We all fantasize sometimes that we suddenly inherit a fortune. For the main character of this book this dream becomes reality, times a thousand.
Title: The Inheritance Games
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Published: September 2020
Pages: 386
Publisher: Blossom Books (I read this book in Dutch)
Rating: 8/10
First posted in Dutch on May 22 2021 and updated on March 15 2025.
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.
The Inheritance Games is one of those books that you sit down to read and only realise a few hours later that you have already read at least 160 pages undisturbed. From the first page I was locked in to the story, if I could I would have read it in one go. It also helps that I love riddles and would like to solve them myself. The Dutch publisher of the book said that she thinks it reads like an escape room. I can understand that to some extent. Avery, the main character, has to stay in Hawthorne House for a year. Not fleeing, but staying in the super big house with people she doesn’t know.
Let me start at the beginning. The future of Avery Grambs and her half-sister doesn’t look too bright. Together they earn just enough money to get through each month and their future is anything but bright. Their lives change in an instant when Avery inherits a fortune from a philanthropist she’s never met… and no one knows why. Despite the fact that there are a lot of fun puzzles and puns in the book, the biggest mystery remains why Avery is the heir.
But to become the heir, she has to do one thing: move into Hawthorne House immediately and live there for a year. Sounds simple, right? Well, not if the rest of the disinherited family still lives there.
The book is a pleasant read, partly due to the super short chapters that ensure that you don’t want to stop reading. Because why not read one more chapter, right? In addition, the humor is dry and sarcastic, which makes the book quite light despite everything that is going on in the story. It also helps that the riddles are curious and you wonder which of the characters are telling the truth or not.
The character that attracted me the least (and this is also one of the downsides for me) is the main character herself, Avery. For such a smart girl, I found her actions and dialogues illogical. I don’t quite understand the choices the author made in regards to her. Of course you don’t want a character to be the perfect person, but what the author says about the main character doesn’t match her actions.
Fortunately, there are many other characters, including of course the four brothers. For me, it was Grayson who I felt drawn to. Not because he makes the best impression (anything but that!), but he does come across as sincere. And that is refreshing in a book that consists of puzzles.
At the end of the book, certain events become clearer, but there are still enough questions left, which makes me very happy to start in the sequel immediately.
The Inheritance Games is full of puzzles, puns and riddles that make for an amazing page turner!
Do you like books with riddles?
Love,
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