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ritabriar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The book is structured with periods of bad things followed with periods of recovery, making it well-balanced pacing-wise. The stakes continuously ramp up as well.
Definitely be ready to get the next book in the series when this one ends. The cliffhanger is a good one, though I do feel this book delivers on its core promises. Specifically,
The how and why of this world is revealed in digestible pieces, as knowledge is needed.
This book might help people survive this world-on-fire, too.
Queer and poly positivity abound.
Graphic: Confinement, Torture, Violence, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Suicide, Kidnapping, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Chronic illness, Deadnaming, Genocide, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Slavery, Suicide, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Medical content, Murder, Outing, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
There is a lot of possession, controlling another's body, and thought-sharing. Some is consensual, some not. The suicideswillow1113's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Body horror, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, Violence, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
puttingwingsonwords's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I love when audiobooks go the extra mile like this—the voice effects make computerised, broadcasted and ghostly voices feel more real. Aside from that, the narrator did an incredible job at giving each character a unique voice.
One thing I love about all of RoAnna Sylver’s writing is the focus on queer and disabled experiences, polyamorous families, and the inclusion of ace, aro and trans characters. Queer love is powerful and it can save the world!
Even though the characters go through a lot of very painful things, there’s always hope, always a reason to keep going and try to protect the people you love. That makes this a thrilling, emotional story that will leave you hopeful for the future.
Graphic: Confinement and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail
bluejayreads's review against another edition
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Addiction, Animal death, Trafficking, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Unrealitysimonlorden's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Second read edit, 2018. 01. 10: I still adore this book, and everything it stands for. I adore the descriptions, but most of all I adore the characters and the messages. You're not alone, we're here, we'll make it through this together, everything is going to be okay.
My only complains that the pacing felt really weird both times - it's like the last 40% of the book is just one big action scene. And don't get me wrong, it's an amazing action scene, but all the action and the plot twists and the new information without any breaks gets a little exhausting.
(Original review below)
--
“Words are important. They let you know it’s real, you’re fine, more people like you exist. They let you know you’re not alone."
--
“Holy crap…” Regan whispered, awed and sick and proud at the same time. “She punched it in the face.”
--
Let me tell you how absolutely wonderful this book is.
The Cast
Chameleon Moon's strongest aspect is its characters. Wonderful, colourful, diverse cast of characters. There is indeed a polyamorous marriage between three women, a main character who is a trans woman, a character who uses 'they' pronouns through the entire novel, disabled characters, representation of anxiety, and lots and lots of validation for mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression, or PTSD. And many more, that my tags on this book can't even cover.
I am so incredibly excited about a certain relationship other than the polymarriage, but I feel like that would be a huge spoiler, so I'm just going to put this here for anyone who's already read it: I LOVE THEM SO MUCH.
The Plot
I have to admit, it took me a while to get into this book. The prologue pulled me in, but then the first half of the book felt... slow. It was mostly about getting to know the characters for me, and hinting at the big mystery without any real answers. Not that getting to know the characters is bad - as I said, they are the greatest thing about this book -, but the first half often felt a little boring to me, and there were a lot of conversations that went on too long, or infodumps that were a little too much at once.
The second half, though? I read pretty much the entire second half in one sitting. The twists just kept coming and the secrets kept pouring out. And plenty of questions remaining for the sequel.
Trigger warnings
Suicide mention/description (specifically hanging), anxiety, panic attacks.
My rating: ★★★★★
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Death, Suicide, and Torture