Hey all, Dani here.
Today I have another early review for you. I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influenced my own opinions on the book. Okay, now that the disclaimer is out of the way, let’s move on.
Freeks is the new standalone novel from Amanda Hocking, and it will hit bookshelves in stores on January 3rd, 2017.
Summary
Welcome to Gideon Davorin’s Traveling Sideshow, where necromancy, magical visions, and pyrokinesis are more than just part of the act…
Mara has always longed for a normal life in a normal town where no one has the ability to levitate or predict the future. Instead, she roams from place to place, cleaning the tiger cage while her friends perform supernatural feats every night.
When the struggling sideshow is miraculously offered the money they need if they set up camp in Caudry, Louisiana, Mara meets local-boy Gabe…and a normal life has never been more appealing.
But before long, performers begin disappearing and bodes are found mauled by an invisible beast. Mara realizes that there’s a sinister presence lurking in the town with its sights set on getting rid of the sideshow freeks. In order to unravel the truth before the attacker kills everyone Mara holds dear, she has seven days to take control of a power she didn’t know she was capable of—one that could change her future forever.
Bestselling author Amanda Hocking draws readers inside the dark and mysterious world of Freeks.
My Thoughts
I think based on the fact that the cover is beautiful and the fact that this is an Amanda Hocking book, a lot of people are probably going to buy it…and that’s cool. It’s another quick read by an established author.
When I sat down and started reading it though, it didn’t feel like anything all that special. Okay, so the book is set in the late 80s, which does make it a bit different from a lot of YA stuff coming out right now. And Mara is part of a traveling circus. Cool. Oh, and Mara very quickly meets Gabe and it only takes them a short conversation before they are making out. Seems standard for YA books with some romance in them.
Gabe is attractive and charismatic, and there’s something about him that Mara can’t quite place…and it takes until about 85% into the book for that to be revealed. But hey, Mara spends the first half of the book hiding the fact that she’s a carnie from him. Oh, and because this is a YA with some romance, Gabe and Mara go from just meeting to making out to “I love you” in a short time. This whole novel takes place in like a ten day span of time.
And I feel like the back cover blurb talks about Mara taking control of a power she didn’t know she was capable of…but that’s a bit of an overstated description. I don’t feel like you can fully take control of anything in the final 15% of a book. I mean sure, she’s learned quite a bit from growing up in a traveling circus/carnival but just because you talk about or see something a lot doesn’t mean that you’re capable of it yourself.
I’m trying to be vague because I don’t want to spoil things.
This was a good read. Not a great one. Not mindblowing or amazing or really all that different from others of the genre. But it was good. I mean, I read the whole thing in just a couple of hours, and that was with interruptions.
I just wanted more from this. Because it’s a standalone you are limited in the amount of time you get to spend with all the characters and such…and I would have just liked more about all of them.
So, I guess all in all I’m going to give this a 3.5 stars. Like I said, it was good, but nothing all that out of the ordinary. It’s still worth a read.
Where to Buy
You can pick this up basically wherever books are sold…Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, Books-A-Million…probably places like Target and Walmart as well.
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