The Last of August

The Last of August by Brittany Cavallaro is the second book of her Charlotte Holmes series.

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.

The Breakdown:
1. I fear that this book suffered from the dreaded sophomore slump.  It was really hard for me to get into, definitely was a struggle to reading it at times.  The story was not nearly as engaging as the first book, and Holmes and Watson relationship is strained for most of the book.

2. The strain between Holmes and Watson made the book so much harder for me to read.  There was none of the banter and ease of working together as in the previous book really. I get that Cavallaro is going to a romantic element between them, but Holmes experiences make it hard for her to be physical with a guy, but it just did not work for me. I really prefer them as best friends than a romantic couple.

3. Cavallaro did introduce the the infamous August Moriarty in this book.  Against my wishes, I kind of liked the guy.  I get that he does not want to be what his family is, and went to the point of faking his own death not the be them.  While he is not as personable as Jamie, he is a character I did enjoy.

4.  This book did make me really dislike Holmes parents. They are very cold and distant.  Plus, what they did at the end makes me truly despise them.  I really did not like this ending.  I do hope Cavallaro redeems the series in the next book.

To Read or Not to Read:
A begrudging read, just because hopefully the next book with make it better.