fan that you give this a listen. Thank you NetGalley and Imbrifex Audio for this copy.

The narration is fine.
The story is fine.
The characters are fine.
It's an entertaining read.
No more.

A group of friends gets bullied daily, but one day they accidentally open a portal that allows otherworldly creatures to get through, and they discover they have developed superpowers. Together, they fight against these creatures to protect their families and friends, whilst trying to stop the secret government that has appeared in town.

I have been intrigued by the concept of this novel for a while, so when I had the chance to review the audio arc and the arc of the sequel, I took it. This is a unique take on a coming-of-age story and definitely held my attention. It also has great representation!

But, I didn't like the characters at all, and perhaps this is down to the fact that I absolutely hated the narrator's voice and accents! But they just didn't feel fully fleshed out at all.

I think I would have enjoyed this more if I had actually read it and not listened to it, so I'm looking forward to reading the sequel.

3.5
This story is okay. It starts our strong but I think it just falters some by the end. It’s a great idea and a great story, it just needed something a little more.
When four high school friends, all of which are tormented by three bullies, accidentally open a portal to another dimension, they accidentally allow other worldly creatures to invade their little town in Arkansas. They also learn that somehow while chanting the words that opened the portal they themselves have some new superhuman powers.
Now, they are calling themselves “Freaks” using the name their tormentors gave them. They must now fight to save the lives of all those they love, and even those they don’t, from mortal danger and they also have to stop the government task force that seems to be hunting them.
This book had so much promise and it delivered a little over half the time. It’s well written and the characters are memorable so I would say if you have the time go ahead and check it out. If you like audio books, the narrator is excellent and does add a little something to the story.

I was not a big fan of this book. The overall plot was very predictable and the writing was not very deep. I will say that the portrayal of bullying seemed very realistic so this could appeal to teens going through a similar situation looking for some super hero escapism. It just wasn’t the right book for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Imbrifex Books who sent me an ARC audiobook of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book sound really good but didn't leave much of a impression on me so i fall in the meh zone i didn't like it didn't love it I will say if you like kids gaining powers and trying to figure them out give this book a try

I really did not enjoy this book. It was badly written, it was overly gross. The whole thing was a bit juvenile, I don't think it should be directed at young adults, they would probably find it as dumb as I did. It didn't make a lot of sense and basically there was nothing good about it.

I received an ARC of the audiobook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book overall, and since it set up for a sequel I will probably read that as well. It was an interesting story, and it kept me listening and curious for how things would play out. I liked how the powers the kids got reflected their strengths and personalities, and the relationships between them were interesting. And the audiobook narrator was amazing, they really gave each narrator a unique voice. I thought the plot felt unique and interesting. I liked most of the characters too. The bad guy was interesting, even if I kept imagining him as a giant blue bug for some reason. I thought his motivations were interesting, and driven by his culture and how he got his food. The plot with the federal agents also has the potential to be interesting in future books.

There are some negatives (spoilers, maybe?). There are 6 pov characters. And sometimes you hear the story three times through three different pov's. Eventually I got very frustrated with it and just wished the book would get on with it. The book could have been shorter and just as impactful without all the repeats of pov. A couple would have been fine (and probably necessary) but it happened quite a lot. Its particularly frustrating with an audiobook because I can't just skip sections.

Also... The bullying and deaths in the book were very graphic. It may not be suitable for a younger YA audience especially for sensitive readers. The bullying also feels extreme and outdated. These kids have social media and smart phones - some of the bullying they are filming and posting online would be assault. Bullying is still happening in schools, but not like this - or at least not a frequently. I also thought it was weird that every kid had a bike and used it to ride all around town fairly unsupervised. It gave me 80's vibes - I've lived all over the south and never in a town where so many students had a bike they rode everywhere. If this had been set in the 80's it would have made more sense.

I also have to again mention the graphic descriptions of deaths. I kind of felt like I was reading Game of Thrones. Additionally, some of the insults hurled at the "freaks" could be upsetting to some sensitive readers. I also have to mention that one of the characters, when he received powers, became almost sinister - just as bad of a bully as the originals were. I feel like the author may be setting up an eventual fall and redemption arc for him? Or villain arc? Some of his scenes were hard to get though.

Overall I would read a sequel and recommend end this book for older YA readers or adults who like a fun read.

A nerdy group of gamers have been friends forever. They are teased and tormented by some bullies at school. What should they do? Well, open a portal to another world and bring a monster through, of course! And, along the way, they gain superhuman abilities that they can use to kick a little butt.

This book is a bit of a teen anthem for anyone who was bullied and wanted some payback, but in Freaks, things get out of hand so very quickly. There is a bit of gore in this one, and there are times when it feels a little cliche. But with any sort of power comes drama and problems, and when there are teens involved it's much worse.

I think this book would appeal to teen readers. It has an interesting power dynamic and a bit of violence but nothing too over the top. It was nice to read a superhero book that isn't quite a superhero book, and I think there is a niche for that.

I didn't care for the narration, and it was a struggle to listen to. It seemed that no matter what was happening in the story, it was told with the same inflection. Each sense had the same tone in the beginning, and then same ending dip in tone. I would have enjoyed a bit more excitement or some casting to make it a more interesting listen.

First of all, huge thanks to Imbrifex Audio and NetGalley for providing me with an audiobook in exchange of a honest review.

I think this book could've been better but I still like it.

Freaks is about a group of friends that are bullied, and one day after summoning a demon, they got superpowers and are wondering what will they do with them, take revenge? Hide them? This is what we follow along.

The story itself was good, but I didn't connect with all of the characters, and that's sad since I was a victim of bullying, so I kinda assumed I would felt identified but no, that didn't happen.

Still, I'm so excited to read the next book in the series!

This was a good YA read, I liked the superhero element and the coming of age of the characters. It dealt with some dark subject matters like bullying and was fast paced. Narration was great

I am grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

While I could appreciate the premise of the book and liked the overall story arc, I couldn’t connect with the characters. The writing was a bit simplistic and predictable. Overall, this was a fun, easy read that I could recommend to my students, but personally wanted more depth to the story and characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of Freaks in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Freaks, to me, ticked off a lot of the things I enjoy; sci-fi, horror, a dash of romance and a good underdog story. It was fast paced, easy to follow, and it was nice to get a glimpse into the lives of each of the main characters during the first part of the book. I loved the fact that there were no punches pulled when it came to villain, and that everyone was fair game.

That being said there was a disconnect between myself and the characters after the first part of the book. I really couldn't find myself rooting for any single one of them, or caring enough if they got themselves killed until it was close to the end of the book. Their personalities fell flat for me, and it felt as if only two of the main characters had much character development.

There were things I loved about Freaks, and there were things that I didn't love about it. Overall though, the book is solid and a good read for its intended audience I believe. I'm interested in seeing what happens in the next installment with these kids and if they'll continue to use their powers for good.

DNF at 20%

I tried as best as I could to get into this book but I couldn't. I wasn't the biggest fan of the narration and that took away from the experience for me.
It's probably because I wasn't in the right headspace for this kind of book so I might pick it up once more and give it one more chance, but as it is now this just wasn't for me.