I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book but unfortunately it wasn’t quite the vibe for me and I had to DNF at 30%!

Freakslaw by Jane Flett was not what I expected it to be and I can't decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing. The writing style was great and I really liked the concept, but I don't know if I liked the plot or the ending. Overall, I think this is a good book?

This was so unhinged and disturbing. It was like watching an episode of American Horror Story. Carnival horrors can be difficult to pull off but Flett made it an easy, fun, visceral read. Can't wait to read more from her.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc! I love the queer energy in this book! This is for anyone who wanted a dark take on a circus. Definitely recommend for fans of American Horror Story Freakshow.

I am absolutely the audience for this book. It is not going to be for everyone but I thoroughly enjoyed this horror take on Night Circus. The unusual writing style was excellent, with some incredible lines. At its core this is a story of revenge but it is also a story about how our differences are what make us beautiful. If you can’t stand a ‘head hopping’, chaotic, rage- fueled frolic then give this one a miss.

I am so thankful to Zando Pub, Netgalley, and Jane Flett for granting me advanced access to this title before publication day. This was a harrowing tale that will resonate with me for some time.

If there were ever a book that screams rebellion, rawness, and radiant queer energy, it’s Freakslaw by Jane Flett. A debut like no other, this novel grabs you by the collar and drags you straight into the neon-soaked, grit-laced underbelly of a sleepy Scottish town where the ordinary meets the outrageously grotesque—and queerness refuses to hide. Reading it during PRIDE month felt electrifying. Because let’s be real: queer horror is unhinged, fearless, and absolutely mesmerizing.

Set in the smothering summer of 1997 in the repressed town of Pitlaw, the story kicks off with the arrival of a traveling carnival called the Freakslaw. But this isn’t your average ringmaster-and-elephants affair. These are misfits, witches, queers, fortune tellers, and chaos artists, blazing with colour and danger. For teens like Ruth and Derek, the carnival isn’t just dazzling—it’s a lifeline, a crack in the grey wall of conformity they’ve always known. But the Freakslaw carries a deeper magic and a darker purpose: revenge for centuries of being cast out, ridiculed, and feared.

What unfolds is a spiraling dance of seduction and resistance—where otherness becomes power, and pleasure becomes protest. Flett’s writing is lush, vivid, and feral, drawing comparisons to literary greats like Katherine Dunn and Angela Carter. Yet it’s undeniably her own voice: wild, poetic, and pulsing with fury and grace. There are moments of brutal honesty, scenes drenched in violence and sex, but through it all runs a fierce tenderness—a love letter to chosen families, to self-definition, and to queers who fight back when they’re told they don’t belong.

The beauty of Freakslaw is not just in its storytelling but in its gutsy insistence that freaks, weirdos, and wild-hearted rebels don’t just survive—they thrive. The tension between Pitlaw’s conservative dread and the carnival’s disruptive joy mirrors so many real-world battles. Flett doesn’t shy away from showing how deep-rooted the fear of the “other” runs, or how easily cruelty wears a polite smile. But in the chaos, there’s rebirth. In the fire, there’s freedom.

So yes, Freakslaw is horror. But it’s the kind that liberates. The kind that says: if the world won’t let you in, burn your own door open. It’s queer, it’s feral, and it’s unforgettable. And this PRIDE month, it’s the perfect read to remind us that being different is a kind of magic.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

I don’t know about y’all, but I always dreamed about joining a circus. I was always fascinated and in awe of the sideshows and the performers. I love the perspective this book offers. It’s gritty and disturbing, and yet also wholesome? This book is for the outcasts. Those who have been bullied, or abused, or left behind. The freaks are written with so much love, and this book is a good reminder that everyone deserves that love. There’s a place in the world for everyone. It’s also bloodthirsty, and dirty, and vengeful. What more ya ask for.

RATE: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
GORE:🩸🩸
AGE: 16+

REVIEW
This story was perfect for those who love themes of Freak Shows and Carnivals, as this book is centered on a Freakshow Carnival that has arrived tot he town of Pitlaw. But what comes with this fair are a group of unique individuals that the town just might not be ready for. There’s a wolf boy, the fat lady, a contortionist, a fortune teller, as well as other great additions to the fair. The characters are very well written with such care that you will truly feel emotions for them when all things look like they’re going downhill for them. The horrors of the book actually come from the ‘normal’ people of the town who don’t see these people as equal, but more like monsters. Because these ‘freaks’ embrace who they are, this makes the townsfolk despise them even more because of their differences. Overall, this book was beautifully written with a nice paced and divine characters you actually care about. I look forward to reading any future releases by the author, as I was thoroughly impressed with this book.

DNF @ 30%

The writing was a hard miss for me. This feels like a mediocre YA book with some adult content. While reading it felt like there was very little to substance to the story, I couldn't get into it, put the book down and each time had to force myself to try and finish it. This book put me into a weeks long reading slump.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Zando for sharing a digital copy, as always, opinions are my own.

Freakslaw is such a fun one and I loved the vibes that it gave. In the same vein as Geek Love - this book explores what it means to march to the beat of your own drum (whether willingly or unwillingly.)

I definitely also got notes of Something Wicked This Way Comes from this one - hear me out. When the circus is setting up and the energy in Pitlaw turns frenetic and a little scary, it gave me the same feeling as when the circus comes to town in Bradbury’s famous novel. Just the sheer possibility brimming over the pages made me need to know more about the freaky little circus.

The character development in this one was incredible and I especially had a soft spot for Ruth. A girl so determined to get out of a small town that she may just doom herself to eternity there after all. The commentary on fate and free will throughout this novel were spectacular.

Check this one out if you love freaks, chaos, and social satire / commentary!

**Thank you to NetGalley and Zando Projects for the eARC of this wild title!**

I absolutely loved this book. So rich with imagery and bursting with emotion. I wanted to join the Freakslaw myself and completely understand why the people find it so alluring. If you have ever felt like an outcast, Freakslaw is for you!

Thank you Jane Flett, Zando publishing, and NetGalley for the ARC!

4.5 rounded up!

I may be biased because I'm a sucker for any media with a circus setting, but I LOVED this! It's very similar to "Kittentits", one of my favorite reads last year. It has that similar not-super-straightforward-storytelling-but-man-I'm-having-fun sort of vibe. I love the found family aspect, I love the idea that we should all let our freak flag fly, and I loved the chaos.

The writing is also so visceral. I could sense every sticky sensation, cotton candy scented wind, and black eye this book delivered to me. Everything had these really great Bradbury style descriptions. A fucking feast of a book!

A timely tale of outcasts navigating a system that punishes difference, Freakslaw delivers biting commentary on conformity and control. The surreal style and huge cast of characters may put off some readers, but Flett's crazed carnival worked for me.

This was truly, just so exquisitely grungy and sultry.

I was impressed by the variation of character archetypes without them falling into boring or overused tropes. There is a level of tenderness and loyalty that's shown between unromantic characters that I don't feel happens often enough.

There could have been a little less obviousness to who is the evil force in the story, I love a story that makes me wonder what's going to happen or pulls my heart for someone I wouldn't usually be sympathetic towards, and this didn't do it. Nancy was a close one, but I was hoping for some similar treatment of the awful father. Which is fine! It was still a great story!

I haven't seen the show, but while describing the plot to a friend they said it reminded them a lot of Carnivale. For me, it feels like what AHS Freakshow was trying to, and failed miserably to, portray.

I was really hoping to love this book more. It had such a strong start and I loved the introductions of the Freakslaw characters. I found Nancy and her chaotic magic particularly interesting and wished for more of it. I think that is what was missing, honestly. The story gets into the lives and heads of a few townspeople of Pitlaw, but doesn't really do the same for the Freakslaw characters. At least not to the same extent, which is a shame because the Pitlaw characters are pretty generic and not as interesting. I will say that Flett's prose is lovely and I would definitely read another book by her based on that alone.

So you can just rub stuff on your bits and magic happens? FASCINATING.

As someone who grew up reading Cirque Du Freak this was a great adult book with the same freakish vibes.

This is not working for me. I’m just not clicking with the characters and there is a bit more of a supernatural element than I like. I like horror but without supernatural elements, that is hard to find.
This is a DNF at 20% sadly.

Fun and freaky. Quirky and queer. A dash of sugar and a spoonful of violence.

Not for me, but maybe for you?

The premise of Freakslaw is 4/5 stars. Flett uses the carnival performers as a medium for representation, a clever play on the LGTBQ+ community being viewed as "freaks" in some circles. I'm also in my "burn it down" era, so the anarchist undertones were really doing it for me.

But why do I so badly want this book to stop feeling like it's trying so hard? The real reason—I realized while reading this—is I straight up don't like satire. The over-the-top, in-your-face nature of satirical horror is jarring to me, and when all the characters are caricatures, the overemphasis on their lack of depth makes it hard for me to get locked into the story.

That being said, I would recommend Freakslaw to folks who enjoy this style of writing—Flett serves up satirical horror in one of the least grating and most palatable ways I've dared ingest.

This is like American Horror Story on steroids. Such a gutting and visceral story with the most unforgettable set of characters that you will come across. This is one I will be thinking about for a while...