This is a spoiler filled book review. Please be aware that if you keep reading there will be information that you may not want to know if you have not read the book. For a spoiler free review of A Study in Charlotte click here.
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 Stars
Quotes to Remember:
“The two of us, we're the best kind of disaster. Apples and oranges. Well, more like apples and machetes.”
“Truth be told, I liked that blurriness. That line where reality and fiction jutted up against each other.”
“I don’t need someone to fight for me. I can fight for myself.”
“I was maybe the only person to ever have his imaginary friend made real.”
“I wanted the two of us to be complicated together, to be difficult and engrossing and blindingly brilliant.”
“Even someone as disgusting as Dobson deserved the chance to grow up and become a better person.”
“She was altogether colorless and severe, and still she managed to be beautiful. Not the way that girls are generally beautiful, but more like the way a knife catches the light, makes you want to take it in your hands.”
“Number fifteen: if you wait for full disclosure from a Holmes, it might be years before you learn a damn thing.”
“Without each other, we could, quite literally, die.”
“I could tell he was lying. But it didn't mean I knew what the truth was.”
“But I had never wanted to be her boyfriend. I wanted something smaller than that, and far, far bigger.”
*This is your final spoiler warning*
*Continue with Caution*
My Review:
This book is so cute. Like I can't begin to tell you how much I enjoyed it but maybe a start is to say that I picked it up around 3:30PM and didn't go to sleep until I finished reading it. I was drawn into the story so quickly that all I wanted to do was read more about their cute interactions. Not gonna lie, I used to watch Sherlock on BBC America and totally and completely shipped Watson and Holmes. And they were much less compelling friends. This Watson and Holmes just seem drawn together and if you've read some of my other reviews you know that I am not a huge fan of the idea of being fated to fall in love no matter the circumstance. I think that without the murder they may have been enemies but it was the mystery that drew them together.
I did find it odd that pretty much every Watson has a Holmes that they have befriended. Jamie's mom has Charlotte's aunt Arementia, Jamie's dad has Charlotte's uncle Leander, and now Jamie has Charlotte. It seems like every Watson has to have a Holmes to look after and get into trouble with.
Let's talk about James "Jamie" Watson. He narrates the story and is often seen as the classic side kick, although from what I have seen he is extremely adaptable and can pick up on things nearly as quickly as Holmes. Growing up a Watson seems to have made him mildly obsessed with the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes as well as Charlotte Holmes, the only Holmes his age. Or maybe he is obsessed with the idea of her. Either way he ends up at the same school as her and are we at all surprised something quickly goes down? I think that all he wanted from Holmes was friendship in the beginning but as the book goes on you can see how they both start trusting and caring about each other more.
Now onto Charlotte Holmes. By golly do I love her. She is definitely a classic Holmes character. Has many vices that could kill her, has no regard for her own life, always the smartest person in the room, and for a reason unknown to her very protective of her Watson. She also is much more personable than I have come to associate with a Holmes character. I honestly loved her and her dynamic with Watson. He seems able to surprise her in ways that nobody else can which is fascinating. But he also seems to be able to read her even when she doesn't want him to. He also learns the way that she thinks rather quickly.
This book was extremely compelling and had me trying (and failing) to figure out who did it and what would come next. I also really enjoyed getting to know about the new generation of Moriartys and can't wait to see where this is going to go with August. It seems very unrealistic that he holds no grudge and is just happily working for Milo.
This book was simultaneously a YA contemporary, YA romance, YA mystery, and a YA retelling. I loved it. I read this book because I needed a short read to get away from the massive fantasies that I have been reading lately and I do not regret my decision at all. I can't wait to read the next book in the series!
Edit: After reading other reviews on this book I thought it might be important to talk about how Cavallaro handled the topic of rape. I have seen many people talk about how it was used as a plot device or not properly talked about. I do not agree with these viewpoints. I think that while it was not heavily addressed in the book, that is a reflection of Holmes not wanting to talk about it. As many women wouldn't want to talk about their own rape, especially with a man. If this story was told from Holmes's point of view I would expect it to be handled much differently, but with Watson narrating it he can not give anything more than he knows.
It is also important to not that while he did think about it and try to talk to her about it and try to be there for her she did not want to tell him much. I saw the lack of information in the book to be a reflection of him respecting her and not wanting to push her to tell him something she wasn't ready to talk about.
I also saw people who DNFed the book half way through and then complained about it. She internalizes her trauma and feelings through most of the book. This is most likely a result of her upbringing as she was raised not to show her feelings. It is in the end of the book that we get to see her emotions and it is when we see her kiss Watson that we hear about the extent of the trauma as she says that that is all she can give him. Watson respecting her boundaries says that that is all he wants. I would say that it was handled well. It was not overly descriptive and triggering but if you read the whole book you will have the opportunity to see more into the effects of rape on Holmes.
Publisher's Description:
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.
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