BLOG TOUR - REVIEW & GIVEAWAY - CHAMELEON by KELLY ORAM - SUPERNATURALS # 1 - BLUEFIELDS

Today on Novels On The Run I have my tour stop for CHAMELEON by KELLY ORAM. You can enter the giveaway and check out my review.

Michelle

By: Kelly Oram
Published By: Bluefields
Released : Available Now
Details: Digital for review, 580 Pages

RATING: 4 TEAM RUSS STARS!!

Blurb: Goodreads

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.

BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

I am going to start by saying I LOVE the cover to Chameleon. It is rather stunning. I enjoyed Kelly’s paranormal idea. I thought it was rather clever. A girl who when touched can take on the supernatural powers or abilities of e.g. a vampire. I really liked that idea.

I absolutely loved the first quarter of this book. The connection I felt with Russ Devereaux and Dani Webber was fun and I really melted for Russ. He is such a great character.

Then the book goes in a different direction. Now I can see other readers feel the same as me. I don’t want to spoil anything but by the end of this BIG book... I was a bit shattered.

I was left kinda spluttering. Doing the WT !!! dance. I must wonder what happened along the way for that outcome?

I think for me personally, I felt this BIG book could almost be two books. I sat back for a day and took my time thinking about why I am feeling the way I am about Chameleon. This is what I came up with. Again this is just my personal thoughts of how I felt.

Gabriel is a great character. I even felt sad for him. His physical appearance and his personality I felt were sometimes at odds with each other. Tattooed and muscley, yet quite child like in his outlook on the world as he had not experienced it. I understand the reason for his naivety. I won’t elaborate for spoiling. But I felt like I needed to know this character more. For reasons that I can’t say for spoiling. I didn’t connect with him very well. I needed more time with him. I mean what guy doesn't know about birds and bees . NO guy needs that explained to them. Little boys at an early age can't keep their hands off Mr Winky. It's in their genetic makeup. Hand is always on snakey. The caveman didn't need a birds and bees sit down. They worked out how to behave around cavewoman.

In saying all that, I think I needed more time with Russ too. I was having such a great time in that first quarter of the book. Jell-O and such. Who doesn’t love a Jell-O swim? Who doesn’t love a guy that will be so romantic, to do what Russ did. I was in Russ love. I was Team Russ. I was Team Rusty. I was crushing on the guy, getting my T-shirt ordered.

There is so much to love about Russ.

I started to say something but Russ held up a hand to stop me. “Patience grasshopper,” he said. He turned his gaze to the alarm clock on my nightstand.
We sat in silence for a full two minutes. Then he said, “There. It’s three eleven in the morning on September twenty- third. You are officially sixteen.” He flashed a dashing smile and pulled a huge, beautifully wrapped box up off the floor. “Happy Birthday, Dani.”
I was speechless.
“Surprised?” Russ asked with a chuckle.

Russ frowned. “You didn’t like the poem I wrote you?”
“The poem I could live with. Even though I don’t think anything that starts with, ‘Dani, Dani, she’s good for the heart. She likes crap like Shakespeare and hates when I fart,’ really counts as poetry.

Enter Duncan. I even laughed at how Kelly made reference to his name. I wanted more Duncan. Duncan was a floating about character. I could be Team Duncan too, not as much as Team Russ.

Now I was getting flung about like a tennis ball between Gabriel and Russ. I was not sure how I was feeling about that. Again, without spoiling, I do want to say a whole pile more than I am saying to back up what I am talking about, but I will be spoiling.

I felt like Dani was over used a bit with the bouncing back and forth and the amount of sobbing. DUDE!!!

I thought the whole idea Kelly has here is awesome. I love a fast paced read, but this was UBER fast. I needed to slow down a bit and get a breather and experience Gabriel more and experience Russ more. In saying that I really latched onto Russ almost from the get go.

I think I would have been ok with Gabriel if he wasn’t so naive. I think if I had been given time to absorb him being a bit more smexi. Absorb better that whole torture chapter. I felt like I didn’t get the importance of it all, properly. Is that what I am trying to say here? I felt like I didn't grab Team Gabriel. I was waiting to be grabbed. I felt like the poor guy kept getting a punch to his gut every time Dani bounced back to Russ. I mean , she was apparently.......well I can't say for spoiling. Now if she wasn't THAT then I could have handled all that better. I felt like I was watching a YA version of cheaters while the other one looked on.

Russ is a fun guy, but he also has a romantic side to him. He can make you melt.

Russ’s eyes were full of mischief so I quickly tore away the
wrapping paper. I laughed when I saw what it was. “A tenpound
bag of Jell-O?”
Russ handed me a piece of folded up paper. I accepted it but gasped when I realized I was looking at a picture I’d drawn back in the fourth grade. It was of Russ and me swimming in a pool of red Jell-O. The words at the top said “My Birthday Wish.”
“Where did you get this?”
“I’ll never tell,” Russ said. “But tonight, Miss Webber, you are getting your birthday wish.”

I didn’t feel like melting for Gabriel. I saw the potential to be a melter for him but he didn’t really do anything to make me melt. He made me feel sorry for him, I saw his feelings get crushed, but ........ gahh!! I can’t really explain what I want to say here without again, spoiling.

I ended up with a four star on this one because Kelly did have me guessing with a nice twist. I love a twist. I love getting a curveball thrown at my head. Well, there is one curveball I didn’t want.

I can’t help thinking this was two books in one, with some jigsaw puzzle pieces missing.

For me personally, and I am just one review in an ocean of reviews,  Russ is a brilliant character. But I got lost. I floundered....I got kinda sad with what Kelly did.

Now I know this is not my book and nor are they my characters to do with as I choose, but ...but...but..... I am left with my mouth open like a goldfish out of water.

What just happened?

How did this turn out like this?

This is Team Russ, Team Russell, Team Rusty.........wt!

I LOVED the Joan-of-Arc influence in this book. That was crazy good, weaving that into the story line. I did wonder when Gabriel wanted to make a get away, he was willing to drive the car.... I was like, dude, you can’t drive.

Another thing that I could not shake in the book. Dani and Russ live in an uber small town. Connor is kind of the last person to see Dani alive. She disappears, her parents , the Deputy, no one is questioning her disappearance. I would have loved that to have been covered properly. I mean a girl goes missing. It is kind of glossed over. I could understand if a certain Warlock put them under a spell for them all to forget about Dani. Then my curiosity is fed. Several references are made during the story about Dani missing, but it is a case of, she is gone...oh well. Being a parent myself I would be nuts causing a ruckuss trying to find out where my daughter went. I would be checking with who last saw her alive and well. What is that Deputy doing?

Kelly sure has a great imagination for prophecy’s, jell-o , villains who are in sheeps clothing, chameleon powers and two guys who are soooo different and only one girl.

I found this a good read with some things that I would have loved to have been different. It just felt wrong. But that is just my one personal opinion. 

Michelle 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kelly 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.

Twitter * Facebook * Blog * Goodreads

GIVEAWAY TIME

a Rafflecopter giveaway

BLOG TOUR STOPS

June 27th

Guest post -- I Am a Reader, Not a Writer.
Review -- Closet Geeks and Slow Mo
Review -- Freda's Voice
Interview -- Abibliophobic

June 28th
Tens list -- Books Over Boys
Review -- Crazy Four Books
Interview -- Bewitched Bookworms

June 29th
Interview -- Living In Your Own World
Review -- The Book Monsters
Teaser -- Up All Night Book Blog
Review -- A Reading Kabocha

June 30th

Review -- Books Glorious Books
Tens list -- Reads and Thoughts
Review -- Colorimetry

July 1st
Tens list -- Burning Impossibly Bright
Review -- Jesus Freak Reader
Review -- Literally Jen
Deleted scene -- Fragments of Life

July 2nd
Review -- Always YA at Heart
Review -- Addicted Readers
Teaser -- A Life Bound By Books
Review -- Novels On The Run

July 3rd
Review -- Fastidious Reader
Interview -- Another World Of Books
Review -- The Book Belles

July 4th
Review -- Sab the Book Eater
Review -- Simply Books
Guest Post -- Fantastic Book Review

July 5th
Teaser excerpt -- Reading and Things
Review -- Busy Moms Book Reviews
Guest post -- The Rest Is Still Unwritten

July 6th
Interview -- Crazed Bookie
Review -- Living In Your Own World
Review -- Amaterasu Reads
Interview -- From The Shadows

July 7th
Guest post -- Thoughts By J
Review -- Booking It With Hayley G
Review -- The Wormhole
Interview -- Ink Skies

July 8th
Review -- Paulette's Papers
Tens list -- The Selkie Reads Stories
Review -- Literary Love Affair

July 9th
Review -- Bianca2b
Review -- Book Passion 4 Life
Guest post -- Scott Reads It
Interview/Review -- Drugs Called Books

July 10th
Review -- Butterfly Feet Walking On Life
Guest post -- Kindle Obsessed
Tens list -- Short and Sweet Reviews
Review -- Sweet Southern Home