totally bonkers and insane and just all out fun. I think this will do very well in the horror community this year.

Barely 3 stars (more like 2.75 if I'm being precise)

I wanted to love this book, but in the end it wasn't for me.

To get the positives out first - the writing is gorgeous. It's visceral and evocative and disturbing. There are individual chapters and descriptions I really enjoyed because they were beautiful and made me think or swept me up in the freakish magic of the fun fair. The message of bucking tradition, throwing off the chains of conformity and expectations, and living wild that I enjoyed.

There are too many characters to keep track of, and too many plotlines are happening. Nancy, a character we spend a lot of time with, was deeply unlikeable to me. The pacing was off, and I found most of the book a slog, so much so that it took me almost 2 weeks to finish. Some of the disturbing things described seem like they're just there for shock value and nothing else. In the end, it felt like nothing really happened. There was a bit of comeuppance, but overall the ending wasn't very satisfying.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

After much consideration I've decided on 4/5 stars for Freakslaw and I'm going to tell you why.

First, I must note: Many people are not going to like this book. It blatantly toes the line that leans towards Splatterpunk (gore and depravity in the highest) without necessarily falling into it with the content. The visuals are *disturbing*. This is purposeful. This is a part of the larger meaning - but it's going to turn some away.

Tw: blood, gore, bodily functions, dubious consent, homophobia, misogyny, violence, abortion, sex, ableist language and actions (I'm sure I'm missing many. Just come prepared to be uncomfortable.)

The Freaks have come to Pitlaw - for fun, for revelry, for revenge. Their lives are decadent, hedonistic fairytales that draw even the most dour into their midst. This is a mulit-POV that flowed beautifully. It can be hard to balance so many characters and I thought it was absolutely so well done. I always knew where I stood when reading this book. There is something so entirely human about the narrative. It lacked the inherent romantacism that you often find in stories of magic and that fact made me squirm in discomfort the entire way. We were there in the mud, the blood(and bile and urine and--) the dirt with these people. Even as I found myself curling my lips in disgust I couldn't tear my eyes away and I blew threw it in three short sessions. Still, I cannot decide who was my favorite: Nancy the contortionist witch daughter, irreverent and fire bright; Zed with his wicked grin and heart full of love and laughter; Derek, struggling to understand his life, his desires, and his own heart; Ruth, the structured and determined dreamer who cannot help but fall into the wildness of the fair -- Gretchen Etcetera, Lady Maria, Gloria, I could honestly go on all day. These people are all monstrous and beautiful. You feel just as called to the funfair as the people of Pitlaw. First, you cannot look away from them and then - well, maybe you realize you're not so different.

That isn't to say that I didn't have my issues. Some of the imagery was repetative and heavy-handed. I warn, utterly, that if you are not comfortable with descriptions of body functions you should steer clear of this one. It is aggressive. You are not spared any dignity in the reading of this novel and neither are any of the characters. There were some thought processes that just Did Not make sense to me, even in my knowledge of the characters up to that point but I cannot go into too deep without spoiling. I remember being a teenage girl. I remember the world from behind those eyes and the thoughts that would trickle in behind them that could never EVER be spoken out loud - so I give grace to some of it.

The ending was everything. Beautiful. Cathartic. Full of teeth and blood and sacrifice and family. I was not left wanting.

Freakslaw is delightfully queer(in every way), delightfully joyous, delightfully *insane* and full of the type of magic most people are afraid to look at (which, if you know me, you know this is my favorite kind).

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me this ARC. Freakslaw hits the shelves April 1st.

Enter if you Dare.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC to review!
Rating (on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being excellent)
Quality of writing: 3
Pace: 3
Plot development: 3
Characters: 2
Enjoyability: 2
Ease of Reading: 2

Overall rating: 2 out of 5

Rating 3.25

I am not one to leave a review that will give too much away so I will just relay my reaction to the story I just read. In a nut shell, American Horror Story Freak Show vibes but in Scotland. Gore and horror hand and hand with ignorance and bigotry.

This story was a wild roller coaster ride for me. With amazing deep dives into small town prejudices and dislike of anything that is different from the norm. This coming back up to some surface level inappropriate humor. Playing into ignorance and fear while highlighting stereotypes for horror. To that I say, well done!

Another part of the roller coaster feel for me was the jumping around between characters. Sometimes I was not even sure what was going on. This is one of the main reasons for the rating I gave. I found it a bit challenging during these moments. Not so challenging that I wanted to stop the read but enough to have to stop and figure out what just happened.

So why did I stick with it and continue the read? Because this book blatantly address small town (minded) prejudices, toxic angry men, hatred of anything different and violence so much beautiful violence. Now top all that off with a sarcastic wit that is dark yet funny.

This is another book that I think just wasn’t for me. I enjoyed it enough that I finished reading, but it took me a long time. There was a huge cast of characters abs honestly, I had trouble remembering who was who at some points. It was an interesting concept, and the writing was beautiful and descriptive, but I felt bored and found I had to force myself to pick up the book to read. I would be interested in reading more by Jane Flett, but overall this one was just middle of the road for me.

Freakslaw by Jane Flett, with a multitude of cast members, rapid fire storytelling in one dimensional characters we hear a story about a circus of freaks that come to a Scottish town knee-deep in tradition and family, whose town members want them there as much as those in the circus want to be a town member which is not at all. in the book, we hear about an over sexualized teenager, whose favorite thing to do is create a story of lies right before having underaged sex with random men and sometimes women. It would’ve been easier to identify or even feel sympathy for the characters in the circus have they not had a in your face type attitude throughout the book. It ultimately ends up with a nerds versus Jock ending. That one was hard to get in to because despite it being overly described the reasons to care about either side was few and far between. I think had the author spent as much time on why we should care about these characters as she did on the flowery way to describe them. It would’ve been a much better read. also, I wouldn’t put this book under the genre horror.#NetGalley, #ZandoPress, #TheBlindReviewer, #JaneFlett, #FreaksLaw,

I enjoyed this one. Love me a book with carnival freaks, magic, teenaged rebellion and more! The structure could be hard for some people to get into - it switches to different characters POV by each paragraph sometimes which can be confusing. I just went with the flow and got used to it - and enjoyed it!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing a free e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I gave it a good try at 105 pages and I just couldn't do it anymore, unfortunately. The writing style is just odd, and when a book starts from chapter to chapter jumping to a different character each time with too many characters, it's just too much. It sounded like it might turn out like Freak Show from American horror story which was my favorite season, but it's far from it.

There was way too many characters to follow, i kept struggling at all times to remember who’s who and it made it very hard to care about any of them. Nancy was insufferable which didn’t help but even for others they weren’t truly appealing even if interesting and they were all written with only revenge as goal and nothing else, making them very empty

I enjoyed this story. It's a revenge tale ,which I always enjoy when people have been wronged or made to feel inferior. I also love carnival, freak show types of tales. This one has a lot of characters which was hard to keep up with at times, but just take your time with it and it isn't hard. Look forward to more by this author.

3.5 rounded down - Originally DNFed at 40% in the winter and finally just picked it back up. The atmosphere and vibes are deliciously gritty but the story took way too long to come to fruition and I often lost track of which character was which. I think it would be a perfect book to read in the late summer and will maybe come back to it down the road and see if my opinions change without a couple month long hiatus.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book! My only complaint is that I wish it was a little longer so we could get to know some of the characters better!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced ebook copy in exchange for an honest review.

90s Scotland, in a small town called Pitlaw, a bunch of brightly colored caravans barge in and the townsfolk sense a change in the air. Pitlaw is just a town of hard working men who never miss a get together at the pub, their loyal housewives and kids who are most likely destined for the same fate, but what happens when something as tempting, as new and as troublemaking as a funfair like the Freakslaw arrives is anyone's guess... Moth to a flame and all that.

The people of the Freakslaw, however, know what they're here for: revenge and some fun along the way.

The main characters of this book are queer angst and a thirst for revenge. There's also a hungry joy that lives between those pages, one that has sharp teeth and isn't afraid to bare them. This book is for those who understand the power in reclaiming a slur, in taking the outsider's prejudiced discomfort and turning it against themselves, for the ones who wear "queer" as a "we're here and try hard as you might to hurt us, we'll never disappear".

It's cathartic, allowing some space for that rage to exist and it was the reason why I picked this book up. I was super satisfied with this story's arc, even if I found it lacking in other areas. Every single character that's part of the Freakslaw was endearing — even Nancy, and I just love a found family of queer weirdos who would do anything to protect their own. This is not a book you come to for moral goodness, by the way: these characters are flawed, they're angry and want payback for every judging look, every insult, every bruise once inflicted upon them, and to them whatever method is as good as any.

There isn't much character building here but I didn't find that too unfortunate. If anything I feel like it works so well for the story the book's trying to tell: that of queer individuals who form a beautiful whole, together against the world, but still retain their uniqueness, as opposed to Pitlaw where everyone is desperately isolated yet expected to fit the same mold.

I also loved the way that this takes the ableist, queerphobic narrative of a freak show and makes it something else entirely.

The writing in this left me wanting more edge. This book is categorized as horror but its' voice often felt a little too passive for me to feel that urgency that would've made it more explosive; it's more brutal thriller than graphic horror. But it is nonetheless a gripping read and if you find yourself relating to any of the feelings I invoked earlier, I think you will enjoy this. The last act is what makes this book worth the slow earlier parts, in my opinion.

I would recommend this to anyone who's in need of letting out some pent up rage (which I know is a lot of us at the moment) but maybe not to those who don't quite relate to the first paragraph following my blurb.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC!

Freakslaw has a truly unique and imaginative concept, and the writing is undeniably strong. The author’s ability to weave metaphors throughout the narrative gives the story a vibrant and rich atmosphere. The premise itself is clever, and there’s a lot of potential for the story to really draw readers in.

However, the execution falls short in a few key areas. While the plot is engaging, it feels a bit too linear and predictable, lacking the twists and turns that could have elevated the story. The pacing also struggles due to the book’s length, and unfortunately, there aren’t many truly shocking or horrific moments to make it as gripping as it could have been.

The cast of characters is diverse, but despite their originality, they never quite develop into fully fleshed-out personalities. I didn’t have trouble keeping track of them, but none of them felt particularly memorable or complex, which left the emotional impact of the book somewhat lacking.

Overall, Freakslaw is an entertaining read with a solid premise and excellent writing, but it doesn’t quite live up to its potential. It remains at a surface level, which makes it an enjoyable experience but not one that sticks with you for long.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

A small town in 1990's Scotland is turned upside down when their narrow, traditional views are challenged by the introduction of a strange, unusual, colorful circus--the Freakslaw. This book has a strong narrative voice that jumps between perspectives, both in and outside of the circus; there are quite a lot of characters but each one dazzles and jumps off the page! Freakslaw is a book that welcomes conversation and holds a mirror to archaic and inane 'values' we still see as a society today--places that appear to be stuck inside of some weird time capsule/ echo chamber kind of place. Flett brilliantly contrasts fantasy and whimsy with far darker and unsettling themes (I definitely got some AHS: Freak Show vibes). This was an impressive literary horror debut and I'm SO looking forward to reading more from this author!

The characters, the setting, the vibes, the themes…everything was great. The way the story was written just did not work for me. It was so disjointed that I never really connected with any of the characters at all. Any time I started to get invested, we jumped to a completely different storyline. I have a hard time reviewing this one because I loved so many aspects of it but I had a really hard time getting through it.

The best thing about this book is the writing style. The way Jane describes the freakshow ground and what characters are doing and The horror aspect. However i just felt they were way too many characters and i was so glad there was an index to follow.

This is definitely a rollercoaster of a story. If you enjoy character driven stories this one is for you. It's definitely a fun story filled with danger, revenge and quite the funfair.

From the first page I was captivated by the prose.. Jane Flett creates a deeply vivid world with fascinating, complex characters and elements of magic that are as charming as they can be terrifying.