Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Beautiful Freaks by Katie M. John




Title: Beautiful Freaks
Author: Katie M. John
Series: Stand Alone
Genre: YA/Paranormal/Gothic/Romance
Publisher:  Little Bird Publishing House, London
Release Date: Ebook October 2012 Print February 2013
Edition/Formats Available In : Currently just ebook print coming soon Feb 14 2013.


Synopsis:

**** A PARANORMAL GOTHIC DETECTIVE TALE ****
Between these pages you will find yourself transported back in time to the high Gothic. Victorian London.

The year is 1899 and both the century and the Queen are dying.
As the London populace is gripped by a terrifying series of paranormal murders,
eighteen year old Kaspian Blackthorne finds himself on a decadent journey of self discovery.
Victorian London is a place where appearance is everything, but sometimes
appearances can be deceiving. Behind the grand houses, carriages and silks, London is a dark labyrinth of sorrow and violence.
Amongst the gambling dens, dancehalls, and brothels you'll find No 7,
known to its members as Eve's; the most exclusive club in London, infamous for its 'Palace of Beautiful Freaks'.
Each exhibit has a history, each their own unique story.


Review:
I totally loved it! Katie is excellent with words. She made the entire novel drip with creativity! The characters are strong and well understood. The story is gripping from the first chapter. It's so hard to put down once you start reading.

Purchase Links:


Author Bio:

Katie. M John is a writer of YA, Dark Fairytales, Contemporary Paranormal Fantasy and Horror.  


She lives in the London suburbs, is married to a dashingly handsome giant and is mummy to a 3ft Mud-puddle Fairy. Katie likes to write whilst eating Jaffa cakes and listening to her i-Pod.


Katie's Contemporary Arthurian series, 'The Knight Trilogy' was launched in December 2010 with the release of 'The Forest of Adventures' and the subsequent release of 'Immortal Beloved' in 2011. Both books have been in the UK top 10 Amazon charts for Contemporary Fantasy and Fairytales. The final book 'Star Fire' was released this summer.


She has recently released a standalone YA novel called 'Beautiful Freaks', a steam punk, Victorian Gothic detective fairytale in London, which has gained a loyal fan base.


She is currently working on a seven book series called the ‘Pentacle Chronicles’, a tale of witchcraft and other supernatural happenings in a quaint English village.


She is a founding member of Dark Heart & Night Shade; a twice yearly anthology publication that showcases emerging YA talent.


Author Links:
 




Beautiful Freaks Website:   www.beautifulfreaks.com
Facebook Page:    Beautiful Freaks    https://www.facebook.com/pages/Beautiful-Freaks/454275781270459

Excerpt:

Steptree steeled himself for the gruesome sight he was sure awaited him. He let his breath go shallow; a trick he’d learnt to prevent the stench of death from making him wretch. He’d seen some awful violence in his time, but despite attending hundreds of murders in his ten year career, he’d never quite grown immunity. However, none of the sordid and violent ugliness he’d encountered up to this point could have prepared him for the sight in front of him.
He was expecting horror but he was greeted with a sight that was nothing short of beautiful.
At first, Steptree wasn’t sure it wasn’t all an elaborate trick; that he hadn’t been dragged from his warm bed for the sake of a stolen statue. Approaching closer, he realized it wasn’t a statue but the corpse of a young man, still standing. He was posed in the movement of a kiss; his eyes were closed, his hand raised as if still cupping the cheek of his lover. The boy almost sparkled, as if his skin were made of a quartz marble: It was so white as to almost be a shade of pale blue.
Steptree gasped, and tears pricked at the corner of eyes as he thought of how the boy was the same color as the moon, and just as luminescent. Never before had the sight of death moved him to a feeling of such sorrow. In front of him was poetry that went beyond words.
The boy sparkled. The faint flush of a youthful blush was still painted on his cheek. Steptree extended his fingers to explore the thin translucent crust which covered the boy – it was ice; perfect snowflakes had caught in the fibers of the young man’s velvet jacket and laced his eyelashes.
Steptree was an exceptionally logical man, but for the life of him he could not understand how on a slightly chilly October evening, a young man had spontaneously frozen to death. A creepy sensation spread over his skin and an alien sense of superstition entered his thoughts: It was as if the boy had been placed under a fairytale spell.
“Brown, how is this possible?” Steptree asked, his mind whirling.
“It isn’t, Sir! It isn’t possible.”

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