The Chameleon Effect

By: Joe Arden

Narrated by: Joe Arden

Length: 6 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's Summary

Lights. Camera. Action....

I've got everything it takes to make it in Tinseltown: confidence, charisma, and a killer chin. Now all I need is a chance.

But Los Angeles is full of hot young hunks, and talent might not be enough to separate me from the cookie-cutter crowd.

Well, you know what they say: Fake it till you make it.

So I devise a wild scheme to get noticed. Pretend I’m someone I'm not—good-bye Will O’Connell of Cincinnati and hello Liam O’Connell of Dublin.

"Liam" and his talent with accents is enough to get my foot in the door, but I never anticipated meeting the woman who has me more worried about keeping my foot out of my mouth.

Enter Raven Locke, the dark-haired bombshell who puts the ‘tude in tattooed.

On set, she’s the costumer tasked with fitting my pants, but all I can think about is how to get into hers.

As my—I mean, Liam’s—budding career begins to heat up, so do our feelings.

While Raven pursues her passion for fashion; I chase her heart.

Our picture-perfect screenplay seems sure to send us riding off onto Sunset Boulevard....

Until Raven finds out that Comedy and Tragedy aren’t the only masks I'm wearing. Our romance might be destined for the cutting-room floor, unless I can salvage our story with a plot twist she won't see coming.

The Chameleon Effect is the debut solo novel written and performed by acclaimed, award-winning romance narrator Joe Arden, with a special guest appearance from Maxine Mitchell.

A secret-identity romance from the man with the secret identity!

This male POV rom-com has it all: lots of heat, plenty of heart, and a Hollywood-worthy HEA.

©2022 Joe Arden (P)2022 Joe Arden

What a debut!

Joe Arden's debut novel WHAT? !
He is one of the best narrators in romance, and needs no introduction but as an author? Joe has a place in this space! He knows romance and man can he write romance! This story written in the male POV is refreshing, real and swoony (ok steamy as well! ) You will laugh, you will feel, you will enjoy this ride with WilLiam and Raven. She's a quirky strong heroine, he's a kindhearted, heart on the sleeve hero. And their story is magic on the page!

Joe's narration is amazing. Special mention to his interpretation of WilLiam's niece, who is a show stopper on her own. And the cameos by Maxine Mitchell bring this audiobook full circle.

Turns out Joe Arden's not just a pretty voice, he's a damn good author as well!

BRAVO.. A GREAT STORY WITH CHARM & HEART

Well Mr Arden, you should be very pleased with yourself right now because wow, this debut novel has a great cast of characters, an entertaining and flirty storyline and the perfect narrator - you. And just look at all the glowing five star reviews. Because you are the creative storyteller AND your endless talents brought the cast of characters to life bringing humor, sexy sizzles, heart, heartbreak, romance and charm as budding Actor Will puts on his sexy Irish brogue, morphs into Dubliner Liam and gets the part and the woman of his dreams. But unfortunately he gets himself into ever deepening water too.. and I loved it all.

Worth a credit? Yes, a very entertaining and enjoyable story written by the multi-talented Joe Arden, narrated by the vocal genius that is Joe Arden.. and me thinks did he perhaps pose for the cover too???? 😉

Small town love in big city space!

This book has it all. I have laughed more than I anticipated, and swooned so hard that it is causing me to give my husband the side eye….Anyway, this book is so good. I got all the feels for both Liam and Raven. These characters have so much depth and the banter is amazing!!

Let’s talk about the narration now. Holy hell did Joe Arden knock it out of the park with this one. Joe’s ability to switch back and forth between characters so effortlessly, amazed me still to this day.

This will not seem like a debut book once you start to listen. Don’t hesitate just do it!!!!!

Early review, but loving story and storytelling so far!

I’m only on Chapter 4, but as a big fan of Joe Arden (narrator), I’m so loving Joe Arden (author)! I can not wait for more stories from this all star matchup! 😆

He’s works his strengths in accents and character voices. So thrilled to hear that his writing is just as fine!

BTW, love the Skyline and Ed Norton references! (Both related to current/former hometowns.) LA and NY are awesome, but there’s loads of character in these lesser glam places too!

Not a bad start

I enjoy Joe Arden as a narrator but the story was meh. Honestly the two characters didn’t gel for me and found it was 1 sided from Will/Liam’s story.
Joe’s narration is incredible with his ability to be a true chameleon and hoping that his next book shows the same strength.

Uneven

The narration by Joe Arden was well done.
But the story was uneven for me. The premise has promise - a lot of it. But I found that for the most part it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. It was close in some places, but it often fell flat.


*** possible spoiler

I also was not amused that Liam did not come clean on his lie before he took his relationship to the next level. It felt wrong to go there and yet be lying about everything you are. Like catfishing in person. That left me feeling off on the entire relationship and the character as a whole.

Funny, Steamy, and Lots of Banter

Joe Arden makes his debut as a solo author with The Chameleon Effect. Performed by Mr. Arden himself (because let’s be honest only Joe should and could perform as Will/Liam), with a cameo from the talented Maxine Mitchell.

A low angst, sweet, and steamy rom-com, with plenty of banter, feels, and heart. Also, all of the Easter eggs for the Joe fans were a nice touch and the dedication to his mom had me tearing up.

Written from the male POV with interludes of the female POV presented in a creative manner. This story was written in a way that makes it perfect for narration, which is no surprise. There are a few narrators/authors that write in this style and it really makes the story flow beautifully. One of the things I loved about Liam and Raven is their likability. They're the type of characters that you want to be friends with. While Liam and Raven's relationship seemed to be effortless and almost too easy, the depth of the characters and the black point of the story balances that ease. I hope in the future that we'll see stories from other characters in this book.

not a writer

Joe needs to stick to his day job as a voice artist! couldn't get past chapter 10

Ah-Mazing!!! 5⭐️

This book right here. The Chameleon Effect. This is going to be a love story that I compare all others to. This book is smart, funny, witty, a little spicy and a lot sweet. Joe put his heart and soul into these words and you can tell when he speaks them.

One of my favorite parts about this story is that Liam and Raven were written so perfectly. Raven was a little sassy who wasn’t about to drop her guard right away. Liam…what can I say??? He’s sexy and he’s swoony…he actually courted Raven. Took her on actual DATES. This whole story felt so genuine and real and I loved every single thing about it.

Now-Joe. He wrote this perfect story so it needed perfect narration. He absolutely delivered. His accents and his transitions and don’t even get me started on the dropped register in chapter 25 🥵. Joe is just so flipping talented it’s oozing out of his pores. He’s also just a really funny and nice human.

Maxine’s interludes we’re also on pointtttt. Maxine just has a fun, smart vibe about her voice and she nailed it.

In short, this audiobook is 5 Hollywood stars and you should definitely, absolutely, unequivocally go listen. Go on now! Git! Use that credit! You won’t regret it! ❤️

My modern day Bukowski 🤍🤗

⭐️ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐨𝐧 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 REVIEW⭐️

A secret identity romance from the man with the secret identity!…

There really is no better hook than that! Well… unless you have over- the- moon talent, the way Joe Arden does.

I had the honor to be one of the lucky ones to receive an advance copy and let me tell you it exceeded all of my expectations. From the very first page I was hooked. I was hooked with the blurb alone! Joe really brought out how far one is willing to go in order to achieve our dreams.

This story really brought out all the feels, swoon and heat. The lovely playful banter between Raven and Will was absolutely to die for, including Raven’s flirty edge that was laced with feminine confidence because…who doesn’t love a confident woman?

Another thing I enjoyed was getting to go on the journey with Raven and Will, visiting amazing hot spots in L.A, including a Dodgers game which for me was an added amazing bonus!

Congratulations Joe on your first solo written book. You really brought your dedication to the table, your placed your heart not only on your sleeve but along every single freaking line that you wrote. Your voice and artistry in this story was immaculate. I must say that I am utterly proud of every ounce of yourself that you poured into this project. I can’t wait to see what more brilliant things you will put out into the world on your journey!

And knowing that you and I are both deep fans of Bukowski, you really went all out and didn’t try to be a writer…you are a writer. You wrote and wrote to your heart’s content and gave it your all and that is the main thing I admire about you, and your work ethic. And just like Bukowski said…”Find what you love and let it kill you.” And you for sure lived up to that.

Absolutely loved every moment

The perfect story narrated in the perfect way written with so much love and passion! absolutely perfect!

Joe's a chameleon!

An original story written beautifully. Joe is not only an amazing renowned narrator, but now an author too! I can't wait to hear/read more!

OMG

O M G this was soo amazing had laugh cry’s and love what more can u ask for in a book x what made it the better is that Joe Arden write and narrated this book his voice is the best and every book has dose is just amazing for me and how he dose male and female voices

I wish I was allowed to do more then 5stars and I really hope he dose more book both writing and saying them

Loved it

Really good story and cringe worthy, exciting, many good laughs and funny little stories within.
I loved it.
Good job Joe Arden

Loved it

I’m a big fan of Joe Arden as a narrator and was excited to listen to him read his own book. I wasn’t disappointed. Loved it. Just the right amount of frustration (me shouting at him to just tell her!!!!), and enough angst to follow. I liked the interludes, a very clever way to get inside the female characters psyche without make it a duet. Well done Joe

Good fun Rom com

Well done good story fun rom com must of been a big risk being a narrator turning author to produce a piece of work to match your reputation seen it before with other narrators well it was definitely was a success for me can’t wait for another also nice to see a male romance writer writing a romance that is not patronising to its audience highly recommend this audiobook thanks Joe

Absolutely fantastic writing debut!

It's been 5 months since I discovered Joe Arden who like the pied piper of Romancelandia has been steadily collecting a legion of loyal fans through the use of his raw, passionate and seductive voice in over 500 romance audiobooks. Outside of this he is a truly eloquent and talented performer and advocate, so I was BEYOND excited to find out he was writing his first solo romance novel and reading himself.

I literally devoured this book, it's a beautiful and sparkling romantic comedy about a struggling actor trying to follow his dream and catch a break and so tries out a new identity only to have his whole life turn upside down. His career suddenly skyrockets and he meets the woman of his dreams. But now he is too far gone with his little white lie route and he is feeling the anxiety of when exactly will this House of Cards come crumbling down .

Firstly, this story is expertly written and just wickedly funny in places that I was giggling a lot as I was listening. Will/Liam and Raven's love story and chemistry is wonderful and you can clearly see how instantly connected they are. More importantly, they seemed authentic and real. Of course, this being a romance, there are some heated love scenes which DO NOT dissappoint ;) Let's just say I would personally love a videocall to end that way!

Will/Liam is charmingly funny and charismatic with a real passion and dedication to his craft and dreams but at the same time a nagging insecurity that he might never be good enough. Raven is a beautiful powerhouse who knows what she wants and won't let anyone stand in her way. The chemistry between these two is electric!

But outside our two lovers, this book has a menagerie of delightful and vibrant characters which give the book its genuine heart and I love this. My hands down favourite character is the brilliant, sparky and adorable Lexi, Will's 6 yr old Niece. Will's family, including his best friend, give the book an overall sweetness which elevates up this fake it till you make it Hollywood tale into something genuine and sunshine filled.

I have never been drawn to the LA/Hollywood lifestyle or stories set there (I'm from the grey skyed UK afterall) but this book managed to open my eyes to another side of the fame hungry city into a place full of optimistic dreamers. Listening to this book, you also can't help but feel how much Arden is putting of himself into it. Like his character Will, Arden is an actor who is not afraid to be bold and make himself vulnerable in his performances which is what makes him truly remarkable and outstanding in the audio world. His soul bleeds through the earbuds as you listen to this story and there is no greater privilege as a listener then to witness a true artist.

In short, this is a wonderfully romantic, passionate and witty story about reaching for your goals and finding the one who will make your dreams come true. Prepare to be swept away xx

Every now and again, a gem pops up...

...that completely takes your breath away. Delicious character and world building and the way Joe uses such tantalising descriptions means that you would never know that this is his first solo novel. To any die hard Arden fan, it is absolutely clear that no one else on earth could've written this book. Joe is ingrained into every paragraph and the Easter eggs peppered throughout make this a magical read for fans. Raven and Will are beautiful as is the passionate narration from Joe and Maxine. I didn't want it to end. Must read.

The perfect Oscar worthy debut!

Stop the press! Our very own darling of Hollywood, ally, ruler of our Audio Attic kingdom and the King of F****ck finally has his name in lights as a solo author, and what a magnificent debut novel this is!
The Chameleon Effect is a secret identity romcom told in first person, male pov and is the story of William O’Connell and Raven Locke.
William had big hopes and dreams when he left his native Cincinnati for the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, however, with every rejection that came his way a little part of him died inside. He comes up with the hare-brained idea, encouraged by his brother and sister-in-law of putting his impressive accent game to good use and becoming Liam O’Connell of Dublin. And just like that, the luck of the Irish turned his fortunes around and he landed a role where he met the super sassy, oh so gorgeous and eclectic, tattooed Raven. A costume designer who is tasked with fitting him for his TV debut. The chemistry between them is instant, fun, and flirty then sores to searing hot between them as their relationship burns up the pages (erm hello exquisite raunchy facetime scene!). Will Liam do the right thing and tell Raven before things get out of hand or will he lose her forever?
Raven Locke is a budding costume designer, wardrobe assistant on movie sets and has a successful blog on sewingtok. Raven is a fiercely independent, totally unique woman who loves nothing more than having her own style and not blending in with the rest of the women in LA. Raven loves her job, she gets to see and meet a lots of really cool people but when Liam O’Connell walks in all tall, blonde, sunkissed and with a sexy Irish accent, her panties just about melt off right as she’s measuring him for his pants. As their relationship develops so does Liam’s career and Raven’s ambition, they inspire each other to be and do better and their insatiable need for each other grows to new heights. Will Raven be able to forgive Liam for hiding who he truly is from her? And will she achieve her goal of having her own successful clothing line?
Only the man himself Joe Arden could have brought his words to life and done them the justice they so deserved. Not only did Joe bring us William O’Connell, but he also gave us a masterclass in ALL the accents. From Irish to British, to Russian and French, there was even a little Australian in there for good measure. Joe slipped from his native tongue to Irish effortlessly, he never missed a beat. Even going from Raven’s American accent to his Irish was perfection. Oh, and I can’t talk about Joe and not rave his kid voice. He did a monologue as Will’s niece Lexi in Chapter Two and I remember Joe recording this as he gave the Audio Attic a live look in and my goodness, I was blown away. He didn’t mess up a single word, yet he spoke at 1000mph. This is why I will always champion Joe, the man is the dog’s bollocks of voice acting, the MF G.O.A.T! I was over the moon seeing that the fabulous Queen Maxine Mitchell would be making a cameo appearance in this, and she totally smashed it. What an amazing and unique way to include a female voice in a male pov story, I loved it and having Joe and Maxine together on this was the perfect fit!
I couldn’t have loved this more! From the writing style to the comedy, the romance, perfect sexy scenes, and most amazing HEA plus, if you are part of Joe’s Audio Attic community you will catch all the little nods and acknowledgements to the Attic family along the way! Very nice touch!
This red carpet, Oscar worthy debut is simply incredible and not to be missed. Make sure you grab your copy and get lost in Will and Raven’s beautiful romance!

Brilliant

I never write reviews but I just had to after listening to this story.
Joe you are an awesome narrator as we all know but add author to that now. You have written an amazing story, I want Liam/Will and Raven as friends. Such a beautiful story with excellent accents to boot. Loved the interludes with the amazing Maxine Mitchell.
If you want a feel good story with laughter, tears and hotness thrown in this is well worth the credit.