The Last of August (Charlotte Holmes, #2)

by Brittany Cavallaro

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.

• ISBN10: 0062398962
• ISBN13: 9780062398963
• Publish Date: 14 February 2017
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Collins
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 3.5 Stars

I did not like this as much as the first book. Maybe it has a little middle book syndrome? But I do feel like we gained some interesting insight into the inner workings of the Moriarty and Holmes clans, while getting to know more of the complications that constitute Charlotte. Jamie was almost swoony in this one. He talks a lot about his feelings for Charlotte, which are just as complicated as she is.

Maybe not as good as its predecessor, but still entertaining and I feel like things we learned in this book will serve a greater purpose in the finale.

[readingwithwrin]

"There's not a lot you can control, you know. Where you're born. Who your family is. What people want from you, and what you are underneath it all. When you have so little say in it all, I think it's important to exercise a measure of control when given the opportunity."



Before I read this book, I was a little worried about Charlotte having magically changed now that her and Jamie were a couple. Thankfully she hadn't, she was still the same old Holmes who now cares for someone, but is still truthfully afraid to let him in and see all of her. She still need to feel like she is in control and she does that by keeping him at a distance and running whenever he gets to close. Because of this Jamie is feeling like he's useless and now that the mystery of who was trying to kill them is gone, that they won't make it and it was just a phase for Charlotte. Even though they are meeting spending the holidays with each others families and appearing to be getting closer than ever.

"I like your flat because you grew up here and I like eating your dinner because it's yours, which makes it better than mine."
That is until Charlotte's uncle goes missing after only a few days at the family home, as well as many other things going on as well that appear to not be connected, but of course Charlotte thinks they are.
This leads us onto the big adventure that finally started happening about a quarter of the way through the book.
Though because of the massive tension between Jamie and Charlotte due to the distance they have put between each other this mystery is a little bit more complicated to solve.
It involves help not only from Charlotte's brother, but a person that Jamie thought was dead as well.

While the last mystery they had to solve was dangerous, this one was far more dangerous. Not only because of the crossed family lines, the relationship problems, and a forging scheme things get rather messy.

"She's a child that that thinks she can play with adults, and she needs to understand that this isn't a game."

Overall I ended up enjoying this one just as much as the first one, if not a little bit more because of how the characters stayed true to how they were in the first book and didn't just suddenly change.

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[Nicole Lynn]

Haven't stayed up all night in a while to read and finish a book. This one seemed a little slower than the first book, but I'm hooked on Cavallaro's writing & definitely enamored by this Holmes & Watson. Full review to come :)

[Beth C.]

Charlotte Holmes is back, and a simple holiday vacation takes a turn when her uncle disappears from the family home, leaving nothing but a cryptic message. As Holmes and Watson work to find him, they learn about a European art forging ring, and tangle - once again - with the Moriarity family.

I don't often buy hardback books, because they can be expensive and it's often something I can either wait for the paperback, or wait for a cheaper price on Kindle. However, I enjoyed the first book in the series so much, that I was waiting for this one when it was released. And, as with the first one, it's a rollicking good ride.

The two characters are struggling through their relationship, particularly after the events of the first book (no spoilers here). The reader does get a much better idea of the family dynamics at play in Charlotte's life as well, and it really isn't pretty. There is also some backstory of the events that led to the first book.

The ending here was totally unexpected, and heartbreaking (again - no spoilers!) in its denouement. I will be looking forward to book 3 to see how it will be possible to pick up the pieces.