Carnie by Ash Ericmore

3/5 stars

God, I hate clowns. That’s it. Were you expecting anything else? Oh, alright…..

Ash Ericmore delivers a gut punch of a story in Carnie, where common sense flies out the window in the face of Fear Factory. Now, having grown up watching Fear Factor, I knew nothing good could come of this, but our intrepid main cast did not, and they are quickly swept away in the depraved acts of the sideshow.

Carnie is a twisted little story and a quick reminder of why you never trust a sideshow that warns you not to get too close to the clowns or they’ll cut you. I love a slice of danger as much as the next person, but that’s a huge no thanks for me. Pogo can find someone else to terrorize.

That being said, I thought Mia was a really fun character to read. She was the smartest of the lot, and her attitude and reactions really did her a lot of favours. However, Sally, Joel, and Lucas felt like side pieces. I don’t feel like they were developed as much as Mia and were pretty much placeholders to be used as cannon fodder for the plot.

This book has the bane of my existence…the r-word. It wasn’t needed. That particular character could’ve been described in so many different ways than that, and it would’ve been just fine.

Carnie was a decent read. It kept me interested, though a bit linear overall. At the very least, I’m invested enough to want to read the next one in the series to see what other imaginative reasons I can find to despise clowns.