The Inheritance Games is a fast-paced, young adult mystery, full of puzzles and riddles that will have you on the edge of your seat. Rating: 4.5/5
Book Title: The Inheritance Games, #1 Book Series: The Inheritance Games Saga Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes Genre: Young Adult Mystery Release Date: September 1, 2020 Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers Book Tour: Toppling Stacks Tours
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 conwoman, 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.
Content Warning: abusive relationship (emotional/physical), alcohol abuse, death of loved one/family member (including parental/grandparental), gun violence, murder/attempted murder
Coming this July, make sure not to miss the stunning finale to the Inheritance Games Saga with THE GILDED BLADE, now available for preorder everywhere! The Inheritance Games Saga (Complete Reading Order)
●The Inheritance Games (The Inheritance Games #1) ●The Hawthorne Legacy (The Inheritance Games #2) ●The Final Gambit (The Inheritance Games #3) ●The Brothers Hawthorne (The Inheritance Games #4) ●Games Untold ●The Grandest Game (The Grandest Game #1) ●Glorious Rivals (The Grandest Game #2) ●The Gilded Blade (The Grandest Game #3) – coming soon! ●The Same Backward as Forward
God, I love me some Jennifer Lynn Barnes. She just writes such fun, interesting stories and I eat them up every single time. Her characters are always three-dimensionally layered, and intelligent. I love watching them move through the story and put all the pieces together. I’m usually pretty good at seeing where a story is going, but there’s always a few things with her books that throw me off guard in the best way.
The entire premise of this feels nostalgic, like this would have been a sick show on the CW back in the day. Girl gets mysterious (and LARGE) inheritance from a stranger… what could go wrong? It feels very similar to Knives Out, as well (complimentary!!)
Trying to navigate these clues and handle the danger that comes with an unhinged family that’s pissed they’re not getting the money…. gold. Actual gold in book form. The riddles and puzzles were so fun, and I found myself trying to figure it out right along with them.
Thank you to Little, Brown Books and Toppling Stacks Tours for providing me a free copy of this book for review consideration. I was under no obligation to read and review, and all opinions are my own.
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About The Author:
Jennifer Lynn Barnes (who mostly goes by Jen) is the author of more than a dozen critically acclaimed young adult novels. She has advanced degrees in psychology, psychiatry, and cognitive science, including graduate degrees from Cambridge University, where she was a Fulbright Scholar, and Yale University, where she received her Ph.D. in 2012. Jen wrote her first published novel when she was nineteen-years-old and sold her first five books while still in college. In additional to writing YA novels, Jen has also written original pilot scripts for television networks like USA and MTV, and she is one of the world’s leading experts on the psychology of fandom and the cognitive science of fiction and the imagination more broadly. Jen is an Associate Professor at the University of Oklahoma, where she holds a dual appointment in Psychology and Professional Writing.
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