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crosswarrior7's review
3.0
Short Review: 3.5 stars. A very fun mystery to follow along with filled with questions and games. Enjoyable main character, good side characters, but definitely iffy execution of romances and attractions.
Long Review:
The Inheritance Game follows Avery Grambs, an orphan living with her half-sister. Despite her smarts, Avery is seen is a problem child due to losing her mother, having an absentee father, and her financially poor home situation with aforementioned half-sister. But the death of a billionaire suddenly drops, well, billions of dollars on her lap, all while leaving those who thought they’d inherit the money. Now she’s the central piece in a game she never signed up to play, and those playing the games are willing to go to great lengths to win, even murder. But those who had the most to lose seem to realize something more is going on: a game. An inheritance game, if you will. Buh-dum-tsss.
On that lame joke... I have seen this book around for a while. Entered some giveaways. Never won. Saw a disappointing review of it from a friend, and it just kind of faded into the back of my mind... But then this October, I decided to grab it and read it because I wanted some mystery vibes for Halloween. And on the plus side, it was far better than I expected.
On the downside, I fully understood my friend’s complaints, which circled greatly around the two main boys—Greyson and Jameson—and their ‘romances’ with Avery.
Okay, what I liked. I really enjoyed Avery as a character. I understood her desire for there to be something special about her, especially as someone who has craved that themselves very often. I also adored her relationship with her sister and loved getting to see that familial relationship grow between two estranged sisters, even if we were seeing the latter end of it.
I liked the idea of Mr. Hawthorne. I think that idea of him is what really drove the mystery for me personally. His adoration for all these hidden tricks and games set up for the occurrences very well, and it always made the house and its land feel alive and like an important part of the plot.
Another enjoyment was getting to see Avery have to adjust and all the craziness of suddenly having this sort of life would cause. Because yes, there was a good bit of craziness to it. And I liked how her desire for travel was built upon by being in this new environment. It expanded upon the why behind a passion that was already there and integrated it into her place in this new, crazy world very well. Just overall hoping to see more of that expanded upon, because it’s part of what made me like Avery as a character.
Now for the boys. I loved the two non-main brothers. Nash and Alexander may not have played a central part, but they had pretty clear characters regardless. Characters with clear motivations, and honestly, I loved Nash’s pure heart so much, as well as Alexander’s inner child. Jameson definitely had a similar allure that most guarded, ‘damaged’ bad boys do, and Grayson was great with his drive to protect his family while also being very strict and, well, business-like.
More than the boys, though, I liked them as a family. Their dynamics were enjoyable, and I love how much those played off each and their dynamic. Like you could feel the rivalry really burning within the two middle children, the protectiveness of the oldest, and the desire to be more from the younger. And all of this accumulates to just the fascinating psychology that is the Hawthorne boys. The obviously had a very messed up upbringing that twisted the way their minds worked, and you really get that sense watching how they approach the world and interact with it. I also like that each boy dealt with it differently and were just their own character.
So, issues? Like I said, my main issues stemmed from the ‘romance’, ‘triangle’, whatever you want to call it. Although the psychology of the boys felt real and fleshed out, the ‘draw’ that Avery kept placing on the boys just felt... Over the top. It felt like an aspect from an anime or Wattpad novel. The boys themselves were interesting characters, but it felt like the author couldn’t really figure out a way to make a legitimate connection between Avery and these love interests, so she shoehorned it in.
Trust me, I get being drawn to mysterious things and wanting to unravel it and find out the secrets. But it just didn’t quite feel like that. It felt like a forced attraction that just... Didn’t work for me really. This also extended to the mysterious Emily. It just kept feeling like the plot had to make people grander than life for them to have an impact on people, when really, it was the smaller, more human aspects of the characters that drew me in.
Without spoiling anything, I liked Emily’s concept as a character. I started loving it less though as the narrative made it seem more and more just... unrealistic. Which yes, it’s fiction, it doesn’t have to be fully realistic, but the suspension of disbelief just kept building too much. It would have worked very well in a manga-like setting, but for the psychology base it tried to have with the family dynamic and the effects of childhood and too much pressure for certain things... It just didn’t really work for me.
So yes, overall, an enjoyable read to me, but the building up of the boys just got too large for me.
Long Review:
The Inheritance Game follows Avery Grambs, an orphan living with her half-sister. Despite her smarts, Avery is seen is a problem child due to losing her mother, having an absentee father, and her financially poor home situation with aforementioned half-sister. But the death of a billionaire suddenly drops, well, billions of dollars on her lap, all while leaving those who thought they’d inherit the money. Now she’s the central piece in a game she never signed up to play, and those playing the games are willing to go to great lengths to win, even murder. But those who had the most to lose seem to realize something more is going on: a game. An inheritance game, if you will. Buh-dum-tsss.
On that lame joke... I have seen this book around for a while. Entered some giveaways. Never won. Saw a disappointing review of it from a friend, and it just kind of faded into the back of my mind... But then this October, I decided to grab it and read it because I wanted some mystery vibes for Halloween. And on the plus side, it was far better than I expected.
On the downside, I fully understood my friend’s complaints, which circled greatly around the two main boys—Greyson and Jameson—and their ‘romances’ with Avery.
Okay, what I liked. I really enjoyed Avery as a character. I understood her desire for there to be something special about her, especially as someone who has craved that themselves very often. I also adored her relationship with her sister and loved getting to see that familial relationship grow between two estranged sisters, even if we were seeing the latter end of it.
I liked the idea of Mr. Hawthorne. I think that idea of him is what really drove the mystery for me personally. His adoration for all these hidden tricks and games set up for the occurrences very well, and it always made the house and its land feel alive and like an important part of the plot.
Another enjoyment was getting to see Avery have to adjust and all the craziness of suddenly having this sort of life would cause. Because yes, there was a good bit of craziness to it. And I liked how her desire for travel was built upon by being in this new environment. It expanded upon the why behind a passion that was already there and integrated it into her place in this new, crazy world very well. Just overall hoping to see more of that expanded upon, because it’s part of what made me like Avery as a character.
Now for the boys. I loved the two non-main brothers. Nash and Alexander may not have played a central part, but they had pretty clear characters regardless. Characters with clear motivations, and honestly, I loved Nash’s pure heart so much, as well as Alexander’s inner child. Jameson definitely had a similar allure that most guarded, ‘damaged’ bad boys do, and Grayson was great with his drive to protect his family while also being very strict and, well, business-like.
More than the boys, though, I liked them as a family. Their dynamics were enjoyable, and I love how much those played off each and their dynamic. Like you could feel the rivalry really burning within the two middle children, the protectiveness of the oldest, and the desire to be more from the younger. And all of this accumulates to just the fascinating psychology that is the Hawthorne boys. The obviously had a very messed up upbringing that twisted the way their minds worked, and you really get that sense watching how they approach the world and interact with it. I also like that each boy dealt with it differently and were just their own character.
So, issues? Like I said, my main issues stemmed from the ‘romance’, ‘triangle’, whatever you want to call it. Although the psychology of the boys felt real and fleshed out, the ‘draw’ that Avery kept placing on the boys just felt... Over the top. It felt like an aspect from an anime or Wattpad novel. The boys themselves were interesting characters, but it felt like the author couldn’t really figure out a way to make a legitimate connection between Avery and these love interests, so she shoehorned it in.
Trust me, I get being drawn to mysterious things and wanting to unravel it and find out the secrets. But it just didn’t quite feel like that. It felt like a forced attraction that just... Didn’t work for me really. This also extended to the mysterious Emily. It just kept feeling like the plot had to make people grander than life for them to have an impact on people, when really, it was the smaller, more human aspects of the characters that drew me in.
Without spoiling anything, I liked Emily’s concept as a character. I started loving it less though as the narrative made it seem more and more just... unrealistic. Which yes, it’s fiction, it doesn’t have to be fully realistic, but the suspension of disbelief just kept building too much. It would have worked very well in a manga-like setting, but for the psychology base it tried to have with the family dynamic and the effects of childhood and too much pressure for certain things... It just didn’t really work for me.
So yes, overall, an enjoyable read to me, but the building up of the boys just got too large for me.
readitoryeetit's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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
4.0
butterflies_library's review
3.0
I was super excited to read The Inheritance Games! It’s been on my TBR since it came out! I love a good mystery book. It was a good book and the plot was decently set up. On one hand I did generally enjoy it but on the other hand there is quite a few things I didn’t really like or care for. I was expecting more challenging riddles and traps through the book but it just didn’t deliver. It was an easy light read but kind of predictable. The character development was kind to non existent.. Avery, a teenager girl that got the short end of the stick when it comes to life suddenly becomes a multi billionaire from a man she doesn’t know, Tobias Hawthorn. She is forced to live in his home for a year to keep the inheritance according to his will. No one knows why she was the to inherit his fortune, but the Hawthorne family and Avery want and need answers. They soon find out that Mr. Hawthorne has one more tick up his sleeve and it’s up to Avery and the Hawthorne boys to figure it out. Unfortunately, this was only a small portion of the book which I feel at time gets lost. The end of the book was a bit flat for me. Would I read this book again? Probably not. Will I read the rest of the series? Maybe.. eventually. When it comes to mystery I just need more.
lj99's review
3.0
It was pretty good and I liked the twists and it was an easy read but tbh I didn’t know who was who until the end lmao and I didn’t really care about any of them
reverie_stvrlightt's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
jemmasimmons's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
antonija_markulin's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
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
4.5
toast_star_on's review
4.25
This was not enemies to lovers lol. Somewhat cringey dialogue but it was good. 4.5
amk1981's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
breama2022's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0