The Last of August (Charlotte Holmes Novel Book 2)

The Last of August is Brittany Cavallaro’s second book in the Charlotte Holmes series.Honestly speaking, I’m still running the story in my mind. It’s a complete whirlwind of events and my short circuited brain is not able to process all that at once. From what I understood, Charlotte’s uncle Leander Holmes is kidnapped and she and Jamie are trying to piece the events that happened before and after he goes missing. They seek Milo, Charlotte’s brother who is also a spy master for help and also because its isn’t safe for them to stay in Sussex in her home where her mother is poisoned. They are sent to Milo’s place in Berlin where they figure out Leander’s undercover operation and the connection it has with the Moriartys. And yes, August Moriarty, the only good guy from the bad side, whose death was faked (all that history is in the first book) is with Milo and Jamie is uncomfortable with him being close to Charlotte, given the history. There’s so much I’m still unable to follow and i’m confused. Ok, cliffhanger endings are good, but what was that?!!I still don’t get how almighty and powerful a 15 year old can be even though her last name is Holmes. Another confusing point throughout the book was, which i didn’t get until the end, is whether August Moriarty is evil or good :O

Ok, fine, so it's not as good as the first book, but it's still 4-stars good! I still love the characters, and I still enjoyed going on this crazy and dangerous ride with them! It wasn't as cozy, or as intimate, and there were more characters introduced in this one, but that's how it is with sequels, the story gets bigger, it has to.In this book, we get to meet the Moriarty family, and specifically August Moriarty, who was assumed dead and who Charlotte used to have a thing with/for, and Jamie fears that she still does. Bringing August back into the picture complicates things from so many different angles. There's the romance angle that Jamie and Charlotte sort of have, with Jamie spending the majority of the book being jealous and trying to one-up August. But then there's the mystery as a whole and the main question, which was can August - being a Morarity - be trusted? Especially when the suspects are his siblings? When Leander Holmes, Charlotte's uncle and Jamie's dad's best friend, disappears without saying a word, and her mom is poisoned, Charlotte immediately sets off on a wild ride to Berlin to figure out who is behind it all. Could it be the Moriartys again?The ending was insane and weird and incomprehensible for me. I'm not sure why Cavallaro decided to do that, but perhaps it is something that will become clear in the next book? I wasn't fond of how things were left off between Jamie and Charlotte, I wasn't fond of how Jamie dealt with the whole situation in general. I did not like his impatience and frustration with Charlotte, given that he knows what she's been through and should be more understanding - not to mention that she is a Holmes, and that alone requires more patience!I'm excited to see how this will end - assuming the next book is the last in the series. I hope that things progress faster, and I hope that we see more maturity within the characters, especially Jamie.

I bought this fabulous book for my daughter and she loved it so much that she finished it in a day. She said that she liked how Brittany Cavallaro continued the same characters as Arthur Conan Doyle did in his Holmes and Watson books - Holmes, Watson and Moriarty. She absolutely adores this book and won’t stop until she has recommended this series to all of her friends.

Authors fail readers sometimes. Book 1 was better, but book 3 does explain some of book 2 in a summary in chapter 3.

Really enjoying this series

As someone who adored A Study in Charlotte (5 stars). I have to say, The Last of August was a bit of a disappointment for me.I felt that I wasn't nearly as engaged in the mystery surrounding this novel; I had to restart the book at one point as I lost focus and became confused about the sudden introduction of art theft.Additionally, in regards to Jamie and Charlotte's relationship, I felt that their constant bickering throughout the novel was slightly offputting as a reader.However, with that in mind, The Last of August got into the groove around the 50% mark, and I became more engaged in the novel's plot.Overall, while I enjoyed The Last of August, In my view, it was not nearly as captivating as book #1. Although being the Sherlock nerd that I am, I am still keen to read the next instalment, "The Case For Jamie."