{4.5 stars} WOAH WOAH WOAH WHAT ARE WORDS

This is a Sherlock Holmes & John Watson retelling following their great-great-great grandchildren; Charlotte Holmes and Jamie Watson. They are being framed for a murder that happens on their boarding school campus in Connecticut. The murders and incidents that occur are being done based on the stories of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Someone is after Jamie and Charlotte but…who?

Fast paced and very mysterious!! The suspense is real. It’s very easy to get into because the first chapter throws you into the story. I really enjoyed that because it didn’t take me a long time to figure out where the story was headed. Mystery is one of my favorite genre’s that I don’t get to read a lot. The last mystery I read was We Were Liars by E.Lockhart – which I loved.

This is Brittany Cavallaro‘s debut novel and while reading I kept that in my mind. As a debut novel, this was outstanding! The transitions from chapter to chapter really stood out to me. They were very nice and enthralling, you definitely wanted to keep going on to the next chapter.

Imagery is another thing that I always look for when reading. Imagery was done very, very well in this book! I felt like I was following Jamie and Charlotte everywhere they went. Just the little details of where they were and what was around them really helped me to feel like I was there. I just had the feeling *throughout the whole book* that I was right next to them or in the room with them/on the scene.

Twists and turns are MAJOR in this story!! Everything that happened, I was not expecting! I always had a feeling when introduced to a new character of them being a suspect. I was definitely questioning a lot of the time trying to figure out “who done it?”. But, I was in shock when it was revealed.

Drug use is one focus in this story beside the mystery and murders. Charlotte has been doing various drugs (oxy, coke, etc.) since she was very young and we do see some of her outbreaks and mood changes. Charlotte is an interesting and complex character. I felt a love-hate-relationship with her. She’s a badass in a good and bad way.

Jamie also deals with some bitterness and anger toward his father who lives in Connecticut and lives somewhat of a different life now. We get to see him build his relationship with his father back and it’s very nice!

Holmes & Watson were a great team and I loved them! Romance isn’t too much of a focus in this book which was nice but some flirting and “aww” moments occur! Also, they are hilarious and witty with their banter!

I’m not used to reading series/trilogies so reading this it felt more of a standalone than a first book in a series. There was an epilogue at the end and so now I’m curious to see what the next two books are like.

Beware of all the feels that this book will give you along with a possible book hangover! Definitely need some time to breathe and compile your thoughts! Just WOAH!

If you’re a fan of the BBC show, Sherlock you’ll be a fan of this! Most of my friends who I have read this along with are fans of that show and they loved it as well! To sum it up: this was a modernized Sherlock & Watson retelling! Everyone needs to go grab this, it was awesome and a read you need in your life!