The Chameleon Effect

By: Joe Arden

Narrated by: Joe Arden, Maxine Mitchell

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

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???? 😉

WOW...JUST WOW!

As a long time reader and audio listener, I have tead and listened to many debut novels. This is definitely one of the best. Amazing dialogue with emotional narration that only Joe Arden can deliver. Worth a credit? Absolutely! Worth your time to listen? Definitely!

Stellar Performance!

Joe Arden knocks it out of the park with his solo debut novel. You will smile, laugh, swoon, and fan yourself. Make sure you've got a bottle of water nearby. Joe brings all the feels.

WOW! WOW!! WOW!!!

If I did not know this was Joe's Debut writing a SOLO Book - I would not believe it.. it's that GOOD!! It's funny, swoon worthy & very well written!!!

Captivating Will

Joe Arden is a talented audiobook narrator and hearing he wrote a book by himself is quite incredible. Soon enough, to be brave enough to bring it to life to public is a step of bravery. Later, to have many different reviews about it, it’s exciting! So, with that said, I did enjoyed the story considering I am familiar to the LA area and how the tv industry can be. He truly described it well…the tv industry is quite harsh and what he has written is extremely on point of how casting people on a tv show or in a movie could be. Of course, all romance books are a bit embellished for thrills and it did have a great passionate flow of writing. Will aka Liam, the hero in the book, truly gave that sense of vulnerability as an struggling actor and falling in love with Raven on set is beautifully done. The voices for telling this tale is Joe Arden, of course, and Providing Camero for Raven is Maxine Mitchell which she did an fantastic job! In any case, this is a low key drama, more sweet intimacy love moments than the sizzle factor for me, and yes, it is pleasing to hear many roles he could do. If you want a book to brighten your day or learn life lessons (such as discovery of being the real you or “You” transition) , this so it!😉.

Great debut novel

4.5 stars- This is Joe Arden's debut book as a solo author. He did an amazing job writing the story of Liam, an aspiring actor in Hollywood, who after years of being turned down, develops a fake identity as himself but with the twist of an Irish accent and nationality. This might all work out fine for him, except he meets, Raven, the most beautiful girl and his soul mate on his first acting job, as Irish Liam (not American Will). Joe really did a phenomenal job writing the story from the male POV, something we really don't see very often. The story is very much about how just a little white lie, especially for an actor is so easy but can explode in an instant. The Chameleon Effect, turning yourself into somebody else, probably happens more often than not and I don't just mean in Hollywood. However, in this instance Liam must take responsibility for his actions and live with the consequences. Liam and Rae are a balance to each other, if Raven can ultimately forgive him for his 'little white lie'. I am excited to see what else Joe has to bring us from a written perspective. He once again did an amazing job with the narration as well, but how could he not. Maxine Mitchell was great with voicing the interludes.

Outstanding

Outstanding story, outstanding characters, outstanding narration, just simply outstanding! Joe Arden you’ve done one hell of a job! If you’re a Joe Arden fan, and even if you’re not yet, buy the book and join us members of the Audio Attic on Discord.

Joe Arden, oh Joe Arden

Just all around great performance! Ready for some more!!! Would love to know what happens with Von. . .

Must Listen! One of the Best of the Year!

I absolutely ADORED this story! I'd give it 10 stars if I could One of my favorites of the year!

It is a must listen audiobook. Joe knocked it out of the park with his debut solo novel and I cannot wait read more of his work in the future. It is a fresh take on a "fake identity" trope, when William, a struggling actor, decides to change his name to Liam and adopt an Irish accent in order to stand apart and get more acting gigs. And of course, he meets someone under his fake identity and drama surfaces as the lie continues.

Liam was an incredibly relatable character, because who hasn't struggled with thinking that they are not enough? Who, at some point in their life, hasn't had anxiety that they are a fraud and unworthy of love? I also found the psychology of Liam's character interesting in how easily he convinces himself that this isn't really a lie and it will all work out, even when everyone close to him disagrees.

Don't we all do that sometimes? So easily deceive ourselves into believing a lie even when those we love try so desperately to make us see the truth?

Liam comes around to a very healthy place of owning his mistakes without seeking any benefit to himself. We could all learn from him.

Joe Arden is a fantastic voice actor and hearing him narrate his own book was such a pleasure. And the Irish accent didn't hurt either. ;)

A wonderful debut novel by a talented narrator!

"Meeting her felt like one strong tug on my heart, and just like that first pulled thread on an old sweater, I began to come undone."

Will is a struggling actor, finding it difficult to break into a Hollywood role after 8 years of auditions and unsuccessful callbacks. He is a sweet guy, close to his brother, sister-in-law, and their adorable little girl Lexi. While visiting them one day, they comment that he is so good at accents he should pose as a Brit or Irishman for his next audition, then slip into an “American accent” for the read itself. Desperate, he does just that and it lands him a breakout role, which leads to other bigger roles. Not only that, but he meets a woman named Raven (the costume designer for the TV show he gets his first part in) and falls fast and hard for her. The problem is, now everyone thinks he is from Ireland and the lie snowballs out of control. How long can he juggle his new backstory? What will happen if/when everyone finds out?

I loved this debut novel by Joe Arden! His hero, Will/Liam is the best book boyfriend! I couldn’t believe he was written by a guy! Pro tip: when an accomplished audiobook narrator writes AND narrates his own book, do yourself a favor and LISTEN to it!! Joe shows off his skills not only with a variety of accents, but also with his beautiful emotional range and laugh-out-loud comedic timing. And his choice of having Maxine Mitchel join him for a cameo performance as Raven? Absolute perfection.