Hey everyone!
Today is my stop on the Ultimate Blog Tour for The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, and I am excited to be sharing my review with you all.
A massive thank you to @The_WriteReads, and @PenguinPlatform for allowing me to be a part of the tour, and for providing me with a copy of the book, in exchange for an honest review.
Title: The Inheritance Games
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Release Date: 3rd September 2020
Publisher: Penguin
Buy It Here (affiliate links): Amazon UK, Waterstones, Book Depository
GoodReads Synopsis:
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.
My Review:
If you’re on book Twitter, you’ve probably seen The Inheritance Games a lot recently, especially with the Ultimate Blog Tour happening. Well, I can honestly say that this book well and truly lives up to the hype that you’ve seen. As someone who reads a lot of mysteries and thrillers, I didn’t think a YA mystery would be as captivating, but Jennifer Lynn Barnes has completely proved me wrong.
The story starts with the introduction of Avery Grambs, and from the very beginning her character and her life with her sister is a very interesting set up, which instantly gets your attention. Avery’s clever and calculating reactions to life problems at the beginning of the story really sets the tone for her character, and what is to come, and you will be routing for her from the get go.
Avery could never have expected her life to change quite so dramatically, and the Hawthorne’s certainly weren’t expecting it either. Imagine if someone you didn’t even know, and have absolutely no connection with, leaving you a multi-billion fortune, and disinheriting their own family! CRAZY! Imagine your family member disinheriting you and your other family members, and giving most of their multi-billion fortune to a complete stranger! EQUALLY AS CRAZY!
The Hawthorne’s are definitely an interesting bunch, and you instantly want to know more about the family, and their history. The boys are all so different, and to begin with, I wan’t completely sure if I even liked any of them. But, as the story continues, and you learn more about them, I did begin to have my favourites. Despite the fact that he isn’t alive, Tobias Hawthorne is one of the most fascinating characters, and I would love to know more of his story.
Hawthorne House itself sounds absolutely incredible, and I would love to explore it, with all of it’s hidden tunnels, and exciting rooms! Of course, as a book worm, the multiple libraries are by far the most appealing rooms in the house for me, and I would spend hours searching through them all.
I loved the game aspect of the book. Trying to figure out the riddles for myself was a lot of fun. In all of the mysteries I’ve read, I’ve never come across a riddle based game to get you to the answers, it is quite a unique approach, and I wish it was used more! The game keeps you invested in the story, and when one question is answered, it seems to create 10 new ones. The story is full of twists and unexpected turns, it keeps you guessing to the very end, with a cliffhanger ending that leaves you desperate for more.
This was my first time reading anything by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, but it certainly won’t be my last. The Inheritance Games is action packed, impossible to put down, full of surprises, and a lot of fun to read. It exceeded everything I could have imagined. I am desperate for the sequel, because I have so many questions, and I NEED ANSWERS!
Once again, a massive thank you to The Write Reads and Penguin for allowing me to be a part of the tour, and for providing me with a copy of the book, in exchange for an honest review.
I give The Inheritance Games a 5 star rating!
*TRIGGER WARNINGS – violence, references to domestic abuse (physical and emotional), death of a parent, absent parent, and death of a close friend*
About The Author:
Jennifer Lynn Barnes (who mostly goes by Jen) is the author of more than a dozen critically acclaimed young adult novels. She has advanced degrees in psychology, psychiatry, and cognitive science, including graduate degrees from Cambridge University, where she was a Fulbright Scholar, and Yale University, where she received her Ph.D. in 2012. Jen wrote her first published novel when she was nineteen-years-old and sold her first five books while still in college.
In additional to writing YA novels, Jen has also written original pilot scripts for television networks like USA and MTV, and she is one of the world’s leading experts on the psychology of fandom and the cognitive science of fiction and the imagination more broadly. Jen is an Associate Professor at the University of Oklahoma, where she holds a dual appointment in Psychology and Professional Writing.
Author photograph © Kim Haynes Photography
YOU CAN FIND JEN HERE: Website, Twitter, Instagram, GoodReads
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