Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Intrigue, riches, and romance abound in this thrilling sequel to the New York Times bestselling The Inheritance Games perfect for fans of Karen McManus and Holly Jackson. The Inheritance Games ended with a bombshell, and now heiress Avery Grambs has to pick up the pieces and find the man who might hold the answers to all of her questions - including why Tobias Hawthorne left his entire fortune to Avery, a virtual stranger, rather than to his own daughters or grandsons. As the mystery grows and the plot thickens, Grayson and Jameson, the enigmatic and magnetic Hawthorne grandsons, continue to pull Avery in different directions. And there are threats lurking around every corner, as adversaries emerge who will stop at nothing to see Avery out of the picture - by any means necessary. With nonstop action, aspirational jet-setting, family intrigue, swoonworthy romance, and billions of dollars hanging in the balance, The Hawthorne Legacy will thrill Jennifer Lynn Barnes fans and new readers alike.

The Inheritance Games #2

The Hawthorne Legacy

I’ll be honest, I wanted her to choose Grayson. But her and Jameson are kind of cute!

Ivory Flores

“Heads, I kiss you. Tails, you kiss me. And either way it means something.”

Tuleen Joudeh

 "Im always thinking, Heiress." Jameson's green eyes stayed fixed on the sky. "That's what you love about me." 

Grayson appeared in the doorway behind Alisa. "Tll teach you' Jameson stared at him. So did I.

Hana 

Xander pressed a button and the wall slid to reveal a second workshop "voilà" 

My eyes widened as I took in the contents of the workshop. "is that.." 

"life sized recreations of the 3 most lovable droidsin the star wars universe" Xander grinned. "for Max,." 

You don't have to love me now, Heiress. But when your ready..." His brought his hand to the side of my face. I leaned into it. His breath went ragged, and then he pulled his hand back and nodded to the disk in my hand. "when you're read if you're ever ready. If its going to be me - just flip that disk. Heads I kiss you." His yoice broke slightly. "tails you kiss me. And either way it means something

Picture yourself standing on a cliff overlooking the ocean. The wind is whipping your hair. The sun is setting. You long, body and soul, for one thing. One person. You hear footsteps behind you. You turn. Who's there? 

I remembered a voice. James on Winchester Hawthorne

No I refuse to belive Ricky is her actual father

Alisa walked to stand beside my bed. "that's the thing Very. He is." 

"Est unus ex no is. Nos defendant eius. She is one of us. We protect her." 

Gunfire. Panic. Shot thought my veins and the next thing I knew iw a son the ground. Where's the shooter? This was like blackwood. Just like blackwood. "Heiress" 

I couldn't move. I couldn't breath. And the Jameson was on the floor with me. He brought his face level with mine and cupped my head in his hands. "fireworks " he told me "it's just fireworks for half time. 

taci

"Nash said there were miscarriages," I said quietly. “Before Rebecca." "That's what Bex thought she meant, too," Xander said quietly. “But it wasn't?" I stared at him, having no idea whatsoever where this was going. "She was talking about Emily," Grayson said, his voice pained. "Emily," Xander confirmed. “And Toby." I felt the world slow down around me. "What are you talking about?" "Toby was a Laughlin." Xander swallowed.

"How about an old Hawthorne standard?" he suggested wickedly. "Strip bowling." 

Rumors spread that Tobias Hawthorne's lost son may still be alive, casting doubt on seventeen-year-old Avery's inheritance and changing the rules of the game.

fc ♡

"You don’t have to kiss me now. You don’t have to love me now, Heiress. But when you’re ready…” He brought his hand to the side of my face. I leaned into it. His breath went ragged, and then he pulled his hand back and nodded to the disk in my hand. 

“When you’re ready, if you’re ever ready, if it’s going to be me—just flip that disk. Heads, I kiss you.” His voice broke slightly. “Tails, you kiss me. And either way, it means something.”

I held up the coin. “It’s not the disk,” I said. “But sometimes you have to improvise.” My heart was racing. I was vibrating with the same energy I’d heard in his tone. And like Jameson, I loved it. 

“Heads, you kiss me,” I said. “Tails, I kiss you. And this time…” My voice cracked. “It means something.” 

Jameson shot me one of those devastating, crooked Jameson Winchester Hawthorne grins. “What are you saying, Heiress?”

The coin landed. “Tails,” I said. “I kiss you.” I wrapped my arms around his neck. I pressed my lips to his. 

And this time, the joke was on me—because I wasn’t playing. This wasn’t nothing. 

This was the beginning—and I was ready to be bold.

Three hours later, I found Jameson on the roof. He was holding a familiar knife in his hands. He faked like he was going to toss it to me, and my heart sped up. His eyes met mine, and it sped up more. “I have a lot to tell you.” 

Jameson’s green eyes looked fathomless. “I’m intrigued, Heiress.”

Jameson’s lips ticked up at the edges. “This is Hawthorne House, Heiress. There will always be another mystery. Just when you think you’ve found the last hidden passage, the last tunnel, the last secret built into the walls—there will always be one more.”

 There was an energy in his voice when he spoke about the House. “That’s why you love it.” I locked my eyes on his. “The House.” 

He leaned forward. “That’s why I love the House.”

The entire time, his face was like stone. “You look like you want to hit something,” I told him.

I made him look at me. “How about swinging a sword?”

Of the first day I’d met him. How arrogant he’d been, how sure of himself and his place in the world. I thought about the first time I’d caught him really looking at me, and the way he’d told me that I had an expressive face. I thought about bargains struck and promises made and stolen moments and words spoken in Latin. 

But mostly I thought about the ways that the two of us were alike. “I had a dream,” I told him. “When I was in the coma. You and Jameson were fighting. About me.”

 “Avery…” Grayson lowered his sword. 

“In my dream,” I continued, “Jameson was angry that you didn’t run toward me. That I was lying there at death’s door, and you couldn’t move. But, Grayson?” I waited for him to look at me, with silver eyes and the weight of the world on his shoulders. “I’m not angry. I’ve spent my entire life not running toward anyone. I know what it’s like to just stand there—to not be able to do anything else. I know what it’s like to lose someone.” I thought about my mom, then Emily.

 “I am an expert at not wanting to want things.” I held my sword up for a moment longer, then lowered it, the way he’d lowered his. 

“But I’m starting to realize that the person I need to be, the person I’m becoming—she’s not that girl anymore.”

I was starting to think that if I was going to survive being the Hawthorne heiress, I was going to have to start doing the same. I would have to learn to think like the old man. 

"In my heart,” he said quietly, “you were always mine.”

 I swallowed. “But biologically, I’m not.”

"You have a daughter now,” I told him, my voice low.

 He looked at me, his expression never wavering. “I have two.”

 In the span of a heartbeat, fury gave way to devastation. Tobias Hawthorne the Second wasn’t my father. He hadn’t raised me. I didn’t carry a single drop of his blood. But he’d just called me his daughter.

“I have to, Avery.” Toby was implacable. “For Eve. The spotlight, the media circus, the rumors, the stalkers, the threats—I can’t save you from that, Avery Kylie Grambs. I would if I could, but it’s too late. The old man did what he did. He pulled you onto the board. But if I stay in shadows, if I make this disappear, if I disappear—then we can save Eve.”

"Am I ever going to see you again?” I asked, my throat closing in on the words. He leaned forward, pressed a kiss to my forehead, and stepped back. “It would be a very risky gamble.”

Beside me, Jameson cocked his head, eyes sparking. “Well then, Heiress. Game on.”

“Upside, downside, inside, outside, left side, right side.” Jameson Hawthorne stood in the doorway. When I saw him, something clicked. It was the feeling of a wave crashing over me—at last. “What’s missing?” Jameson asked. He walked toward me, and I tracked every step. He repeated his riddle. “Upside, downside, inside, outside, left side, right side. What’s missing?” He stopped next to my bed, right next to it. 

 He stared at me—at my eyes, at the lines of my face, like he was drinking it in. “I have to say, Heiress, I’m not a big fan of comas.” 

Jameson sounded just the same, wry and darkly tempting, but the expression on his face was one I’d never seen before. He wasn’t joking. 

“I came to see you,” Jameson told me. “Every day. The least you could have done was wake up while I was here, tragically backlit, unspeakably handsome, and waiting.”

“Every single day, Heiress.” Jameson closed his eyes, just for an instant. “But if I’m not the one you want to see…”

 “Of course I want to see you.” That was true. I could say it. “But you don’t have to—” Tell me I’m special. Tell me I matter. 

“Yes,” Jameson cut in, “I do.” He sank down beside my bed, bringing his eyes level with mine. “You aren’t a prize to be won.”

 I wasn’t hearing this. He wasn’t saying this. He couldn’t be. “You’re not a puzzle or a riddle or a clue.”

 Jameson had laser focus. On me. All on me. “You aren’t a mystery to me, Avery, because deep down, we’re the same. You might not see that.” 

He gave me a long, searing look. “You might not believe it—yet.” He held up his hands, his fingers curled into a loose fist. “But there’s no one besides the two of us who would have gone back in the wake of that bomb to look for this.” 

He uncurled his fingers, and I saw a small metal disk in his palm. Every muscle in my body tightened. Everything in me wanted to reach out to him. 

Jameson shrugged, and that shrug, like his smile, was devastating. “How could I not?” He stared at me a moment longer, then pressed the disk into my hand. I felt his fingertips on my palm. He left them there for a moment, then trailed them along the inside of my wrist. I sucked in a breath and looked from Jameson’s face to the disk. Concentric circles ringed the metal on one side. The other was smooth. He was still trailing his fingers down my arm.

 “Have you figured out what it is?” I asked, every nerve in my body alive. 

“No.” Jameson smiled, that crooked, devastating Jameson Hawthorne smile. “I was waiting for you.” 

Jameson wasn’t patient. He didn’t wait. He lived with his foot on the gas. 

“You want to figure it out.” I stared at him, feeling his stare on me. “Together.”

 “You don’t have to say anything.” Jameson stood. I could still feel the ghost of his touch on the inside of my arm. I could see the vein in my wrist and feel my heart pumping. “You don’t have to kiss me now. You don’t have to love me now, Heiress. But when you’re ready…” He brought his hand to the side of my face. I leaned into it. His breath went ragged, and then he pulled his hand back and nodded to the disk in my hand. 

“You son of a bitch.” The words cut through the darkness in a way that nothing else had since I’d been here. The voice was Jameson’s again, but louder this time, sharper, like the edge of a knife. “She was dying, and you just stood there! And don’t tell me it was shock.” I tried to open my eyes. I tried—but I couldn’t. 

“You would know, Jamie, about standing there and watching someone die.”

 “Emily. It always comes back to Emily with you.” “You know what I think, Gray? I think the whole martyr act was a lie you told yourself. I don’t think you stepped back from Avery for my sake. I think you needed an excuse to draw a line so you could stay safe on the other side.”

 “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 “You can’t let go. You couldn’t when Emily was alive, no matter what she did, and you can’t now.” 

“Are you done?” Grayson was yelling now.

 “Avery was dying, and you couldn’t run toward her.” 

“You think I didn’t fight the same fight? I halfway convinced myself that as long as Avery was just a riddle or a puzzle, as long as I was just playing, I’d be fine. Well, joke’s on me, because somewhere along the way, I stopped playing.” 

“Look at her, Gray. Look at her, damn it! Est unus ex nobis. Nos defendat eius.” She is one of us. We protect her. 

Whatever Grayson said in response was lost

each time, as the darkness beckoned, I heard a voice: Jameson Winchester Hawthorne.

"Are you ready?” Grayson asked beside me, his voice low.

"Are you okay?” Grayson asked beside me

My hand shook, holding the last postcard, and Grayson’s hand made its way to mine.

My eyes found their way to Jameson’s. I waited for him to argue with Oren. Jameson Winchester Hawthorne had never sat out a race in his life. He wasn’t capable of it. So why wasn’t he attempting to negotiate with Oren now? Jameson noticed something about the way I was looking at him. 

“You’re not going to complain about this?” I stared at him. 

Because you play to win. Because Grayson’s already there. Because this was our game—yours and mine—before it was anyone else’s. I tried to stop myself there. Because your brother kissed me. Because when you and I kiss, you feel it, the same way I do.

Grayson turned the phone back around and those gray eyes locked on mine. “Avery, have I ever given you reason to believe that I’m particularly averse to danger?” Grayson Hawthorne was arrogant enough to consider himself bulletproof—and honorable enough to see a promise through to its end.

 “You have to get out of there,” I said again, but the next thing I knew, Jameson was sticking his head over my shoulder, yelling to his brother. “You’re looking for a man named Jackson Currie. He’s a recluse, living near an abandoned lighthouse. Talk to him. See what he knows.”

 Grayson smiled, and that smile cut into me, every bit as much as his kiss. “Got it.”

Still enjoyable as the first book but because there were so many plot twists, I had to draw myself a family tree and map of how the characters are all related to one another. 

Naomi P

Kass

this was so sad. we went from thrilling mystery and puzzles and these great hints of romance, to this...LOL. the pacing slowed down a lot and the puzzles were super underwhelming this book. 

i was also hoping to get more complexity for some of the main characters, but we didn't. was super disappointing to come from book one into this. still a fun series, just felt like a big drop off from book one. 

alice l

this was so sad. we went from thrilling mystery and puzzles and these great hints of romance, to this...LOL. the pacing slowed down a lot and the puzzles were super underwhelming this book. 

i was also hoping to get more complexity for some of the main characters, but we didn't. was super disappointing to come from book one into this. still a fun series, just felt like a big drop off from book one. 

The #1 New York Times bestseller and a USA Today bestseller! Intrigue, riches, and romance abound in this thrilling sequel to the beloved bestselling The Inheritance Games The Inheritance Games ended with a bombshell, and now heiress Avery Grambs has to pick up the pieces and find the man who might hold the answers to all of her questions--including why Tobias Hawthorne left his entire fortune to Avery, a virtual stranger, rather than to his own daughters or grandsons. Thanks to a DNA test, Avery knows that she's not a Hawthorne by blood, but clues pile up hinting at a deeper connection to the family than she had ever imagined. As the mystery grows and the plot thickens, Grayson and Jameson, two of the enigmatic and magnetic Hawthorne grandsons, continue to pull Avery in different directions. And there are threats lurking around every corner, as adversaries emerge who will stop at nothing to see Avery out of the picture--by any means necessary. With nonstop action, aspirational jet-setting, Knives Out-like family intrigue, swoonworthy romance, and billions of dollars hanging in the balance, The Hawthorne Legacy will thrill Jennifer Lynn Barnes fans and new readers alike.

I ENJOYED THIS ONE SOOOO MUCH the plot just gets better and better !! jennifer lynn barnes outdid herself with this series <3

julianne 🤍 

turtle

ang 

4.5 ⭐️

⸻ PLOT : i enjoyed it more than the first one, the plot was more clear and understandable since the first page and i was so into it since the beginning. all the plot twists made me scream and throw out my kindle. the only reason i give it 4.5 stars and not 5 is because of the romance.

⸻ THE CHARACTERS : the brothers were just amazing in this book. nash one again being the best man ever written, i absolutely loved grayson in this book and this kinda surprised me because i didn't like him really much in the first book but bro decided to change his whole personality and i love it, jameson amazing incredibile fantastic talented nice kind boy i loved him such an amazing character and his mind omg i wanna kiss his brain i swear, xander i don't have to tell you that this guy is the best thing ever happened to me like OMG ????? he's amazing.
avery grambs the woman that you are. i love her. she's pretty, she's smart, she's independently and she's rich like girl ??? you're perfect. libby is my sweetheart i love her soooo much omg i need to hug and kiss her. max is me, i'm max. thea and rebecca i don't really know what to think about them tbh in one chapter i love them in the other one i don't this is frustrating 

⸻ THE ROMANCE : okay i personally love romance in books but in this book it wasn't that important, like i get that they are teens and they want to fall in love and everything but c'mon GIVE ME THE SUSPENSE!!!! anyway i'm team jameson, i love avery and jameson so much, but my #1 couple will forever be libby and nash, like they are perfect together, the perfect grumpy x sunshine. i really hope that xander and max will become a couple because they are soooo cute together. and the last but not the least thea and rebecca give. me. more. about. them.

Jennifer Gosnell

I really liked this second installment of ‘The Inheritance Games,’ although I feel like it dragged plot-wise a bit at times. Overall, really fast-paced and a fun mystery series. Excited to pick up the third one and see where it goes next!

Linara K.S

Addictive however the ending was too much for me. Some revelations just didn't make sense.

Carolina

Lea Labat 

It was soooooo good 

I recommend it !!! 

4.5*

I devoured this series. Can't wait for the third book!!

Elisavet Rozaki 

Way to ruin a perfectly nice story set in place by book 1.

Laura

** spoiler alert **
           Well, I just loved this book. It's so much better than the first one. Anger, confusion, shock I had all these emotions while reading this book. 

I think for the last 150 pages I just sat there confused. Plot twist after plot twist. 


I love that Avery and Jameson are finally together. I was always team Jameson

Lauren R

After loving Book 1 and then hearing a couple of friends give this one mixed reviews I was a little sceptical about if I was going to enjoy this one myself but it’s safe to say that I read the vast majority of it in 1 afternoon as it was just so intense that I was unable to put this down or think about anything else, it’s safe to say that this series has me on the edge of my seat with the twists and turns!

This Books picks up a month or so after the 1st book, Avery is set on proving that something she uncovers in book one is in fact true but the more she and the boys dig, the more they discover that some things shouldn’t be unearthed. Plus, just like in the first book Avery has people wanting her dead and now has bodyguards with her wherever she goes.

Once again, the plot is incredibly fast-paced and kept me on my toes with tones of twists and turns that I never saw coming or expected. I didn’t think that things could get any more intense, but they did, I loved all the secrets and cryptic puzzles throughout the book and trying to work these out myself along with the main characters was enjoyable.

I have no clue what to expect going into book 3 but I know for a fact that it’s going to be the next book I pick up as I need to know what happens next.

Ian Brakspear

After loving Book 1 and then hearing a couple of friends give this one mixed reviews I was a little sceptical about if I was going to enjoy this one myself but it’s safe to say that I read the vast majority of it in 1 afternoon as it was just so intense that I was unable to put this down or think about anything else, it’s safe to say that this series has me on the edge of my seat with the twists and turns!

 

This Books picks up a month or so after the 1st book, Avery is set on proving that something she uncovers in book one is in fact true but the more she and the boys dig, the more they discover that some things shouldn’t be unearthed. Plus, just like in the first book Avery has people wanting her dead and now has bodyguards with her wherever she goes.

 

Once again, the plot is incredibly fast-paced and kept me on my toes with tones of twists and turns that I never saw coming or expected. I didn’t think that things could get any more intense, but they did, I loved all the secrets and cryptic puzzles throughout the book and trying to work these out myself along with the main characters was enjoyable.

 

I have no clue what to expect going into book 3 but I know for a fact that it’s going to be the next book I pick up as I need to know what happens next.

Ellie M.

I have a lot to say about this book, but for now it’s just that Jennifer’s done a great job taking the story of the inheritance to the next level. This was full of games that had unpredictable twists and turns, making the reading experience fun and very thrilling. Reading this story is like walking through a fun house. You never know what to expect: a mirror, a dead end, or a new path towards the truth. All these aside, I would just like to comment on how terribly written the love triangle between Jameson, Avery, and Grayson. The narrative was painted from the very beginning: Grayson didn’t stand a chance. It was never a fair game, he wasn’t given grounds to develop himself as a character given that he had so much potential. Avery and Jamie are truly compatible, it’s like they share the same mind, but the possibility of Avery and Gray made me think about all of the what-ifs he’s thought about. The spotlight was always on the first two; potential for Grayson Hawthorne was swept under the rug. But nevertheless, this story is a must-read for all those who seek the thrill.

This book wasn’t as good as the first one to me. Xander is the best character, I actually would like a book just about him at this point. Avery and Jameson are cute, I do like them together. Still wish she would end up alone, but I already spoiled the last book for myself so oh well. I do love Jennifer Lynn Barnes writing, it’s easy and quick to read.

Madeline Frank

Super good!! But I feel like the dialogue did get a bit cheesy at a few spots, but that didn’t take away from the overall book! Again loved the turns and cannot wait for the next one!!!

kait

Usually, the second book in a series dips off and becomes less interesting or just doesn't live up to the hype like the first one did. Luckily, that is not the case with this one. This book is amazing. After the first book, we learn that we are not quite done solving riddles and puzzles as we are sent on another mission. This book is arguably filled with even more twists and turn than the first one and the romance subplot is a lot more developed as we progress through the love triangle that is Avery, Jameson, and Grayson. Again, in the second installment in The Inheritance Games trilogy, we have a well-rounded plot, the same lovable characters, short chapters with fast-paced action, and a story that is shaping up to have a really great ending in the final book. I am excited to see where Barnes goes from here and how she can turn this series into something even greater than what it already is.

Kaylee Ray

holy shit. i am so upset the third book isn’t out yet

Christine

i was this close to rating it 2* out of being incredibly disgruntled over the Love Triangle(tm) but then i hit the section with the postcards and that salvaged everything.

tris

DAMM… the amount of shits i went thru this book was krazy,, TEAM JAMESON AND AVERY

akynn 

4.5 Stars

Those last 100 pages..I need to take breaks.

The Hawthorne Legacy The Inheritance Games #2

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