Freakslaw by Jane Flett follows a traveling funfair as they invade a small Scottish town. The townsfolk are immediately intrigued, whether or not for the best is another story.

This book was so strange. The writing was very compelling and the overall story definitely had an American Horror Story vibe to it. I think some reader are going to love this book and it will have such a niche fan base. I don’t think it’s a book that I could easily recommend to a large audience but I know I could recommend it to certain readers!

I thought the author’s note at the beginning was a great way to set the tone for the book and I loved the list of characters at the beginning.

That being said, my biggest issue with this book is that there are so many characters. It was hard to keep up with a lot of them because they would just be mentioned briefly from time to time.

I did enjoy my time with this book for the most part and can’t wait to read more from this author.

The modest small-town folk of Pitlaw won’t know what hit them when this traveling circus comes to visit their safe and secluded corner of Scotland. But can they resist it?

Step right up for a sweet treat of delicious mayhem and devilish glittering sex.

For those who dance on the lefthand path or have a primal hunger for Technicolor curiosities, Freakslaw will leave you feeling positively transported to a world of dazzling, bizarre and dangerous fun.

Thank you to Zando for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Hoo-eee! Now that was a wild ride on the Waltzers!
Freakslaw are a travelling fair/freak show who seemingly pick their sites to pitch up at with a deep intent - an intent which seems both malign and benign at the same time.
This time the site is Pitlaw, a Scottish town where it’s inhabitants don’t do well with change, outsiders and ‘otherness’. A town where violence and anger is not even just bubbling under the surface but breaks through at the pub, the dinner table, the gossiping queues at the supermarket. The men don’t have a handle on their impotent rage, the women (for the most part) are learned in placating their menfolk to keep their violence as contained as possible. And their children have either stepped in to take up the next generation of fury and spite or else they are desperate to step out of the never-ending cycle of hate, closed-mindedness and apathy.

And now the Freakslaw are here to fuck things up and bring things down!

Every single character (both townspeople and ‘freaks’) are fantastically fleshed out, whether you love them or hate them.
In fact, every single sentence of this book is punchy, funny, shocking, visceral, meaty and brilliantly meted out.
Jane Flett has some serious writing game!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This is.a very specific brand of weird that I am more than happy to get behind. A series of short stories about a number of carnies in a traveling circus with some interesting undertones that definitely mean they could curse you, this book was a delight to read. While it can be a bit flighty at times and it doesn't always give the characters all the attention that they deserve, it is still a very strong novel.

The use of queerness (very visible in this particular case) and the 'intrusion' that the townsfolk believe this presents to them was a really wonderfully presented analogy. The scenes with some of the characters (without giving too much away) were sufficiently gross and enough to give you pause in reading, which is always a delight. Some of the characters weren't always the most likable, but that's not what this kind of book is about anyway - it's about presenting a certain, different version of events, sometimes one that not everyone is always comfortable with.

This was definitely a joy to read, and I'll be on the lookout for more from Flett in the future.

Don’t get me wrong… I really enjoyed this book. Being from Scotland, I loved the Scottish dialect. The writing of this is so colourful and deep like WOW I will definitely read more from Jane Flett.
This book was a weird one for me because at some points I felt like parts were too long but other parts I wanted more from! Too many unnecessary characters and I needed more from the main ones from the start.
The book is a wild ride. It’s weird with a brilliant concept but I just needed more… and less? Definitely AHS vibes like these are strange people doing strange things resulting in shocked simple townsfolk.
Such a great debut novel though I’m really excited to see what else she comes out with!!

In the clerb, we’re all freaks, I guess. The writing was probably the best part of this because everything else was maybe too much. I thought more would be happening or maybe stuff did happen, and I just stopped caring. There were WAY too many characters. It literally starts off with like three pages of character information, which is when I knew. I literally saw that and sighed loudly. Almost all the characters were the worst, especially Nancy. The prose was also….to much at times. Trying too hard to hard to be edgy and weird. Overall, it wasn’t bad but not something I’ll be thinking about it.

This book is everything I wanted it to be and more. I felt like I personally was on a carnival ride, one of those ones you know you shouldn’t go on, they probably aren’t anchored down properly and you just ate, you never did great with those spinning ones anyway, but what the hell let’s tempt the fates right?

Once I reached the end of the book I found out this was the authors first novel. That blew my mind! I can’t wait to see what’s next.

Read this. Don’t ask questions. Just do it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this gem in exchange for an honest review.

Ive been eyeing this one for a long time now. Eyeing- pun intended. I mean look at the cover photo..it is cool and Def drew me in. This is fun, quirky, unhinged and crazy. Just right up my alley. I love carnival setting tropes. And this one is campy enough for me. I just wish that it did not have too many unnecessary characters or the ones that are more intriguing should have given more back story or 'air time'. But overall, I enjoyed this one.

This was an okay read, however like many others, I think there were way too many characters to follow without enough interest to really encourage me throughout.

The plethora of characters are intimidating and takes away alot from the book. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the free eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Unfortunately this book did not click for me. There is a cast of characters I need to be able to reference, and doing so in an ebook format is quite difficult. I also think a lot of the potential humor went over my head as I am in the US so the language and jokes and slang are different. The cover is quite fun and I truly wanted to love this one but I just couldn't connect with or get fully into this book.

c0ulda been longer and coulda had more detail on the endings of the stories and more detail on the, well, characters of the characters. but in general was pretty awesome as a horror adjacent work! 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

Step right up to Freakslaw, a dazzling and chaotic carnival ride packed with revenge, found family, and unapologetic queerness! Jane Flett’s debut is bursting with wild energy and unforgettable characters—like Gloria, the worm-charmer fortune teller, and Nancy, the contortionist witch. Each member of the Freakslaw is bizarre, lovable, and brimming with life, making it impossible not to root for this quirky crew.

The writing crackles with sharp wit and vivid imagery, bringing the neon carnival to life against the bleak backdrop of a repressed Scottish town. While the pacing falters in a few spots, the mix of dark humor, sparkling chaos, and deeper themes about belonging and resilience kept me hooked. It’s strange, bold, and wonderfully unique—a must-read for anyone who loves their horror with a glittery, rebellious edge. Trust me, you’ll want to run away with the Freakslaw.

Freakslaw by Jane Flett

"Freakslaw" invites readers to explore the intriguing arrival of a traveling funfair in the Scottish town of Pitlaw. The narrative immerses the reader in a routinely monotonous community where the local men congregate at the pub to escape their daily hardships.

Channeling an aspect of freedom, the "freaks" unabashedly stake a plot within a field, looking to offer a wake-up call. Unbeknownst to the city dwellers, there is a hidden reason why the fair has arrived. Their focus remains on seeking retribution for crimes committed centuries ago.

The backstory is cleverly woven thanks to the story's numerous points of view. The question remains: will the traveling spectacles impose the proper punishment for which they seek?

An enjoyable little romp through a dreary town left me happily staring at the colorful spectacle lighting the night sky and tempting those within sight to indulge in the forbidden charms. The constant barrage of unfamiliarity challenges our senses. That allure has a seductive feel. The circus atmosphere, skilfully depicted by our author Jane Flett, appeals to our inherent desire for discovery. A conjoined twin, a young wolfman slathered in hair, and even a woman of severe gluttonous proportions await your arrival.

I found the stark contrasts between normality and the unconventional fascinating. Looking at society through a microscope and recognizing that "normal" does not invoke happiness. On the contrary, anyone who genuinely lives within the constraints of social norms longs for a sense of genuine freedom of speech and thought.

However, with every new morsel of intrigue, this story reverts to the diabolical plan. For who is the enemy? Is it the band of misfits or the drunken, abusive father? Therein lies the beauty of the tale.

The residue from cotton candy was firmly coated on the underside of my lips. So as the lights dim and the noise dissipates, I am left shocked. Amazed! A sense of danger was present but ultimately avoided, creating a beautiful outcome. By no means a perfect novel, for there were times bordering on outlandish. The book is saturated with sexuality, and at times I feel it may have crossed the line a bit too far for my liking. However, I did enjoy this tremendously. This gets 4 of 5 stars from me!

Many thanks to Zando for the ARC through Netgalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion.

I was interested in the premise of this book but found the execution to be lacking. The number of characters we flip back and forth between felt too overwhelming and Nancy straight up got on my nerves. It’s such a bummer because I really wanted to stay engaged with this story but picking it back up always felt like such a chore. I never cared about any of the characters which is a shame because I think they’re interesting but something just felt like it was missing.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book has a great premise and a great cover. Unfortunately those are the only things I liked about it. There were way too many characters to keep up with. I got lost in the beginning with immediately being thrown in to different characters povs. I kept finding myself just not caring.

Freakslaw has a great concept—a travelling carnival are looking to take revenge against the inhabitants of a small Scottish village. But sadly the story didn’t really work for me. There was such an interesting cast of characters, but the vast majority of them got hardly any development and I wasn't particularly taken with the ones who did. I also didn’t find the revenge aspect of the story to be all that compelling in the end; it all felt a little vague.

I think there are many people who will fall in love with the writing style, but again, it just didn’t land with me. The prose is certainly evocative, but it felt too crafted. It’s like I could feel the author’s presence in every word, when I wanted to be swept away by the story and forget that the author was even there.

This was a good read and it remind me of American Horror Story, Freakshow. Its dark and has lots of disturbing moments but a great varied group of performers who are a family.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an arc for this book!

I really liked the initial concept of this book - a travelling funfair arrives in an ordinary small Scottish town, and soon infiltrate themselves into the lives of the townsfolk. The residents have mixed feelings about the carnivals arrival, with some intrigued by its presence, whilst others are unsettled. Many dark themes are explored in this story, so if you’re looking for a book which explores rage, hatred and violence, this is it!

I think there could have been a really good story to be told here, however parts of it fell slightly flat for me. There were numerous characters, so the character list at the beginning was helpful; however, even so, it sometimes felt like a struggle to follow who was who with such a variety of cast. Some characters were also uncomfortable to endure at points - *cough* Nancy *cough* - whilst I loved the dynamics portrayed with some of the others, in particular those townsfolk’s who embraced familiarising themselves with the Freakslaw characters.

The first half of the book was quite slow, with not a lot happening; in turn, the ending then felt a bit rushed, with lots of action happening in a short space of time.

Overall, a really interesting concept for a book, it’s definitely memorable and will stick with me for a while!

thank you to netgalley for providing me with an arc for this edition of this book!

the elements: a travelling circus with a wide array of different characters settles in a sleepy scottish town and starts some shit aka it has all the elements to make it a good book, and i really do believe there's a good book in here somewhere, but it didn't really fully develop. there were chapters that made me gasp at how beautifully they were written, that felt like a fever dream and that really made the author's writing style shine, but other chapters were so boring or clinical and were a slog to get through.

i think there's too many characters in the book with not nearly enough backstory. there's a couple of characters that only get one chapter dedicated to them and then they're relegated to the background, which makes you a) want to know more, because they were often quite interesting characters and b) want to know less because what the fuck was the point if we're just barely going to mention these people from now on?

i think the author set up an interesting arc with both ruth and derek, but didn't really succesfully finish either of them? there's also some very iffy consent issues with ruth which is a whole other story.

also just saw that this was tagged as horror, and it's not horror besties, the only horrific thing is nancy.