Inheritance Games

By: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Narrated by: Christie Moreau

Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's Summary

Don't miss this "impossible to put down" (Buzzfeed) novel with deadly stakes, thrilling twists, and juicy secrets - perfect for fans of One of Us Is Lying and Knives Out.

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.

©2020 Jennifer Lynn Barnes (P)2020 Little, Brown Young Readers

Critic Reviews

"A thrilling blend of family secrets, illicit romance and high-stakes treasure hunt, set in the mysterious world of Texas billionaires. The nonstop twists kept me guessing until the very last page!" (Katharine McGee, New York Times best-selling author of American Royals)

"Part The Westing Game, part We Were Liars, completely entertaining." (Kirkus) 

"This strong, Knives Out-esque series opener...provides ample enjoyment." (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

Not bad

I enjoyed the story (as I do with most of Jennifer Lynn Barnes' books!) but I think reading it would have been a better experience for me than listening to it. I didn't love the narrator's voice, I thought she sometimes sounded on the verge of getting a cold and little nasal. My bigger complain was the Hawthorne boys' voices. She wasn't the best with the accents (I'm southern, so I'm real familiar with what that accent sounds like and the one British accent wasn't spot on either...I guess I'm just being picky) but it was the combination of the accent and her "boy voices" that wasn't good to me. It sounded more like a old lady voices than teen/twenty-something voices. It wasn't bad enough that I would necessarily steer anyone away from the audio format, I just think a different narrator could have been a better fit. Not a bad listen though, I started it yesterday and just finished.

Promising start

Really not sure what to compare this book to. I've seen some people say Hunger Games others Knives Out, and I don't think either of those actually fit all that well. But what I will say, is that Ms. Barnes eaves an intriguing and engaging tale of secrets upon secrets and I look forward to seeing where the story goes from here. This is mostly a mystery, slight thriller, with just a hint of romance( though I could definitely see the romance angle getting played up more as the series goes on) .

Interesting story, AWFUL NARRATOR.

A lot of people are talking about this book. Its on Tiktok, top books of 2020 lists, instagram, etc. I had high hopes especially because the reviews were top notch. HOWEVER I found it hard to really get into this book. At one point I forgot that there were 4 boys and I only thought there was 3! I was super confused and I just think it has a lot to do with the narrator. Her accents were so bad and she sounded like she was 45 playing a teenager. PLEASE FOR THE SECOND BOOK GET a woman narrator that knows how to sound like a teenage girl and more manly and "TEXAN" (I'm from Texas and that accent was BAD) or get a guy narrator to speak for the boys. PLEASE! The concept of this book was so cool but I think the narrator really threw it off for me.

Brilliant!!

This was so brilliant!! It grabbed you and kept you engrossed throughout the whole story!! It’s a mystery, adventure, suspenseful and a dash of romance that I’m interested to see what develops in the next book!!
The narration by Christie Moreau was fantastic. She does a great job with all the voices and makes the story come to life!!

amazing

This was amazing. Randomly chose it and couldn't stop listening. The ending though... Need more!

Not sure

Thiscouldbea stand alone work but Autjor does set up great hook to continue...
Really like all the treasure hunting in here.
Weird and totally screwed up family.
I do believe there could be more.
Not certain if was happy with the way it ended or not?
I do know I will be looking for other books by this author.
It was a fun ride.

New Favorite!

OMG! This is now one of my absolute favorite books.

When I first read about The Inheritance Games, I was immediately interested.

Avery Grambs is a teenage orphan, living with her sister, who suddenly inherits billions of dollars from a complete stranger. The catch is that she has to go live in his mansion full of disinherited relatives, secret passages, and endless codes, riddles, and puzzles for a year in order to get it. Some people aren’t happy with Avery’s sudden good fortune and she has to survive that year if she wants to enjoy her new found fortune.

Avery is such a great character. She’s intelligent, practical, and a little bit snarky. The author does well at giving her realistic flaws and making her easy to relate to.

All the other prominent characters are interesting and well written as well. I quickly got attached to the three younger Hawthorne boys but I particularly enjoyed Xander’s dialogue and interactions with Avery.

My favorite part about this book was that up until the very end there were twists I hadn’t guessed. That’s a rare find for me in a YA mystery book. I think the author did an amazing job at giving you enough to work with that guessing is possible but not enough for some of the bigger twists to be too obvious.

My biggest complaint about this book, and really it’s minuscule, is that there wasn’t enough romance. There was lots of flirting and fun but I wish things had progressed a little more on that front. In the end though, things worked out wonderfully how they are, hence why this is a 5 star read for me.

If the synopsis of this book sounds good to you, I highly recommend reading it. It’s everything I hoped for (and more) when I read about it and I can’t wait for the second book in the series to be released (Sept 2021). I will definitely have that one preordered!

Narration Review: I thought the narrator did a good job. Her female voices were great. Her voice really fit what I would imagine for Avery. Her male voices, and her Texas accents, weren’t fantastic, but they were distinguishable and good enough that they didn’t detract from the story.

Great premise, but...

I loved the idea of this and the puzzles and mysteries were fun. But there was was cheesy-trite bits I struggled to get past. I wish the main character hadn't fit so precisely into the Bella archetype. Lots of female characters, but every one of them lived and breathed based on the men in their lives. I mean, it just distracted me from the fun fantasy teenage love story that I would have, otherwise, definitely wanted to be a part of at their age. Hell, wouldn't be against it at my age either! Mansions and mysteries and hot guys who are somehow both polite and kind but also dangerous and powerful. But the gender stereotypes turned my stomach a bit.

Not like knives out

Maybe I’m in the minority here but I couldn’t stand it. I read so many good reviews and I LOVED knives out..... So naturally I thought this would be a winner. I’m the loser here because for most of the audiobook it just dragged on. Nothing exciting or suspenseful. I’m disappointed.

DO NOT MISS THIS OPPORTUNITY

Get it. No further explanation needed.

Only reason for these words is because I have to meet a word count requirement to leave a review.