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adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book including the rest of the series was absolutely amazing! A perfect series for the mystery genre. It was definitely complicated but it wasn't so out there that you couldn't play along. I could make predictions and it was actually possible to be right. The romances were perfectly complicated, and sometimes silent smile or squeal worthy. This book was an experience. Through Avery you could understand other and her own expressions and tones implication's. Amazingly written, a roller coaster, a thrill, an adventure. A gambit.
Content Warnings
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury
adventurous
funny
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:
No
At first I was overwhelmed with all the numerous details I just couldn't remember from the previous books, but soon I caught up with everything and became so invested in the story. I just had to read the final 200 pages in one sitting. What a way to wrap the trilogy – a cliffhanger – sure there's got to be a sequel or a brand new series? I'm so excited already!
Things I didn't like or care about: Avery's love life and the love triangle between her and two brothers. no thanks. Also the very existence of Eve as a character felt a bit unnecessary and complicated things for no reason.
But damn do I love treasure hunts.
Things I didn't like or care about: Avery's love life and the love triangle between her and two brothers. no thanks. Also the very existence of Eve as a character felt a bit unnecessary and complicated things for no reason.
But damn do I love treasure hunts.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Grief
Minor: Sexual content
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
I had a lot of fun listening to this one. Pretty much every event that takes place is unbelievably implausible and insane but it's able to do it in a fun and entertaining way rather than an annoying one. I can hardly remember what exactly happened in the previous 2 books but ig i just had a better time with this one. points off for the side character max, she is very annoying thank god she's barely in it
Content Warnings
Minor: Gun violence, Kidnapping
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
3.75 ⭐️
If there’s an AveryJameson breakup in The Hawthorne Brothers I’m suing
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Misogyny
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Kidnapping, Murder
Moderate: Death, Violence, Death of parent
Minor: Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Sexual violence
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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:
Complicated
Overall Thoughts:
⁕ The plot of this book was not as ridiculous as The Hawthorne Legacy (no island gangs and exploding helicopters in this one), but it still felt like Lynn Barnes was pulling random problems and solutions out of nowhere. Overall, it just felt too wacky, wild, and disconnected to be considered even remotely realistic.
⁕SPOILER: I'm glad this book finally addressed how cruel and unsympathetic Grandaddy Hawthorne was.
⁕ SPOILER: Controversial opinion: this book canonically does not ship Greyson and Avery and I am so GLAD of it. While Avery's relationship with Jameson is a little underbaked for my liking, at least she ends up with boy who wants to protect, grow with, and work to be a better person with her. I LOVE that this books says "screw the automatic default to the tall, dark, broody one; we're being healthy in our relationships!".
To read my full review, visit: https://evereads.online/
For regular book-related content, follow my Instagram account: @eve_reads
⁕ The plot of this book was not as ridiculous as The Hawthorne Legacy (no island gangs and exploding helicopters in this one), but it still felt like Lynn Barnes was pulling random problems and solutions out of nowhere. Overall, it just felt too wacky, wild, and disconnected to be considered even remotely realistic.
To read my full review, visit: https://evereads.online/
For regular book-related content, follow my Instagram account: @eve_reads
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Murder
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It took me awhile to get back into this one because it had been awhile since I read the second book. So there was lots I had to catch up on and so many characters and their personalities to remember. Thus, I found it slow and a bit less interesting than I expected. That is until I got to the last third of this book and could not put it down. I loved the climax and ending so much, altogether this trilogy has been so much lighthearted, mysterious fun. I would definitely recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Misogyny, Sexism, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Gun violence
adventurous
funny
hopeful
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:
Complicated
The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes … what an ending and what a fun trilogy!
I’m glad that there will be another book in this world.
Nash Hawthorne is a fan of Taylor Swift, so now another reason to stan him.
Go Swifties!!!
My favorite Hawthorne brother is Xander though.
I hate Mallory. She hated Rebecca for basically not being Emily. Mallory treating Eve better than Rebecca … booooooo!
Also I called Eve being evil as soon as she was introduced. Don’t trust anyone … including her.
Jameson and Avery are a good couple. I don’t get all the hate going towards them.
Grayson deserves a hug.
Xander’s dad still wanting him and Xander freaking out … he deserves all the love.
Tobias Hawthorne’s audio file for Avery and the boys was sweet but also not. The way he told the boys to judge them however they want to… I mean sir you were a horrible person sometimes.
The plot twists and turns kept happening, so I thought what if Avery was related to Vincent Blake? Thank goodness she was not, but it was a thought I had.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Kidnapping
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-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:
Yes
[this review will contain several spoilers. please make sure to avoid it until you have read the full book!]
i was a bit afraid to read this book. i wasn't sure of what to expect as the ending and i was also worried about how the love triangle would develop. but i have to say i am overall satisfied with everything!
this book, altogether, was the one where most of the characters got to show their most emotional side of themselves. it was a bit slow paced in the beginning so it took me a while to get into the story but once i did i just loved to see everyone's vulenrability.
the general realization that tobias hawthorne was a morally grey person, who had to do some horrible stuff in order to maintain some stability in his life, was so important. i could say that it was one of the most important themes in the book. it impacted all of the characters, specially his close family but i believe it was a very needed reminder. most people you look up to usually have a dirty path behind them.
however, i can't properly talk about that topic without talking about each character so just let me do it real quick, while i also give my opinions on them:
i was a bit afraid to read this book. i wasn't sure of what to expect as the ending and i was also worried about how the love triangle would develop. but i have to say i am overall satisfied with everything!
this book, altogether, was the one where most of the characters got to show their most emotional side of themselves. it was a bit slow paced in the beginning so it took me a while to get into the story but once i did i just loved to see everyone's vulenrability.
the general realization that tobias hawthorne was a morally grey person, who had to do some horrible stuff in order to maintain some stability in his life, was so important. i could say that it was one of the most important themes in the book. it impacted all of the characters, specially his close family but i believe it was a very needed reminder. most people you look up to usually have a dirty path behind them.
however, i can't properly talk about that topic without talking about each character so just let me do it real quick, while i also give my opinions on them:
- first of all, let's start with xander. i am convinced i have said this in my previous reviews to this series BUT man, i absolutely love him. he owns my heart, he is a softie but also the funniest person you'll ever meet. if it's not one of your favorite characters, i'm sorry but i can't trust you. like, honestly, most of my annotated quotes revolve around him. i just love him so so so much, fr. i love how in this book he wasn't left besides that much and that he got to rebond with his dad <33
- nash and libby still own a piece of my heart, of course, but xander will always be famous to me <3 like ok maybe they're not that relevant to the plotline but i still relate a lot to both of them. also we got to learn where nash's savior complex came from and i think that was interesting. idk my love for him just grew a bit more. and same goes to libby! her "survivor" tattoo hit me :/
- i can understand why grayson acted the way he did during the book. i've read other reviews saying he was annoying for sticking with eve but, tbh, i think most people would do the same stuff he did if they were on his spot. also, i feel like during this book he let his walls down more often which is a detail that made me really happy. i love it when though characters give themselves an emotional break. and, even though i believe he deserves a happy ending, i'm not mad at the ending he got. i think he really needed some time for himself
- oh, and let's talk about jameson! well, he was my fave love interest since the first book. i related maybe a bit too much to his "i was never enough and everyone always prefered jameson" speech, lmao. and of course, i was afraid that the author was going to pull up the cliché love triangle trilogy line where jameson's character would magically become an asshole and avery would choose grayson bc of his dark sad past which makes him mysterious and cool. but i'm glad none of that happened. i love grayson but i would have been very heartbroken if, after opening up to her about never feeling enough, avery didn't choose jameson. and i'm also happy that, instead of letting his insecurities set him apart, he fought through them because he was totally sure he loved avery <3
- and focusing on avery now, i don't love her as much as i love other characters but i don't dislike her either. i think she's a good main character who has grown throughout the three books. of course she had always been a clever girl with clear goals but by the end i think she turned out to be more mature than what i was expecting. like, i don't think any reader was anticipating the fact that she would give away most of her inheritance.
- another character i liked was toby. i was very upset when he lost the chess game and was forced to oficially become toby blake. but, on the other hand, i believe that's part of the consequences of his actions so i don't think i can complain much about it.
- oren kept me intrigued because he knew about tobias' plan all along but he never showed any clue of it. idk, i just feel like if i were him i could not keep my mouth shout lmao. so shoutout to him for keeping the mystery a secret during this whole story!
- even side characters such as thea and rebecca which were given more importance in this book, made my heart melt and shatter a bit. i don't really understand how thea became an influencer but she speaks so softly and beautifully about bex so i like her! and idk i feel like rebecca's story was what got me to like her more. like, yes baby, you deserve to live a happy life doing whatever you want and to shine on your own <3
i think that another detail i kinda loved was the cyclical "ending", it was nice to see toby and avery play chess once again, maybe it all felt a bit weak and it was hard for me to believe that vincent would risk so much with just a bunch of games.
so yeah, in general it was a good ending for the trilogy. but i think i can't give it 4 full stars because of the slow pacing at the beginning. it just did not keep me hooked the same way the first book did, but still it was good!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Kidnapping, Murder
Moderate: Death, Violence, Death of parent
Minor: Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Sexual assault
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Abandonment