Chameleon Aura

This is a really well put-together collection of poetry revolving around major themes like self-love, self-healing, self-satisfaction, and every important aspect of oneself. The collection has poems of varying length, ranging from strong one-lines to crisp double lines to an entire verse of strong vibes, as well as prose that is honest, raw, and compelling. The balance between the two styles of narration is perfect and almost every line is executed gracefully.

There is a lot of self-love surrounding the poems and since that's something I personally love to read about, I think it uplifted the experience. I would go a step ahead and say that it isn't very cliche so if you feel that too many poetry books are reading almost the same, this one wouldn't. It's refreshing and is so much more enjoyable when devoured instead of simply gulping it (even though I did the latter). The only thing that disappointed me was the repetition. It seemed like some poems were so repetitive, it annoyed me at time but if you're someone who loves emphasis, then there's nothing you wouldn't like in this book. Overall, an aesthetic yet empowering feels-filled poetry collection that I would definitely recommend.

That might be one of my new favorite collections of poetry EVER.

It was so wonderfully and beautifully written, and I fell in love with every page. I loved all the poems and I loved how magical and delightful each and every one was. I loved the positive messages and the journey to healing and basically everything about that gorgeous collection <3

I loved this collection far more than I thought I would. These are poems that are meant to be felt, and felt deeply. They are full of honesty, self-love, and healing. I’d call this a required reading for anyone who has ever dealt with self-doubt or negative relationships of any kind.

As a side note, I love how much he uses “darling” in his poetry. It’s a word I use often in my own writing and it just feels good to see.

Have you ever felt words? I am talking about being consumed by the words not just reading or skimming through but feeling every word, rolling it off your tongue, having goosebumps, nodding your head and going "amen! to that" as you partake of them?
This collection is personal and I do not know the author's intent but I could only say "I hear you, I feel you," as I read most of the poems and my two-cents is that it's in line with the ever changing metamorphosis of a chameleon.
Thank you Netgalley for the eARC, I am seriously bummed as a reviewer that I cannot quote the poems I want to, but hey...that's brilliant of you because I'd quote half of this book!

Rupi Kaur, move over. There's a new poet in town.

This is stunning. A masterpiece of self-love and empowerment for those of us who need encouragement following heartbreak and worthlessness. Billy Chapata captures the beauty of a world in which we learn to love ourselves and improve our mental outlooks on relationships, both romantic and platonic. I adored this collection, and I am definitely excited to read more of Chapata's work. This is, by far, one of my favourite reads of 2018.

This is my first time reading the poet. I hope it won’t be my last. I’ve said before that I really love poems that deal with human experiences and emotions. Odes about pretty tress do nothing for me. Chameleon Aura is crammed with poetry that deals with the subject matter I enjoy the most. Many of the poems are written in the second person as if the poet is addressing someone else, namely the world in general. This is an unusual POV for poetry and it took a while for me to get used to the style. Once it grew on me I really liked it. The only thing that I didn’t like is that random words in each poem are in bold which overemphasise, unnecessarily the subject of the poem or key themes. It took a while to switch this off. I really enjoyed Chameleon Aura. My favourite poems were Law Of Attraction, Reflections In The Mirror, It’s Simple, Really, Inner Magic, You Are Responsible For Your Healing and Bridges.

Chameleon Aura is a beautiful collection of poetry and I loved the messages it put across, but something about the writing didn't quite "click" with me enough for me to give it a solid 5 stars. I'll still recommend it to other readers, though.

“Chameleon Aura,” is a collection if free verse by Billy Chapata. The organization of the collection is very creative. The book is divided into sections and each section is named after a vibrant color of the rainbow. Finally, the collection ends with a message of transformation and renewal.

Chapata emphasizes the power of self love and self acceptance. I believe that this is a worthy goal. His work makes me think of butterflies, rainbows, and caterpillars emerging from cocoons. I recommend this book for fans of shape poetry and free verse.

Chameleon Aura by Billy Chapata is a great read! I enjoyed Chapata's poetry style and the message about self-love and growth. There were a few poems that I enjoyed so much that I wrote them down. Like, "You've got magic in your bones, and gold in your soul."Chapata's skill of twisting words into meanings is a treat. With that said, I did feel at times it did repeat it's self but not enough to bug me. I can't wait to read another collection of poetry.

Almost all poetry is evocative in one way or another and much of what I have read relates to suffering, loss, hardship; basically negative emotional life events or feelings. There is a lesser amount that focuses on the elation, love, contentedness and positive elements of life; the only one I can think of offhand is Jason Reynolds's, For Everyone. Chameleon Aura not only has a pretty awesome title and cover artwork, but it focuses on said negative aspects of life then goes on to provide much-needed messages of hope, survival and empowerment.

The title makes much more sense when you discover that the book is divided into different sections all of which are assigned a colour of the rainbow; it also fits with Chapata's encouragement of growth and evolution. Although the prose is raw, emotional and compelling, I found some of it a little cliché, and there was quite a lot of repetition or emphasis depending on which way you look at it. The way the key themes of each poem, whether a single line or a lengthy paragraph, are highlighted or emboldened is an element you will either love or hate, but I do feel it keeps the subject of each poem fresh in the reader's mind and would be particularly helpful for novice readers.

Many thanks to Andrews McMeel Publishing for an ARC.

Powerful collection about knowing your worth. Very thought evoking and beautiful. I enjoyed this one.

So I just flew through this entire collection in a few short hours. I have such mixed feelings right now, and I’ll probably need a lot of time to reflect on the poems. The poems in the first two chapters had me so moved, I was almost in tears. Each and every one of them spoke to me in a way that has never happened before with poetry. There was such a lightness, filled with hope and love, surrounding every poem. But towards the end of the collection, the poems became very repetitive and held almost no meaning. They weren’t necessarily bad, but they just didn’t touch me as earlier poems had. I would honestly recommend this collection though to everyone if only for those first two chapters.

This was such a beautiful collection of poetry. Billy Chapata paints such delicate and heartfelt pictures of love, heartbreak, and self-discovery. I would absolutely recommend this.

The one word this book represents is healing. It explores different healing stages and the process in itself, how it is triggered and how it continues. Reading this poetry collection, I felt encouraged to heal, to grow, and to be more of myself.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes Rupi Kaur or is interested in growth, healing and personal development. While this is a poetry collection and not a self-help book, I find it the perfect companion to anyone who is willing to start or is already in a personal development journey.

Poetry is an odd bird sometimes. On occasion you do have to be in the right mood for it, admittedly, after giving the collection another try, the verses clicked with me.

Most of the poems are short but life affirming, without being over-flowery and very powerful in a memorable way. Really enjoyed this collection.

With thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

I enjoyed this collection of poetry! At first, especially after I saw the cover, I wasn't too sure about it but as I read it, I fell in love with it and how easy it was to read. The imagery and emotions that are created through each piece are lovely. Thank you for the opportunity to read this one!