Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Hawthorne Legacy

I'm surprised that I enjoyed The Hawthorne Legacy more than The Inheritance Games simply because that seems to be in contradiction to the opinion of the majority. But at the same time, I genuinely can't tell if I enjoyed it more simply because I listened to it on audiobook, which made working and driving more entertaining, and didn't have opportunity to focus on anything else, or because it genuinely was better?

Overall, I'm very conflicted about this book and series in general. I think it helped that I went into this sequel knowing more what to expect. However, it still couldn't consistently hold my attention. I got more into the plot in the second half of the book, but came to realize why so many people have said this is unnecessarily convoluted once I hit the 90% mark. I actually think the book was doing fine until that point, and then it felt like it was complicated for complications sake. Literally pointless. I would have liked a little bit of a cliffhanger ending as well to lead up into the 3rd book, but I suppose the ending we got makes sense considering it looks like there will be a short time jump.

Lastly, I have to talk about the love triangle. I still stand by my original statement that the characters are pretty flat and lacking in personality. But Jameson, especially, doesn't seem like much more than the typical "not like other boys" damaged boy. He's just not that interesting to me... I guess this is my way of saying I prefer Grayson. But even Avery, herself, isn't that interesting to me. The most interesting thing about her is the mystery surrounding her lineage and connection to Tobias Hawthorne. Now that that's been addressed I can't help but wonder if she'll be able to stand on her own as a character in the third book.

Anyway, I have a lot of thoughts and not many at all, because in the end I don't have many strong feelings toward this book. It's just ok.

Content Warnings

emilia_r's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Content Warnings

ameliabee33's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense 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

3.25

Traps upon traps upon traps! This story follows Avery right after she found out that Harry, thr guy she placed chess with in the park, was none other than Toby Hawthorne. The book then goes through the winding and twisty path to find who is Toby, what happened on Hawthorne Island, where is he now, and what is his real connection to Avery. In my opinion, this book didn't focus too much on the characters or the games of the grandfather himself, that seemed to be the purpose of The Inheritance Games only- world building. This book took that and expanded it to focus on who Avedy was to Tobais Hawthorne and the search to find her

father

Content Warnings

sydnaayy's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

kristyndcruz's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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