A review by ritabriar
Chameleon Moon by RoAnna Sylver

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

• 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

I love the way these people support and love each other. Not everyone trusts easily, but everyone will do anything for their people. Each of them has their own voice and personality, and the characters we follow most closely are affected by a heroic culture in Parole of getting everyone through, alive. 

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,

Regan gets his memories back and the city falls,

but not everyone

is in a stable and safe place at the end.

All of the named characters

survive, in one form or another.

 

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. 

---

Content Warnings

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 suicides

aren't what they seem

, but are both clearly described. Methods are

hanging

and

jumping out of a high window

. Arguably, there's also a lot of suicidally high-risk behavior, but I don't think anyone involved in that actually wants to die, at least for long. Animal who is shot is a

mechanical dog

. Later, he is

recovered by Danae, using her powers

. The dysphoria, deadnaming, and transphobia are all dealt with swiftly and appropriately. No one reacts badly to the person who is outed to a small group. Just about everyone in this book has graphic PTSD, but they care for each other and help each other survive and provide mutual care.