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The Inheritance Games (The Inheritance Games, #1) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes on September 1st 2020
Genres: Mystery
Pages: 384
Format: ebook
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A Cinderella story with deadly stakes and thrilling twists, perfect for fans of One of Us is Lying and Knives Out.
Avery Grambs has a plan for a better future: survive high school, win a scholarship, and get out. But her fortunes change in an instant when billionaire Tobias Hawthorne dies and leaves Avery virtually his entire fortune. The catch? Avery has no idea why--or even who Tobias Hawthorne is. To receive her inheritance, Avery must move into sprawling, secret passage-filled Hawthorne House, where every room bears the old man's touch--and his love of puzzles, riddles, and codes.
Unfortunately for Avery, Hawthorne House is also occupied by the family that Tobias Hawthorne just dispossessed. This includes the four Hawthorne grandsons: dangerous, magnetic, brilliant boys who grew up with every expectation that one day, they would inherit billions. Heir apparent Grayson Hawthorne is convinced that Avery must be a con-woman, and he's determined to take her down. His brother, Jameson, views her as their grandfather's last hurrah: a twisted riddle, a puzzle to be solved. Caught in a world of wealth and privilege, with danger around every turn, Avery will have to play the game herself just to survive.
Thank you to the publisher Penguin, Netgalley, and The Write Reads for a free copy as part of the blog tour. My honest opinion is below.
The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes is a mystery novel in the line of Knives Out (2019). There’s a major inheritance and the one who gets the most is unrelated to the passed away billionaire. Avery is still in high school and the inheritance could change her life. But before she gets access to all of the money and assets, she has to live in the Hawthorne house for a year. With the angry family.
The eccentric billionaire Tobias Hawthorne was always fond of games. He played them with his grandsons whenever he could. And thus, after his death, one last game must be played. It isn’t announced, but implied. The players pick up on it but the others don’t. Avery and the four grandsons play the game — more or less — and she’s getting the know the strange and almost dangerous world they grew up in.
I love solving puzzles and a scavenger hunt like this certainly drew my interest. It didn’t take long for me to finish the book because of it. I was invested from the start. I had to know the answer and why Avery was named heir. It’s a fast paced book with writing to match. It’s clean without too much exposition. Everything is revealed as it’s necessary. This all adds up to a well crafted story with action and intrigue.
The only (tiny) flaw I see is the relationship between Avery, Grayson, and Jameson. There’s a sexual tension between Avery and the two grandsons but it’s not clear who she really wants. She longs for Grayson but her actions say Jameson? I don’t know. I feel like history repeats itself. I hope I’ll find more about it in the follow up.
I give The Inheritance Games five stars. Thoroughly entertaining and perfect to spend an dreary afternoon with. Cuddle up with a blanket, hot beverage of choice, and go on an adventure.
