Book Review: The Case for Jamie (Charlotte Holmes #3)

Release Date: March 6, 2018
Author: Brittany Cavallaro
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Length: 368 pages
Source: Purchased Book

The hotly anticipated and explosive third book in the New York Times bestselling Charlotte Holmes series.

It’s been a year since the shocking death of August Moriarty, and Jamie and Charlotte haven’t spoken.

Jamie is going through the motions at Sherringford, trying to finish his senior year without incident, with a nice girlfriend he can’t seem to fall for.

Charlotte is on the run, from Lucien Moriarty and from her own mistakes. No one has seen her since that fateful night on the lawn in Sussex—and Charlotte wants it that way. She knows she isn’t safe to be around. She knows her Watson can’t forgive her.

Holmes and Watson may not be looking to reconcile, but when strange things start happening, it’s clear that someone wants the team back together. Someone who has been quietly observing them both. Making plans. Biding their time.

Someone who wants to see one of them suffer and the other one dead.

    

Review:

Protagonists: Jamie Watson and Charlotte Holmes are very broken people, and after the tragic and unexpected death of August Moriarty, everything has fallen apart. It's weird not seeing these characters together for a rather large portion of this book, but what I found interesting is that we really get to see Jamie try and figure himself out. After August's death he's been a mess and while having Charlotte there might have made things better in the short run, in the long run, things might never have evolved in Jamie's character. Charlotte remains her ever enigmatic self, but I really appreciated the range in her character that we get to see from this book.

Romance: When it comes to the main romance of this series, I understand that the relationship between Jamie and Charlotte isn't the healthiest, but the great part is that it's still a relationship that can be developed. I want to see them happy and I want a happy ending for them, but their, for lack of a better term, complicated relationship is not exactly the softest nut to crack... is that even a saying. Anyway, their complex relationship is fantastic and I loved seeing it evolve and change over the course of this book. I'm completely obsessed with this atypical relationship and I really love where the author takes their relationship in this book.

World Building: So, whereas the first installment in this series put a large focus on the mystery element and the boarding school, and the second book was all about diversifying the relationships as well as solving the mystery of Leander Holmes' disappearance, this story really just felt more character driven than anything. I enjoyed the book and the story the author provides, I just wish there was more of a mystery element here, however, Lucien Moriarty has always been the big bad of this series and a mystery wouldn't exactly be compelling if we already knew for a fact who was behind it all. This story still has some shocking moments which I'll get to in a bit and I appreciated how we got to see Sherringford again, as it's where this story began, still, this story has a very large scope and it's interesting to see how far this series has come.

Predictability: Looking back on this book, other than the obvious, I couldn't really see where this story was going. I mean there were some pretty dramatic reveals in this book despite not having a central mystery. Lucien's plan for Jamie and Charlotte is extreme and there are some very unsettling things he's done in this book.

Ending: The final climax of this story went quite a bit faster than I expected, in fact, I remember going into the cooldown period feeling like I was missing some closure to the story, something that I didn't expect to get from the climax cooldown. The final climax itself, while quick, was still very tense and I wasn't 100% sure where the author was going to take the ending. Oh, and that little bit of closure I felt I didn't get, well the epilogue to this book is pretty spectacular.

Rating:

Going into this review I thought about giving this story a lower rating because I missed that central mystery to this story, but in the end, there's no way a central mystery could have compellingly worked out, and I have to say the story is freaking incredible!

Book Review: The Last of August (Charlotte Holmes #2)

Release Date: February 14, 2017
Author: Brittany Cavallaro
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Length: 336 pages
Source: eArc from Edelweiss

Watson and Holmes: A match made in disaster.

Jamie Watson and Charlotte Holmes are looking for a winter-break reprieve after a fall semester that almost got them killed. But Charlotte isn’t the only Holmes with secrets, and the mood at her family’s Sussex estate is palpably tense. On top of everything else, Holmes and Watson could be becoming more than friends—but still, the darkness in Charlotte’s past is a wall between them.

A distraction arises soon enough, because Charlotte’s beloved uncle Leander goes missing from the estate—after being oddly private about his latest assignment in a German art forgery ring. The game is afoot once again, and Charlotte is single-minded in her pursuit.

Their first stop? Berlin. Their first contact? August Moriarty (formerly Charlotte’s obsession, currently believed by most to be dead), whose powerful family has been ripping off famous paintings for the last hundred years. But as they follow the gritty underground scene in Berlin to glittering art houses in Prague, Holmes and Watson begin to realize that this is a much more complicated case than a disappearance. Much more dangerous, too.

What they learn might change everything they know about their families, themselves, and each other.

    

Review:

Protagonists: While the majority of this novel is narrated by Jamie, and for the most part, he is the main character, as the story develops and after a certain couple of chapters I felt that if I didn't include Charlotte in the protagonist section as well that would be a disservice to the review. Both these characters are fantastically flawed. What I loved about their flaws are how real they are. It's not like a bunch of misunderstandings and misinterpretations that lead to a bunch of drama between these characters. It's the conscious choices they make and the things they want and fear that they have no control over that guide their stories in this installment. Jamie doesn't want to feel like a sidekick but a partner, however when August Moriarty appears on the scene, a man who is so much like Charlotte already that she views him as an equal and a man she'd previously fallen in love with, that causes Jamie to be mistakenly though understandably jealous and strike out on his own. Charlotte has a personal stake in this mystery and as a Holmes, she doesn't do all that well with personal stakes. One of Charlotte's biggest flaws is that she shares next to nothing with Jamie about the investigation and while she has a justifiable reason for doing so it leads Jamie to feel that she thinks she doesn't need him or that he's a burden. As I said we only get a couple of chapters that focus on Charlotte and while these chapters are certainly enlightening, I feel I can't delve too deep into talking about them and what we learn about Charlotte without giving crucial points of this book away. Despite all the flaws of these characters I really have grown to love them and while they do drive me crazy a lot of the time I really hope for the best with them.

Romance: After I finished A Study in Charlotte last year, I didn't think there was all that much romance in it, however, when I went back to reread it before starting this installment, I felt as though I seriously missed something because there was a lot more romance in it than I remembered, even if it was more subtle than most YA novels. This installment has, even more, romance than the first and while it can be extremely frustrating at times, I felt that from a writing standpoint that it was handled very well. Romance is really where we see the flaws of Holmes and Watson shine, for lack of a better term. For Jamie he just wants to be with Charlotte however, she keeps on giving him mixed signals which frustrate him to no end. Charlotte is suffering from panic attacks and anxiety following her rape at the hands of Lee Dobson. Neither of these things is a flaw really, more elements of who they are, but how they react in response to these things is very flawed but at the same time neither of them is perfect. In fact,  what aggravates me the most about this romance is that there isn't a simple solution. It's not as if a long talk will solve all their problems. while there were definitely fantastic moments to this romance, and moments that made me feel more than I've probably ever felt before, a lot of this romance is like pulling teeth, but it really works to add another layer of complexity to this story.

World Building: It was a bit of a shock to move from a boarding school setting to a winter holiday traveling around Europe in this installment, however, I liked that it added a bit more diversity to the series, instead of Holmes and Watson constantly solving scandalous mysteries while at school. I loved following our heroes around Europe, mainly England and Germany, and while there wasn't all that much that we saw that wasn't a fictionalized house or building, I still felt the foreign local wherever our heroes went. In this installment, we once again find our heroes at odds with the Moriartys, but this time they have a Moriarty on their side as well. August Moriarty, who we learned was Charlotte's older tutor who she fell in love with and after he spurned her affections she framed for drug dealing, is finally introduced and he adds a very complex layer to this story. He's an unwitting rival for Jamie and a nice foil for Charlotte. Out of all of the characters in this series, he's probably in the best head space. As our heroes find themselves tracking down clues to solve this mystery, this time a mystery of art forgery and possible kidnapping than murder, things get more complicated as the mystery of who, what, and where become clearer.

Predictability: Since this is a mystery most of the predictability lies within the mystery itself, however, I felt like we knew almost immediately who was behind the art forgeries, however, what I really liked was that this wasn't exactly about the who, but more the how. that being said, though, as far as the clues leading up to everything was concerned, there wasn't a whole lot of focus on the mystery, or at least not as much as I expected there would be. The mystery was still very captivating and there were a lot of unanswered questions that were confirmed as the story began to wind down from what I presumed was the final climax. There are many twists in this book, some that I saw coming but most that I was utterly blown away by. I really want to go more in depth and talk about how some of these twists made me feel, because a lot of them made me feel very intense emotions, but I don't want to spoil your experience of this book.

Ending: This ending was not what I expected going in. I thought that for the most part this story would be tied off with a bit of a bow with a few breadcrumbs leading to where the next installment may be going. what I did not expect was what happened. Again, I really wish I could elaborate without spoiling anything, but I feel as though I've already said too much. This book has a very intense ending that made me cycle through so many emotions that I could barely handle it, then, of course, it tops things off by delivering probably the worst and simultaneously best cliffhanger I've ever read. Suffice it to say, that if this review doesn't come off as the most articulate it's because I'm still suffering from the near catatonia this book put me into.

Rating:

My God this book deserves all the stars. I'm still getting over where things ended up and where this story appears to be going. I'm cursing Cavallaro with every fiber of my being for making me feel so many things, not only in the end of this book but all throughout. I can't wait to see what fresh hell she's cooked up for the final installment. P.S. My guess it that the final book with have the name James or Jamie somewhere in it.

The Last of August (Charlotte Holmes #2) by Brittany Cavallaro (WOW #23)

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that everyone’s excited about!

In the second brilliant, action-packed book in the Charlotte Holmes trilogy, Jamie and Charlotte are in a chase across Europe to untangle a web of shocking truths about the Holmes and Moriarty families.

Jamie Watson and Charlotte Holmes are looking for a winter break reprieve in Sussex after a fall semester that almost got them killed. But nothing about their time off is proving simple, including Holmes and Watson’s growing feelings for each other. When Charlotte’s beloved uncle Leander goes missing from the Holmes estate—after being oddly private about his latest assignment in a German art forgery ring—the game is afoot once again, and Charlotte throws herself into a search for answers. 

So begins a dangerous race through the gritty underground scene in Berlin and glittering art houses in Prague, where Holmes and Watson discover that this complicated case might change everything they know about their families, themselves, and each other.

The Last of August releases on February 14, 2017, from Katherine Tegan Books

I'm a huge sucker for Sherlockian inspired books, and when I read the first book in the Charlotte Holmes series last year I got hooked to this sort of unconventional Sherlock tale. The modern day setting, female Holmes, and male narrator in the form of Jamie Watson were all amazing, and to top it off there's very little romance, in fact there's really only a small hint at a romance. I can't wait to see how these characters will evolve in this next installment and the mystery our heroes will find themselves in the middle of!

So, what are you waiting for this Wednesday?

Book Review: A Study in Charlotte (Charlotte Holmes #1)

Release Date: March 1, 2016
Author: Brittany Cavallaro
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Length: 336 pages
Source: eARC via Edelweiss

The last thing Jamie Watson wants is a rugby scholarship to Sherringford, a Connecticut prep school just an hour away from his estranged father. But that’s not the only complication: Sherringford is also home to Charlotte Holmes, the famous detective’s great-great-great-granddaughter, who has inherited not only Sherlock’s genius but also his volatile temperament. From everything Jamie has heard about Charlotte, it seems safer to admire her from afar.

From the moment they meet, there’s a tense energy between them, and they seem more destined to be rivals than anything else. But when a Sherringford student dies under suspicious circumstances, ripped straight from the most terrifying of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Jamie can no longer afford to keep his distance. Jamie and Charlotte are being framed for murder, and only Charlotte can clear their names. But danger is mounting and nowhere is safe—and the only people they can trust are each other.

A Study in Charlotte is the first in a trilogy.

    

Review:

Protagonist: Jamie Watson, the great-great-great grandson of Dr. John Watson, has found himself at the same boarding school as Charlotte Holmes, the descendant of the famous detective. As their paths cross they find themselves framed for a murder they did not commit and have to work together to find the real culprit, much like their famous ancestors. So, I really liked Jamie, loyal, for the most part honest, caring, and a really lovable protagonist. He does have his flaws, a quick temper, a self-deprecating attitude, and he gets emotionally invested in things much too quickly, but as the story progresses he does begin to develop and evolve. It's nothing too abrupt or obvious, but there are little things, some more noticeable than others that show and illustrate his development over the course of this book.

Romance: I'll be honest going into this book I wasn't sure how I would feel about a Holmes and Watson romance. On the one hand, it sort of seems like the easy route when you have two characters of the opposite sex star in your novel to have them enter a romance of some form or another, and also I have a particular love for authors who write male and female characters that can be friends without a hint of romantic feelings on either side. However, while I did hold onto my feels on this topic for part of the book, it started to break down at one point as I began to see the bond these two characters have. Now, the romance itself doesn't take up all that much of the book, it's actually spread pretty thin with the major focus of this book being the Sherlockian influences and the murder mystery. The little bit of romance that we do see though is done very well and this author has done a expert job at illustrating the feelings of these characters so clearly.

World-Building: Another fear I had going into this book was that it would rely too much on it's Sherlockian roots and end up being cheesy and lack any magic that would make it unique. However like before I probably shouldn't have worried at all, Cavallaro does a fantastic job of incorporating elements of Doyle's series and allusions to places and events, while at the same time coming up with a very unique world. I'm a bit of a sucker for books with a boarding school setting, although I do feel that we didn't get to see all too much of this one, maybe we will in the future installments. Now the Sherlockian themes and elements play a big part in this story, but they aren't all obvious and like I said before they aren't done in any cheesy sort of way to get a cheap laugh. In fact I felt that most, if not all, of the allusions and references to the Sherlock Holmes stories were done in a very sophisticated and, at times, very subtle way.

Predictability: So, I honestly don't know what to write here. For the most part there wasn't all that much foreshadowing in this book, which I didn't really mind. There were of course a few things here and there that I caught on to, but they were always very small things, nothing to really get excited about. In fact most of the time when I knew something it was more about what something wasn't than what something was, and most of the time it was because I relied on being familiar with the basic YA book formula. That's not to say however that when this book did take it's twists and turns I wasn't excited about them or that I didn't get the thrill that's usually associated with finding out a shocking and crucial piece of evidence, but I do sort of wish that there was a bit more to theorize about and more clues to follow than their were.

Ending: So I had to check my progress with this book several times as it started to come to a close. Let's just say that things don't all get wrapped up in a parlor room scene. The final climax while not action packed, doesn't really need to be, it's more a battle of wits and wills than brawn. The cool down period for this book was a bit long, wrapping up a few loose ends here and there, in fact if I didn't know this was a planned trilogy, I could have easily assumed it was a standalone, despite a few loose threads here and there. Now there is an epilogue, usually my favorite parts of books, however this one is a bit different, I won't spoil anything but I'll just say I really enjoyed it.

Rating:

This is a fun Sherlockian style murder mystery that, while it has allusions and shared elements to the Doyle stories, can stand on it's own! I can't wait for the next installment in what looks to be a wonderful trilogy!