Weekly Book Wonder: Unveiling Our Featured Book/Author

 Hello everyone! This week our featured book/author is The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. 

Photo credit to Sperling and Kupfor Editore

Rating- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Synopsis

This book is focused on the life of Avery Kylie Grambs, a high school senior living in poverty whose life drastically changes when she inherits a large fortune from a famous man who she is not related to. The man (Tobias Hawthorne) has 4 grandsons, all of whom had been trained to be exceptional and brilliant. Throughout the course of the book, Avery works with all four grandsons and her sister, Libby, to uncover the mystery of why she was given the inheritance and what kind of a man Tobias Hawthorne really was. She also struggles to adjust to the lavish, demanding, and wealthy lifestyle that her new status demands, which serves as a background plot.

My Opinion

I found this book to be quite interesting. It is a controversial book, with some people adoring it and others finding the plot to be dull and lacking. I found it intriguing, with a new plot twist appearing every couple of chapters. The writing was masterful and tactful, and I think that it was a well-done book. I found myself suspecting everyone, which is a trademark of good mystery novels.

Personally, I didn't particularly enjoy the Emily storyline. Though it was interesting and showed significant character development within the two love interests, Jameson and Grayson, I felt that it was a bit drawn out and excessive. The rivalry and discomfort between the two brothers could have been shown in a different way or explained earlier on in the story. I thought that it took away from the main mystery. 

The reason that I still gave this book 5 stars despite not liking a significant part of the story is because the mystery was intriguing and well written enough to the point where I can overlook the Emily storyline. Furthermore, every character was human. What I mean by this is that every character, even the protagonists, were given flaws, which made them more relatable and likable. I think that was a really important aspect of this book especially since they are shown to be very wealthy, making their humanity and flaws the only part of them that makes them relatable. 

Overall, if you like plot twists, mysteries, and main characters that you will keep rooting for, this book is for you!

Age Rating

This is a clean YA book, with all of the romance being limited and appropriate. The main characters are around 17-20 years old, but at least in this book, because so much character development is required for all the characters, the mystery is at center stage, not the romance. Nothing is too frightening, but the vocabulary, concepts, and pacing is appropriate for older readers. Therefore, I would recommend this book for readers that are 12+. 

Series

This book is the first in a series. The series is as follows:

1. The Inheritance Games

2. The Hawthorne Legacy

3. The Final Gambit

4. The Brothers Hawthorne

5. The Grandest Game (To be Released)

The first 3 books make up a trilogy and the main plotline/mystery is wrapped up in these three books. The fourth book focuses on the love interests in the trilogy (Jameson and Grayson) and their personal journeys after the events of the first three.