Jennifer Lynn Barnes

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 conwoman, 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.

*Avery's story continues in The Hawthorne Legacy and The Final Gambit

The Inheritance Games #1

The Inheritance Games

An utterly addictive and twisty thriller, full of dark family secrets and deadly stakes. Perfect for fans of One of Us is Lying and Knives Out. She came from nothing. Avery has a plan: keep her head down, work hard for a better future. Then an eccentric billionaire dies, leaving her almost his entire fortune. And no one, least of all Avery, knows why. They had everything. Now she must move into the mansion she's inherited. It's filled with secrets and codes, and the old man's surviving relatives - a family hell-bent on discovering why Avery got 'their' money. Now there's only one rule: winner takes all. Soon she is caught in a deadly game that everyone in this strange family is playing. But just how far will they go to keep their fortune? 'A fantastic rollercoaster of a book! We Were Liars meets The Da Vinci Code. I loved it!' Kat Ellis, author of Harrow Lake 'A thrilling blend of family secrets, illicit romance and a high-stakes treasure hunt . . . The nonstop twists kept me guessing until the very last page!' Katharine McGee, New York Times bestselling author of American Royals 'One of YA's more reliably twisty and brilliant thriller authors is back with a brand new series that's every bit as impossible to put down as her others' Buzzfeed

Stas

kristin :)

"I will always protect you," he told me, his jaw tight, his eyes shadowed. "You deserve to feel safe in your own home. And I'll help you with the foundation. I'll teach you what you need to know to take to this life like you were born to it. But this...us..." He swallowed. "It can't happen, Avery. I've seen the way Jameson looks at you."

All of a sudden, I was back with Jameson, headed for the West Brook. He'd told me two lies and one truth. 

"Avery." He almost never used my given name. He gently traced the line of my jaw. "I won't let anyone hurt you ever again. You have my word."

I didn't want to be the glass ballerina or the knife. I wanted to prove, at least to myself, that I was 

"The only person who ever really knew what Tobias Hawthorne was thinking was Mr. Hawthorne himself."

"Congratulations, Heiress," Jameson called back, his voice dripping with everything but felicitations. "I guess you had the good furtune of being born on the right day. Mystery solved."

"You don't have to kiss me. You don't even have to like me, Heiress. But please don't make me do this alone."

That's the thing, Heiress. If Emily taught me anything, it's that everything 

Hands reached past me to turn on the faucet. I should have jumped. I should have panicked. But somehow, my body relaxed into the person behind me.

"It's okay, Heiress," Jameson murmured. "I've got you."

"Thea's right," he said sharply, turning away from me — 

 away from me. "This family — we destroy everything we touch."

this reminds me of the taylor swift quote and i love it

"If I were a boy," Thea told him with a Southern belle smile, "people would just call me driven."

"Right." Thea dabbed at her lips with her napkin. "No feminism at the dinner table."

"You can play by the rules — or you can make them. I know which I prefer, Heiress."

But somewhere around a hundred and fifty miles an hour, I stopped thinking about 

Adrenaline. Euphoria. Fear. There wasn't room in my head for anything else. Speed was the only thing that mattered.

"You might think you're playing the game, darlin', but that's not how Jamie sees it." Nash's voice was gentle enough, but for the words. "We aren't normal. This place isn't normal, and you're not a player, kid. You're the glass ballerina — or the knife."

"Why do I have to tell a story?" I asked.

"Because if you don't tell the story, someone else will tell it for you."

"Everything's a game, Avery Grambs. The only thing we get to decide in this life is if we play to win."

"Don't you dare say we're not sisters," I told her.

"Would you still want me here?" Libby asked me, her fingers rubbing at her choker. "If we're not—"

"I want you here," I promised. "No matter what."

"I'm a Hawthorne." Xander gave me his most dignified look. "It's never too soon to start trash-talking."

i sense a lot of tension between these two

"I'm trying to protect you," Grayson said lowly.

"I think we both know," Jameson replied, "that the only person you've ever protected is yourself."

Lyne Bloom

Sarah

It was a bit lagging in the beginning but towards the last hints for really interesting. And the ending!!!! I just wait to read the next two books!!!!

Morana 

ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS BOOK. IF I DID NOT START THE HAWTHORNE LEGACY, IT WOULD HAUNT ME IN MY DREAM

natalka

Linara K.S

one word: addictive

(i'm def binge-reading this series)

Angeli

Finished in under 24 hours. Wow! I just couldn't put it down.

Caroline Williams

dare I say…too many boys..not enough puzzles

Inheritance Games

Naomi Waldorf

<spoiler>HOLY MOLLY that ending... also Grayson Hawthorne <3 The ending really disappointed me though </spoiler> Overall I liked it, but some parts were more boring/not that shocking. Also, this book helped me get out of a reading slump!

Nothing is ever as it seems, yet everything is perfectly placed! This book kept me on the edge of my seat & made it very hard to put down!

Waahida Mansion

Anjorin Molayo 

i’m not going to lie, this book was so fun to read, with the mysteries, riddles and distrust among the characters. 
It’s a story about a rich man leaving almost all his inheritance to a random girl only for it to be a game that her and all his 4 grandsons are meant to play. 
I love the riddles the most and how smart the characters were. 
a 4/5 🤞🏾

Moonchild

All I need and want to say is that you should not know anything other than what the synopsis tells you...
It's truly a mystery, that keeps going in the best way possible throughout the entire book, without being repetitive or slow. All the elements presented are interesting and bring pieces like if this was a puzzle I can't wait to read the other ones. 
Its a 5 but I would give this book a 10

Elisavet Rozaki 

kitty 

Lauren R

[4.5]
I need the second book IMMEDIATELY! that ending really got me

Ellie M.

Perfect for fans of The Naturals, Truly Devious, and A Study in Charlotte! 

Jennifer Lynn-Barnes truly knows how to write a story! The narrative was exhilarating and full of puzzles, hideaways, and smart, hot guys (grayson mf davenport supremacy). I loved this author’s more underrated series The Naturals a few months ago and this was just as fun! I could not seriously put this down, and the characters are effortlessly loveable! Avery is without a doubt now one of my favorite fmcs, and the boys are just as perfect with their equally charismatic personalities. I had very high expectations for this series because her writing doesn’t disappoint and suffice to say they were met. I can’t comprehend the fact that so much secret was packed into one book, but it was written really well. 
TEAM GRAYSON DAVENPORT HAWTHORNE BTW I REALLY JUST HAVE A TYPE

** spoiler alert **
           I LOVE MYSTERY BOOKS SO MUCH

AND FOR THE RECORD I KNEW TOBY WAS ALIVE BUT AVERY ALREADY SOLVED IT NOOO ALEXANDER 😭😭

Hello and Welcome to another addition of a Book that I should have read years ago but only just getting to it now. My Friend has been on at me to read this for ages and after coming back from Holiday I decided that it was the perfect opportunity to pick this one up and it was the perfect book to get lost in and once I get started, I could not put the book down and when I did, I instantly wanted to pick it up again. I didn’t see any of the

Avery Grambs’ life hasn’t been great since her mom died. She’s hoping to nail a scholarship for college so she can become an actuary, but in the meantime, she’s barely getting by. She works as much as possible to eke out a living, and every time her half-sister takes her abusive boyfriend back, she sleeps in her car to avoid him.

All that changes in an instant when she is summoned by the attorneys for multibillionaire philanthropist Tobias Hawthorne, whom she has never met. It turns out this man bypassed his daughters and his four grandsons and left the bulk of his massive estate to Avery. With no explanation. But of course, there’s a catch. The will stipulates she must live in Hawthorne House, his sprawling mansion, with his grandsons and his daughters, for one year, or everything is null and void twists and turns coming and was in a constant state of WHAT!  

I’m not going to spoil anything more about this book as I think that you need to experience this as you are reading it, But I can say that I loved the writing and characters, It was a great experience to get to know them all and follow them throughout this book and I really appreciated the short chapters; It made this a very super-fast paced.

If you are looking for the perfect mystery book to get lost in then I would highly recommend this one!  

Ian Brakspear

Hello and Welcome to another addition of a Book that I should have read years ago but only just getting to it now. My Friend has been on at me to read this for ages and after coming back from Holiday I decided that it was the perfect opportunity to pick this one up and it was the perfect book to get lost in and once I get started, I could not put the book down and when I did, I instantly wanted to pick it up again. I didn’t see any of the

 

Avery Grambs’ life hasn’t been great since her mom died. She’s hoping to nail a scholarship for college so she can become an actuary, but in the meantime, she’s barely getting by. She works as much as possible to eke out a living, and every time her half-sister takes her abusive boyfriend back, she sleeps in her car to avoid him.

All that changes in an instant when she is summoned by the attorneys for multibillionaire philanthropist Tobias Hawthorne, whom she has never met. It turns out this man bypassed his daughters and his four grandsons and left the bulk of his massive estate to Avery. With no explanation. But of course, there’s a catch. The will stipulates she must live in Hawthorne House, his sprawling mansion, with his grandsons and his daughters, for one year, or everything is null and void twists and turns coming and was in a constant state of WHAT!  

 

I’m not going to spoil anything more about this book as I think that you need to experience this as you are reading it, But I can say that I loved the writing and characters, It was a great experience to get to know them all and follow them throughout this book and I really appreciated the short chapters; It made this a very super-fast paced.

 

If you are looking for the perfect mystery book to get lost in then I would highly recommend this one!  

i dont really have any thoughts on this, which is also the problem. it's veeery YA, and i did obviously expect it to be YA, but i feel like you can think when you're under 18 as well. The puzzles and games seemed a bit too easy imo, and there could've been more. Didn't like the romance(s). The shocking le gasp moment got more of a sigh than a gasp, which is upsetting. But i didn't hate it!!!! 

Chloé

i've actually finished this book quite a while ago, but i've been forgetting to actually wrote a review for it for the last month or so, but here we are. i devoured this book in a matter of a few days. the writing style was really easy so i was just flying through the pages. the book is really fast paced and there is plot twist after plot twist so you truly never get bored. overall i liked the characters, although i have to admit that sometimes some of them could get a bit annoying. i'm probably going to pick up book 2 in the series at some point, but currently i'm just not invested enough anymore to immediatly continue.

I don’t know what I was expecting, but this wasn’t it. I love the puzzles and riddles aspect of the book. However, I don’t think I like Avery with either Grayson or Jameson. I picture her ending up alone, but becoming close with the brothers. It seems like the best option. Grayson was such a well thought out character. I’m definitely a Grayson person. Jameson has amazing qualities and seems to fit better with Avery.

The Inheritance Games The Inheritance Games #1

Reviews

Highlights