The Last of August

Hey guys!

It´s Monday and that means that a new review is coming your way! Today I will be talking about one of my absolutes passions in life: Sherlock Holmes. In this case I will be talking about a retelling of the stories that Sir Arthur Connan Doyle.

A few months ago, I read A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro and completely fell for the book. So, when my birthday came I could only ask for the next books in the series. Of course, as soon as the book came into the mail I had to read it as soon as I got it.

A Study in August is the second instalment in the Charlotte Holmes series. So as this book is the second in a series this review might contain some spoilers regarding the first book. However, this will be a spoiler free review with regard of what happen in this book, so if you have read the first book you can safely read this review; if not you can read my review of a Study in Charlotte by clicking here. 

The story starts a few weeks after we left in a Study in Charlotte and deals with the after match of it as well as some other events. Charlotte and Jamie are dealing with their attraction while they spend the Holidays together, but the pleasing and relaxing of the Christmas season is interrupted when Leander Holmes, Charlotte uncle and the best friend of Jamie´s father disappear without any leads to where he might have gone. From there Holmes and Watson start a trip in which they will deal with the art black-market as well as a few Moriartys.

I know tha my synopsis of this book might have not been my best synopsis ever but it does the job. It was hard to write it because I want to leave all discover the greatness of this book and since is a mystery I can tell very few things without spoiling that whole thing to you.

I would like to say, first that I liked this book even more that I liked the first one in the series and I know that that is a lot to say. I love how the stakes go higher and higher and I cannot wait to read the next book in the series which is sitting on my shelves waiting for me to finish all my review copies before I pick it up.

Probably what I enjoyed the most about this book and this series in general is that the characters al very well portrayed and they are not perfect. All of them have flaws and strength: they are not black or white, they are complex characters. And the best thing is that if you are a fan of the original series you can find the resemblances between Sherlock and Watson with their modern counterparts and still find that they are com  pletely different characters.

I love how the author was able to deal with such a heavy topic as rape. If you have read the first book in the series (if you haven’t, sorry for the spoiler but I warned you in advance) you will know that Charlotte was raped, and she is dealing with the consequences of it. I think that the author treated the matter with respect and I a very intelligent way. Most of the story is told from Jamie´s perspective so we also see how this affect those around the victim and how they also must deal with the consequences. The whole thing with the drug abuse is also a topic that is deal within this book and once more was done in a way that I think to be respectful and truthful.

The writing was interesting. Again, we are in Jamie’s head and he is a really nice narrator. Not only we get to see what he is experiencing but what everyone else is. This is because the author was able to create a very empathetic narrator and in that way, we get to experience the story fully. In this book there are too some chapters told from charlotte´s perspective and those brought a different approach to it. The best thing of it was how the chapters told from one character or the other were perfectly differentiable.

The rest of the character do not have a POV, but they are great secondary’s. In this book we get to know August Moriarty and let me tell you all this. He was my fave! I think he was a great character that bought so much into the story.

The mystery element, or the case they are working on if you pleased, was really interesting. It´s discussed how paints and art is trade in the black market though not very deeply so it didn’t get boring. Plus, the ending is just so mind blowing that you will want to continue on right away.

Overall, I highly enjoyed this book and will recommend for you guys to check the Charlotte Holmes series. I gave it 5 out of 5 stars and I am dying to read the next book as soon as I finished all my review copies.

See you all next Monday with a new review.