This YA paranormal mystery has plenty of pace – and the explosive prologue certainly sparked my interest, although I’m still in two minds whether it is necessary. While that action scene is a defining moment in the book, I don’t feel Freeks requires such a blunt instrument as a hook – the initial scene pulled me into the story, anyway.

I really cared about Mara, a beautiful, edgy character whose previous experiences with townies has left her wary, while yearning for a more settled life as she watches her mother’s mental health deteriorate under the pressure of her Gift. Hocking’s depiction of the closed community of the carnival and the strong bonds between the performers is excellent. While it is undoubtedly a source of strength and solidarity, it is also a small gossipy village where everyone invariably discovers everyone else’s business – not necessarily a place to feel wholly comfortable as her own dark talents are starting to emerge just as her mother’s abilities start chewing her mind.

The growing tension as the worrying events escalate is well handled, as is the relationship between Gabe and Mara. I liked the fact that it is Gabe who makes the running, while Mara – preoccupied with the mounting problems at the carnival – is less emotionally invested. In order for this story really work, I needed to also care about the cast of supporting characters and again, I felt Hocking did a really good job in providing a cast of interesting misfits who joined the carnival because normal life doesn’t have space or acceptance for their particular abilities.

As for the mystery – I had already guessed what Gabe was before he revealed himself to Mara, but I don’t think Hocking intended it to be a huge shock. However, the denouement came as a surprise as did the conclusion, which also left a grin on my face.

It’s just as well I was reading this one during the holidays, as once I started it was difficult to put it down – to the extent that I broke off working and gave myself permission to read during the daytime, something that doesn’t happen all that often. If you enjoy a slice of paranormal escapism, then go looking for this one – it’s a cracking read. Receiving a copy of Freeks from the publisher via NetGalley has in no way affected my honest opinion of this book.
9/10

What an exciting, intriguing and spine-tingling novel! A travelling Carnival with paranormally talented members and acts? Count me in immediately!

We follow Mara, a young girl who has grown up as a member of Gideon’s sideshow, as she is pulled in different directions as she enters her final years as a teen. Desperate for an occasional escape from the sideshow, where the locals don’t view her as a freek, and she can be her own person, without the pressures of having to look after her clairvoyant mother and the sideshow family, she meets Gabe at a party, and suddenly she realises all that she has been missing out on. But even as their relationship deepens, darker forces attacking the sideshow mean that they aren’t safe, and no local person can be trusted.

I adored the carnival feel to the book, and loved getting to know the characters, the animals and seeing the feats of supernatural talent that the sideshow members could perform. Although I loved Gabe and Mara’s growing relationship, and their sweet scenes together, it was the times I spent with the sideshow cast and crew that I loved the most. I really connected to their world, their views of each other as family, and you could really get that sense of the members ‘Running off to join the circus’! I would have loved to have seen more of their acts, to experience more of the magic which we saw second-hand through Mara.

I loved how dark this story got. As a dark force hunts down the members of the Sideshow, I was sitting on the edge of my seat. What I really admired was how Mara wasn’t the girl to always save the day, but was hunted along with the others, and her powers are only discovered towards the end of the story, and not at the beginning like many ‘Chosen One’ stories.

An exciting story which packs a punch, Freeks is a definite must-read for fans of mystery, magic and family!

4 Stars!

I'm a sucker for books or stories set in the 80s. And the idea of a circus with a dash of romance. Yes!

I like she story okay. I really enjoyed the characters, but the romance was too quick. It felt almost like insta-love. And it bothered me a little, but not enough to detract from the overall story.

I enjoyed Hocking's writing, however, not as much as I did in the Trylle series. Perhaps it was the over the top supernatural elements in this one. I'm not entirely sure. The highlight was definitely the "simpler" days. And at times I'd forget and wonder why no one used a cell phone.

Overall, her fans will enjoy it, I think. Not as strong as some of her other works, but fun.

Freaks drew me in thanks to a really pretty cover. I had previously read Hocking's Trylle series and really enjoyed it.

I have not read a carnival based book since Water For Elephants, so it was definitely time to read a new one.

I really enjoyed the premise of a broke traveling sideshow hoping to turn their luck around. What made it even better was that the sideshow was comprised of supernatural humans with different abilities. It made the sideshow very real, even though the people paying to see the show did not know that.

Jumping around a bit, I want to go into what I immediately did not like. Within the first three chapters, Mara is making out with a local boy that she randomly meets after being in town for only a few hours. That seems highly unlikely, and way too insta-lust/love. I can understand an attraction, but making out with a guy after being in town for a few hours? Nope. There was also a scene where one of the previous sideshow workers died and it apparently wasn't worth exploring after Mara told her mother. I would think that Gideon and the other performers would investigate his home a little bit to see why he did it.

The reveal wasn't too shocking. It was fairly easy to guess who was involved with getting the sideshow to Louisiana.

I just wish their had been more character development and less insta-love especially since this was a standalone. It wasn't bad, but it had the potential to be so much more than what was delivered.

I am a huge Amanda Hocking fan. I started reading her stuff after seeing her in an Anderson Cooper episode. She started of as an Indie author and pulled an amazing feat with gaining an agent and a big name publisher. This isn't a normal fair for an author and her story is inspiring for me. I've almost read all of her books and when I found out there was another one coming, I had to try and snag it before it even hit shelves (the legal way mind you).

You can't imagine my excitement when I got an ecopy from NetGalley and that excitement only grew with this blog tour. I'm in bookfan heaven right now.

If you've read Hocking's work, you will know her style of work. It's mostly first person and I have heard of other readers saying that she is a bit slow. Now, honestly, a good portion of her work does take a few chapters to get the groove of the story. HOWEVER, I found FREEKS to be in a completely different ball game.

The writing is smooth, fast, and keeps you turning the page. I actually read most of the book during a New Year's Eve party (because that's who I am) and my reading speed on my Kindle stated that I only had three more hours to finish the book. Now, I could have feasibly finished it in that time, but I wanted to linger in the world. The mystery behind Caudry, our setting, is just amazing. There's a darkness to it that I can't pinpoint.

I had some theories that dealt with maybe a werewolf or something. There was a lot of mentioning of horror flicks and usually you get either slasher like villians or a misunderstood person. I was leaning towards that idea, a misunderstood person. Especially since the whole community that our heroine is a part of are misunderstood people.

The mystery only deepens at 75% of the book and you are at the edge of your seat waiting for that resolution. The fact that this book is a standalone made it that much more exciting because this meant Hocking wasn't going to tease me with an evil cliffhanger (I say this as if she would do this just to torture me... I have a serious author crush). Needless to say, Hocking leaves enough out that you have to read the end to know the resolution.

The genre is supposedly a paranormal romance, but I wouldn't put it in that category alone. Yes there is paranormal romance, but there's that mystery I mentioned earlier. The heroine, Mara, isn't just filled with love issues like you would see in a regular young adult romance. Yes, that is a big thing, but the missing and injured members of her "family" takes top priority. It shows that she is a character who is more than just a love crazed woman. In contrast, Gabe seems to be more in the romance kick. Then again, he isn't dealing with the same trauma that Mara is and it's nice to see the male lead being the more lovey out of the two.

In all, I really liked this book. the romance was there, but the world was more interesting. I loved the eighties feel to it and I would love to see another book set in the same world. Not a sequel to Mara and Gabe. More like a spin-off. Then again, that could be just me having my author crush and wanting more from Hocking (there are other books of hers I'm going to be reading soon anyways, but still).

This just wasn't something for me. I wasn't a fan of the fact that they were kissing at 8%. It probably amounted to nothing in the end, but just getting there on their first date was a bit too much insta love for me. It wasn't for me, but I did like the paranormal aspect of it. I can see that others may have loved it, but it wasn't for me. I did not post the review on my blog for this reason.

Like a bad '80's horror flick without the actual awesomeness of the 80's, despite the story taking place in it. Bland characters, rushed storyline. Huge disappointment.

Freeks, by author Amanda Hocking, is a standalone novel narrated by 18-year old Mara Beznik. Freeks takes place over 10 days in the year 1987. Mara is a member of Gideon Davorin's Traveling Sideshow heading for Caudry, Louisiana where they will spend the next 10 days entertaining the citizens. It’s a good thing too because they are in dire need of an influx of money to get them to their next destination, and keep the troupe together.

Mara is a carnie who helps out where and when she is needed. Unlike the rest of the members of the sideshow, Mara is considered to be a normal. She has no known special abilities unlike the rest of the performers who have a variety of paranormal abilities, including her own mother who is a Fortune Teller/Mystic & able to speak with the deceased. Upon arrival in Caudry, Mara finds herself encountering a guy named Gabe Alvarado. Gabe invites her to a party where she also meets Gabe's sister Selena.

Mara and Gabe's encounter can be found under the dictionary meaning for insta-lust. There's no other way to explain the immediate connection the two have. If you are a fan of insta-lusts, then this story is for you. Mara is embarrassed to have Gabe learn that she is a so called Freek as some are calling the troupe. So much so that she goes to great lengths not to let him find out until its too late to do anything about it. But, as the two become closer, it becomes harder for Mara to keep her secret.

That's not all there is to the story or this would be a very short review indeed. There is something very disturbing
about Caudry and its residents. And, that becomes even more apparent after performers are attacked by something dark and nasty and one in particular goes missing. As the group starts searching for answers, and the danger becomes all that more real, that's when an important revelation is thrown out to the readers about Mara. You have to believe that it makes sense.

There are those who will ask, well, why didn't these folks have computers? Or, why didn't these folks carry cell phones? Why'd they wait so long to dig into things Lyanka should have known? Let me toss out some knowledge to you my young padawans. Cell phones in the 80's were chunky things that weren't exactly convenient to carry around with you at all times. Plus, there wasn't the coverage that cell phones today have. Also, a majority of people had landlines rather than cell phones.

The Internet itself wasn't accessible to most people until the late 1980's & early 1990's. See, back in the day, we actually WROTE letters to each other with envelopes and stamps and pens and paper. We didn't have easy access at our finger tips like we do today. Thus, why I believe Hocking does a good job portraying a group of people stuck in the late 80's, and not in the 21's century. Had she wrote this story about today's world, things would have been much, much different.

As with other books I have read by Hocking, the ending to this story left me with questions. But, I will say that traveling shows have always fascinated me, and she does a really good job with the secondary characters from Roxie, to Seth, and especially Gideon the leader of the troupe.

That cover is so awesome. It really makes you want to reach out and pick up the book and start reading it. And the book does not disappoint. Ms. Hocking has created a very interesting world populated by some fascinating and endearing freeks. The story keeps you on the edge, wondering who or what is attacking the carnival. And then when you think you have it almost figured out, sharp right turn over a cliff, into something you didn't expect but then you nod your head saying, "yes of course!" I loved the relationship between Mara and all of her family and friends. I thought Gabe was perfect and even though I guessed his secret before it was revealed, I was rooting for their relationship to continue even after the curtain closed on the sideshow. I really enjoyed spending time with Gideon Davorin’s Traveling Sideshow, and hope this isn't really a stand alone. The ending is left in such a way that we could easily follow Mara and Gabe into their next adventure.

Interesting read with an intriguing premise. Natural, romantic chemistry. Somewhat predictable in some parts, but overall, a fun, entertaining ride!

It’s all happening at Gideon Davorin’s Traveling Sideshow. The audience thinks they are seeing slight of hand and optical illusions but there are no illusions here. Gideon’s sideshow is the real thing, a magical place where you’ll encounter levitation, pyrokinesis, necromancy and all manner of dark arts.

The sideshow has set up camp in Caudry, Louisiana, against the better judgement of those who experience premonitions and forewarnings. The performers have little choice, living from gig to gig, they are all broke and simply need to last it out for seven days.

Mara is the daughter of Lyanka, a famed fortune-teller with a direct link to the dead. On their first night in Caudry, Mara takes a walk across town and happens upon a house party. There she meets Gabe, intense and witty with just the hint of a deep secret about him.

Despite the mystery, Mara and Gabe become inseparable within days. But what of Caudry? There is a sinister presence lurking at the edges of the campsite and worse than that, there are attacks occurring with ever-increasing frequency. Who or what is it that is attacking the performers and how can it be stopped?

Freeks is the latest book from Amanda Hocking, a veteran young adult writer and author of the Trylle and Kanin series.

There is so much to say about Freeks and it is difficult to know where to begin. Perhaps it would make most sense to start with the gorgeous cover. I realise that it is the first day of the year but I’m willing to place a wager that this will be my favourite cover of 2017. It is colourful, mysterious and alluring and embodies everything that this book is.

I loved the concept of the travelling sideshow and the Supernatural feel of the book. Whereas Supernatural has us singing along to the classic rock hits of the 1970s, Freeks is set in the middle of the 1980s and I loved spotting all the pop culture references and songs that came out in my teenage years.

Mara is one of my favourite protagonists in a long while. Confident and self-assured, she was no Mary Sue waiting for a boy to come along and save her and in fact at one point, she muses about how she is going to break Gabriel’s heart when the sideshow leaves town.

In addition to Mara and Gabe, Freeks is full of intriguing characters, each with their own history and reasons for joining the sideshow. It is such a rarity when authors pen diverse, interesting characters and it was greatly appreciated and enjoyed. With such a diverse cast, I would love to see this book hit television or the big screen. Amanda Hocking has thought about it too and says she envisaged Cassie Steel and Ryan Guzman as possible actors who could play Mara and Gabe.

At its core, Freeks is a fascinating paranormal fantasy where the tension builds up and the threads slowly come together to unearth the peril that is facing Gideon Davorin’s Traveling Sideshow. I’ll be honest and say that I guessed part of the final reveal but that detracted in no way from my enjoyment of the story. In fact, I felt rather smug for picking up on the clues Hocking left throughout the book.

There is no news yet on whether there will be a sequel to Freeks and indeed, it is being marketed as a standalone novel, but can I just say that I really hope there is one?

I give Amanda Hocking's Freeks a superb five out of five stars and recommend it to all lovers of the paranormal and unexplained and fans of young adult fiction.