Book Review – The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
A Cinderella story with deadly stakes and thrilling twists, perfect for fans of One of Us is Lying and Knives Out.
Avery Grambs has a plan for a better future: survive high school, win a scholarship, and get out. But her fortunes change in an instant when billionaire Tobias Hawthorne dies and leaves Avery virtually his entire fortune. The catch? Avery has no idea why – or even who Tobias Hawthorne is. To receive her inheritance, Avery must move into sprawling, secret passage-filled Hawthorne House, where every room bears the old man’s touch – and his love of puzzles, riddles, and codes.
Unfortunately for Avery, Hawthorne House is also occupied by the family that Tobias Hawthorne just dispossessed. This includes the four Hawthorne grandsons: dangerous, magnetic, brilliant boys who grew up with every expectation that one day, they would inherit billions. Heir apparent Grayson Hawthorne is convinced that Avery must be a con-woman, and he’s determined to take her down. His brother, Jameson, views her as their grandfather’s last hurrah: a twisted riddle, a puzzle to be solved. Caught in a world of wealth and privilege, with danger around every turn, Avery will have to play the game herself just to survive.
My rating:
I received this book from the publisher via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
This book definitely sounded up my alley, and I was so very right! It’s so twisty! And that ending? OMG. I need more.
You know going in that it’s going to be a fun game of “who can you trust”, and I love how well it plays out, and that the way the characters are (and how they interact with each other and the puzzle) is actually something that makes sense. The explanations give the characters real motivation. And poor Avery is stuck in the middle, trying to figure out how this all plays out! The dynamic with the brothers especially, is really fun, and honestly I hope that they can continue to sort that out 🙂
As you go through, and more becomes revealed about the puzzle, it becomes clear that Tobias Hawthorne really has been playing a very long game, and honestly I am really looking forward to some explanation as to how he managed to set so much of it up!
The mystery of how I will manage to wait for the second book (especially as I didn’t realise going in that this wasn’t a standalone!) is going to be the hardest to solve though 😉 5 stars.
Buy The Inheritance Games from Waterstones.
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