A review by oceanwriter
The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Having felt somewhat let down by the ending of the first book after so much build-up, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself liking this book even more. Some questions are answered from The Inheritance Games, and some questions are asked presumably ready to be answered in The Final Gambit.

Picking up right after the events of the first book, we follow Avery and the Hawthorne boys as a new game begins. This time their quest is more of a cross between friendly competition and working as a team now that Avery has been accepted by the Hawthorne boys as one of their own. She stands to lose the most (though not necessarily financially). Having uncovered some family secrets, she's determined to find connections and answers. Who is her father? Is she really of Hawthorne blood? What had her mother kept from her for her entire life?

Part of what I've been enjoying about this series is the absurdity of it all. I'm not the target age group so I have little patience for the high school drama that inevitably comes in a YA such as this, but something about the eccentricity of the Hawthorne family is intriguing. It's grandiose and impractical but dang it, it's fun.

This book definitely reads as a lengthy bridge into the next book (though doesn't end on as much of a cliffhanger as the previous), however, I enjoyed the intricacies of the family. I'm not quite sure what to expect going forward but I'm excited to find out!
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