The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

A fresh, fun, ingenious puzzle of a book just waiting to be solved!

“Invest, Cultivate, and Create.”

I first saw this book sometime last year and thought it looked good. Meaning, I saw the cover and immediately judged it as something that I wanted to read at some point in the future. At that point, as typical to me, I really had no idea what the book was about; however, I’m smart and know some vocabulary words so this is what I assumed:

This was going to be about an inheritance that those who “qualified” for it through blood or will were going to have to compete for it.

How accurate was I? Not quite, but I was so pleasantly surprised by my enjoyment of this book. I can’t even really think of a better comparison than the one I saw online… a combination of One of Us is Lying and Knives Out. Both of which are AMAZING in their own right!

Teenage, nobody Avery Grambs lives with her older half-sister because her mother died and their dad is basically a non-existent deadbeat. She has a surprise visit from Grayson Hawthorne notifying her that she must be present at the reading of the will of multi-billionaire Tobias Hawthorne, Grayson’s grandfather. The twist?  She has no idea who this Hawthorne guy is!

I loved the idea of the story from the beginning. There is so much room for drama when you have someone absolutely no one knows be left, in essence, the entire estate of someone she has never met. An overnight celebrity with a target on her back from the family that feels they have been cheated out of their rightful inheritance. But the real story comes from Avery and Tobias’s grandsons trying to solve the puzzle that they were left with in order to figure out WHY Avery was left the inheritance.

If you have read any of my other reviews, you know that I am a huge fan of characters and character development, and here you will find a myriad of characters that all fit perfectly together creating the backbone of the story.. Here is my quick overview.

Tobias Hawthorne: Grandfather, never a living character. Clever in his puzzles and riddles. Having assisted in raising the four grandsons, he instilled a way of thinking that includes questioning, pushing limits and looking for the unknown and unexpected. He taught them how to look for the unexpected and unravel the unknown. He’s dead the entire book, but one of my favorite characters in just how crazy and irrational it all is.

Avery Grambs: An underdog character. She is thrown into a world brand new to her going from poor to billionaire overnight. Rumors, assumptions and a total mystery surround the real reasons she was brought to Hawthorne house. She has nerves of steel and never once backs down. She’s persistent and resilient, but cares deeply for her sister. When she is scared and uncertain, she has composure and never lets her guard down. She also has a little sassy streak which is always fun.

Xander Hawthorne: The youngest of the grandsons. For all intents and purposes, he seems to be the one of least concern. More of a jokester, but again appearances can be deceiving. He is secretly my favorite grandson. He is the one that everyone overlooks, even more secretive than the others. He flies under the radar.

Grayson Hawthorne: The prim and proper, arrogant, business-like brother. He is 19, but acts like he’s 45. He is the most bitter about losing his inheritance to a stranger. There are times where I felt if he wasn’t such a rigid character, he may have been more observant. Honestly, someone needs to pull the stick out of his ass.

Jameson Hawthorne:  He is the boy-toy of the group. The one who seems to be missing his shirt a lot, and is more of a daredevil than his brothers. He is an adventure seeker and doesn’t have a lot of regard for the rules or expectations. He by design is probably supposed to be the reader's favorite grandson. I definitely like him, and he creates some additional drama. The story would be boring without him.

Nash Hawthorne: The oldest brother. He doesn’t play a huge role in the book. It makes me wonder how that is going to play out and change in the sequels. His quietness actually makes me more suspicious of him and what he actually knows.

There are a few other important characters, the boy’s mother, some Hawthorne House staff, an aunt/uncle/cousin. All play important roles as the mystery and clues begin to unfold. 

Everyone seems to have their own secrets and personal mysteries that are kept close to the chest even though as the clues begin to get deciphered, it is clear that they are going to have to reveal some of those personal mysteries.  Maybe that was part of Tobias’s plan, to bring to light all the issues and secrets of the past. Because, Tobias’s death isn’t the only death that is important to how the action plays out. Don’t worry, no spoilers!

Barnes’ writing style was engaging, cryptic and fun. I loved how she wove together a perfectly balanced mystery of WHY Tobias seemed to pick Avery out of nowhere with very personal puzzles that require Avery and the four brothers to work together to solve. He even put some safeguards into place to make sure that everything went as designed.

There was a twist around every corner. There were ulterior motives behind every action. There was a secret hidden behind every action and statement. I loved the roller coaster. I loved trying to figure out who was behind certain things and how they were connected. I LOVE this kind of story and plot development.

While I am a huge fan of closure in books, I do give grace in a series. However, I feel like when this book ended, I had more questions than I did at the beginning. Surprisingly, I loved that! I wasn’t frustrated or mad that there weren’t the answers I was hoping for. It was the complete opposite. I was relieved that Barnes was continuing to develop the puzzle, secrets, and mysteries by adding more. Tobias wasn’t an easy to understand billionaire, so this shouldn’t be easily understood either. Total respect for that! But, wow that twist at the end. I totally didn’t see that coming!

Where does this book land on my bookshelf?

Top shelf, baby!  I loved this book. The sequel, The Hawthorne Legacy, was just released this month, but I am trying really hard to put off reading it because if I read it now, I’ll have to go another year before I can read #3! This is a must read and a great change of pace from my typical YA fantasies.

The story is creative, well thought out, keeps you guessing and doesn’t get predictable. Really, the only thing I’m a little ticked about is that I went into it thinking it was just going to be an ok book, so I kept putting off reading it. I love puzzles like this, but what I love even more is a talented author who can bring it to life with such authenticity and depth that you lose yourself in it. Read it. Read it now!  I need someone to discuss this book with!