The Inheritance Games (The Inheritance Games, #1) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes Pages: 384
on September 1, 2020
Genres: Young Adult, mystery
Source: eARC from Publisher
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.
The Inheritance Games is the first book in the young adult mystery series of the same name by author Jennifer Lynn Barnes. This book was so awesome! I enjoyed it immensely. It kind of reminded me of the movie Knives Out, minus the murder element. But both Knives Out and the Inheritance games feature crazy houses, zany families, eccentric gentlemen that have passed away, and a will reading where the bulk of the substantial estate goes to a non-family member. Knives out is one of my favorite movies that I have seen in a while, and now I can add The Inheritance Games to that favorites list. I loved the twisty events and secrets galore that Tobias Hawthorne laid out for our main character Avery and his four grandsons. If you are a fan of fun mystery books with a cool plotline, then The Inheritance Games is going to be a book that you do not want to miss.
In The Inheritance Games, we meet high school student Avery and right off the bat that we learn that Avery is smart, great at solving puzzles and that she has lived a pretty rough life so far. When she is whisked away to a billionaire’s house for a Will reading, her whole world changes. She learns that Billionaire Tobias Hawthorne has left the bulk of his estate to her. And the craziest part is that she doesn’t even know who Tobias Hawthorne is. As you can imagine, his daughters and grandsons are confused and maybe a little angry at the turn of events. But this is just the beginning because what happens next is a series of puzzles and clues for Avery and Tobias Hawthorne’s four grandsons- Jameson, Nash, Grayson, and Xander to try and solve.
The Inheritance Games is a really cool puzzle book with many mysteries to solve. As I was reading, I thought this book was going to be a standalone, but I was super excited to learn that it is going to be a series. Of course, I didn’t learn this until I got to the last page and saw the crazy cliffhanger that was waiting for me there. I loved the setting, the characters and the world that Jennifer Lynn Barnes created. I am not sure about the romance just yet. It has the possibility to develop into a few different things and I don’t want to voice any of my opinions until the next book. One because I am not sure what I want to happen exactly, and two because I am not quite sure if this is going to be a love triangle or not. It doesn’t really matter to me, because the romance was secondary to the puzzles, exploring this awesome mansion and solving the mystery that Tobias Hawthorne laid out for everyone. The Inheritance Game is a must read for all mystery lovers- young and old alike.
P.S. Jennifer did a great job researching estate planning and estate administration. The estate planning lawyer in me was squee-ing with delight every time I saw something new come up, like Slayer statutes, and lapse and anti lapse rules. Of course, Jennifer doesn’t use those terms, she keeps all of the legal stuff very accessible and easy to understand for the reader, but I could tell that she really did her research, and I appreciated it.
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Tour Schedule
Week One:
| 8/17/2020 | BookHounds YA | Spotlight |
| 8/17/2020 | Kait Plus Books | Spotlight |
| 8/18/2020 | Bri’s Book Nook | Review |
| 8/18/2020 | Hurn Publications | Spotlight |
| 8/19/2020 | Momfluenster | Spotlight |
| 8/19/2020 | rajivsreviews | Review |
| 8/20/2020 | YA Books Central | Interview |
| 8/20/2020 | Mary Had a Little Book Blog | Review |
| 8/21/2020 | Always Me | Review |
Week Two:
| 8/24/2020 | Do You Dog-ear? | Review |
| 8/24/2020 | PopTheButterfly Reads | Review |
| 8/25/2020 | Nay’s Pink Bookshelf | Review |
| 8/25/2020 | notinjersey | Review |
| 8/26/2020 | Jotted by Jena | Review |
| 8/26/2020 | Eli to the nth | Review |
| 8/27/2020 | fictitious.fox | Review |
| 8/27/2020 | Seeing Double In Neverland | Review |
| 8/28/2020 | Twirling Book Princess | Spotlight |
| 8/28/2020 | Andi’s ABCs | Review |
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2020 New Release Challenge
- ARC August 2020
Sounds like a good book, can’t wait to read it!
Yes! I loved it! I hope you get the chance to read it soon 😉
it’s great when i find a series to be excited about. i wish you many hours of puzzle solving pleasure
sherry @ fundinmental
Thanks Sherry! This book was a really fun ride!
I’m so excited for this one, I loved Jennifer’s other series!
I haven’t read other books by her, but after this one, I know I need to check out her other titles!
The book cover looks really cool and the story sounds great!
This book was so much fun! I hope you get the chance to check it out Hesper 🙂
Sounds like an awesome book! Really fun.
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