BLOG TOUR REVIEW of THE INHERITANCE GAMES by Jennifer Lynn Barnes #TheWriteReads #UltimateBlogTour

G’day friends!

How are you all going? I hope you are all taking care and staying safe.

I just wanted to quickly say how thankful I am for the support that I have recieved from my last week of blog posts! Being able to spend some time dedicated to writing blog posts the past few weeks, has reminded me how much I freaking love being able to do this and connect with people through books and all things bookish.

Anyway, I digress! This evening I bring to you my review for The Write Reads’ blog tour for The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. The synopsis of this novel can be found on Goodreads:

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 by Jennifer Lynn Barnes is a young adult thriller novel that centres on the mysterious enigma that is Tobias Hawethorne’s decision to leave his entire estate to Avery Grambs, a random young woman in her senior year of highschool who has no ties to Tobias himself.

Or does she?

The Inheritance Games is a novel that surprised me. It brought fun, action and copious amounts of riddles that I did not expect. Our main protagonist and narrator, Avery, was a great character. I loved how intelligent Avery was and the way in which she reacted to the change in her situation as well as becoming the centre of public scrutiny. Avery was very much a strong lead character and I enjoyed reading her thoughts and her thought process – she is very much a genius, in my opinion! I found that I really wanted Avery to succeed, I wanted her to be in a better position to fulfil her dreams. She is very much the ‘glass slipper’ of the story, a tool needed to push the narrative forward.

The story centres on a game. When Avery is summoned to the grand Hawthorne estate for the reading of Tobias Hawthorne’s will, an extremely wealthy philanthropist, she is shockingly told that she, not Tobias’ children or his grandchildren. It was riveting and entertaining to read the shock and the overall reactions of the family when the will was read. I was on the edge of my seat! Then the game is on.

I didn’t particularly like any of the other side characters. I found the Hawthorne boys to be sort of caricatures of stereotypes with little to no personality. I do wish that the side characters had slightly more dimension to them, to really have created more depth to the story as well as formulate some sort of connection with the reader. Though the twists and turns were interesting to an extent, I did get bored and there was a moment in which I was contemplating putting the book down. I believe it was because I wanted to the story to move forward, to get to the point. I also thought that the reason for the first part of Tobias’ ‘game’, the one that takes up the entire novel, was theoretically adorable but still doesn’t really answer many of my questions. Avery is just a pawn. It kind of puts her character in a useless position, which I didn’t quite enjoy because I loved reading her character so much. She deserved so much more than what her character was typecasted as in the end.

I also did not understand the sort-of love triangle that was forming throughout the book between Avery, Jameson and Grayson. Especially since there was history of Grayson and Jameson dating the same girl, Emily. Again, it didn’t suit Avery’s character at all. The was also no chemistry between Avery and these two men. At least if there was to be the beginnings of a love triangle, make it believeable. Give tension and chemistry, some pining at least! I honestly think that Avery having been some sort of family would have made more sense instead of her name being a punny phrase as well as her connection with Harry, the man she plays chess with in the park.

Overall, The Inheritance Games was entertaining and fast-paced. I enjoyed the ‘game’ itself and the way the riddles and clues intersected. That was riveting and fun to read. Avery is definitely a stand out character whom I believe deserved more purpose. Hopefully in the sequel, I’m guessing there is a sequel considering the way this novel ended, we see Avery grow more into herself and the power she now wields. Well, if she still is able to weild it considering what was revealed at the end.

3.5 stars.

Until next time, happy reading!

All the love,

allie