A review by nytephoenyx
The Last of August, by Brittany Cavallaro
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It's been far too long since I ventured into Jamie and Charlotte's world. I genuinely, wholeheartedly enjoy the Charlotte Holmes novels, and book two was no less entertaining than book three. They continue the have the Holmes spirit, but in an updated, modernized sense. And they're fun.
I can honestly also say that this series is one of the few where I genuinely enjoy the romance. The flirting is cute, but the messy bits also feel real and possible. The drama isn't unnecessarily heightened... Charlotte's reactions are perfect to her character. Introducing August in this book was a great addition - he's a bit of an anti-hero and I enjoyed his addition to the dynamic duo and the way he always made Jamie a little off-balance. It's very nearly a love triangle, but not exactly. I liked it. I like them all. August, more than anyone else in this book, kept me on my toes and second-guessing.
Charlotte's family is a mess, though. And that's not poor writing or anything, they just are very... problematic, I guess. Reactions and behaviors are so cold and unhealthy as a general rule. I think that it's decent writing - ever the pragmatist, Sherlock Holmes was much like this himself in the Conan Doyle novels, so it make sense that his family is much the same. For the most part, I felt like the setup with both Jamie and Charlotte's families was a bit overlong and things didn't really get interesting until the two set off on their own. This didn't ruin or even deeply affect the book from the perspective of my own enjoyment, but it was a little draggy in the beginning.
The writing is really easy to read - Cavallaro's writing has a fantastic flow. It's very easy to get wrapped up in this book and it was finished before I knew it. I think with a slower pace, this book would have dragged out, but for the story here, this was written very well and was easy to get into. I really like both the narrators as well - the audiobook is fantastic, if you like to ingest your books that way.
Book two in the Charlotte Holmes series was a slam dunk, and I'm looking forward to reading A Case for Jamie!
I can honestly also say that this series is one of the few where I genuinely enjoy the romance. The flirting is cute, but the messy bits also feel real and possible. The drama isn't unnecessarily heightened... Charlotte's reactions are perfect to her character. Introducing August in this book was a great addition - he's a bit of an anti-hero and I enjoyed his addition to the dynamic duo and the way he always made Jamie a little off-balance. It's very nearly a love triangle, but not exactly. I liked it. I like them all. August, more than anyone else in this book, kept me on my toes and second-guessing.
Charlotte's family is a mess, though. And that's not poor writing or anything, they just are very... problematic, I guess. Reactions and behaviors are so cold and unhealthy as a general rule. I think that it's decent writing - ever the pragmatist, Sherlock Holmes was much like this himself in the Conan Doyle novels, so it make sense that his family is much the same. For the most part, I felt like the setup with both Jamie and Charlotte's families was a bit overlong and things didn't really get interesting until the two set off on their own. This didn't ruin or even deeply affect the book from the perspective of my own enjoyment, but it was a little draggy in the beginning.
The writing is really easy to read - Cavallaro's writing has a fantastic flow. It's very easy to get wrapped up in this book and it was finished before I knew it. I think with a slower pace, this book would have dragged out, but for the story here, this was written very well and was easy to get into. I really like both the narrators as well - the audiobook is fantastic, if you like to ingest your books that way.
Book two in the Charlotte Holmes series was a slam dunk, and I'm looking forward to reading A Case for Jamie!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Chronic illness and Rape