Sunday, June 30, 2013

50 GC Tour Review - Chameleon by Kelly Oram


On Tour with Kelly Oram...

Chameleon (Supernaturals, #1)
Chameleon
by Kelly Oram
ebook
Published June 25, 2013 by Bluefields

For small-town rebel Dani Webber magic and monsters are no more real than the Easter Bunny… until the day she accidentally stops time. Dani quickly discovers that not only do supernaturals exist, but she herself is one of them. This is great news for her life-long best friend Russ, who can finally come clean about his own supernatural status and his undying love for her. Before the two can start to enjoy the long overdue relationship, Dani is taken by a powerful council of supernaturals who believe she is the Chosen One destined to save them from extinction. 

As if being kidnapped and expected to save the world isn’t bad enough, an ancient prophecy warns of the Chosen One’s dark nature: “Only the truest love will keep her an agent for good.” The council believes they know who this “true love” is and, unfortunately, that person isn’t Russ. The mysterious, powerful and devastatingly handsome Seer is the last person Dani wants in her life, but when she starts having visions of a horrific future, she has no one else to turn to for help. 

Soon Dani finds herself torn between two very different boys with two very different opinions of whom she can trust. With the visions getting worse and time running out, Dani is forced to put aside her feelings and work with both the Seer and Russ before an ancient evil is unleashed upon the earth.



My Review:

I love Kelly Oram’s writing style!

She jumps into this urban fantasy with the same feel of wild abandonment I love in V is for Virgin. She uses exclamation points!!!!  :-D  The characters are vibrant, the story is so fast-paced… I couldn’t put it down.

The trouble with the love triangle is not so much… the love triangle but every motivation behind it. Dani doesn’t know who is telling the truth and it gets so tangled up that not every trusted person can be who they say they are. The pressure mounts… and the persona under fire is the father-figure. Whose father figure is lying? 

Oram puts the squeeze on ‘til I can barely stand the tension. There are peeks in the future that actually make bigger messes of things, rather than clear them up. Which, frankly, felt like fantastic writing that made me really squirm. I was ready to shake the truth right out of anyone I could get my hands on.

Everything clears up, the tangle of loose ends is explained, but not remotely close to how I’d imagined it would. Also, something I really enjoyed. The trouble comes from choosing a side too early… in this book, no one is above selfish motives.

Oh… and the fantastical world? I squirmed when the spiritual world as I imagine it came to life. *shudder*

I really love Dani. She’s smart. She thinks fast. She’s not afraid to dive into things headfirst. She has spunky attitude, too. LOTS of attitude. I swallowed her character whole and I’m still irritated with manipulative authorities. Grrrr   She grows and changes delightfully, with speed, motivation and youthful energy.

Russ is one of my all-time favorite personalities EVER in fiction. He is so fun, so full of life, so real, & so full of attitude. The spats between him and Dani were wonderful. These two are too alike for any peace. They honestly reminded me of Jo March and Laurie… only this time, Dani really likes Russ and doesn’t see their fighting as a reason to not hook up. Yesss!!

The Seer. How interesting that he isn’t named in the book summary. Lol. His story barely gets started in this book. He is nice. He is sweet. His is very mysterious. We meet him from Dani’s perspective which is just plain WARPED by the time she gets to know him, so I have all kinds of questions, still. This guy has yet to prove himself to me but I caught the hint that we’re nowhere near done with him. My fear is that he is pure sugar and unhealthy.

 There are two father figures and neither is above reproach. Both have ulterior motives, both manipulate Dani abominably. They really draw the battle lines. Neither can be entirely right. My complaint about this book would be right here… one of them seems to change too drastically and the other rang hollow to me. I don’t respect an adult that can tell a youth they don’t like them to their face. There’s something about being an adult, especially a respected adult, that recognizes good and bad all bundled in one character. To say “I don’t like you” is petty coming from a anyone and reduced my respect for one father figure and the entire system because they put him in authority.


My rating:  Dani & Russ 5’s for me! The Seer was a 4 in hopes of more to come. The world building is 4.5. The fathers were 3’s – I dock them a lot of points because they were so essential to the story. I really love Kelly Oram’s writing style. I look forward to reading everything written by her! Another 5.  Altogether, a resounding 4.

Cover Love:  I do love this cover. I like the girl looking over her shoulder. I'm not sure what the ball of fire is, but I like it. I LOVE the title. Perfect.



Kelly OramKelly Oram wrote her first novel at age fifteen–a fan fiction about her favorite music group, The Backstreet Boys, for which family and friends still tease her. She's obsessed with reading, talks way too much, and loves to eat frosting by the spoonful. She lives outside of Phoenix, Arizona with her husband and four children.



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