05 February, 2017

Chameleon by Zoe Kalo - [Book Review]


Genre: YA/Gothic/Ghost/Multicultural
Word count: 55,000
Release date: February 2017

Premise:

Kicked out of school, 17-year old Paloma finds herself in an isolated convent in the tropical forests of 1970s Puerto Rico, where she must overcome her psychosis in order to help a spirit and unveil a killer.



Blurb:

An isolated convent, a supernatural presence, a dark secret…

17-year-old Paloma only wanted to hold a séance to contact her dead father. She never thought she would be kicked out of school and end up in an isolated convent. Now, all she wants is to be left alone. But slowly, she develops a bond with a group of girls: kind-hearted Maria, insolent Silvy, pathological liar Adelita, and their charismatic leader Rubia. When, yet again, Paloma holds a séance in the hope of contacting her father, she awakens an entity that has been dormant for years. And then, the body count begins. Someone doesn’t want the secret out…

Are the ghost and Paloma’s suspicions real—or only part of her growing paranoia and delusions? 


My Review:

I expected this book to be great even before starting it as this my third book from the author. Here are my earlier book reviews from the author Zoe Kalo - Daughter of the Sun and Korean and Lucy

The story starts when Paloma, a teenager is expelled from school due to her behavior and lands up in a convent which has some dark secrets hidden inside it. As she gets acclimatized with the environment and start making friends, she learns about some secrets and murders. How she reveals the real character of her roommate and handles the mind games of the killer forms the remaining story. 

The author's writing style is easy to follow with a smooth flow between events. Even though we predict the killer after reading half of the book, the mystery element is maintained on he/she would have done it and why.The climax is fantastic.The pace of the book is perfect, neither fast nor slow.The title of the book is very apt, but I feel, the book cover can be better. There are some formatting and grammar errors in my ARC copy which bothered me a little. 

What I loved?

The mystery element, climax, characterization, pace, flow


What I didn't like?
  • A Specific scene is slightly confusing, where the author explains what happens when Paloma is drugged and a murder attempt happens on Adelita. 
  • Some formatting and editing mistakes


My Rating: 4.5/5

About the Author:
A certified bookworm, Zoe Kalo has always been obsessed with books and reading. Reading led to writing—compulsively. No surprise that at 16, she wrote her first novel, which her classmates read and passed around secretly. The pleasure of writing and sharing her fantasy worlds has stayed with her, so now she wants to pass her stories to you with no secrecy—but with lots of mystery…

A daughter of adventurous expats, she’s had the good fortune of living on 3 continents, learning 4 languages, and experiencing a multicultural life. Currently, she’s working on a Master’s degree in Comparative Literature, which she balances between writing, taking care of her clowder of cats, and searching for the perfect bottle of pinot noir.

Connect 
with Zoe Kalo on the web: www.ZoeKalo.com / Facebook / Twitter

Until next time,

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