Reviews with content warning for Rape - A Study in Charlotte

Reviews tagging 'Rape'

A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro

102 reviews

ergaich's review against another edition

1.0

This book included entirely unnecessary plots of rape and perpetuated rape culture and victim blaming.

This book could have been a really fun read, but every time I found myself starting to enjoy it again, something disturbing would happen. <spolier> The entire plot point of Charlotte falling in love with a grown man and getting so angry that he would not love her back that she FRAMED HIM is exactly what fuels the idea that young girls are crazy and “asking for it.” And to have Briony orchestrate Charlottes rape was absolutely unnecessary and straight up disturbing.</spolier> The book would have been complete and good without those two points so I fail to see how they compel the story.

I would heavily NOT recommend this to any self respecting feminist.

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cokester's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious medium-paced

4.0

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emrie_reads's review

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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cj13's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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whewtaewoon's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

"A Study in Charlotte" casts two descendants of the famous Sherlock and Watson in their own murder mystery. With one classmate dead, and another hospitalized, Jamie and Charlotte are looking like perfect suspects. Can they figure out who is behind this? Is one of them behind this? Will they both make it out alive, and free? So many questions, and only one way to find out.

I enjoyed this book, I thought it was very fun. It was a fairly easy read, although there's discussion of some difficult topics. I intend to continue reading this series and see where things go.

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sapphic_swiftie's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

this was such an awesome, entertaining and engaging read!! i'm not a big mystery reader since i tend to not like books that are super dark or disturbing and although this book did have its dark and distrubing moments, they weren't too bad and didn't bother me too too much. i think i was just so swept up in the story; i was so excited to keep reading and kept questioning what would happen next. i didn't feel like the ending/how the mystery was be solved was super obvious to me any point earlier on, but then again i'm not super well-versed in this genre so that could just be me.

one of my favorite things about this book were the characters!! there were so so many complex, three-dimensional characters and it was very clear to me they were all well crafted. once i thought i knew a character, they would do something else that would give me a new perspective on them and in this case i liked that!! jamie would probably be my favorite character due to his wittiness, relatability and special relationship ith charlotte! i read this book before reading six of crows but now that i have read both books and i'm writing this review, i'm realizing how much charlotte reminds me of kaz brekker. so if you're a kaz fan, it's just yet another reason why you should read this book :)

what did bother me about this book though (however minorly) was the length of the chapters. for a mystery that aims to keep its readers engaged, shorter chapters (like in the inheritance games) instead of very long ones like in this book, would've enhanced my experience just that much more. at the time of this review i've already read the second book the last of august but i'm excited for the last two books in the series! overall, i'd defintely recommend and had so much fun with this book & series <3

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leandrathetbrzero's review

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adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

A Modern-Day Sherlockian Reimagining

↓ Similar Reads ↓

Arthur Conan Doyle’s Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Sherry Thomas’s A Study in Scarlet Women
Maureen Johnson’s Truly Devious

CONTENT WARNING: sexual assault, rapist-sympathizing, and substance abuse

Upon receiving a rugby scholarship to Sherringford, a Connecticut prep school, Jamie Watson finally meets classmate Charlotte Holmes, the famous detective’s great-great-great-granddaughter, after years of admiring her from afar. Their relationship has a rocky start, but when one of their classmates is murdered and the two find themselves being framed for the crime, Jamie must place all of his trust in Charlotte to save them both.

This modern reimagining of Sherlock Holmes was fascinating as Cavallaro maintained certain classic elements while uprooting and replacing others. The major changes include a modern-day American setting with teenage sleuths, and the brilliant Holmes has been given a gender switch. Holmes and Watson are British expats in this world, and both are descendants of the original investigating duo. One aspect that hardcore Sherlockians will appreciate is that each crime in this book is a copy-cat recreation from the story collection Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. It was so much fun watching the characters connect the dots and rehash past classic mysteries.

As enjoyable as the mystery plot was for me, I really struggled to accept certain character flaws and narrative subplots. At the beginning of the story, Jamie battles with keeping his temper in check as not to lash out violently. This internal conflict kind of gets forgotten after the single time he has an outburst, publicly fighting with the novel’s first victim. Meanwhile, his father and step-mother act in a way that makes them more immature than the book’s teen protagonists. And, finally, Charlotte has inherited Sherlock’s drug dependency which I would have been fine with if it were written in a more sensitive manner. Charlotte’s substance abuse makes her vulnerable and the target of sexual assault prior to the book’s events. I was disappointed by how this was addressed, especially in how it tied Charlotte not only to the murder victim who was also her attacker but the book’s overall villain. There was a moment of sympathy for murdered character/assaulter at the end of the narrative, after all had been revealed, and I found the sentiment uncomfortable and concerning. While 2016 may seem quite close to modern day, I do attribute the poor handling of Charlotte’s trauma to the fact that this book was published 7 years ago. Much progress has been made regarding sexual assault awareness and advocacy in the last decade, and hopefully this progress will continue.

As this review does discuss sexual assault, I would like to take the opportunity to provide resources in case someone reading this is in need of assistance:

RAINN is the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization. RAINN created and operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline in partnership with more than 1,000 local sexual assault service providers across the country.

Online chat: online.rainn.org

Hotline: 800-656-HOPE (4673)

More resources: rainn.org/resources

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