Thursday, January 5, 2017

Review: Freeks by Amanda Hocking

Published January 3rd 2017 by St. Martin's Griffin


Synopsis: 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 bodies 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.



Rating: 3 out of 5 stars


Review: I want to start off by saying that I'm a huge fan of Amanda Hocking, and my obsession with her writing started with her Trylle series. I remember when I grabbed the  first book (Switched) I dived right in and didn't stop until the last page was turned. The next morning I went out and bought the remaining two books. I spent the entire weekend immersed in the world she had created.
That's the beauty of Amanda's writing, she has a way of creating worlds that draw you in and make you completely fixated on them. It's been a while since I have read something from her so when I was offered the opportunity to receive and ARC of Freeks I squealed with joy and immediately signed up. 

I'm not sure if it was the anticipation or the build up in my head of how I thought this book would play out but Freeks failed to meet my expectations. Don't get me wrong this book was good... it just wasn't great.

The story follows a girl named Mara who is part of a travelling sideshow that is struggling to make ends meet. Mara has spent her entire life on the road with her psychic mother and the rest of the sideshow whom she considers family. Mara has always yearned for stability.. an actual house to call home. The sideshow gets offered a gig in Caudry and the book starts off with them heading to the destination. Once there, Mara sets off on a walk to admire the homes in town... A habit of hers. She comes across a house party and captures the attention of Gabe. Things start to move quickly after that. Not only is there a fast paced Insta love between Mara and Gabe but member's of the sideshow start to go missing. I don't want to spoil anything for you guys and I really hope that I haven't yet but I will say that I wanted Supernatural and Amanda delivered.


Final thoughts: I'm an 80's baby and I thought having the book set in the 80's would be interesting however it was thrown in my face constantly that I became extremely annoyed. The cover and the tarot card drawings found within this book are gorgeous! 

Don't let my review fool you, I did enjoy this book so I will recommend it. I just though it fails in comparison to some of her other work. If you have ever read one of her books then you will agree with me when I say her writing is ah-mazing!!! If you are still skeptical of this book and not sure if its a right fit for you I recommend borrowing it from the library cause I don't feel like this book should be overlooked.  And if you do find yourself in a bookstore, locate this book and open it up. It's hard not to admire its beauty. I will continue to look forward to Amanda's work and can't wait to see what she comes up with next.








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