Freeks by Amanda HockingMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I was given this ARC by NetGalley in return for an honest review.
This was one of those books that I enjoyed reading even though I did not like any of the characters. A true and good example of a story driven by the plot, at least for me.
The plot. Who doesn’t enjoy a good and slightly creepy story about an eerie entity wreaking havoc, set in a sideshow carnival? I certainly do. And it was the only thing that kept me reading. It was a good idea and started to unfold nicely, but sadly got a bit sidetracked by a main character, who was just flat. Also, things started to become too convenient in order to wrap up everything nicely into an ending.
The characters in general felt one dimensional. There was “the mom”, “the boyfriend” (in this case the mom’s boyfriend), the mysterious, extremely handsome, slightly brooding, totally ripped love interest and of course “the loyal friend”. They never ventured outside of their pre-determined roles and that made for a very anti-climactic story. The protagonist felt much younger than she was supposed to be, which kept confusing me throughout the story. She couldn’t keep my interest.
The writing started to become repetitive about halfway through the story. After about the fifth time I think every reader gets it that the handsome guy has a glint in his eye and a slight smirk on his lips. It is tiring for a reader to read the same description repeatedly.
Overall, the premise was good and the plot was interesting enough for me to finish the book, but I felt a bit let down. It is a quick read and entertaining, I was just hoping for more, based on the description. I would suggest this book to anyone interested in a story set in the 1980’s, characters with supernatural abilities and a quick read.
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