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saskiahill's review against another edition
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Murder, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Blood, Car accident, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Death, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Alcohol and Kidnapping
things100's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
lighthearted
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? Yes
5.0
An amazing book I love this series so far can’t wait to continue the series and see what happens next especially with that cliffhanger which I’ll admit I thought was going to happen but still I need to know what happens next
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Death of parent
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Biphobia, Classism, and Grief
lawbooks600's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Representation: N/A?
Score: Seven points out of ten.
A friend in real life recommended me this book but I've been putting this off for so long since 90% of the time I don't see the first book in this series however I just read this and this is a good crime book and I haven't seen one like this in ages since the last few crime books were disappointments. This was not.
It starts with the main character Avery Kylie Grambs or Avery for short and she lives her typical life trying to get impeccable results to go to college quickly when suddenly she is called to the principal's office since she got 100% on a test much to the principal's suspicion so she wants to take it again. Not long after Avery is called again and she hears that a billionaire died (but why?) Then she travels to Texas specifically Hawthorne House and let me tell you, it's mind-bogglingly massive, it's so big no one knows how big it is and that's where most of the book is set. The mystery itself takes so long to begin but I didn't mind as I was introduced to the will, the four Hawthorne brothers (I like Jameson most of all) and here's a twist, I don't know why but how did Avery get like 99% of the will? I don't get it. Soon enough, the riddle begins when Avery explores the mansion/estate thing alongside Grayson and Jameson when she stumbles upon the number 8 and also realises the middle names of the Hawthorne brothers were critical to the riddle as well, nice touch Barnes. Towards the latter half of the book, Avery solves the puzzle which I won't spoil for you only to find something that I can only describe as shocking, it seems that Avery is connected to the Hawthorne House somehow and her birth date is so critical however after that there's guess what, a cliffhanger! Wow! I can't wait to read the following three books in the series.
Score: Seven points out of ten.
A friend in real life recommended me this book but I've been putting this off for so long since 90% of the time I don't see the first book in this series however I just read this and this is a good crime book and I haven't seen one like this in ages since the last few crime books were disappointments. This was not.
It starts with the main character Avery Kylie Grambs or Avery for short and she lives her typical life trying to get impeccable results to go to college quickly when suddenly she is called to the principal's office since she got 100% on a test much to the principal's suspicion so she wants to take it again. Not long after Avery is called again and she hears that a billionaire died (but why?) Then she travels to Texas specifically Hawthorne House and let me tell you, it's mind-bogglingly massive, it's so big no one knows how big it is and that's where most of the book is set. The mystery itself takes so long to begin but I didn't mind as I was introduced to the will, the four Hawthorne brothers (I like Jameson most of all) and here's a twist, I don't know why but how did Avery get like 99% of the will? I don't get it. Soon enough, the riddle begins when Avery explores the mansion/estate thing alongside Grayson and Jameson when she stumbles upon the number 8 and also realises the middle names of the Hawthorne brothers were critical to the riddle as well, nice touch Barnes. Towards the latter half of the book, Avery solves the puzzle which I won't spoil for you only to find something that I can only describe as shocking, it seems that Avery is connected to the Hawthorne House somehow and her birth date is so critical however after that there's guess what, a cliffhanger! Wow! I can't wait to read the following three books in the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Blood
Moderate: Car accident and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Grief
itsmemiana's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-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? Yes
5.0
I loved this.
I feel like I knew what was going to happen and then it wouldn't be that. and there were things that I was like "I feel like this person or thing is going to be important" and then I would be like "oh nvm, maybe it's not" AND THEN IT WOULD BE. and there were parts where I couldn't even put the book down because it got so interesting. I think this was a really good book.
I'm also low-key in love with Grayson and Jameson (and pretty much all the Hawthorne brothers but specially Grayson hehe).
I loved Avery although I do think she wasn't that good of a friend (specially to Max) through a lot of the book but I have a feeling she's gonna get better.
and I also think the grandfather of the boys was a lil creepy and weird lmao but that didn't affect my experience with this book at all.
ALSO THAT ENDING?????
can't wait to read the rest of the series.
I feel like I knew what was going to happen and then it wouldn't be that. and there were things that I was like "I feel like this person or thing is going to be important" and then I would be like "oh nvm, maybe it's not" AND THEN IT WOULD BE. and there were parts where I couldn't even put the book down because it got so interesting. I think this was a really good book.
I'm also low-key in love with Grayson and Jameson (and pretty much all the Hawthorne brothers but specially Grayson hehe).
I loved Avery although I do think she wasn't that good of a friend (specially to Max) through a lot of the book but I have a feeling she's gonna get better.
and I also think the grandfather of the boys was a lil creepy and weird lmao but that didn't affect my experience with this book at all.
ALSO THAT ENDING?????
can't wait to read the rest of the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Blood, Gun violence, Medical content, Murder, Child death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief
Moderate: Car accident, Classism, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship
greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Gun violence
giulianalb99's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
2⭐️
⚠️THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS⚠️
(and I swear a lot, sorry not sorry)
First and foremost, why THE ACTUAL fffffffuck is this book so freaking overhyped????? I decided to give this book a try because my entire fyp on tiktok was full of people recommending this “mind-blowing, you won’t see it coming” book, but I. WAS. BORED.
The premise was SO good and the first chapters were really interesting but in the middle of it I was so mother freaking fucking bored that I thought about dnfing it a few times. I actually forced myself to read this and it took me like a whole week to finish it when that never happens to me and I almost got into a reading block AND I DIDN’T WANT THAT, so all I’m asking is WHY??
The characters are so bland, Avery is just meh; there are 4 brothers but Nash is there for moral support because HE DOES NOTHING and Xander is the cool one who appears like the fucking Aladdin’s genie when you need help like ????????? make me understand this please.
The entire family hates Avery but none of them appears, and when they do is to tell her that “this family is fucked up”: thanks, I didn’t notice🙄
And what about Libby? Another character who’s there for moral support because, again, she does NOTHING. And the Emily thing? It had so much potential and when I read what happened to her I was like “really? That’s it?”
THE SUPPOSED LOVE TRIANGLE between Avery, Jameson and Grayson it’s so bad like wtffffff I have more chemistry with my best friend than them and he’s gay like WAKE UP. I don’t like love triangles and maybe it’s just my opinion but it was so plain with no coherence🤷🏻♀️ and WHY do they get angry at Avery all of a sudden with no explanation whatsoever? I’m just going to laugh😂😂😂 and don’t get me started when Avery almost got shot and Jameson KISSES HER WITHOUT HER CONSENT WHEN SHE’S STILL IN SHOCK AND HE DOESN’T EVEN CARE, no no no no no no no and NO. Oh and, “your mom just tried to kill me Grayson, and you will choose your family over everything but I don’t care” CAN WE STOP GIVING TOXIC PEOPLE OPPORTUNITIES??? All Grayson did throughout the entire book was criticize Avery and at the end he was all like “I will always protect you” BE FOR REAL DUDE WTFFFFFFFFF.
The riddles? The puzzles? The whatever those were, were 100% predictable and I wasn’t surprised with the plot twists because I had it all already figured it out 🤷🏻♀️ I expected the Harry thing since the very beginning but I still thought it was stupid. Also, you’re telling me that Avery is there for the most stupid reason EVER? Nope, I refuse to believe this book had so much potential and it was totally wasted.
Good things about this book: short chapters, good writing (but not perfect), great level of english (if english is not your first language but you’re thinking about giving this book a try, you can totally do it because it’s really easy to read) and I learned new words that I didn’t know the meaning of.
Bad things about the book: I thought I was going to love this considering the hype it has but that was partly my fault too. I even thought about buying this book but a voice in my mind told me “don’t buy it just yet, wait to read it on your kindle first” and THANK whatever is in the universe that I listened to my subconscious because I would’ve gotten so freaking angry at myself if I had bought it.
Conclusion: 2⭐️ stars and I’m being generous. I don’t think I will keep on reading this series because I just don’t care what happens next and I’m not intrigued at all🤷🏻♀️ life’s too short to waste my time in books I’m not interested in.
(English is not my first language, if you find any mistakes please let me know😊).
(This is MY opinion, if you like this book then good for you but please be respectful, not all of us can like the same books).
⚠️THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS⚠️
(and I swear a lot, sorry not sorry)
First and foremost, why THE ACTUAL fffffffuck is this book so freaking overhyped????? I decided to give this book a try because my entire fyp on tiktok was full of people recommending this “mind-blowing, you won’t see it coming” book, but I. WAS. BORED.
The premise was SO good and the first chapters were really interesting but in the middle of it I was so mother freaking fucking bored that I thought about dnfing it a few times. I actually forced myself to read this and it took me like a whole week to finish it when that never happens to me and I almost got into a reading block AND I DIDN’T WANT THAT, so all I’m asking is WHY??
The characters are so bland, Avery is just meh; there are 4 brothers but Nash is there for moral support because HE DOES NOTHING and Xander is the cool one who appears like the fucking Aladdin’s genie when you need help like ????????? make me understand this please.
The entire family hates Avery but none of them appears, and when they do is to tell her that “this family is fucked up”: thanks, I didn’t notice🙄
And what about Libby? Another character who’s there for moral support because, again, she does NOTHING. And the Emily thing? It had so much potential and when I read what happened to her I was like “really? That’s it?”
THE SUPPOSED LOVE TRIANGLE between Avery, Jameson and Grayson it’s so bad like wtffffff I have more chemistry with my best friend than them and he’s gay like WAKE UP. I don’t like love triangles and maybe it’s just my opinion but it was so plain with no coherence🤷🏻♀️ and WHY do they get angry at Avery all of a sudden with no explanation whatsoever? I’m just going to laugh😂😂😂 and don’t get me started when Avery almost got shot and Jameson KISSES HER WITHOUT HER CONSENT WHEN SHE’S STILL IN SHOCK AND HE DOESN’T EVEN CARE, no no no no no no no and NO. Oh and, “your mom just tried to kill me Grayson, and you will choose your family over everything but I don’t care” CAN WE STOP GIVING TOXIC PEOPLE OPPORTUNITIES??? All Grayson did throughout the entire book was criticize Avery and at the end he was all like “I will always protect you” BE FOR REAL DUDE WTFFFFFFFFF.
The riddles? The puzzles? The whatever those were, were 100% predictable and I wasn’t surprised with the plot twists because I had it all already figured it out 🤷🏻♀️ I expected the Harry thing since the very beginning but I still thought it was stupid. Also, you’re telling me that Avery is there for the most stupid reason EVER? Nope, I refuse to believe this book had so much potential and it was totally wasted.
Good things about this book: short chapters, good writing (but not perfect), great level of english (if english is not your first language but you’re thinking about giving this book a try, you can totally do it because it’s really easy to read) and I learned new words that I didn’t know the meaning of.
Bad things about the book: I thought I was going to love this considering the hype it has but that was partly my fault too. I even thought about buying this book but a voice in my mind told me “don’t buy it just yet, wait to read it on your kindle first” and THANK whatever is in the universe that I listened to my subconscious because I would’ve gotten so freaking angry at myself if I had bought it.
Conclusion: 2⭐️ stars and I’m being generous. I don’t think I will keep on reading this series because I just don’t care what happens next and I’m not intrigued at all🤷🏻♀️ life’s too short to waste my time in books I’m not interested in.
(English is not my first language, if you find any mistakes please let me know😊).
(This is MY opinion, if you like this book then good for you but please be respectful, not all of us can like the same books).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
effy's review against another edition
3.5
I picked this book up as I was in a bit of a reading funk and didn't really know what I wanted to read. I have been mildly interested in this series for some time and had some expectations about this book namely that it was going to be somewhat of a competition. I am not really sure where I got the impression that our main character, Avery, would have to compete for the pot of money but I was quite far off with that. Avery stands to inherit the whole fortune and the only condition is that she lives at Hawthorne House for one year; the game in the book is simply for everyone involved to try to get answers about why Avery has been bequeathed the majority of the money.
Because I had certain incorrect assumptions going into this book, I found it to be a lot less pacey than I was hoping for. There were definitely multiple threads happening at once where we are wondering who is trying to murder Avery, as well as the death of Emily and, obviously, what Avery's connection to the Hawthornes is. I wasn't a massive fan of the romance in this book, especially as it seemed as though it was setting up a love triangle but it was definitely more of a subplot with the various mysteries being the main focus.
Whilst I understand the reason why we don't get the answer as to why Avery was left almost everything until almost the end of the book, it was frustrating to have to wait. I think part of the frustration is due to the fact that there wasn't really any way that it could be guessed or theorized. Well, I'm sure some smart people put it together but I didn't 🤣
I am glad that the story was relatively wrapped-up in one book rather than trying to stretch things out for the trilogy.
Because I had certain incorrect assumptions going into this book, I found it to be a lot less pacey than I was hoping for. There were definitely multiple threads happening at once where we are wondering
Whilst I understand the reason why we don't get the answer as to why Avery was left almost everything until almost the end of the book, it was frustrating to have to wait. I think part of the frustration is due to the fact that there wasn't really any way that it could be guessed or theorized. Well, I'm sure some smart people put it together but I didn't 🤣
I am glad that the story was relatively wrapped-up in one book rather than trying to stretch things out for the trilogy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Drug abuse, Death, Death of parent, Child death, Grief, Cancer, and Fire/Fire injury
livvmarks's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Pregnancy, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Gun violence, Murder, Stalking, Grief, Classism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Car accident, Racism, and Terminal illness
purplepickle's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Death, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Grief, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcohol and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
maiishigami's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I actually really like this book, I like the atmoshphere and how it would describe the setting of each scene, it was also a page turner.
I also find myself rooting for grayson rather than jameson despite him having more interactions with Avery .
I actually like Jameson at first but I felt that he was too 'immature' for Avery, he didn't really think much about her feelings whilst Grayson had done things behind the scenes to protect Avery. I hope she ends up with Grayson, I wont mind if its Jameson but I would be happier if Grayson was her endgame, I think they balance each other out.
I actually like Jameson at first but I felt that he was too 'immature' for Avery, he didn't really think much about her feelings whilst Grayson had done things behind the scenes to protect Avery. I hope she ends up with Grayson, I wont mind if its Jameson but I would be happier if Grayson was her endgame, I think they balance each other out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Gun violence
Moderate: Car accident, Physical abuse, and Terminal illness
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Pregnancy