edhyndman's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
erinarkin20's review
4.0
I loved A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro so when I saw The Last of August was available I jumped at getting my hands on a copy. If you haven’t read book one yet, you should. I loved the characters (as flawed as they are) and who doesn’t love a good mystery??
The Last of August picks up shortly after the first book ends. Jamie and Charlotte are on Christmas break and as Jamie tries to figure out how to interact with Charlotte’s family, the only person he seems to connect with is Charlotte’s uncle, Leander. Unfortunately, he quickly goes missing and that becomes the mystery that Charlotte and Jamie are focused on throughout the rest of the novel.
I have to admit, I loved getting a glimpse of Charlotte’s family. Her mother, father, and brother have all contributed to who she is today and through all of their interactions, both with Charlotte and Jamie, it is no wonder she is who she is. We also get to meet a number of the Moriarty’s…including August.
With the exception of one section, the story is told from Jamie’s point of view and I think it was the right thing to do. It was interesting to be in the same boat as he was when tagging along with Charlotte. She was clearly keeping things from him and I admit, what happens next for these two is really what I am looking forward to in book three. There were times where it was really difficult to not feel sorry for Jamie and the way he was treated by Charlotte but I am hopeful that despite the way things ended in this book that they will figure things out.
A lot actually goes down in this book as the two head to Germany and start digging into what might have happened to Leander. We learn more about August and what he does for Milo (Charlotte’s brother) and it was interesting to see how he and Charlotte interacted. Of course, from Jamie’s perspective, it might have been a bit biased based on his feelings for Charlotte. It gave us a view of how Charlotte and August were together and then Jamie’s reaction to it.
Jamie and Charlotte’s relationship changes through the course of this case. They both care about each other but where Jamie is willing to take a chance, Charlotte has a lot of skeletons and isn’t as eager to jump right in. I thought Jamie did the right thing when it came to Charlotte and her feelings. He forced her to decide if/when anything would happen. Of course, she made her decisions based on things she knew were going to happen because of things she decided early on. I can’t blame her for not opening up to anyone (based on her family) but again, I couldn’t help feeling like she should have trusted Jamie more than she did.
I don’t want to say too much more about the mystery in this one as I don’t want to give anything away. What you should know is that overall I was happy with this installment of the Charlotte Holmes books. If you like a good mystery and some definite YA angst, you should check this series out. Cavallaro has done a wonderful job of developing her characters and the story around them. I am definitely looking forward to the next book as I need to know what happens next for these two!
Thank you to the publisher and Edelweiss for the review copy.
The Last of August picks up shortly after the first book ends. Jamie and Charlotte are on Christmas break and as Jamie tries to figure out how to interact with Charlotte’s family, the only person he seems to connect with is Charlotte’s uncle, Leander. Unfortunately, he quickly goes missing and that becomes the mystery that Charlotte and Jamie are focused on throughout the rest of the novel.
I have to admit, I loved getting a glimpse of Charlotte’s family. Her mother, father, and brother have all contributed to who she is today and through all of their interactions, both with Charlotte and Jamie, it is no wonder she is who she is. We also get to meet a number of the Moriarty’s…including August.
With the exception of one section, the story is told from Jamie’s point of view and I think it was the right thing to do. It was interesting to be in the same boat as he was when tagging along with Charlotte. She was clearly keeping things from him and I admit, what happens next for these two is really what I am looking forward to in book three. There were times where it was really difficult to not feel sorry for Jamie and the way he was treated by Charlotte but I am hopeful that despite the way things ended in this book that they will figure things out.
A lot actually goes down in this book as the two head to Germany and start digging into what might have happened to Leander. We learn more about August and what he does for Milo (Charlotte’s brother) and it was interesting to see how he and Charlotte interacted. Of course, from Jamie’s perspective, it might have been a bit biased based on his feelings for Charlotte. It gave us a view of how Charlotte and August were together and then Jamie’s reaction to it.
Jamie and Charlotte’s relationship changes through the course of this case. They both care about each other but where Jamie is willing to take a chance, Charlotte has a lot of skeletons and isn’t as eager to jump right in. I thought Jamie did the right thing when it came to Charlotte and her feelings. He forced her to decide if/when anything would happen. Of course, she made her decisions based on things she knew were going to happen because of things she decided early on. I can’t blame her for not opening up to anyone (based on her family) but again, I couldn’t help feeling like she should have trusted Jamie more than she did.
I don’t want to say too much more about the mystery in this one as I don’t want to give anything away. What you should know is that overall I was happy with this installment of the Charlotte Holmes books. If you like a good mystery and some definite YA angst, you should check this series out. Cavallaro has done a wonderful job of developing her characters and the story around them. I am definitely looking forward to the next book as I need to know what happens next for these two!
Thank you to the publisher and Edelweiss for the review copy.
emcatherinex's review
3.0
3.5*
While I did enjoy this book, I found the ending a bit confusing as it happened so fast. I feel it could’ve been been made clearer. Still planning on continuing with the series though!
While I did enjoy this book, I found the ending a bit confusing as it happened so fast. I feel it could’ve been been made clearer. Still planning on continuing with the series though!
sam_antics's review
2.0
I just didn’t enjoy this one. The mystery was pretty lame and all the drama was petty and boring.
katie_needles's review
3.0
This book took me forever to read. I found it to be pretty slow up until page 200 or so. However, I do think the writing style is clever and entertaining. Frankly, the ending was very confusing to me but that might say more about me than the writing. Either way, the ending was very interesting and kept me on the edge of my seat and i’m excited to read the next book in the series
elinacre's review
4.0
i love this reimagined rendition of watson and holmes! characteristics of the classics come through in this series, which i adore. the setting for much of this book is berlin, which is kind of uncommon and cool. the mystery of the art forgery was super interesting, but the plot here was... maybe trying too hard? one too many twists in the turns of events? not gonna lie; i'm not 100% sure what happened in the end... but i'm excited to read the next in the series and see where it goes!
allbookedupwithrosie's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I found this one to be less interesting than the first book. This one follows Sherlock and Holmes, with their new accomplice, Moriarty.
As Holmes still has issues coming to grip with his relationship with Sherlock (friends, couple, acquaintances, etc), they go undercover to continue their search for answers in relation to their framing of murder.
I found this one focused more on Holmes trying to prove his usefulness to Sherlock rather than them working as a team. It was a little disappointing as yes, Sherlock and Holmes don’t always see eye to eye nor are they always on the same wave length however, I feel the original duo are great together and don’t have to prove anything to one another.
Considering where this one stood for me, I’m not entirely sure I want to finish this series.
As Holmes still has issues coming to grip with his relationship with Sherlock (friends, couple, acquaintances, etc), they go undercover to continue their search for answers in relation to their framing of murder.
I found this one focused more on Holmes trying to prove his usefulness to Sherlock rather than them working as a team. It was a little disappointing as yes, Sherlock and Holmes don’t always see eye to eye nor are they always on the same wave length however, I feel the original duo are great together and don’t have to prove anything to one another.
Considering where this one stood for me, I’m not entirely sure I want to finish this series.