I really enjoyed this book! It was creepy and weird and a little disorienting, just what I wanted
This book definitely captured the worst parts of life in small Scottish town in the 1990s and added magic and curses
I had a fantastic time with this book and will be reading more books by the author
Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

I took my time reading this book and I'm SO glad I did- I was a bit wary after reading other reviews that I would find the amount of characters overwhelming but I think this just made me pay more attention and give the characters the time they deserve. The descriptions were so vivid and vibrant and grotesque, and the conservative rural Scottish setting worked so well with the storyline.
If you love characters like Maeve Fly, you will absolutely adore Nancy!
Between the cover and the descriptions of this book as queer, punky horror, this book would absolutely be something I would run to buy if I saw it on a shelf. This is the kind of book that would make a marvellous movie, with its fast pacing, huge personalities, and the way it forces you to reflect on small-town mentalities and facing the past.

It isn’t often that you can truly describe a novel as a visceral rollercoaster ride but perhaps that isn’t quite sufficient to describe what happens in the sleepy – and unpleasant – Scottish village of Pitlaw! From the first paragraph, when the funfair rolls into town with trucks ‘like a parade of chorus girls with dirty knickers’ the story rolls along at speed.

The fairground people are apparently the ‘freaks’ of the book title with extraordinary appearances and even more extraordinary skills and attributes but much more freakish are the violent, reactionary and unpleasant villagers. The stage is set for confrontation.

Behind these events is a history where the village had an old tradition of burning witches. There are people in this fair bent on revenge.

The unravelling of the story is extraordinary, the style consistently colourful and extreme and the characters sympathetically drawn. It’s a fabulous read.

I loved how unique this book is!
A great funfair atmosphere, mysterious characters, the narrative of a dark past at the centre of the unrest, and the tug-of-war over who the real bad guys were.

Some great twists that I didn't see coming and definitely a read that I will remember

3.5 ⭐️
Very dark and can have a lot of hard scenes to watch, so do check the trigger warnings before reading.

As a romande reader but a horror movie watcher I can say I surprisingly enjoyed this, not enough to put 4 stars but better than 3. When reading this, I was always thinking of American Horror Story in the back of my mind.

At first you don’t really know what to expect, there are many many characters and you don’t really understand why everyone is so important or why in every chapter it’s always a different person. Although I enjoyed some of the plot (loved Zed and Derek and in a very weird way Louie and Shona) but I did get confused sometimes with all the information. I also couldn’t really relate to most characters (not that I really wanted to) but it made it hard to understand them on a deeper level and made the reading that bit harder.

Other than that, I do recommend to anyone who enjoys a creepy, magically, circus themed book.

Thank you to netgalley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Yep, queer funfair horror. Set in the 90s in a small Scottish town.

Add in the bold, eye-catching cover and I truly didn’t need any more encouragement on that at all, especially considering my recent kick with literary horror (which I wrote about right here).

A travelling funfair of seductive troublemakers arrive in a repressed Scottish town. What could possibly go wrong?

It’s the summer of ’97 and the Scottish town of Pitlaw is itching for change.

Enter the Freakslaw – a travelling funfair populated by deviant queers, a contortionist witch, the most powerful fortune teller, and other architects of mayhem. It doesn’t take long for the Freakslaw folk to infiltrate Pitlaw’s grey world, where the town’s teenagers – none more so than Ruth and Derek – are seduced by neon charms and the possibility of escape.

But beneath it all, these newcomers are harbouring a darker desire: revenge.

And as tensions reach fever pitch between the stoic locals and the dazzling intruders, a violence that’s been simmering for centuries is about to be unleashed…


Novels that feature characters with disabilities or physical differences and the presence of a funfair, carnival or freakshow is a worry and a cause for trepidation as it’s not always sensitively approached, but I think it was done really well in ‘Freakslow’. I am not disabled myself so my reading of it could very well be coming from a point of complete privilege and I’m intrigued to see the reception from the disabled community when the book comes out.

All of the members of the Freakslaw revel in their differences and the freedom that they find in their lifestyle and existing outside of the constraints of society, either by circumstance or by choice. It’s not just disabled people, it’s also those with supernatural abilities: Nancy is a witch and Gloria can tell the future and speaks with the ancestors, but everyone in the Freakslaw family feel apart from society. The way that they are all pitted against the town of Pitlaw is very clearly at the fault of the violence, ignorance, anger and misogyny of the town’s residents, and even in the acts of violence that are carried out against Pitlaw, it feels valid and like a necessary revenge.

Every character bursts off the page, even the most hateful ones, and their stories are fleshed out and vivid in Flett’s extraordinary writing. You know those books where you’re reading and come across a sentence that makes you stop and have a physical or audible reaction? ‘Freakslaw’ is brimming with them. This is a debut novel and the calibre of Flett’s writing has me incredibly excited for what has to be a long writing career ahead of her, because I want more of her writing and her stories.

Through the novel, Flett casts a really vivid portrait of the small, working-class, abandoned Northern towns abandoned in this period by the government and the changing social and political landscape. The feeling of being stuck and the boiling frustration of the residents is palpable; it echoes in the way they spend their time, the options available to them, and the rigid ideas of what’s okay and what’s acceptable - it feels like it’s stuck a time warp.

It’s only with the arrival of the Freakslaw that characters such as Ruth and Derek have the opportunity to experience life outside of Pitlaw, in a very extreme way, and way could lay in wait for their futures, though there is a few hints of the lifelong impact of both growing up in Pitlaw and experiencing the thrills and horrors of the carnival. This is especially true for the Ruth, as if usually is for the women in all situations and stories, so her ending is a little bittersweet.

‘Freakslaw’ is a visceral, delicious, and extraordinary debut about freedom and the victory of the disenfranchised over those who have made them suffer in the past. A truly wonderful literary horror novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Transworld for the review copy.

Written by Sophie

The blurb tantalisingly hints at the chaos and mayhem that ensue as the Freakslaw folk, with their neon charms and dark desires, infiltrate the grey world of Pitlaw. While the premise is intriguing and the blend of horror and queer punk elements is certainly refreshing, the execution occasionally falls short. The attempt to transplant an Americanised version of funfairs and freakery into a UK setting feels somewhat forced, and the nuances of British freakery could have been more subtly woven into the narrative.

Flett’s decision to include a glossary of characters is helpful but perhaps indicative of a larger issue. If the characters had been more deeply explored within the story, they would have been easier to remember and connect with.

Freakslaw is a wild, raunchy ride that delights in its transgressive nature. It’s a novel that promises much and delivers a fair share of thrills, even if it doesn’t always hit the mark.

a clash of cultures is inevitable when a circus rolls up to a small scottish town. the residents are repulsed by and drawn to its gender-bending, contortionist, fortune-telling performers. but as tensions rise, a dark secret in the past reveals the circus's true motivations and a reckoning is due.

the story is dark and visceral, with vivid descriptions and sharply-drawn characters, who embark on fantasy-inspired journeys to their darker selves. it's definitely influenced by folk horror.

it's definitely a reflection on my mood, not this novel, but i found it hard to sink into. the glittering imagery and wry tone made me feel quite distant from the characters and i had to make an effort to absorb what was happening. again, not a reflection of this book's quality, and normally it's the kind of story i'd love - i think it's just not what i need at this moment. i may return to it in a few months and see if i change my mind.

thank you netgalley for this review arc.

The interesting premise drew me to this book, but unfortunately I really struggled with it. Sooo many characters to attempt to get to grips with made it a struggle to get into and keep track of, which ultimately pulled me out of the story.

Roll up, roll up the Freakslaw funfair is rolling into town! And the Scottish town of Pitlaw best watch out, for these misfits have more than just fun on their minds.

The book begins quite slowly, but the tension builds and builds like a pressure cooker about to blow.

The Townsfolk of Pitlaw are repulsed and enraged by this tribe of degenerates; Miss Maria The Fat Lady, Cass & Henry the conjoined twins, Nancy the contortionist/scheming witch, Drag performer Gretchen Etcetera, Human pincushion the Pin Gal and Werewolf Louie stealer of hearts (including mine), to mention just a few.

However, intrigue draws the Townsfolk in one by one, and as they find their way to the funfair, the ancestors of the Freakslaw call for atonement to settle a historical wrong. The culmination is a violent eruption of hatred and prejudice.

I loved the funfair atmosphere, the seductively mystical characters, the narrative of a dark past at the centre of the unrest, and the tug-of-war over who the real bad guys were.

#AD/PR Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday for my e-ARC in exchange for my review.

4.5*
This book was deliciously depraved. 
I couldn't stop reading. 
Think house of 1000 corpses meets the craft with a can of ironbru for good measure.

Do check trigger warnings

Disturbing yet addictive. American Horror Story vibes, in the best possible way. Intriguing from the beginning. An excellent debut!

Unfortunately my high hopes for his book were not met and I ended up DNFing this title at about 25%.

While I normally like multiple POVs, I found that too many of the POVS in this book were lacking excitement or anything that particularly drove the narrative forward and felt that this novel could have done with less POV changes, or at least those that didn’t drive anything could had been cut so this was the main reason for my DNF.

Set in the summer of ’97, in the drearily named town of Pitlaw, we have small minded people guarding their small minded town. Enter the Freakslaw – a band of merry misfits with a flair for the dramatic. We’re talking deviant queers, a contortionist witch, and don't forget the adorable lil werewolf!

Pitlaw’s teens, especially Ruth and Derek, are drawn to this spectacle like moths to a neon flame. At first I wasn't sure about this book, I thought we had a series of vignettes, but actually they were a steam train, slowly building and merging. From about 50% I couldn't put it down and finished in a day, although it took a little for me to get into it at the start.

The buildup is deliciously tense, and as the stories slowly unfold and evolve you find yourself wanting things to happen with sometimes little idea what's actually going to happen. It had an air of Poppy Z Brite's Lost Souls about it, and I think it was perhaps on purpose. It's very much in the tradition of the disruptive gothic horror, although actually less horror than I was expecting!

So, if you’re ready for a ride that’s part carnival, part revenge fantasy, and all people, "Freakslaw" is your ticket. Just buckle up – it’s going to be a bumpy, brilliant ride.

I've removed a start because it was brilliant, but I was expecting more punk, and I didn't quite feel Ruth's story landed the way it was supposed to.

I had such high hopes for this book after reading the synopsis, the idea sounded exactly like something i'd enjoy. Circus full of 'freaks' come to titilate and intrigue the small Scottish Town of Pitslaw. Unfortunately I've had to call it quits at just over 20%.

There are too many characters and too many alternating chapters told from varying points of view where nothing actually happens before it's on to the next chapter/character.

At first It reminded me of the way Stephen King includes different characters and really builds his worlds. But for me these characters fall flat as I just don't know anything really about any of them as their chapters are so short and it's too slow moving for me to want to learn any more.

The idea sounded awesome, but sadly for me the execution is not.

I feel it unfair to fully review books I haven't managed to complete so will not be leaving a review on goodreads or amazon for this title.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, this book is very special to me. It depicts what it's like being an outsider, and still being able to find your family. I felt very recognised in this.
I kinda wished it had leaned more into the horror element. Partly, it focused a lot on gore and being disgusting, but I would've appreciated a bit more atmosphere, especially against the backdrop of a funfair. However, I was impressed how every character had such a unique voice. This book is told from a lot of perspectives, and yet you can tell them apart very easily. It's not a long book, just about 300 pages, and yet nothing felt like it fell short. The writing style also matches the vibes perfectly, being very chaotic at times, especially when looking at the freaks.
I spend a long time thinking about whether or not I had a favourite character, and I came to the conclusion that none of them were really loveable. This story is filled with anger and a need for revenge, in a way that is so incredibly understandable. But it also poses to question of wether you can answer violence with violence, if you should hurt those who have hurt you, or maybe even if you need to to protect yourself and others. And what does that make you? What does it leave you with? I think that part will stay with me for quite some time.
On the other hand, I wasn't a fan of how one specific part was handled towards the end. I don't want to spoil anything here, but I'll give you a CW for teen pregnancy & abortion. That in itself didn't seem badly handled to me, but one specific thing left a bitter aftertaste in my mouth. Idk.
Nevertheless, I love me some feral teenage girls. Teenage girls should have a right to be feral, and somewhat disgusting. Love that.
In conclusion, I really liked this book. I should've expected less atmospheric horror, but I'll hold the hope of being strange and still being loved, not despite but because, very close.
4/5

Set in the small Scottish town of Pitlaw in the summer of 1997, the story revolves around the arrival of a peculiar fun fair, Freakslaw.
This is the perfect choice for readers who enjoy dark, fantastical tales with a touch of horror, highly recommended for those looking for something different and exciting!

Unfortunately this novel wasn’t for me. I found the introduction of all the characters at the beginning to be overwhelming, I prefer to find the characters naturally throughout the elements of the novel.

As far as I read I did find the writing and premise interesting but it didn’t grip me enough to continue. It might have been an unfair comparison but I felt a Geek Love sort of vibe from it early on and I felt that might have skewed how I was expecting the novel to turn out.

I do think I would consider this for a re-read in the future if I had the time but at this point I have had to DNF.

4.5

The half point off is because I wanted more. I wanted a longer book. Its not a bad criticism is it? I'd definitely read more by Jane Flett.

I loved this. It grabbed me right from the start and (appropriately) felt like an absolute roller coaster of a ride.

The story centres on the funfair that has come to the small Scottish town of Pitlaw. The Freakslaw has arrived to mess with the residents. They've come for fun, danger and for revenge. But is Pitlaw ready for them? Will the freaks go too far too fast and who will pay for the consequences?

The characters in this book are the stars. From the moment you meet Maria the Fat Lady sent to the local cafe to keep her weight up you know there's going to be a clash of cultures on an epic scale. The residents are most definitely not going to welcome the obese, the strange and the magical. In fact they're ready to teach them a lesson but there could be enough of the town lured by the lights and the glamour to tip the scales.

A great story with luminous characters. I'd highly recommend it. I looked forward to reading it and struggled to put it down. The end isn't what I expected at all. It just came way too soon.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK for the advance review copy. Most appreciated.

I really was not sure what to make of this book to start with but slowly got quite engrossed in it. There were a couple of uncomfortable scenes that I wish I had not read but overall enjoyed the book. Definately something a bit different.