Tag: The Inheritance Games

The Brothers Hawthorne by. Jennifer Lynn Barnes | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Brothers Hawthorne (The Inheritance Games, #4)

Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Format: ebook (own)

Pages: 480

Publication Date: 8/29/23

Categories: Young Adult, Series, Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense

Four brothers. Two missions. One explosive read. Jennifer Lynn Barnes returns to the world of her #1 bestselling Inheritance Games trilogy, and the stakes have never been higher.  
 
Grayson Hawthorne was raised as the heir apparent to his billionaire grandfather, taught from the cradle to put family first. Now the great Tobias Hawthorne is dead and his family disinherited, but some lessons linger. When Grayson’s half-sisters find themselves in trouble, he swoops in to do what he does best: take care of the problem—efficiently, effectively, mercilessly. And without getting bogged down in emotional entanglements.
 
Jameson Hawthorne is a risk-taker, a sensation-seeker, a player of games. When his mysterious father appears and asks for a favor, Jameson can’t resist the challenge. Now he must infiltrate London’s most exclusive underground gambling club, which caters to the rich, the powerful, and the aristocratic, and win an impossible game of greatest stakes. Luckily, Jameson Hawthorne lives for impossible.
 
Drawn into twisted games on opposite sides of the globe, Grayson and Jameson—with the help of their brothers and the girl who inherited their grandfather’s fortune—must dig deep to decide who they want to be and what each of them will sacrifice to win.

Content Warning: violence

I read this book to find out if there is any justice for Grayson and I may have to read the next book to see if he gets it there because man, is he being put through the wringer!

This book is two stories: one about Jameson and the other about Grayson. I think the story could have been split into two books but in this case, it did work pretty well because the story moves seamlessly and tightly that I wasn’t bored with one story more than the other. I definitely was more interested in Grayson’s story but there were some fascinating things happening with Jameson’s story also.

Jameson is antsy and is looking for something more. Something his own that doesn’t involve the help of his brothers, or Avery. He starts off with Avery in his journey into a secret underground club called the Devil’s Mercy and honestly, the two people that intrigued me a lot was Rohan and Zella. I want to know more about them! Jamie was being his reckless self but he did achieve what he wanted. There wasn’t much romance between Jameson and Avery and I was team Grayson so…I guess I’m glad there wasn’t much romance between them lol.

Grayson. When will Grayson catch a break? His challenge was a bit more involved with the past story of the Hawthornes and all the drama that got them to where they are but this time he gets to meet more family. And I love his half sisters, Gigi and Savannah. Gigi was the bubbly personality he needed in his life though, so I loved their interactions. I do wish this book was only about Grayson since Jameson got the girl (Avery)…but it’s not meant to be for Grayson for now – which breaks my heart for him still. He better get something good happening in his life in the next book!

There wasn’t a lot of Nash or Xander in this book but they were definitely helping more with Grayson than Jameson. Gigi reminded me of Xander though, they are both the fun characters. As for Eve…I don’t know what I think about her right now but I’ll wait to see what role she plays in book two.

My Final Thoughts:

I think this book is the transition or build-up for what’s coming in book five but I was hoping more good things to happen for Grayson but that wasn’t quite the case, except for meeting his sisters. I need Grayson to fall in love, leave Avery in the past, leave Eve there too because honestly…he needs something new. Jameson’s journey was mostly interesting because of Rohan and Zella who come into the story. I’d love for them to have their own story or series – I can see many storylines happening with the Devil’s Mercy being at the center of it. Overall the book was as entertaining as the other books in the series and fits very well. It’s fast-paced, has all the mystery, puzzles, riddles, and suspense as the other books and I look forward to reading book five if only to see Grayson come that much closer to achieving some kind of happiness.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Inheritance Games | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Hawthorne Legacy by. Jennifer Lynn Barnes | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Final Gambit by. Jennifer Lynn Barnes | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Inheritance Games | Book Review

My Rating: 5/5 Stars

Title: The Inheritance Games

Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Format: Hardcover (own)

Pages: 376

Categories: Mystery, Young Adult, Suspense, Contemporary

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.

  • Aesthetics ~ that cover is so awesome in all it’s greenery! Confession – it’s the main reason I bought the book.
  • World Building ~ a mansion or compound more like in Texas. A billionaire who is fond of puzzles and games dies, leaving his fortune to a stranger. But why did he leave it to Avery and not to his four grandsons? This book is FUN. I loved the puzzles, the secrets, the tragic love triangle, the mystery of the Hawthornes. It did not disappoint.
  • Characters ~ Avery is a girl trying to survive after her mother’s death. She’s trying to find a way out when she comes into a mysterious inheritance with lots of strings attached. She is smart, has such a brain on her for statistics, I love it. Then there are the Hawthornes: Nash, Grayson, Jameson and Xander. All different, with their own motivations. My favorite? It’s a toss between Grayson and Xander haha.
  • Romance ~ there is a tragic romance history…is it about to repeat itself? We don’t know yet, it almost did but it stopped short of it.
  • Writing ~ fast paced, which I love because slow mysteries bore me but I read this in four hours. I could not put it down and I want book two NOW.
  • The ending is a cliffhanger but I love that this game isn’t over even though we thought it was!

I picked this up because of the cover and it didn’t disappoint at all. It was exactly what I was needing to read right now and I look forward to reading the next book in the series! If you like mystery, puzzles, riddles and handsome brothers, the you will like this one.

💚 ~ Yolanda