I have dnf'd this book.

As a poetry collection, I did not like this book.

As a collection of inspirational sayings... sure, this was alright. I mean come on, the sayings weren't even that original.

'and when you love her
don't just love her petals,
love her thorns too.' (p. 17)


I was confused by the randomly bolded words, it really took me out of each sentence.

Honestly, it's probably just me. Lots of reviews seem to dig this, and I really wanted to (the cover looks awesome and the author sounds so interesting) but I just can't bring myself to keep reading.

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.

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.

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!

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.

A blend of self-help, autobiographical and didactic poems that shatters the conventional poetic forms. Not groundbreaking yet definitely heartfelt.

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

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.

Chameleon Aura by author Billy Chapata is a raw poetry book meant for all adults to read!
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an arc copy of Chameleon Aura in exchange for an honest review.