Race to solve The Mystery.

"There's nothing more Hawthorne than winning." - Grayson Hawthorne

A Secret Service by Joy Jenkins Cover — The Inheritance Games (c/o Goodreads)

The Inheritance Games

Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Available on Amazon, Kindle, and leading bookstores

Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

1 September 2020

384 Pages

Synopsis:

A Cinderella story with deadly stakes and thrilling twists.

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.

Trigger warning: domestic abuse and use of firearms

Note that this is also a mostly spoiler-free review as we want you guys to solve the mysteries for yourself ;D

The Inheritance Games follows Avery as she unravels the secrets, puzzles, and riddles of the Hawthorne household as she becomes the heiress of Tobias Hawthorne, a man she's never even met. Avery's life changes in an instant as she is now surrounded by the four Hawthorne grandsons, two Hawthorne daughters, one Hawthorne lawyer, and people trying to kill her. Who said that being an heiress of a multi-billionaire was easy? Let the games begin.

Jhanya: The premise of this book is pretty straightforward and downright cliche. A girl whose mother died just the year before is living a pretty normal life. Then suddenly, she is invited to the Hawthorne household for the will reading of a billionaire who she does not recall meeting at any point in her life. The next thing she knows, she is inheriting everything and has to live in Hawthorne for a year *shocker*.

Before going to assumptions and think that I hate this book, I don’t. I just want to put it out there that it is cliche, but let’s be honest, all family or murder mystery books are the same anyway? I mean they all have the same pattern. Someone dies, something shocking is in their will, and there’s something more to it than meets the eye oooooooh. The rest of the story is then spent trying to solve the mystery of the person’s death, the will, and/or the puzzles, which, for some reason, all rich dead people are very fond of. This is what makes The Inheritance Games good, it’s your usual, fun and adrenaline-filled, mystery book that you can’t seem to stop reading. Legit, I had a hard time putting this book down once I started reading.

As a sucker for mostly anything mystery, this built the mystery pretty good. It checked my requirement of being “near impossible to figure out beforehand, but very obvious in hindsight” trope. I may have guessed and figured out most of the mystery by like chapter 60 with the help of my notes, but that’s because I’m a bookworm that has read all Sherlock Holmes, Enola Holmes, The Lying Games, Murder on Orient, The Girl on the Train, Drive Your Plow Over, and many more. It also in no way made it less exciting for me.

The structure and flow of the different mysteries were all mind-boggling to figure out and gave a very satisfying feeling when solved. It slowly diverted us from the original mystery of why is Avery the heiress of Tobias Hawthorne and told us a whole new story, before pulling us back right where we started at the end of the book, which is actually a genius move for Barnes as this sets it up perfectly for the sequel, The Hawthorne Legacy coming out on September 2021 (woooooo).

This full-circle mystery plot in a way parallels with the 2019 film Knives Out, which is also one of my favorite movies to date. The way Rian Johnson subverted the viewers’ expectations on how the murder mystery film will go, is kind of what Barnes wanted to do in The Inheritance Games by suddenly inserting the Emily mystery into the mix. She was pretty successful in pulling that trick off as this book is all in Avery’s first-person perspective and you never know what is inside those four Hawthorne grandsons’ heads. This greatly enhanced the satisfaction to be felt when the mystery clicks together and a new, but at the same time, an old mystery unravels.

The only nitpick I have with this book’s writing, was how the different puzzles were described. It lacked the dramatic description that other books usually have. While other books would take multiple pages to describe how they twisted and pushed buttons on a drawer to unlock it, this book just went straight to the point and said, “I placed my fingers in the T, and I pushed. The wood gave. Click.” (this is a legit quote from the book, where I laughed). At times, it was also a bit hard to visualize some of the puzzles. I’m not exactly sure why, but when I usually read mystery books, I had a map of the house and could see the gears of a puzzle turning in my head. This story just lacked creative and dramatic oomph to it, I guess. The fact that the Hawthorne estate was massive also didn’t help my brain at all lmao.

Ria: The book, except for the epilogue, is in the first point of view; Avery’s point of view. And the writing is quite unique to other books I’ve read. It is honestly like how I think. At times, I would even feel that this is just my mind conjuring up some mystery book. The writing deliberately showed how Avery thought, spoke, felt, and it made me feel more connected to her. This kind of writing style can be risky, but in this case, it paid off really well.

Moving on, the thing I loved most about this book is the characters and their relationships with each other. Thus, that is what I’ll be mainly talking about today.

First off, our female protagonist, Avery, is a strong-willed, witty, smart, practical, kind, poor girl who suddenly becomes an heiress. She doesn’t take s*** from other people and sticks to what she believes in and often follows her gut instinct. She’s honestly just a regular junior, one with her own dreams and aspirations, as well. I really really like Avery, and in more ways than one, I think I see myself in her (just without the fortune hehe).

Jhanya: I love Avery. She was a smart, witty, and sarcastic, but good, regular person from the very start of the book. Her point of view really gave an interesting look at her personality. Her problems and how she dealt with them were realistic. Well, as realistic as being an instant billionaire would be. She was logical and wanted to deal with one problem at a time instead of facing them all upfront, to keep her sanity, which is very understandable. But since this is a YA book, she still had to face all her problems in one go at some point. Avery’s character growth was prominent in the book through her thoughts, as she comes to realize that not everyone will always be at her side all the time. There is also this significant part in Chapter 42, where Grayson mentions something about being worthy of the Hawthrone fortune, and this line comes up constantly in her thoughts, especially near the end which shows her progress. How she interacted with all the different characters in the book was very fun and dynamic in a way that each encounter with different characters is unique.

Ria: Now, let’s talk about the four handsome Hawthorne grandsons. First, Grayson. I’d like to keep Grayson for myself, thank you very much. Grayson, the heir apparent, I believe just wants to keep his family safe. And, I understand why he is the haughty, know-it-all type at the start of the book. He didn’t know who Avery was and suddenly all of his grandpa’s fortune goes to her. But, you see his real personality as the book goes on, and I’d really really like him for me, instead. pLS get me a Grayson *cries*

Jhanya: Grayson, my precious little heir apparent. I swear I have a thing for organized, smart, and mostly family-oriented males who also have a thing for photography LOL. Chapter 42 was just me simping for Grayson the moment I found out he was a photographer and he said “Be worthy of it”. His character had the typical perfect on the outside, but a softie on the inside trope which is okay, because it fits the plot and the mystery. Out of all the characters, Grayson had the most revealed in terms of personality, as he is also the first Hawthorne we meet. This gave him more depth than his brothers. I swear, can I just keep him? Avery can have Jameson lmao.

Ria: Second, Jameson. I have conflicted feelings with Jameson. He’s that mysterious, really good-looking guy who has the desire to decode the secrets of Tobias Hawthorne. He has that determination and grit but also a really really really annoying personality. From the k-dramas that I’ve watched, it’s always said that “a guy who likes you acts like a three-year-old”. So I guess Jameson really likes Avery. Anyways, his personality is quite unique from others, whereas Grayson is the most eloquent and probably mature, Jameson gives off the mysterious bad boy vibe (correct me if I’m wrong).

Jhanya: Don’t worry, you’re absolutely right Ria xD. I’m sorry but I was annoyed with Jameson from the start. He was the friendly, mysterious, and smart rebellious boy that had a dark secret (pshaw I’ve seen that before). And the fact that he was annoying because he’s quirky like that made me not like him. He is the real Tobias Hawthorn Jr. when it comes to personality, being the thrill-seeking, puzzle-loving, and out-of-the-box thinker that he is. I also found him self-centered throughout the book. Everything was really just a game for him and he treated everyone like a puzzle piece which didn’t sit right with me. I can’t really judge him too much for now though, his character is very guarded and puts up an asshole-ish front when something goes wrong, so I’m not sure yet how to really feel about him until the sequel.

Ria: Grayson or Jameson? Xander, jk hehe. Okay, don’t make me choose between them, because I can’t. I need to see more of them in the next book to actually choose. They’re both still hung up on Emily and I don’t want either of them to be in a relationship with Avery unless they’ve both fully moved on and are ready.

Jhanya: As a YA novel, of course, there had to be romance on the side lmao. But Like Ria, I cannot choose between Grayson and Jameson when it comes to who to ship with Avery. There is still too much past that they won’t leave behind lmao, get over Emily first before you make a move on Avery. Their characters weren’t developed yet also, as this book is more of a mystery, rather than a romance, so all that was revealed will mainly affect the mysteries in the plot. Personally though, someone give me a Grayson PLEASE.

Ria: Third, Xander. I loooooove Xander!! Xander, the baby, is a crucial character and adds to the humour of the story (well, aside from the sarcastic thoughts of Avery which deem to be very funny for me). I don’t want to spoil why he is a crucial character, you’ll have to find out yourself, but aside from this, his character gives so much life to the book.

Jhanya: Alexander Blackwood Hawthorne, the scone-loving, robot fighting, living Rube Goldberg Machine that he is, is one of the most essential characters of the book. Of course, I can’t spoil it too much because his involvement in all of this really shocked me. I did not predict what his role would be, I was just sus of him the whole time lmao. I also like his relationship with Avery the most out of all the grandsons, he just stayed himself and was very honest and straightforward throughout the whole thing.

Ria: Fourth, Nash. Nash is the eldest Hawthorne grandson and the grandson I can’t figure out at all. I don’t know what to make of him. It seems like he has no interest in the whole “finding out why Avery is the heiress” game as he’s not doing much. It also seems like he’s only actually interested in Libby, nothing and no one else. He’s a big mystery and I am looking forward to getting to know more about him in the next book.

Jhanya: Last, but kind of the least, there is Nash. The mysterious, and kind-hearted ex of Avery’s lawyer, Alisa. Nash is definitely a side character in the story. He doesn’t want anything to do with money, or so he says, so we don’t really see him much. Though he is very helpful to Avery’s sister, Libby, and acts as a companion whenever he sees her exploring the house or when she is scared. As the oldest brother, he is also pretty distant from the other three as there is a 6 year age gap between him and Grayson already. As he once said, they would often team up against Nash to solve the weekly puzzles TTH gave. Like the rest of the brothers, we shall more about him in the next book, I guess?

Ria: Let’s not forget the supporting characters.

Oren was the only person I trusted from the very start. He’s the bodyguard I’d like to have in my life, honestly. He’s that big teddy bear that protects you and at the same time jokes when absolutely unnecessary. AHAHAHAHA. Alisa, the certified lawyer to get you out of, well, anything really. I do not know what to feel with Alisa. She clearly shows that the only person she trusts is Avery, not Libby. But she does do what she’s told and also helps Avery with things she needs. Libby, the half-sister, is nearly the complete opposite of Avery. She’s stress-baker, emphatic Libby with an a** of a boyfriend. Libby is not really a character I really like, but I do feel bad for her, because who doesn’t make really bad choices sometimes?

Max, the best friend, with the quirky curse words has parents a lot lot lot lot lot worse than mine. And I really feel bad because Avery needs Max at this weird, scary period in her life. Avery’s right, if she can’t trust Max nor Libby, who can she trust? Okay, lastly, the a**h*** of a boyfriend, Drake. I hate him, period. No other words need to be added. I. HATE. HIM.

There are a couple of supporting characters like Zara, Skye, Thea, and Rebecca whom I will not be delving into anymore. It’s better to learn more about them in the book.

Jhanya: I think Ria has said everything I wanted to say about the supporting characters (there are times where we really think too much alike LOL), so let us leave it at that and move on.

Ria: What I really hate, well, am frustrated about really, is that the second book is yet to come out!! I am very very very much looking forward to it. I want to know who Avery ends up with, what will happen to Avery and Max’s relationship, Libby and Nash (?), what Avery will do with all the money she has now, and most importantly, what happened or will happen to Harry now?

Jhanya: Just as Ria said, the book left us with a gazillion questions still to be solved. Barnes really built the story to end the way it is and am pretty happy to know that she planned it from the start, like with all mystery books. Seriously though, the ending was a cliffhanger of all cliffhangers. It was legit jaw-dropping and very satisfactory as everything seemed to fit together right at the very end (not including the epilogue). Definitely can’t wait for the next one!

Ria: Overall, I recommend this book to people who love a good mystery. Many riddles, puzzles, secrets were unraveled, decoded, and solved. The relationships and interactions of the characters were also very well thought out. Each character had that unique personality trait that makes them stand out on their own. This book will make your mind wander and your heart go boom because the games aren’t finished yet.

Jhanya: The Inheritance Games was a fun book all throughout. It’s a very fast read (I finished it in the span of 8 hours max), but as people say, “time flies when you’re having fun”. It’s the type of mystery book that you know was planned from start to end, which is great as it makes the story more cohesive even though there are like 3 mysteries happening at once. I highly recommend this to all mystery and puzzle story lovers out there. It’s nice to read lighter mystery books every once in a while. Also, I want to live in the Hawthorne house. More than 5 libraries with 1st edition novels? YES PLEASE. yes, indeed.