A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro

Maybe Charlotte Holmes was still learning how to pick apart a case; maybe I was still learning how to write. We were Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. I was okay with that, I thought. We had things they didn't, too. 

I have so many mixed feelings about this story. This book had a lot of hype, and I was lucky enough to get an ARC. In the usual Mariesa-fashion, it took a few months to actually get to reading it. 

And I....enjoyed it?

This book comes out on March 1st

Stats:

Genre:  Modern day Mystery

Feelings: Eh?

Cuteness: -cough- i'm trying not to but I ship it. Honestly I'd sib-ship too. I just love the dynamic between these two.

Fast pacing: While the pacing was nice, this wasn't a -stay-up-until-2am-book for me

Series: IT BETTER BE.

Read if you like: Gee, Sherlock Holmes, maybe?

Content: Highschooly situations. As in, partying, dating, smoking and such. Drug use. A character was raped in the past, and this is discussed now and then but never in graphic detail.

Trigger warning? Drug use. Rape.

In summary... Jamie Watson has won a scholarship to a Connecticut prep school! Except...the downside is this school is home to Charlotte Holmes, the famous detective great-great-great-granddaughter. And when someone gets murder and both of them are framed...things go downhill.

Thoughts: Heels clicking on stone walkways, glass beakers and rough tree branches

Messages: I mean, there's drug stuff but this book never really has any MESSAGE about it?

Rating: 3.5/5

So I adore Sherlock Holmes. Naturally, this resulted in intense fangirling upon receiving this ARC.

But it took me so much longer to get through it then I'd wanted.

-The Characters-

Charlotte. She was wonderful. I had rather hoped that this Charlotte Holmes character would be a bit different than the BBC Sherlock, which she really wasn't. So while that was a tad disappointing, she still remains my favorite character. She was realistic, and her times of showing that humanity were well placed. Often times I can get a bit tired of female characters who are Too Much and Too Strong, but Charlotte was brilliant and strong-minded, but she still showed her human side. Like...three times. If that makes sense. She was just a fun character, okay.

Jamie Watson. The human equivalent of a vaguely sullen teddy bear who just cares a lot. He plays rugby. Meh. But he tries very hard. Kinda messes up a lot. Literally follows Charlotte to the ends of the earth. And you can tell he really likes her. Like really likes her, but that's not how Charlotte works, so I appreciate that he didn't push it. He was perfectly happy being her best friend and I liked that.

The side characters were fun, if kind of stereotypical. The villain was a bit meh, I guess is my major complaint. I loved the main characters enough to read this book, but the mystery side was a bit lacking.

-Plot and Writing-

This is a mystery novel. And it did have it's Murdery and Mystery-y aspects. But unfortunately, I just didn't care? I found myself skimming all the mystery-parts, which probably isn't good, but the parts of them sleuthing weren't as engaging as I'd hoped.

The climax came with the big villain info-dump, and the showdown itself wasn't all that exciting. Other parts of the book were actually more intriguing then the actual showdown.

Brittany is a great storyteller. I really look forward to reading her other stories, and I am hoping she writes more about these characters. Jamie's voice felt very strong and realistic to him, but to be honest, after reading the epilogue which is written from Charlotte's POV, I wanted the book to be her POV. Of course, that wouldn't have worked out. But I can hope, can't I?

To be perfectly honest, I think that Epilogue is the reason I enjoyed this book. I liked it, but that epilogue put the perfect bow on this story, and after reading it, I set it down and thought "Yes. Yes, I like these two. I'll keep them."

-Messages and other-

There's not much to say about the themes and messages of this book. Probably because this book doesn't have much to say either. There was no stance on the drugs, or any of the things dealt with, really. Some of the more serious things dealt with did feel a bit like plot-devices.

That basically sums up my thoughts on the story. This is a Good Book. But this isn't the type of book with hidden gems, lovely metaphors and themes and messages to take from it. It's just that. A Good Story with some Good Characters. I'm not saying that every book has to have these things, but it does help to make something memorable. Luckily, this book is clever enough that I don't think I'll be forgetting it anytime soon.

And SO. I did really enjoy this book. I'll put it back on my shelf fondly, and look forward to the next release. There better be one. I hope that if there are more installments, that they will have a bit more meaning.

Overall, I do really recommend this book. It's funny, it's fun to read, and these characters are quite easy to love. Read it, love it, just don't expect to learn from it.

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Steifvater

Seeing as we finally got a title for the fourth and last book the best series in the world today, I figure it seemed appropriate to write a quick series review for the books out so far in this gorgeous series.

My words are unerring tools of destruction, and I’ve come unequipped with the ability to disarm them.

This book is glorious and that is all.

Stats:

Genre: Paranormal 

Feelings: YES

Happiness: YES

Cuteness:SCREECHES

Fast pacing: No

Series: Praise the Lord, yes.

Read if you like: Beautiful angst, beautiful characters, beautiful concepts.

Content: Swearing.

In one sentence... Rich boys with lots of problems and a psychic’s daughter team up to find Glendower, a Welsh king from centuries before.

Thoughts: An orange camaro, a pair of frayed gloves, a green dress and an old church.

Overall:

Rating: 5/5

This review is SPOILER FREE

 The Lovely Bits:

Um the whole book? This book is snark. This book is witty characters, and sassy dead people. This book has adorable and sad, angsty and "What am I supposed to do now," 

Maggie's writing. She writes with this style I have never seen before. It's so unique and easy to sink into. She spends so much time with detail, that you really can't skim her books. You have to read them step by step, enjoying every moment. And you do. 

Blue is pretty much my favorite female main character in all of fiction. She's sassy and fierce, without being anywhere close to stereotypical. She's actually...sensible. And funny. Ah, the sass-off's. They are glorious. And Gansey? And NOAH? And Adam? And Ronan? Basically you love all the characters, even if you don't.

The Less lovely Bits:

As said before, these books are slower. They really unfold slowly, so you have to take your time with them. 

“In that moment, Blue was a little in love with all of them.

Their magic. Their quest. Their awfulness and strangeness.
Her raven boys.

Stats:

Genre: Cars.

Feelings: I screamed four times, threw the book, squealed, and jumped up and down reading this.

Happiness: Yes. 

Cuteness: SOBS AND SCREECHES.

Fast pacing: No.

Series: I wonder...

Read if you like: The first book? Even if you didn't, actually, keep reading. It's good for you.

Content: A lot more swearing.

In one sentence... Street racing, dream thieving, ghosting, angsting, hunting, crying, not kissing, almost kissing, pretend kissing, sad feelings, happy feelings, confused feelings.

Thoughts: Phone calls. Voices. A table in a diner.

Overall:

Rating: 5/5

This review is SPOILER FREE

The Lovely Bits:

This book gave me about a hundred more feelings than the first one. I loved finally seeing the group together and being way too cute together. I loved the development and back story. I loved....the book. I honestly can't say much without giving spoilers.

Basically, we get new characters and fall more in love with old characters. And there's crying and angry things.

Sequels can very quickly become boring. That, I believe, is what makes these books so amazing. It's easy to assume that popular authors make books trilogies sometimes just so they can get more out of one story. That's not a bad thing, but often that means the sequels are less good.

But The Raven Cycle is not that. This story is so complex. It's got so many secrets yet uncovered, and mysteries still unsolved, that it makes sense that it's a four book series. I don't ever think it gets boring, even with it's slow storytelling.

The Less Lovely Bits:

This one was a lot more confusing than the first one? It was a little hard to follow what was actually going on, really. It's one you need to re-read to grasp everything.

There is no good word for the opposite of lonesome. 

One might be tempted to suggest togetherness or contentment , but the fact that these two other words bear definitions unrelated to each other perfectly displays why lonesome cannot be properly mirrored. It does not mean solitude, nor alone, nor lonely, although lonesome can contain all of those words in itself. 

Lonesome means a state of being apart. Of being other. Alone-some.

Stats:

Genre: Glue. (Gansey+Blue)

Feelings: No one touch me I'm upset.

Happiness: No one touch me I'm elated.

Cuteness: No one touch me I'm conflicted.

Fast pacing: No one touch me I'm reading.

Series: No one touch me there's only one book left.

Read if you like: Gansey's face. Adam's face. All the faces.

Content: More swearing? Idk, no one touch me I'm still upset.

In one sentence... Blue Sargent: "NO ONE TOUCH ME. Except Gansey. I want to hold his hand"

Thoughts: A cave, a coffin, a secret.

Overall:

Rating: 5/5

This review is SPOILER FREE

The Lovely Bits: 

We get even more development. We get even more Gansey. And more...suspense. I flew through this one faster than the second, so I would consider it to be better? The relationships already built got tested, and even more new characters came. But there was loss. 

It was a solid book. It had some eh parts, but it was a really well done story, which is to be expected at this point. 

I really like the development we got with Gansey and Blue. They were tested, and also cute. That as well. 

I honestly cannot think of much. I just really love this series? It's really stuck with me. The characters speak to me. I feel like there's someone for everyone to relate to.

The first two books have been slow. They've been characters and set up. But this one just poured out the preparation for the last book. You get even more secrets, even more questions. The character arcs are amazingly written out. This book did a phenomenal job of making you desperately want to finish out the series...but still not want it to be over.

As said earlier, this is a complex story. So that fact that these stories have not yet become muddles with all the content is amazing. More proof of Maggie's skill.

The Less Lovely Bits:

The fact that it ended?

I feel like there should be something. I can't just give a five star review to every book and have nothing wrong with it. But I do?

These are books you really have to be in the right mind for. You have to be okay with some slightly weird things and slow, deep prose. But if you let yourself get into these stories...ah, what an adventure you have ahead of you. 

Also we have a title for book four!

Lockwood and Co: The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud

“When you go out hunting wicked spirits, it's the simple things that matter most. The silvered point of your rapier flashing in the dark; the iron filings scattered on the floor; the sealed canisters of best Greek Fire, ready as a last resort... 
But tea bags, brown and fresh and plenty of them, and made (for preference) by Pitkin Brothers of Bond Street, are perhaps the simplest and best of all. 
OK, they may not save your life like a sword-tip or an iron circle can, and they haven't the protective power of a sudden wall of fire. But they do provide something just as vital. They help keep you sane.” 

It took me two days to get halfway through this book then for some reason it was another two months before I picked it up again. 

How? I have no idea. Because this book was stupendous.

Stats:

Genre: Paranormal mystery

Feelings: Some?

Happiness: YES

Cuteness: Eh? George though.

Fast pacing: No

Series: Yes.

Read if you like: Ghosts, mysteries, quirky characters, old fashioned-esque writing

Content: None, though some bloody and ghosty stuff.

In one sentence... A group of teenage detectives in the unexplained investigate some ghost attacks in London
Thoughts: Freshly brewed tea, a locket, and old leather book spines

Overall:

Rating: 5/5 stars

This review is SPOILER FREE

The Lovely Bits:

There were many things I loved about this story.

Firstly, the characters. Lucy was a very plucky character, and much like Abigail Rook from Jackaby, she never once seemed the annoying kind of feisty. She trusted her instincts, even if she knew there was a chance she would fail. She wasn't blinded much by other outsides things, and it was nice to have a female character defined by her relationship to two differnt guys but not once thinking about romance. That being said I ship Lucewood hardcore and it better happen eventually or I will be upset. 

The writing was very lovely. It had an old fashioned feel to it. There was a touch of humor and quirk to every passage without being forced or contrived. When I finished the book I felt the need to re-read it and underline whole paragraphs.

The atmosphere was to die for. I loved the setting, and the original take on ghost detective stories. The way Stroud took our world and bent it around a bit was fascinating and made the book even more enjoyable to read. As I read I felt as though I was sitting there in a dark room with Lockwood, Lucy and George talking over case files, sipping tea and munching donuts, while being surrounded by the mysteries from past adventures. 

The Less Lovely Bits:

As I said, it did take me a while to really get into it. That is mainly because when i picked it up I was going through a huge reading slump. That being said, it goes to show that this isn't a book that is a thriller mystery. While it is hard to put down, it is not the best for one looking for a fast paced action filled story. It was a tad slow in certain areas, but I feel like that will improve now that the mystery is deepening.


Honestly, there is nothing else negative I have to say. I am very much looking forward to reading the second one in the coming weeks, and will definitely be anticipating the release of the third book.

I recommend this to lovers of mysteries and quirky detectives. Even if you don't like those things...go read it. Let the writing blow you away.

Also Lockwood. My heart has been stolen my Anthony Lockwood and his companions. 

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa

“Because he had been- and in many ways still was- such a brilliant man, he no doubt understood the nature of his memory problem. It wasn't pride that prevented him from asking for help but a deep aversion to causing more trouble than necessary for those of us who lived in the normal world.”

I honestly am having trouble putting words together. This was another book my mom told me to read, and once more I am sitting her wondering why my own mother would put me through such feelings.

Stats:

Genre: Adult fiction
Feelings: So many of many types
Happiness: YES
Cuteness: YES
Fast pacing: NO
Series: NO
Read if you like: Math baseball sad characters happy characters.
Content: Nothing.
In one sentence... The heartwarming story of a houskeeper, her son, and a man whose memory only lasts 60 minutes
Thoughts: Scribbled on note papers clipped to a suit

Overall:

Rating: 5/5 stars

This review is SPOILER FREE


The Lovely Bits:

Writing.

Characters.

It all was a completely lovely book. The writing was really well worded without being overly eloquent that caused many eye rolls. It was a out-there plot but didn't seem too contrived. Right away you meet these characters and you never quite fully get into their heads, and yet you care for them.

That is something I've noticed now that I am reading more adult fiction. They both take emotion differently. Many of the well written Young Adult novels I have read really get into the head of the characters. The adult novels I have read, tend to almost write from a distance, even if it's first person like this one was. As a result sometimes I find myself not being able to relate to the characters as much. That may also be because I am a teen and young adult books tend to have more emotions that I can relate to,

Still, adult books I have read manage to make you feel all sorts of feeling for characters you still don't get into the heads of.

That whole ramble aside, this book really managed to make you care about the characters. In a few slow paced pages you already felt wrapped up in the world.

The Less Lovely Bits:

The mathy bits got a little bit old after a while. I kinda skimmed all the descriptions of formals solely because I did not understand it.

The end was a tad rushed and there really was no climax. Still, it was pulled off well. I think there were a lot of concepts and writing things in this story that easily could have made the book less enjoyable, but they were all pulled off pretty well.


Overall I am very happy I read this book. Also sad because I am now sad. In a good way. A must read for lovers of math.

Jackaby by William Ritter

"All the world's a stage, as they say, and I seem to have the only seat in the house with a view behind the curtain."

Mythical creatures in a historical setting? A character that sounds like Sherlock? Spunky female lead? 

Yes please. 

Stats:

Genre: Paranormal Historical Crime 

Feelings: Light

Happiness: A lot of lines you smile at. Witty characters 

Cuteness: Light, other than characters you want to squish. 

Fast pacing: Not fast but not slow

Series: I believe so. Thank goodness.

Read if you like: Fairies, detective stories, eccentric characters, historical fantasies. Definitely recommended for lovers of Jonathan Stroud's Lockwood and Co. series

Content: Very light swearing and some bloody descriptions. No sexual content.

In one sentence... A plucky girl looking for a job and some adventures teams up with a charming though blunt detective who insists that the cause of current brutal murders are supernatural creatures.
Thoughts: The tuning fork, a grumpy frog, and a overstuffed jacket

Overall:

Rating: 5/5 stars

This review is SPOILER FREE

The Lovely bits:

The characters. Jackaby is one of my new favorite detectives ever. To me, he is a mix of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock, TV), Henry Morgan (Forever, TV) and Lockwood (Lockwood and Co, book).

He's quite kooky and fun to read about. Every little thing he says makes you grin and shake your head because he's a fun character to read. 

Abigail Rook I was impressed with. Quite often when an author tries to write a feisty character in this setting where woman were supposed to be docile, it comes across as making the character foolish. While certain things seemed unrealistic, like the fact she ran away from home to another country, especially with rich parents, she was still a very interesting solid character. She never did things to prove herself that seemed dumb. She wanted to look out for herself and still have an adventure while doing so.

I was very pleased to find no romance in this book. Don't get me wrong, I'm a sucker for romance, and I still had quite a few possible OTP's in this book. But as soon as the character Charlie was introduced, I rolled my eyes, my inner Love Triangle and InstaLove detector immediately going off. I could see it now. The epic love triangle! Poor Abigail Rook caught between the mysterious detective, full of adventure and charm, and the handsome and sweet police officer, so kind and awkward, but still with his own secrets. SWOON! 

I was all set to gag and groan.

But no! There was no love triangle. It was refreshing to have two possible love interests in book one but have nothing more than a possible crush. There really was no love plot at all, though I'm sure there could be one in later books.

There were quite a few lines that left me staring at the page wide eyed and the immediately flipping on, eager to reach to conclusion. Which leads me on to the things I didn't like.

The Less Lovely bits;

If I was being strict about the things I was less excited about, really this would be more of a four and a half star book. But in this books case, all the things I loved overwhelmed all the things I didn't like.

There were a lot less ghosts that I expected, which was okay with me. I actually preferred more fairies this time, though I would keep that in mind if you're expecting a ghost book.

The end result...the monster behind it all...did seem a bit un-exciting to me. It wasn't dumb, but I was expecting something more unique. 

The ending did take a while to wrap up. While I enjoyed all the after events, some of it probably could have been condensed. Luckily, the ending was still satisfying, even if overly wrapped up. This is a debut author, so I am excited to see how the books progress.

Overall, I very much enjoyed this book. The prose was lovely, the historical voice spot on, and the characters engaging. 

I will happily tuck this beauty up on my shelf with my other favorites, and continue to think about the characters and creatures for days more.