Freaks is an interesting new novel revolving around friendship, power dynamics, and social standing. I really enjoyed the relationship between The Freaks, and the different ways in which they dealt with their individual struggles.
There was enough blood and suspense to keep my interest. The occult spin was a nice addition to the typical high school story.
P.J. Morgan’s narration style was pleasant. The voices for each character were different enough to bring each character to life.
I would definitely read more from Brett Riley.

I received a copy of this audiobook for free via NetGalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Let me start off by saying the side references in this were great! I love when books mention my favorite sci-fy movies or books. I didn't really like the way that when I tried to speed up the pace of the book it sounded funny. I do like to listen at a little bit faster of a pace so it would have been nice have the fluency match the voice. I liked the book overall and think that a more mature audience would appreciate it. I do not think I will recommend it to the fifth graders that I work with however.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. What drew my eye to this book was the amazing cover and the description! I was so thrilled to read this book, but I will admit that some of the languages were outdated and the bullies bland. I could see that the author was open with a lesbian character, but I grow tired of the lesbian stereotypes by not being like other girls and that she is so different. What's the point of that? Like okay, we get it. But besides that, I think that this was a solid plot and the action was good. I enjoyed this book a lot once I got past the annoying Cliches. I would recommend this to readers.

Freaks by Brett Riley is a story about a group of friends who are the outcasts of their school who rip a hole into another dimension giving themselves superhero abilities as well as inviting a very bloodthirsty creature who won’t stop until they all are dead. I was given access to the audiobook via NetGalley, and I think I would have enjoyed the book more had I read it as opposed to listened to the audiobook. The person reading the story was portraying Arkansas accents, but it was very distracting from the story.

The story itself was entertaining. The kids were terribly bullied and because of this you really rooted for them when they got their superhuman capabilities. They were very bonded due to the hardships they faced within their school, and I could really see it speaking to anyone who sees themselves as an outsider. When they feel out their superpowers it is exciting and the final culmination when they beat down the creature who has been killing people in their town, you are cheering for their win.

I think overall it will be great for young adults which is the age it is marketed towards.

I did not love this the way I wanted to. The story fell a little flat and I found myself kind of bored along the way. I could sympathize with the main 4 characters as I was bullied myself. The plot didn't feel like it was done to its full potential, and I didn't connect enough with the characters to really care about what was happening.

TRIGGER WARNING: bullying and death of a parent

A group of bullied teens come across a spell book that opened a portal to another dimension that accidentally unleashed other-worldly creatures. After discovering they also now have superpowers, they use their new skill to take revenge on their bullies and avoid the feds while also trying to save the town from a blood-crazed monster feeding on their family and friends.

I wanted to like it but it never got to that stage when I could say I liked it. But it felt weak because the main thing so the bullying was completely out of time. Perhaps if this book had been set in the 80's then it would have made more sense. The plot was simple, the characters maybe a bit too simple, it was predictable and there were times where I felt like I was reading a middle grade novel as well.
And I am aware this is part one to a series but there wasn't anything that had me hooked to want to read the next book

Book Review: Freaks – Brett Riley

Freaks follows four high school friends that have been bullied all their lives. One day they are messing around and accidently open a portal to another dimension. In the process, they develop superpowers, but this portal also leaves an opening for a dark entity to creep through. Now they must decide whether to use their new found powers to get revenge on their school bullies that have tormented them for so many years or if they will use their powers for good to help defeat the monster that has crept through the portal and been wreaking havoc on their town.

The premise of this book is what drew me in. It’s reminded me of the TV series Stranger Things, and I am a huge fan of that show so naturally I was so excited for this book.

The writing is easy to follow, and the story progresses at a great pace. Unfortunately, I didn’t connect with any of the characters. They felt very 2D and didn’t feel relatable. Its very plot driven and there is not much character development. Gabby and Jamie were the only two characters that I actually cared about but not enough that I would remember their story after I had closed the book.

The time period of the book was also very confusing for me. This story was supposed to be set in the modern day, but it felt very outdated and unrealistic. The friends are bullied for being ‘superhero’s’ and called ‘geeks’. There is also not much mention of social media at all. This made me feel like the story was taking place in the past and not the present time.

The main element that captured my attention was the monster and its origin. Sadly, we didn’t get to learn much about the monster or its origin, however, this is said to be a series so maybe we will learn more about the monster in the next installments.

This book is for you if you like:
• Coming of age stories
• Superhero’s
• Found family trope

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2.5 stars for the story and 3 stars for the audiobook, however, I still did not like this one, Despite needing the audiobook to get through this book, the story was still unsatisfying. I will give P.J. Morgan credit that their narration captured the southern small town vibe and their narration was good enough that I could listen to the entire thing audibly.

However, their wasn't much else to give the audiobook oomph and atmosphere. The characters for the first half of the book were not very distinctive, I wasn't able to pick who was speaking without following along with the book. In the second half, I could tell the difference between Gabby and Jamie but, Micah and Kenneth sounded the same and Christian just had the southern drawl like everyone else and that was it.

The narration style was pretty one note, even when the horror aspects were occurring there was no change to give it a spookier atmosphere or evoke any feelings of terror in the listener. There was emotion in certain points of the story but, it wasn't enough to make me think, 'Oh this is so good, I really feel it'. All in all this was not a bad audiobook and I would recommend it in order to consume this story, but I can't justify giving it a higher rating.

Written by Brett Riley, this novel follows four friends, tormented by bullies, who find themselves facing monsters and suddenly endowed with powers caused by their own actions. Will they take revenge, or will they save their town?

Y’all, I just could not get into this book. The characters should have been compelling, but just fell short for me. I felt for these four friends who have been bullied, this also shows the dark side of the kids as well, and I just didn’t sympathize with their choice options. I understand choosing someone else over your bullies, but I don’t think bullying the bullies ever gets you very far, and don’t really consider that an option.

The writing was fine, nothing particularly fantastic, but it was a fast-paced and I think you could make it through quickly. The plot is fairly linear, and as an audiobook, other than the narrator being very flat, it is an easy listen when you are doing other things.

If you can make it through the first 10 chapters, then I think you will appreciate this story. Not a book for someone looking for a light-hearted book, romance, or humor, however.

I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Audio ARC provided by NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Set in modern day this book follows four friends who are bullied during their high school days. The book opens with one of the boys being bullied and having his head dunked into the toilet. There are vulgar words used throughout which I was not a fan of. They follow a ritual from an ancient book that they found and then they find themselves with superpowers, but at the same time have unleashed a monster into their local town. I did not connect with any characters in the book and it just did not connect with this book. The audio narrator might have played a roll in my dislike, as when she switched characters it just seemed to fake and she was trying to hard.

Thank you NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review. This was okay, a decent beginning to a series. I feel like it was set in the wrong era, the idea of people getting bullied for liking comics and super hero movies nowadays just seems weird. Maybe it would have worked better if set in the 80s or 90s. I enjoyed the main group having diverse characters, but the neediness factor just seemed like the author was just ticking boxes on a list.

What a difficult read/listen. It has a lot of dark content and IMO unnecessary language. Besides the horrors of the open portal and all the evil that comes out, there's a lot of homophobic, racist, anti-Semitic languages. There's a lot of talk *from kids, might I add* about killing others, beating them up, getting revenge, using such scares as shooting up school, etc. It was just an ugly book in my opinion.

Yes, the theme is about finding friends and finding similarities in others where you always thought were different, that actually in the end we're all just suffering fools in a mortal world, buut.. it was a bit over the top, especially in the YA department. I wanted more of the "geekiness", the fun side of finding friendship and love, and same interests, and an adventure when killing the monsters.. this was just a dark rendition of a favorite time when dungeons and dragons and video games in parent's basement was the fun side of the childhood.

Not a fan. Will probably skip the next book in what it seems to be a series.

Thank you to the publisher for my review copy. All opinions are my own.

I usually don't go for books with similar plots, but I thought I'd give it a try since it was an audiobook, and I'm so glad I did. I freaking loved it !! This certainly won't be the last work I'll be reading from the author, rest assured of that.

The plot was great and nicely detailed, which made it quite easy to imagine the situation Mika and his friends were dealing with. I could keep on rambling on and on about how much I enjoyed this book; but first, let's introduce the characters :

★ Christian :
She's the toughest. The one who'd never let a single soul put her down, and would face her enemies with a smirk on her face, even if that enemy's a monster from other worldly origins. Even as the B3 humiliated her publicly at school, she refused to give them the pleasure of seeing her cry or feel uncomfortable. I really liked her character.

★ Jamie :
He's the brains and leader of the group. Smart and realist. He always tries to find a solution for every problem they would have to face. He tried his best to stay calm and be rational in tough situations. He was a great leader, but seemed a bit clueless when it came to dating a girl for a boy his age - but I guess that was intentional -.

★ Gabby :
She seems weak and fragile on the outside, but she'd give up her life in order to save her loved ones. She would fight with fear eating her insides, and wouldn't give up trying. She kept on putting herself down, and thinking she was not worthy love, friendship and so on. Even though she could kick some a**es if she really put her mind to it.

★ Mika :
I low-key HATED his character. All he cared about was getting even with the B3 ! I get they made him go through hell, but he was OBSESSED with having his revenge. He made his friends go through a hell lot of trouble, and he wouldn't even admit he was wrong or try to understand his friends' points of vue. I despised his character even more than the B3 all combined.

★ Kenneth :
It was nice watching his character slightly improve, though he and Mika still couldn't stand the sight of one another. He really got on my nerves when he kept on blaming the others for everything as him, and his friends were to blame as well. But, at the end he agreed to open up a bit more to the idea of interacting with the group, and the change in his personality was discernible.

★ Braden :
In my opinion, his character could've been improved a bit more. He didn't seem as cruel and malicious as Gavin and Kenneth were. And at the end, he really cared about his friends and hated to seem them part ways.

I'd say all of the grown ups' characters were unlikable, except for the parents who cared about the safety of their kids. Mika's mom and Gavin had quite the cruel ending, but life is never fair is it? Over all, I loved the book, and If you guys are fans of Stranger Things and the Marvel universe, then this book is for you.

I truly hope it'll be the first in a series, and that it'll be turned into a tv show ❤

This book would probably do better in the middle-grade market than the young adult one. The writing style, dialogue, characters, etc., were all very juvenile. The plot was very straightforward and there was 0 mystery to what was happening, so, basically all tell and no show.
Also Brett Riley uses "girl" as an insult (as in "stop being a girl")? Like dude it' s 2022. I guess his PhD isn't any good for common sense.

Thank you Netgalley and Imbrifex Audio for the free audiobook in exchange for my honest review!

This book almost gives me the vibes of the show Stranger Things. Very spooky and mysterious, something I would see in a Dungeons and Dragons session with all the otherworldly monsters destroying the human race.

With the help of a group of of geeks who have been bullied since they were very young. Not only do they kind of get in a little trouble but, they become the heroes that you always wanted to see out of them.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing me with an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Freaks by Brett Riley is very interesting YA Sci-Fi/Fantasy with underdog characters, atmospheric prose, and fantastic narration. I loved listening to this book and am so glad that I gave it a try. This one is outside of my normal genre, but the way that the story is written by the author, told by the narrator, and comes to life through the characters that just jump off the page, I can't help but love this audio book! 5/5 stars

Thanks Netgalley for this ARC

I had to DNF this book at 30% , the story was very linear, at times I was not that connected to the story, I felt that the characters were very flat.

I wish I didn't dnf this but I lost interest

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, after only making it about 20% through, I had to admit defeat with Freaks.

Initially I listened to the audiobook version but the narrator was too robotic and monotone for my liking. The accents she used were also irritating after a while and it was difficult to differentiate the characters.

I then went on to try and continue the story by reading the ebook but I really couldn't get into it! The writing felt very stilted and constantly "he said this and he did that and she said this and she did that" which I'm not a fan of at all.

Plot wise (from what I did get through) the concept of a group of nerds being viciously bullied felt seriously outdated and reminded me a lot of Stephen King's IT, especially with the bullying methods and bad language/name calling (and the accents in the audiobook) which felt totally out of place for a story set in modern day times.

I really wanted to enjoy this one because the synopsis sounded so unique and exciting but I really couldn't bring myself to trudge through the clunky writing and 80's movie style bullying.

I must make somethings clear before I start my review.
1) I am a type of person who does not give a book 2 stars until I REALLY didn't like it.
2) I DNF'd the book half way through.
It would be very unfair to say that I disliked the book in its entirety. The book was well written had a story to tell, be it not a very unique one. Now, when I say that the book was well written, I don't mean that the writer had AMAZING prose, I just mean it was a decent enough writing for the YA demographic. I think the concepts in the book were definitely interesting but their executions could have been handled in a better way.
However above all the one thing which I JUST COULDN"T TOLLERATE in this book was the NARRATION! I really hated the narration for some reason and was the reason I DNF'd it. The narration did not fit the story and constantly took me out of it. Somehow I felt a lack of emotions through the narration which ultimately made the book not enjoyable.

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed how this book was written and all the characters and groups of friends were well developed. It wasn’t my personal favorite type of storyline as it’s been done a lot recently and I just didn’t find anything extraordinary about the plot. I found it predictable but the writing sucked me in and I had no problem finishing the book as an entertaining read. If the author ever released a sequel I would probably pick it up since I enjoyed his writing style and it was a fast read for me.