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A review by nm_young
The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
4.0
Book/Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Book Cover: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I went back and forth between giving this book 3.5 or 4 stars. I decided to give it an additional 1/2 star because of the gorgeous cover.
TRIGGER WARNING: DOMESTIC ABUSE & DEATH
POV: Singular, First Person
Series/Standalone: Series
Series Type: Trilogy
First In Trilogy: Yes
Safe Or Dark: Safe
Before I start, please keep in mind that I'm a 35-year-old woman writing a review for a young adult book. So, take what I say with a grain of salt if you wish. It might also be important to note that I haven't read a YA book since 2006.
*Patiently waiting for a letter to arrive in the mail letting me know that a stranger has died and left me billions*
Let's just get this out of the way and clear the air. I'm all in on Nash Hawthorne. Grayson, Jameson, and Alexander are just fine and dandy. They all sound lovely. But Nash just sounds downright delicious. The Texas drawl, the cowboy hat, the blue jeans, the cowboy boots, the savior complex, the "DARLIN'"!
Now that the important stuff is out of the way, let's get down to the rest of the business. This was a fun, fast-paced, and very quick read. I picked this book up because I was in a terrible reading slump and needed something to pull me out of it. This did the trick.
While I did enjoy this book, the plot was not at all what I was expecting. I was thinking that this would be more of a story reminiscent of the movie "Knives Out," since that is sort of what it was marketed as. Well, it wasn't. The plot focuses more on the aspects of the heiress's life with the Hawthorne boys and their social circle rather than being packed with riddles and puzzles and trying to figure out why this random teenager was left a stranger's fortune. I mean, that stuff was in there, just not as much as I anticipated it would be. We learned more about teenage romances than anything, if I'm being honest.
Avery Kylie Grambs has got to be the luckiest teenager to have ever lived (well, at least after she inherited an assload of money). Honestly, her life before that seemed pretty hit or miss. Philanthropist Tobias Hawthorne has died, and in his will, he left everything he owned to Avery. She is now a multi-billionaire. One day she was taking a test in school, and the next day, bam!, she was rolling in the dough. To inherit all this money, Ms. Grambs has to live at Tobias' mega mansion, Hawthorne House, for a year, which is still occupied by members of his family, including his four devilishly handsome grandsons. Two of whom develop feelings for her and probably want to get a little freaky deaky with her as well. Just trust me, this social circle was, let's just say, very well acquainted.
Grandaddy Hawthorne loved games. His grandsons were brought up trying to solve their grandfather's twisted riddles and puzzles. Each of them wants to be victorious. So, it isn't any surprise to find out that Hawthorne House is pretty much one big maze with trap doors and secret passageways galore. At the reading of the will, members of the family are given letters from old man Hawthorne that are to be opened after said reading. This sets off a chain of clues that will hopefully explain what made this old, insanely rich man disinherit his family and instead leave all his worldly possessions to a random seventeen-year-old girl.
This set-up would lead you to believe that we would be following the Hawthorne brothers and Avery on an exciting journey, and we do get a little bit of that here and there. But what we mainly get is a story of teenage love triangles and high school crushes. We hear more about Avery going back and forth between her feelings for Jameson and Grayson more than anything else. We learn about the two brothers' past relationship and listen to Avery boohoo about not being another teenager named Emily,
That is just not what I was looking for or wanted to hear about when I started reading this. I also, wish there had been more put into the “big reveal” at the end. It was just sort of wham, bam, and done. A “big” surprise then nothing. We collectively gasped and moved on with our lives.
We also briefly meet Max (through phone conversations and text messages), Avery's best friend, from back home. Max is adorable, but, Lord, that girl would not say a swear word for anything. She had all these little creative ways to swear without using the actual word. I know it is YA, and the language in these books tends to be more mild, but it drove me insane. Once again, that could just be my age showing.
I know it sounds like I did not enjoy this book, but I promise I did! The end of the story left me with a few questions, and I care about them enough to continue reading the trilogy to get the answers.
If you survived reading my review in its entirety, just remember what I said about taking an old woman's words with a grain of salt. I also just finished reading this book, and it is close to midnight. So that might play a part in this review being somewhat odd and all over the place.
Book Cover: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I went back and forth between giving this book 3.5 or 4 stars. I decided to give it an additional 1/2 star because of the gorgeous cover.
TRIGGER WARNING: DOMESTIC ABUSE & DEATH
POV: Singular, First Person
Series/Standalone: Series
Series Type: Trilogy
First In Trilogy: Yes
Safe Or Dark: Safe
"As awful as it sounds, money is power, and power is magnetic."
Before I start, please keep in mind that I'm a 35-year-old woman writing a review for a young adult book. So, take what I say with a grain of salt if you wish. It might also be important to note that I haven't read a YA book since 2006.
*Patiently waiting for a letter to arrive in the mail letting me know that a stranger has died and left me billions*
"Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely."
Let's just get this out of the way and clear the air. I'm all in on Nash Hawthorne. Grayson, Jameson, and Alexander are just fine and dandy. They all sound lovely. But Nash just sounds downright delicious. The Texas drawl, the cowboy hat, the blue jeans, the cowboy boots, the savior complex, the "DARLIN'"!
Now that the important stuff is out of the way, let's get down to the rest of the business. This was a fun, fast-paced, and very quick read. I picked this book up because I was in a terrible reading slump and needed something to pull me out of it. This did the trick.
While I did enjoy this book, the plot was not at all what I was expecting. I was thinking that this would be more of a story reminiscent of the movie "Knives Out," since that is sort of what it was marketed as. Well, it wasn't. The plot focuses more on the aspects of the heiress's life with the Hawthorne boys and their social circle rather than being packed with riddles and puzzles and trying to figure out why this random teenager was left a stranger's fortune. I mean, that stuff was in there, just not as much as I anticipated it would be. We learned more about teenage romances than anything, if I'm being honest.
"Nothing is certain but death and taxes."
Avery Kylie Grambs has got to be the luckiest teenager to have ever lived (well, at least after she inherited an assload of money). Honestly, her life before that seemed pretty hit or miss. Philanthropist Tobias Hawthorne has died, and in his will, he left everything he owned to Avery. She is now a multi-billionaire. One day she was taking a test in school, and the next day, bam!, she was rolling in the dough. To inherit all this money, Ms. Grambs has to live at Tobias' mega mansion, Hawthorne House, for a year, which is still occupied by members of his family, including his four devilishly handsome grandsons. Two of whom develop feelings for her and probably want to get a little freaky deaky with her as well. Just trust me, this social circle was, let's just say, very well acquainted.
Grandaddy Hawthorne loved games. His grandsons were brought up trying to solve their grandfather's twisted riddles and puzzles. Each of them wants to be victorious. So, it isn't any surprise to find out that Hawthorne House is pretty much one big maze with trap doors and secret passageways galore. At the reading of the will, members of the family are given letters from old man Hawthorne that are to be opened after said reading. This sets off a chain of clues that will hopefully explain what made this old, insanely rich man disinherit his family and instead leave all his worldly possessions to a random seventeen-year-old girl.
"Things that appear very different on the surface are actually the same at their core."
This set-up would lead you to believe that we would be following the Hawthorne brothers and Avery on an exciting journey, and we do get a little bit of that here and there. But what we mainly get is a story of teenage love triangles and high school crushes. We hear more about Avery going back and forth between her feelings for Jameson and Grayson more than anything else. We learn about the two brothers' past relationship and listen to Avery boohoo about not being another teenager named Emily,
Spoiler
who mind you is dead. She was almost disgustingly jealous of a deceased girl. Who ended up being a manipulative little shit anyway!That is just not what I was looking for or wanted to hear about when I started reading this. I also, wish there had been more put into the “big reveal” at the end. It was just sort of wham, bam, and done. A “big” surprise then nothing. We collectively gasped and moved on with our lives.
Spoiler
I must give credit where credit is due, though. Xander had me 120% fooled. If you asked me which brother had been manipulating the game the entire time, I would not even have put him on the list. I was in his corner the whole time. I absolutely adored his character. Although the youngest, he was undeniably the most brilliant Hawthorne brother. Hats off to you, Alexander!We also briefly meet Max (through phone conversations and text messages), Avery's best friend, from back home. Max is adorable, but, Lord, that girl would not say a swear word for anything. She had all these little creative ways to swear without using the actual word. I know it is YA, and the language in these books tends to be more mild, but it drove me insane. Once again, that could just be my age showing.
I know it sounds like I did not enjoy this book, but I promise I did! The end of the story left me with a few questions, and I care about them enough to continue reading the trilogy to get the answers.
If you survived reading my review in its entirety, just remember what I said about taking an old woman's words with a grain of salt. I also just finished reading this book, and it is close to midnight. So that might play a part in this review being somewhat odd and all over the place.