Take a photo of a barcode or cover
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I'm oh so very confused. This book was marvellous and all but what the hell was going on in the last 100 pages. Avery gets bombed, put into a coma, gets technically kidnapped from a hospital, survives whatever was actually wrong, then once she's fully healed, she actually gets kidnapped, nearly shot at yet again and still uncovers the mystery and saves the day all in a week. A week. I need whatever drug she was taking because jesus christ, she can't catch a damn break. This girl was just trying to live her life and now she's hella traumatise. What the hell! I enjoyed this book more than the last. I like that Jameson and Greyson were more bearable this time. Last book I thought they had the personality of a wet paper towel. Anyway, good book, 4 stars, keep it up Jennifer!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Cursing, Gun violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Medical trauma
There's also a few mentions of amnesia and talking with the dead throughout.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death, Infidelity
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
At times, I couldn't take this book seriously, but I think that improved my reading experience. The first book wasn't my thing, mostly because of the romance, and I went into this one knowing it probably wouldn't be my thing either.
In general, I'm not a fan of romantic subplots, and this one wasn't an exception. To me, it was more funny than anything. I found myself laughing out loud at times, especially at the descriptions and placement of some scenes. As with the first book, I think it's pretty obvious who she'll end up with, anyway.
A few of the twists felt like they weren't properly set up and moreso there for shock value, especially those at the end. The twist with Millie felt especially random, considering she was mentioned only two or three times in the entire book beforehand.
In general, I'm not a fan of romantic subplots, and this one wasn't an exception. To me, it was more funny than anything. I found myself laughing out loud at times, especially at the descriptions and placement of some scenes. As with the first book, I think it's pretty obvious who she'll end up with, anyway.
However, even with all of its issues, I still had a generally good time reading it, mostly by not taking it seriously.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Gun violence, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol
Minor: Addiction, Cursing, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Blood
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Death of parent
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Violence, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I’m apparently in the minority here, but I enjoyed The Hawthorne Legacy so much more than The Inheritance Games, making it my first five-star read of 2023. I’ve bounded more with the characters, and the stakes get higher, leading to a more interesting story.
This book starts right where the first book ended with Avery and the Hawthorne brothers, mainly Jameson and Grayson, still trying to figure out why Tobias Hawthorne chose her as an heir. It’s a bit hard to talk about the story without spoilers. What I can say though is that I don’t really understand all the people that say that nothing happens in this novel. Avery and the Hawthorne brothers uncover so many mysteries here; they don’t find the final answer to the big mystery around Tobias, but I still was very invested and engaged in it, especially in the question what happened on the island. There’s so much drama around it, especially family drama which was so entertaining but also sad in parts. I furthermore still really enjoy seeing how Avery deals with the consequences of her inheritance, mainly integrate herself into new social circles, handling the publicity and other people trying to profit off of her. This leads to quite a threatening atmosphere which was written so well. In my opinion, those two elements are perfectly balanced, leading to not one moment where I was bored.
The ending was so great as well and cemented my five star rating of The Hawthorne Legacy: It was so obvious that something would happen to Avery while she was away from the Hawthorne house but it shocked me quite a lot that it was a bomb that almost killed her. This whole sequence was so dramatic and it doesn’t stop there since she’s kidnapped by Grayson’s dad which I didn’t see coming at all. What I expected though was that Toby wasn’t her biological dad but still loved her like she was his own daughter. Their final moment was so heart-breaking .
Looking at the characters, I can say that I really like the whole cast. Avery is a great protagonist; her feelings and struggles are portrayed so vividly and she has an amazing character development here. Besides her, the Hawthorne brothers and their dynamic with each other are great as well. I’m not the biggest fan of the love triangle and I definitely prefer Grayson since I love him so much. It was also nice that Max became a part of the main cast, she’s quite funny .
As much as I loved The Hawthorne Legacy, I’m wondering where the story could be going next, and I hope that the conclusion will be satisfying. Other than that, this novel had everything I love about YA mysteries and I’m so happy that I finally could rate a book five stars this year.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent
Minor: Infidelity
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Death of parent, Classism
Minor: Infidelity, Medical content
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is the second book in the Inheritance Games series, and I can’t wait to read the final installment! I was actually surprised at some of the twists and turns in this one. I’m glad we learned more about the background of both Avery and the Hawthorne family, and got to see Avery’s character develop more.
Secondary to the mystery aspect, there is a love triangle still brewing between Avery, Jameson, and Grayson. I know the obvious choice might be Jameson, but I am definitely Team Grayson! ☺️
Definitely read this series if you enjoyed Knives Out!
Secondary to the mystery aspect, there is a love triangle still brewing between Avery, Jameson, and Grayson. I know the obvious choice might be Jameson, but I am definitely Team Grayson! ☺️
Definitely read this series if you enjoyed Knives Out!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infidelity, Death of parent, Gaslighting
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I want to reallllllly like these, but I'm only finding them mostly okay and entertaining, which is starting to annoy me. Yes, there are whiplash levels of twisty, interesting reveals, but the puzzles and clues feel kind of basic. Combined with the angsty love-triangle-ness of it all, it just feels a bit juvenile compared to other YA mysteries I've enjoyed. It's still a pretty fun ride, though, so I'm definitely go on to book 3. And Max is the best — she's with 3 stars just on her own!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infertility, Sexual content, Pregnancy