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A review by koistyfishy
The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
3 I'm Sorry Stars ⭐
I do not see the hype of this book at all. I clearly arrived late to the party and missed the Kool-Aid they were passing around, and now I'm staring at a bunch of people that absolutely adore this book...And I have no idea why!
If it wasn't for the fact that I did this as a buddy read, I probably would have DNFed this... (I say with the premise of I will probably pick up the rest of the books just to see where the story goes if she wants to read the rest of the books with me 😬.
The thing is that I don't give a crap about the brothers. I don't give a crap about how they look. The love triangle that was going on was tedious. Everybody in this book needs fucking therapy. There is so much undiagnosed trauma, no character development, and most of the characters are just awful people. AND everything is so surface level it hurts!
This is almost the epitome of Young YA (which might be why I am the wrong target audience). You're not going to this book for people's growth and development, you're going in for COULD BE A MOVIE plot, excitement, and drama with the flashy lights, secret hallways, sexy men and money thrown at our girl for seemingly "no reason".
Avery is stupid and for somebody that is immediately thrust into the cliche of "she's not like other girls" (and not because she's been given the inheritance if you take the money out of the picture) we're introduced to her as this really statistically analytical-minded person who is logical, smart and incredibly book-smart. And then she moves into the house with four boys and poof - she's stupid now. Yes, she can solve a couple of puzzles (but they weren't exactly that complicated, to begin with). I don't get it. Why? Why set her up to be this incredibly smart person to just make her so stupid?
There is no character growth in this book. The only person that has an inkling of character growth is Libby. And that's basically the only character that I cared for. All I want to know about is what the fuck is happening between Libby and Nash and why the flip is everything between them behind closed doors??? Gimmie a book about Libby and Nash and how she heals through her abusive relationship and trauma and I'd read it in a heartbeat!!!
ANOTHER frustrating thing about this book is half of the aspects of the plot are not explained. I understand leaving "carrots dangling" at the end of a story to make you want to read the next book, but it felt like everything was just left dangling or not really cleaned up. OR just cleaned up in a very messy way. Basically, it left me frustrated, unsatisfied and annoyed!
If I had to choose one of the boys right now, it will be Jackson. Grayson is a dick. And quite frankly, I don't care what he looks like in a suit.
If I have to think of tropes?
▶ Mystery Puzzle Solving
▶ 4 Hot Brothers
▶ Ordinary Girl becomes Billionaire
▶ Love Triangle
▶ Dark Secrets
▶ Fast Paced Plot
I do not see the hype of this book at all. I clearly arrived late to the party and missed the Kool-Aid they were passing around, and now I'm staring at a bunch of people that absolutely adore this book...And I have no idea why!
If it wasn't for the fact that I did this as a buddy read, I probably would have DNFed this... (I say with the premise of I will probably pick up the rest of the books just to see where the story goes if she wants to read the rest of the books with me 😬.
The thing is that I don't give a crap about the brothers. I don't give a crap about how they look. The love triangle that was going on was tedious. Everybody in this book needs fucking therapy. There is so much undiagnosed trauma, no character development, and most of the characters are just awful people. AND everything is so surface level it hurts!
This is almost the epitome of Young YA (which might be why I am the wrong target audience). You're not going to this book for people's growth and development, you're going in for COULD BE A MOVIE plot, excitement, and drama with the flashy lights, secret hallways, sexy men and money thrown at our girl for seemingly "no reason".
Avery is stupid and for somebody that is immediately thrust into the cliche of "she's not like other girls" (and not because she's been given the inheritance if you take the money out of the picture) we're introduced to her as this really statistically analytical-minded person who is logical, smart and incredibly book-smart. And then she moves into the house with four boys and poof - she's stupid now. Yes, she can solve a couple of puzzles (but they weren't exactly that complicated, to begin with). I don't get it. Why? Why set her up to be this incredibly smart person to just make her so stupid?
There is no character growth in this book. The only person that has an inkling of character growth is Libby. And that's basically the only character that I cared for. All I want to know about is what the fuck is happening between Libby and Nash and why the flip is everything between them behind closed doors??? Gimmie a book about Libby and Nash and how she heals through her abusive relationship and trauma and I'd read it in a heartbeat!!!
ANOTHER frustrating thing about this book is half of the aspects of the plot are not explained. I understand leaving "carrots dangling" at the end of a story to make you want to read the next book, but it felt like everything was just left dangling or not really cleaned up. OR just cleaned up in a very messy way. Basically, it left me frustrated, unsatisfied and annoyed!
If I had to choose one of the boys right now, it will be Jackson. Grayson is a dick. And quite frankly, I don't care what he looks like in a suit.
If I have to think of tropes?
▶ Mystery Puzzle Solving
▶ 4 Hot Brothers
▶ Ordinary Girl becomes Billionaire
▶ Love Triangle
▶ Dark Secrets
▶ Fast Paced Plot
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Gun violence and Death of parent