The Inheritance Games

4.5

Book source ~ Tour

17-yr-old Avery Grambs is barely scraping by. After her mom died when she was 15, her older half-sister took her in, but money is very tight and Avery has one more year of school to get through then she has plans, big plans, for herself. All of those plans go out the window when she receives word that she is the sole inheritor of a billionaire’s estate. Why he skipped his own daughters and his four grandsons to pass everything to Avery, she has no idea. She doesn’t even know who Tobias Hawthorne is. In order to inherit though she has to live in Hawthorne House for a year. The problem is, someone is a wee bit upset about the will because suddenly Avery’s life is in danger. A problematic oversight in that show more contentious document means she needs her security team more than ever now. Trying to solve the eccentric billionaire’s last riddle and find out who is trying to kill her are two problems of many Avery could do without. But she’s been thrown into the deep end and was never one to just give up. Let the race begin.

Who wouldn’t want to inherit a multi-billion dollar estate? It sounds like a fairy tale come true. Until you realize just how much work an estate that ginormous entails. Still, I know I’d be happy to take it on if it meant security for myself and my family and a chance to do real good in the world.

Avery is a unique teenager. Because of how she grew up she is resilient and she’s smart. She’s more than capable of taking on the last riddle of Tobias Hawthorne. And his four grandsons. The question is, which one of the handsome young men will she fall for? Because you know she will. Personally, I don’t like any of them though I like one better than the others and one much less so. I’ll be interested to see how they are in the next book. Avery is a great character. She keeps her head and doesn’t get all flighty. She handles herself well. Her half-sister pisses me off most of the time. However, I like her better by the end. The writing is awesome and the plot is decent. If you’re a fan of riddles (I’m not, but that’s ok) then this is a great book for you. It’s a mystery wrapped in a riddle and tied with a danger bow. Grab it today! show less

This book and I had such a rocky relationship. Let me be clear, I don't really a lot of young adult books anymore. Mainly because it feels like a lot of the characters are rather flat lately, and I am not a big fan of love triangles. Yes, we all know that YA books adore a love triangle. I was willing to give this a shot though because I love the premise. A young girl thrown straight into a world of wealth and intrigue? A puzzle she must solve while staying alive long enough to get that money. Yes, please.

On the surface, The Inheritance Games is exactly what I expected it to be. If you're a fan of The Westing Game, or movies like Clue, that's pretty much what you'll get here. We meet Avery as she's attempting to keep everything in her show more life on track. Juggling school work, trying to stay under the radar socially, and doing her best to navigate a family life that isn't exactly solid. I admit, I liked Avery! Her intelligence, her sharp wit, and the fact that she didn't let people push her around made me smile. I was hooked.

Then the big twist happens, and suddenly Avery is navigating an even more difficult world. If she thought that money would solve all her problems, I don't think she was under that same misconception once the Hawthorne family came into play. I appreciated that Barnes didn't allow Avery to slip too far into the new life she was handed. Avery stayed the same smart and sassy protagonist I had fallen in love with, at least for the most part.

See, the Hawthorne boys came into play and we all know that no YA female protagonist can resist a hot, broody teen boy for long. If I'm being honest, I didn't like either of her potential love interests. Grayson's personality irked me to no end, and Jameson felt like a cardboard cutout of a rich kid. If you want to know, I'm team Xander. Although the book doesn't really mention how old any of these kids are so possibly he was too young for her anyway? I don't know. At least he had an actual personality, and was kind. The person that Avery was around these guys drove me absolutely insane.

As for the mystery portion of this book, it started out fairly solid. I loved the idea of an eccentric rich man carefully laying out clues for his grandsons to follow. The way that Barnes lays out the vastness and the beauty of the Hawthorne home makes it a veritable playground for this mystery. I just wanted to watch them ramble around, discover more and more rooms, and if I'm being honest (I'm a bookworm after all) I really wanted more library descriptions. A house with multiple libraries? Count me in!

The problem is that the love triangle really takes over after a bit, and the mystery that the group is trying to solve falls further and further into the background. It felt like the clues that Avery found were less exciting every time, and more of just a necessary item to keep the story going. The house that I was once excited to get lost in now felt like a cavernous space where a Hawthorne boy could be lurking at any moment, trying to win Avery over. It was... odd. I'm not even sure how else to explain it. If I were her friend I would have told her to run for the hills.

By the time I reached the end, I was pretty underwhelmed by it all. So, 3 stars. Solid writing, okay characters, but the ending was so lackluster. I don't think I'll carry on with this series. show less

Series Info/Source: This is the first book in The Inheritance Games trilogy. I borrowed this on ebook from my library. It does look like there is a fourth book that is a companion to this series, "The Brothers Hawthorne", that is expected to release in August of 2023.

Thoughts: Jennifer Lynn Barnes has been a bit hit or miss for me. I absolutely adored her "The Naturals" series but didn't love her "Raised by Wolves" or "The Fixer" series. I was a bit reluctant to pick up The Inheritance Games despite its glowing reviews. However, I ended up absolutely loving this book, it was so well done and so much fun to read.

Avery is doing her best to make a better life for herself, even if it involves sleeping in her car between school hours to show more dodge her sister's violent boyfriend. Then she gets called to the office at school and finds out that a billionaire named Tobias Hawthorne has left her everything. The only catch is that Avery must live in Hawthorne House for the next year, which includes living with the very eccentric and talented (not to mention super attractive) four Hawthorne brothers. As Avery's life is turned upside down, she finds out that she is a piece in a complicated puzzle; the last puzzle that Tobias wanted his grandsons to solve.

This book was so much fun. You start with the crazy dream of a girl who has nothing getting everything, including all the trouble and complications that go with that... Then you add in a complex and mysterious puzzle that must be solved for Avery to figure out the why behind her being chosen for this inheritance.

Avery is a wonderful character and the Hawthrone brothers are all fascinating in their own right. The banter between them was very well done and highly entertaining to read. I like that Avery plays things smart and stands up for herself. The Hawthorn Brothers gave me a bit of a Raven Boys vibe from Maggie Stiefvater's "Raven Cycle" series.

Barnes' writing was spot on throughout the book. This is an effortless book to read. The characters are engaging, the mystery and puzzles are incredibly well done and intriguing, and the description is amazing. I loved reading about the crazy exotic and lush Hawthorne house and imagining the settings there. This was just a very well-rounded read. There is a bit of romance in here as well, but it definitely isn't what drives the story.

My Summary (5/5): Overall I really loved this and immediately put the second book in the series on hold at the library. This is such a fun rags-to-riches type of story but doesn't shy away from all the complications that come with that. The characters are smart and fun to read about. I loved the mysterious puzzles they had to solve and just thought this was so much fun. I can wait to pick up the second book. show less

This was a breath of fresh air—a delightful blend of fantastical mystery that feels both whimsical and plausible. The pacing is perfect, with enough significant plot points to captivate without overwhelming. The story kept me guessing at intentions and moves, adding an extra layer of engagement. The protagonist's journey from some initial confidence to endearing growth is a compelling aspect, while the brothers, first seeming like overdone hot-boy tropes, surprise with their unique personalities. Despite the over-the-top elements, the story keeps a rooted connection to reality that also ignites the imagination. Rooting for the characters became second nature, and the heart-pounding conclusion left me eagerly turning pages. show more Anticipation for the next installment is high, and I can easily see this series making a successful transition to the screen. This was a thoroughly enjoyable read that promises even more excitement in the books to come. show less

I probably would’ve have loved this book as a teen. Four intriguing brothers, three within dating age of the female lead who has just inherited billions from their grandfather for reasons no one knows; codes and puzzles and secret passages; light humor and flirting.

Alas, as a jaded adult, I was mostly annoyed by the author’s juvenile method of building suspense. So many conversations just end because, if they continued, the book’s secrets would be revealed too early. Or a character simply doesn’t answer a question or gives a cryptic answer that the main character can then ponder the meaning of in her head repeatedly instead of simply asking for an explanation or for more information.

The level of subterfuge employed by the show more deceased to hide the truth (to what end?) is hard to believe or envision and many of the clues get figured out way too easily.

The characters are surprisingly distinct, especially given the large number of them, and the language and style make for an easy read as long as you don’t think too closely about the plot. One of the main mysteries is pretty obvious to anyone who reads a lot of mystery novels but isn’t revealed until near the end.

No sex, profanity, or violence but some questionable morality. show less

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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WHAT'S THE INHERITANCE GAMES ABOUT?
We begin by meeting Avery, a high school junior on a mission. She's determined to get through high school without drawing a whole lot of attention (good or bad), to fly just under everyone's radar—but to do so in a way that'll pick up enough in scholarships to get to college and get to a stable and lucrative career (in actuarial science). Once she's there, she can take time to breathe, time to relax. But not until then—now it's about studying, working, and hopefully getting to help out the older sister that she lives with.

And then a mysterious—and obviously stinking rich—stranger shows up and tells her to get on a plane to Texas where she show more needs to be at the reading of a last will and testament. She knows no one in Texas, has never heard of the deceased, and can't think of why she needs to be there. But hey, it's a free trip for her and her sister (and she's curious about the will).

The deceased is Tobias Hawthorne, a billionaire. With a B. He was the richest man in Texas and among the richest in the world. It turns out that he's left almost everything to Avery. If she can live in his mansion (the word mansion doesn't seem to cover it, but English doesn't have a word that'd actually describe the place) for a year.

The difficulty in that lies in the rest of the household—there's the staff who don't seem all that welcoming, Hawthorne's daughters and son-in-law who clearly resent the interloper, and Hawthorn's four grandsons (all around her age) who were the presumptive heirs before she came along.

Avery and the grandsons (and, actually, pretty much everyone in the world once the story breaks) just want to know one thing—why her?

THE CHARACTERS
I've been thinking all week about how to talk about the characters in this book, and I think the best way to get a handle on them is to think of them in three tiers (and as soon as I write that sentence, I think of a way to separate them into four, or maybe five, so admittedly, there are problems with this approach, but I'm sticking with it),

Tier One is simple: Avery and the four Hawthorne grandsons—Nash, Grayson, Jameson, and Xander. They aren't as all well-drawn as the others (Avery, in particular), but any time they're around, the reader and the scene focuses on them over everyone else. The novel is about them, everyone else is a supporting character. More than the other Tiers, each of these characters has an obvious goal, an obvious storyline, a motive to find out what Hawthorne was doing with this will. They're three-dimensional characters (Nash could use some more definition, though). It's hard to like them all consistently, but you can't help but be curious about each of them.

Tier Two consists in Libby, Avery's sister; Oren, her security chief; Alisa, the lawyer/primary contact with Hawthorne's law firm (and Nash's ex, but that's another story); and Max, Avery's best friend (who she only communicates with via text and telephone throughout the novel). It occurs to me that this group consists of people that Avery trusts (maybe she should, maybe she shouldn't, but they haven't given her a reason not to). We know them a little better than the rest, but the focus on them isn't as great as it is on the Tier One characters. Of these, I really wanted more time with Max—and hope that the story will allow more interaction with Avery and Max in the sequels.

Tier Three is everyone else—people from their schools, consultants/employees of the estate, and well, anyone else who shows up. Most of these are little more than names and titles—some are filled out a little bit, but few are more than a two-dimensional sketch. If they get more than two dialogue lines, they're interesting, and you typically want to know more about them and hope that Barnes finds an excuse to use them some more (with the exception of Libby's boyfriend, who you just hope never to hear from again, every time he makes an appearance). Some of these may be trustworthy, but you have almost no reason to trust anyone on this Tier (Libby's boyfriend is the exception—you have absolutely no reason to trust him). This is an interesting quirk of this world—there are precious few people that the sudden-heiress can trust, everyone has an agenda dealing with her, usually a hidden one.

Of course, looming over everything is the specter* of Tobias Hawthorne. As he's dead, I don't count him as a character. But his personality, his achievements, his machinations govern everything. As Xander notes (and Avery frequently remembers), even if she'd manipulated Tobias into this, she'd find he was manipulating her all along.

* Not literally, this isn't that kind of book.

You take the large cast of characters that this represents, using them all (particularly Tier Three) as pieces of the puzzle themselves--and all of them providing multiple clues of various quality to the big question, and the word "complex" almost doesn't cover the nature of this puzzle.

A THOUGHT ABOUT GENRE
I keep seeing references to this as a thriller. It is absolutely not a thriller. There are moments that could be seen as belonging to that genre, but they're so brief that they don't count.

This is a puzzle, this is a mystery, this is a mental exercise, a riddle. It's practically a cozy (closer to one than it is a thriller, anyway).

That's not a criticism of anything but the marketing. But anyone walking into this should not be expecting pulse-pounding tension, breakneck speeds (although it is generally fast-paced), and nail-biting action. This novel about the characters, it's about figuring out motives, and the meaning of various acts.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT THE INHERITANCE GAMES?
I picked this up just to read a chapter or two in order to get a flavor for it, then I was going to put it down for the evening, and pick it up again the next day. I ended up reading 30% of it before I had to stop—and read almost another 20% that night. It's engaging, it's smooth, it's so, so, readable.

The pages just melt away and you get swept up in the story—as outlandish as it is. Without any effort, you not only suspend your disbelief, but you put a gag on it and stuff it in a closet somewhere.

There's a definitive end, a puzzle is solved, and there's a sense of resolution. Which is immediately replaced with the next puzzle and a promise of more to come in the sequel. So while I don't think you can call it a cliff-hanger, you can definitely see the cliff just ahead on the path.

I'm a little annoyed that I saw The Westing Game referenced a few times in the marketing for this book. Because I really wanted to talk about the way that this had a similar feel to The Westing Game and be able to come across as insightful to do so, Instead, I'm just part of the echo chamber. Still, there's a very Westing Game-vibe to The Inheritance Games, and as there are few books that I consider as clever, as well constructed, and as readable as Raskin's book, that's a high compliment.

This is just a fun, fun read. Pick it up. show less

Avery is living in her car (because it's that or live with her sister's abusive boyfriend) when the lawyers find her. She's just inherited an unbelievable fortune from an eccentric billionaire. The catch? She has to go live on his estate for a year -- with the family members he disinherited in her favor. When she arrives, she meets the four charismatic, angry, grief-stricken grandsons as well as a handful of other interesting characters. As it turns out, the billionaire left behind more than family strife: there are puzzles within puzzles around the grounds of Hawthorne House. Is Avery supposed to solve them -- or is she just another clever clue for the boys to solve?

I'm glad mystery is making a comeback in YA. I can see this one being show more super appealing to the target audience, though I'll admit I had a couple of moments where I was just over the adolescent shenanigans, and I didn't find that the minor love triangle added to the story. However, if you enjoy YA and love mysteries, this is an enjoyable read. show less