A review by sweetsxrrxw
The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

adventurous emotional funny mysterious medium-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? Yes

3.75

[this review will contain several spoilers. please make sure to avoid it until you have read the full book!]

i was a bit afraid to read this book. i wasn't sure of what to expect as the ending and i was also worried about how the love triangle would develop. but i have to say i am overall satisfied with everything!

this book, altogether, was the one where most of the  characters got to show their most emotional side of themselves.  it was a bit slow paced in the beginning so it took me a while to get into the story but once i did i just loved to see everyone's vulenrability. 
the general realization that tobias hawthorne was a morally grey person, who had to do some horrible stuff in order to maintain some stability in his life, was so important. i could say that it was one of the most important themes in the book. it impacted all of the characters, specially his close family but i believe it was a very needed reminder. most people you look up to usually have a dirty path behind them. 

however, i can't properly talk about that topic without talking about each character so just let me do it real quick, while i also give my opinions on them:
  • first of all, let's start with xander. i am convinced i have said this in my previous reviews to this series BUT man, i absolutely love him. he owns my heart, he is a softie but also the funniest person you'll ever meet. if it's not one of your favorite characters, i'm sorry but i can't trust you. like, honestly, most of my annotated quotes revolve around him. i just love him so so so much, fr. i love how in this book he wasn't left besides that much and that he got to rebond with his dad <33
  • nash and libby still own a piece of my heart, of course, but xander will always be famous to me <3 like ok maybe they're not that relevant to the plotline but i still relate a lot to both of them. also we got to learn where nash's savior complex came from and i think that was interesting. idk my love for him just grew a bit more. and same goes to libby! her "survivor" tattoo hit me :/
  • i can understand why grayson acted the way he did during the book. i've read other reviews saying he was annoying for sticking with eve but, tbh, i think most people would do the same stuff he did if they were on his spot. also,  i feel like during this book he let his walls down more often which is a detail that made me really happy. i love it when though characters give themselves an emotional break. and, even though i believe he deserves a happy ending, i'm not mad at the ending he got. i think he really needed some time for himself
  • oh, and let's talk about jameson! well, he was my fave love interest since the first book. i related maybe a bit too much to his "i was never enough and everyone always prefered jameson" speech, lmao. and of course, i was afraid that the author was going to pull up the cliché love triangle trilogy line where jameson's character would magically become an asshole and avery would choose grayson bc of his dark sad past which makes him mysterious and cool. but i'm glad none of that happened. i love grayson but i would have been very heartbroken if, after opening up to her about never feeling enough, avery didn't choose jameson. and i'm also happy that, instead of letting his insecurities set him apart, he fought through them because he was totally sure he loved avery <3
  • and focusing on avery now, i don't love her as much as i love other characters but i don't dislike her either. i think she's a good main character who has grown throughout the three books.  of course she had always been a clever girl with clear goals but by the end i think she turned out to be more mature than what i was expecting. like, i don't think any reader was anticipating the fact that she would give away most of her inheritance. 
  • another character i liked was toby. i was very upset when he lost the chess game and was forced to oficially become toby blake. but, on the other hand, i believe that's part of the consequences of his actions so i don't think i can complain much about it. 
  • oren kept me intrigued because he knew about tobias' plan all along but he never showed any clue of it. idk, i just feel like if i were him i could not keep my mouth shout lmao. so shoutout to him for keeping the mystery a secret during this whole story!
  • even side characters such as thea and rebecca which were given more importance in this book, made my heart melt and shatter a bit. i don't really understand how thea became an influencer but she speaks so softly and beautifully about bex so i like her! and idk i feel like rebecca's story was what got me to like her more. like, yes baby, you deserve to live a happy life doing whatever you want and to shine on your own <3

i think that another detail i kinda loved was the cyclical "ending", it was nice to see toby and avery play chess once again, maybe it all felt a bit weak and it was hard for me to believe that vincent would risk so much with just a bunch of games.  

so yeah, in general it was a good ending for the trilogy. but i think i can't give it 4 full stars because of the slow pacing at the beginning. it just did not keep me hooked the same way the first book did, but still it was good!
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