Reviews with content warning for Drug abuse - The Hawthorne Legacy

This book is the second in a trilogy and is a quick read! It’s old money, puzzles, riddles, will they/won’t they, a love triangle that doesn’t leave you annoyed, lost family, found family, mystery, and romance.

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dlrosebyh's review

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adventurous mysterious 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? No

4.5

Heiress Avery Grambs is left to pick up the pieces after the shocking conclusion of the Inheritance Games and seek out the person who might have the answers to all of her questions, including why Tobias Hawthorne decided to leave his whole estate to Avery rather than his own children or grandsons.

A DNA test has confirmed for Avery that she is not a Hawthorne by blood, but signs are mounting that point to a closer relationship to the family than she had ever thought. Two of the mysterious and alluring Hawthorne grandchildren, Grayson and Jameson, continue to tug Avery in separate directions as the mystery deepens and the plot congeals. In addition, danger lurks around every turn as new enemies arise who will use any means necessary to remove Avery from the scene.

i think my thoughts are still the same thing with my thoughts from the first book. but this book was definitely what i needed. don’t get me wrong, i liked the first book, but this one? i loved. most second books in a series are fillers, but this one, i think, is as important— or even more important than the first book. i’m so glad it didn’t go through the second book syndrome.

I adore how developed the characters in this novel are. I felt Grayson was missing something in the first book, and I was correct. I now have a completely new appreciation for Grayson as a result of this book. Even though I wish I had seen more of him in this book because the game was originally supposed to be his, Xander is still my favorite character. Additionally, there is a lot more character drama, and we meet more significant characters (more assholes, I fear).

Like the first novel, this was overflowing with action. You go swiftly, captivatingly, and enticingly from point A to point B, from one chapter to the next. I didn't really guess many of the plot twists in this one because they were more unexpected, which is something I appreciate in a mystery book. The mood is ruined by a mystery book with a predictable plot twist.

Because of the kiss, I was a little worried for that Avery would choose Grayson, but now I'm very certain that Jameson is the endgame. After reading the "heads and tails" quote, how could anyone not choose Jameson? I adore Grayson as a person, but for a relationship to work out, he needs to move on from Emily.

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berry21's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Actually liked this more than the first! Felt more exciting and the characters have grown on me more, some twists really kept me engaged.

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livvmarks's review

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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? It's complicated

4.5

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taylorswiftobsessed's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious 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

4.5

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tabea1409's review

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adventurous challenging 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? No

5.0

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mia_luvsreading's review

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adventurous mysterious 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

5.0

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lilifane's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious 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

5.0

So, listen. When I started reading the book yesterday, I wasn't really in the mood for it. I was not excited to read it, I thought about all the people that were disappointed by it, I was even thinking about DNFing the series. But I pushed through the first few pages with the thought "Well, I read so many 4 and 5 star books lately, if this will end up being a 2 or 3 star, at least I will have some colour variation in my reading journal.."
But very quickly I got into it and I ... loved it? I even think, I liked it more than the first book. Is it a literary masterpiece? No. But I loved the scavenger hunt/riddle solving aspect again. There weren't as many riddles as in the first one, but definitely more than I had expected. And it focused mainly on the mystery, with only short distractions by millionaire problems and the love triangle. I loved the dialogues, the banter, the humour, even the little tense romantic scenes.
Most importantly, I loved the pacing, I literally couldn't put the book down. It felt like 5 minutes, but suddenly I was halfway through the book. And I grinned the whole time. Reading just made me so happy. I was happy when I fell asleep, I woke up happy and happily grabbed the book to continue. I finished it and I'm still happy. I did not expect to have this kind of reading experience with it, tbh.
There were some reveals towards the end that I didn't like that much, though. I would have preferred another outcome, but I also understand the decisions made and everything did make sense and fit together nicely. Which truthfully was a surprise because there were so many questions and loose ends and I expected to not get any answers at all. So getting satisfying ones was kind of shocking. Speaking of preferences, I would also have chosen another boy in the end. But I like both of them equally, so I hope they all end up happy in the end, one way or another.

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