Review: The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Publisher: Penguin

Publication Date: September 2021

 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.

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, 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.

The Hawthorne Legacy is the second book in the Inheritance Games series.  This one pick up farily shortly after the first book.  Coming off of solving certain secrets in the first book, Avery should be out of danger.  However, someone is actively trying to kill her. Who can she trust?

 

I thought this was a solid follow up to the first book.  The pacing was  little slower for me, but it wasn't too distracting.  There were some fun puzzles that needed to be solved.  I was happy to see that was carried over from the first book.  I also felt like we got to know Avery and the Hawthorne brothers a little more.  One thing I was not a fan of was the kind of love triangle.  I was happy that she seemed to make a decision in the end and I hope that carries over into the final book.  There are a number of twists and revelations and I'm looking forward to the conclusion of the series.

Review: The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Author:  Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Published: September 1st 2020 
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

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 is the first book in a new YA mystery series.  It involves Avery who finds out that she has inherited a vast fortune from a man she has never met.  The catch is that she has to live in the mansion she has also inherited for a year.  It would be easier if she didn't have to deal with the four grandsons of Hawthorne and their mothers  Oh and someone seems to be out to eliminate her permanently.

I thought this one was a lot of fun. I am a sucker for stories that involve puzzles and treasure hunts.  The book kind of reminded me of The Westing Game.  Only the prize at the end is the answers to a lot of questions that Avery has.  The puzzles were clever and interesting. The mystery was engaging and surprising.   Along with that, I enjoyed the characters.  I loved Avery. I thought her reactions to her situation were genuine.  She handled it far better than I probably would have done.    This is a series, so there are still some unanswered question and more puzzles to discover.  I look forward to the next book.

Joint Review: The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

by:  Jennifer Lynn Barnes
published by:  Disney-Hyperion
publish date:  November 5, 2013

Seventeen-year-old Cassie is a natural at reading people. Piecing together the tiniest details, she can tell you who you are and what you want. But it’s not a skill that she’s ever taken seriously. That is, until the FBI come knocking: they’ve begun a classified program that uses exceptional teenagers to crack infamous cold cases, and they need Cassie.

Cassie was raised by her fortune-teller mother to read people.  She
got to be so good at it that the FBI came knocking on her door for help with cold cases.  Because her mother had been murdered, and Cassie still needed clues she jumped at the chance to work on her case. 

I really liked this book.  It was kinda like a YA version of the television show Criminal Minds.  It was nice to have a different YA story that wasn't post-apocalyptic, dytopian, or contemporary romance.  I think fans of The Game by Barry Lyga would like this book or Boy Nobody by Allen Zadoff.

I'm with Autumn on this one.  I enjoyed the book as well.  It really sucked me right in and kept up my interest all the way through.  For me it was kind of like Criminal Minds mixed in with a little bit of Alphas. Each teen contributed a certain kind of gift that they were natural at.  My only problem was I had a little bit of an issue with the reality that the FBI would recruit kids under 18 for this type of work. At any rate, I did like the mystery and was surprised at the ending.

I don't know if this one is planned as a series or not.  I kind of hope it is because I would love to read more about the team.  I just hope there is no love triangle.  I saw the potential for one and it would ruin it for me.