The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes follows Avery Kylie Grambs, a poor

orphaned girl with a plan to work hard, get into a good school and leave her hard life behind forever. After her mother's death, she lives with her half-sister Libby and eagerly waits for an escape. But then something unbelievable happens. Billionaire Tobias Hawthorne leaves his fortune to Avery in his will, without giving any kind of explanation, even though Avery has never met him, never seen him, and, as far as she knows, has no link to him whatsoever.

Doing so, he disinherits his two daughters, Zara and Skye, and his grandsons: Nash, who

wants to take care of everyone, Grayson, the enigmatic businessman, Jameson, the

adventurous rebel, and playful Alexander. Nonetheless, he does leave each of them and his employees a very small amount of his fortune.

Even stranger, they will set out a series of odd requirements. One is that Avery must

spend at least one year in Hawthorne house, the family manor and that she must allow

Tobias's disinherited family to live there with her. This sets an atmosphere of rage and

mistrust in the Hawthorne House. Avery decides to move into the sprawling, secret passage-filled Hawthorne House, where every room bears the old man’s touch–and his love of puzzles, riddles, and codes.

What follows is a whirlwind as the world and the Hawthorne family attempt to uncover why she, of all people, was chosen. Soon, she and the Hawthorne Brothers are drawn into the mystery, relying on clues in the will and letters he left her and his family. Add to this Tobias's angry daughters, the media who won't leave her alone, and the four Hawthorne grandsons and it's clear Avery is in way over her head. Unlucky for her; pretty thrilling for the readers.

It's better to not reveal and say less about the plot and just get into reading the book.

Nevertheless, a lot of insight could be given to the amazing plot.

This is a completely unexpected, super cool Mystery- Thriller Read This book sure has a lot of hype and buzz about it. It’s hard not to get swept up with Avery’s windfall and all that it entails, making the book a page-turner just to see what luxuries and new privileges her heiress status will grant her.

It's really interesting to try and put together the pieces of the

mysterious puzzle. The story is filled with questions from the beginning and as you get

answers, you also get more questions. The biggest question is 'why?' and it's thrilling to read how Avery and the disinherited grandsons puzzle that out. The setting of Hawthorne House is really cool. It's a great backdrop for all the puzzles and riddles of the story. A great thing about this book was how there wasn't an overload of intense action scenes but at the same time, the atmosphere gets really tense. It was a really interesting mind game, more so with lots of inaction, if that makes sense.

The romance, I think, was the least interesting part of this book. The development of the

relationships between Avery, Jameson, and Grayson is another key trope featured in this

book, the classic love triangle. It’s also worth pointing out that this book was not marketed as a romance, so the issue I had with the romance is not necessarily a bad thing. Perhaps in the next installment, there will be more time to allow the chemistry and tension to build, or perhaps the addition of the mean girl's ex-girlfriend, Emily, was the wet blanket no one wanted in this story.

The chapters in the book are really short and, not surprisingly, really intense. Chapter by

Chapter, it's really hard to put down this book. With really strong leading characters and

mind-gripping plot, this book is a chef's kiss. The book ends with a satisfying cliffhanger, so make sure to check out its sequel " The Hawthorne Legacy' and also keep on the lookout for the upcoming conclusion of the trilogy,' The Final Gambit' scheduled to release on 30th August 2022. Overall this was a really unique mystery and I had a great time reading it! It also reads incredibly fast, so that was a plus. I think a combination of the writing of Jennifer Lynn Barnes and the fact that you're kept on the edge of your seat wanting to know what's going on makes it a breeze to get through.

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