Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - The Inheritance Games

This mystery book was actually really quick to get through, as the writing was short and snappy to match the fast-paced plot and it kept me interested enough at the end of each chapter to want to just keep reading. However, I feel that I'm not the target audience and couldn't enjoy it as much as if I was (YA, teen girls attracted to egotistical rich white boys) because I found myself not caring about either of the brothers engrossed in the main character's love triangle and actually thought many of the character interactions and dialogue were cringey. I was so over the way the brothers called Avery by her last name or a dumb nickname like "Mystery Girl" and "Heiress", and thought that each of the brothers wasn't really fleshed out more than their initial one-note character traits - the carefree and aloof eldest, the cunning business-minded one, the reckless charmer, and the energetic and goofy youngest brother. Maybe in the following books they will get more development, since this first part is really Avery's story. I was also really annoyed with her sister throughout this whole book and wish Avery had better support than what she was given. I didn't really connect with the entire Emily and Rebecca subplot either and it mostly left me confused more than emotionally connected to the family's struggles. The most interesting parts and the reason I kept reading was all the mystery, riddles, puzzles, and elaborate descriptions and hidden secrets of the Hawthorne House. Although this book could've been better, I can see myself reading the sequels someday to get closure and know what happens after that cliffhanger ending.

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siennaflynn's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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olivia_sz's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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meeklovestoread's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

You know I went into this book thinking it was going to be a bit different than it was. I was expecting the stakes to be higher and the book to be a bit darker, but as I was looking at people's explanations of the review I gathered that this is just a simple mystery. And once I let go of that notion, the book actually became more entertaining to read.

Although I'm around the same age as the main characters, I feel like I would've enjoyed this more when I was younger, or better yet maybe due to the amount of thrillers I read I expected this to be more thrilling than it was (and have higher stakes like I said earlier). So, that notion aside, this book was pretty good for what it was. The reason Avery is chosen is a bit anticlimactic in my opinion, but I think there might be more to it so I'll hold on to that hope when I read the second book. And the other big twist at the end was good too, I guessed it as the story unfolded so that was nice. I'll definitely be continuing the rest of this series.

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pich's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

(2.75 leaning towards 3 stars)
i’ll still read the rest of the series, but i just felt like this book was quite lackluster. I definitely would’ve liked more detail with each of the brothers, and while I understand that this is the first book, a little more dimension to them wouldn’t hurt. The riddles and puzzles weren’t crazy—as I thought they would be—but this was an easy read so I didn’t worry about those too much.

the romance between Avery and the boys grew kind of uninteresting after a hot second, especially after it was revealed they both loved Emily. I think had romance been introduced in the second book, I would be rooting for one of the other more—right now, I really don’t have a preference.

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