lyla_wicks's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
although i was very invested in charlotte and jamie’s relationship developing, i found that it got too toxic for me at a lot of points throughout this book, which made it quite a lot harder for me to enjoy. as for the actual mystery, i did find it a bit hard to follow at some points, especially towards the end when everything was ‘revealed’, and feel that this was a bit rushed. despite this, i did have a good time reading this book and am excited to see where the series goes in the next books.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/injury detail, Addiction, and Sexual assault
Minor: Drug use, Rape, and Vomit
luciedvo's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
IM SO FUCKING CONFUSED
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Addiction, and Violence
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Kidnapping, and Blood
kalzeb's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Injury/injury detail, Kidnapping, and Vomit
Minor: Sexual content and Cursing
mmage's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Addiction, and Injury/injury detail
Moderate: Mental illness, Drug abuse, and Child abuse
elizasavannah's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I really liked the first book in the series, so I was excited to read the next book. I didn’t really love this one. The mystery was confusing, and the resolution of it was even more confusing. It was pretty slow and took me a while to finish, even though I finished the first one quickly. Despite it not being the most enjoyable book, there were still some aspects that I liked, and I am going to read the next book in the series. Overall, it wasn’t my favorite, but it was still a decent read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction
Minor: Rape
lilifane's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I'm purely reading this for the slow-burn-will-they-won't-they-best-friends-to-lovers trope, the angst and Jamie's humour. That's why I enjoyed the beginning way more than the actual case. I liked the setting in Berlin and the art context, but the rest of the case was just boring.
Hated the ending with a passion.
I'm also a little conflicted about how the rape topic/aftermath is handled. These are teens, of course they don't know how to handle the situation in a healthy way and make lots of mistakes. And I understand why they want to try to resolve the issue on their own, although they are torn between what they want and the trauma. But please, at least consider the possibility of professional help at some point?!
Hated the ending with a passion.
I'm also a little conflicted about how the rape topic/aftermath is handled. These are teens, of course they don't know how to handle the situation in a healthy way and make lots of mistakes. And I understand why they want to try to resolve the issue on their own, although they are torn between what they want and the trauma. But please, at least consider the possibility of professional help at some point?!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Injury/injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, and Rape
codyemma's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Sexual assault, and Mental illness
ashlightgrayson's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I am sad to say that this installment fell short of the first one. There were a lot of ongoing subplots and mysteries that weren't developed as fully as I would have wanted. Besides that, it seemed like all of the concurrent mysteries were meant to overlap and connect at some point, but when they finally do it is very confusing. I actually had to reread the last few sections a second time to make sure I followed. The Holmes and Moriarty's have a long bitter relationship and that is the main point of contention that drives the plot forward. However, by the end it's difficult to tell who needs more therapy because both families are messed up. It felt sloppy and rushed and I would have preferred to spend more time wrapping up the plot, but still enjoyable once I was able to tie all the threads together.
Despite shortcomings in the plot, I appreciated the character development for both Charlotte and Jamie. Charlotte has to grapple with her past trauma and how that affects her ability to enter into a romantic relationship with Jamie. Jamie has to deal with his feelings of inadequacy and jealousy around Holmes that are due to him often selling himself short. He is respectful of her boundaries and abstains from being affectionate with her more than he would want to; however, t is clear that his romantic feelings for Charlotte are strong. I think some people may argue that he idolizes her, but I beg to differ. Jamie and Charlotte argue a lot and he sees her flaws and likes her anyway. I really like their relationship dynamic overall. Other characters observing them see them argue a lot and even comment on it, but in a way it is how they communicate. Their arguments can be very angsty when they are serious, but we get both of their perspectives and it is clear that their inner insecurities are what are causing the miscommunication. I know this will probably annoy some readers, but I would kindly remind them that this is often the cause of conflicts in real life relationships. In addition, they are teenagers who are both still trying to figure things out, so that also helped make me a lot more empathetic towards them. Charlotte in particular is bad at expressing her emotions and it is greatly out of fear of ruining what she has with Jamie. I feel that this made her more human this time around and helped me understand her as a character better.
I'm looking forward to see the continued progression of the relationship between Charlotte and Jamie. Not this author's best work, but I'm hoping it gets better as the series goes on.
Despite shortcomings in the plot, I appreciated the character development for both Charlotte and Jamie. Charlotte has to grapple with her past trauma and how that affects her ability to enter into a romantic relationship with Jamie. Jamie has to deal with his feelings of inadequacy and jealousy around Holmes that are due to him often selling himself short. He is respectful of her boundaries and abstains from being affectionate with her more than he would want to; however, t is clear that his romantic feelings for Charlotte are strong. I think some people may argue that he idolizes her, but I beg to differ. Jamie and Charlotte argue a lot and he sees her flaws and likes her anyway. I really like their relationship dynamic overall. Other characters observing them see them argue a lot and even comment on it, but in a way it is how they communicate. Their arguments can be very angsty when they are serious, but we get both of their perspectives and it is clear that their inner insecurities are what are causing the miscommunication. I know this will probably annoy some readers, but I would kindly remind them that this is often the cause of conflicts in real life relationships. In addition, they are teenagers who are both still trying to figure things out, so that also helped make me a lot more empathetic towards them. Charlotte in particular is bad at expressing her emotions and it is greatly out of fear of ruining what she has with Jamie. I feel that this made her more human this time around and helped me understand her as a character better.
Spoiler
I should mention that despite Charlotte's character growth, the amount of lying she was willing to do to cover up for her family shows that she definitely still has a lot of growth to do. I'm hoping that we get more insight into what has made her so severely loyal to her family in this unhealthy way. It sees like she did not have the most loving childhood and does not truly understand what true love looks like (platonic or not). I am looking forward to that being explored more in the next book.I'm looking forward to see the continued progression of the relationship between Charlotte and Jamie. Not this author's best work, but I'm hoping it gets better as the series goes on.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, and Vomit
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