The Final Gambit Review

58658940Summary (from the publisher): To inherit billions, all Avery Kylie Grambs has to do is survive a few more weeks living in Hawthorne House. The paparazzi are dogging her every step. Financial pressures are building. Danger is a fact of life. And the only thing getting Avery through it all is the Hawthorne brothers. Her life is intertwined with theirs. She knows their secrets, and they know her.

But as the clock ticks down to the moment when Avery will become the richest teenager on the planet, trouble arrives in the form of a visitor who needs her help—and whose presence in Hawthorne House could change everything. It soon becomes clear that there is one last puzzle to solve, and Avery and the Hawthorne brothers are drawn into a dangerous game against an unknown and powerful player.

Secrets upon secrets. Riddles upon riddles. In this game, there are hearts and lives at stake—and there is nothing more Hawthorne than winning

My Rating: 4/5 Stars

My Thoughts: 

One of the most popular YA series of the past three years, The Inheritance Games, recently wrapped up with its third novel, The Final Gambit. I read books #1 and 2, The Inheritance Games and The Hawthorne Legacy, last fall and since finishing the sequel, I couldn’t wait for the third book to come out late this summer. The Final Gambit was also so hard to get me hands on an actual copy – it was sold out it so many bookstores and took a few weeks for it to come off my library holds list.

As the third book in a series, I’m going to do my best to avoid spoilers, but The Final Gambit begins shortly before Avery is set to finally inherit the billions left to her by Tobias Hawthorne. Of course, a person connected to the Hawthorne family’s past – and misdoing – arrives, throwing another complication and another game in the way of Avery getting to finally start her new life. The book of course includes the classic trademarks of the series, including but not limited to the four Hawthorne brothers’ antics & competitiveness, Avery’s feelings for Jameson and complicated relationship with Grayson, and new secrets and games revealed throughout. 

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DID THIS MEET THE HYPE?: The Inheritance Games Review

51Gv-CkrYOL._SX328_BO1,204,203,200_Summary (from the publisher): 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.

My Rating: 5/5 Stars

My Thoughts:

A ton of books have well-deservedly gotten so much hype and praise through Tik Tok this year, & I’d argue that Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ The Inheritance Games was one of the top YA books (if not the #1 book) to get so much love & attention. I was kind’ve mixed on reading The Inheritance Games because it had been described as an escape room type book which made me not-so interested in, but something finally made me give in. & I’m so glad I did because The Inheritance Games is one of the best YA books I’ve read this year!

I’ve read Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ Debutantes duology, another really addicting series, and definitely recommend checking out that mystery series if you’ve already read book #2, The Hawthorne Legacy, & you’re waiting for Inheritance Games book #3). The Inheritance Games definitely fits into the YA mystery category with a ton of suspense & a touch of romance (hello love triangle).The book follows Avery Kylie Grambs, who has had a ton of misfortune in her life, but her life completely changes when billionaire Tobias Hawthorne leaves nearly his entire estate to Avery, much to the Hawthorne family’s dismay. Avery has never met Tobias Hawthorne, and there’s another catch to the inheritance: she has to live in the sprawling, secret passage & puzzle-filled Hawthorne mansion with his four grandsons and other family members for one year before getting the estate. Avery and the Hawthornes all want to know why Avery inherited the fortune and not themselves, so the book mainly follows Avery stepping to her new role as Hawthorne and heiress and searching the mansion for clues.Read More »

ADDICTING YA DUOLOGY: Debutantes Series Review

Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ Debutantes duology was among my 2019 must read books… and I managed to get to both books during the last week of the year! Although set in the world of white gloves and ball gowns, don’t be fooled. This YA contemporary thriller series is filled with secrets, scandals and more.

Little Whies Lies by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

1368023754My Rating: 4/5 Stars

Little White Lies was on my ‘2018 Releases to get to in 2019 TBR’. The book overall has received mixed reviews, but many bloggers who have similar reading tastes as I do seem really enjoyed this one. Little White Lies follows eighteen-year old Sawyer Taft, who has just been contacted for the first time ever by her wealthy maternal grandmother. In exchange for living with grandmother and participating in debutante season for nine months, Sawyer will receive $500,000, meaning that she can actually afford to go to college- and try to figure out the hidden identity of her father. While she expected the white ball gowns and gloves, Sawyer did not expect to get pulled into a friend group of fellow debutantes with dark and scandalous secrets of their own.Read More »