September 2022 Not First in a Series BOTM - The Final Gambit, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

[Alaina]

Avery’s fortune, life, and loves are on the line in the game that everyone will be talking about.

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.

**This BOTM thread will be open until October 5th @ Midnight (in your time zone)**

[Vanessa Gayle ⚔️]

15%

(view spoiler)[Aww, the tiny fancy party was cute.

Eve showing up like this is very suspish. And boy did Grayson nearly have a heart attack at seeing her.

I keep wondering what that little coin or trinket is. Why would Toby give it to Avery’s mom? (hide spoiler)]

[Vanessa Gayle ⚔️]

45%

(view spoiler)[Jameson’s conversation with Avery was interesting. She swore that she didn’t have feelings for Grayson and that he was who she wanted. He told her to be sure because he didn’t trust himself not to play games if she wasn’t serious. That he only knew how to be bad but he wanted to be good for her. I wonder if Jameson is going to start playing games? I hope that he doesn’t hurt Avery. But I think that Grayson and Eve being a thing is messed up since she looks exactly like the girl he loved that died. It is just messed up.

Wow. Mr. Hawthorne knew about Eve. I wonder what that means. I’m going to call it now. I bet Eve is evil.

Whoa. Mr. Hawthorne did some shady things to get all that money. I wonder what the knowledge of all the bad things that he did will affect the Hawthornes. Grayson doesn’t seem to be taking to too well. (hide spoiler)]

[Vanessa Gayle ⚔️]

66%

(view spoiler)[Grayson’s breakdown was so sad.

William Blake. Okay, so what if Toby’s biological dad was William Blake. And that is why he had the seal? Rebecca’s mom said that Toby’s dad just left. It’s all so suspish! (hide spoiler)]

[Vanessa Gayle ⚔️]

Finished!

(view spoiler)[OMG, I was right. William Blake is Toby’s bio father. So he is Eve’s grandfather. And Vincent Blake is her great grandfather. But where is William? Did he die? I didn’t get that part.

I knew Eve was evil. Good riddance.

I love how Avery outsmarted that old man. It’s so sad that Toby has to stay there though.

I had a feeling that Avery would give away most of the money in the end. (hide spoiler)]

[Alaina]

Ch 1-13: (view spoiler)[It kind of seems like people are pairing up together now. Still sort of confused on things... but eh, hopefully it will all make sense soon. (hide spoiler)]

[Alaina]

Ch 14-25: (view spoiler)[Man, I love me some puzzles! BUT I can also get pretty sick of them too lol (hide spoiler)]

[Alaina]

Ch 26-56: (view spoiler)[Wow, this has flown by, and I just realized I never made a comment. Definitely enjoying the heck out of it. (hide spoiler)]

[Alaina]

Ch 57-68: (view spoiler)[I KNEW IT! I FREAKING KNEW IT. (hide spoiler)]

[Alaina]

Ch 69-Finish: (view spoiler)[Wow. A lot of information came out and some of it was a teeny tiny bit predictable. Still, I enjoyed this one!! (hide spoiler)]

[Kira]

Chapter 1 - 16 : (view spoiler)[I was so confused at first lol because it has been a hot second since I read the first two books in the series but everything came rushing back once I kept my patience and got on with the story. Eve’s entry into the Hawthorne house was something very unexpected and I am sure it’d bring a lot of drama. I am drawing a blank on guessing who might have Toby. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 17 – 36 : (view spoiler)[This is getting so complicated yet so fun to go through. The mystery in the book keeps building up. One thing that bothered me a little bit was when Jameson asks Avery if she is sure she doesn’t have feelings for Grayson and she says yes but she is still jealous of Eve. I can’t bring myself to trust Eve completely just yet (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 37 – 54 : (view spoiler)[That was some fucked up shit Tobias did in order to build up his fortune, no wonder this Vincent Blake guy is back to have his revenge. But a 80 year old man is capable of going to such lengths, that’s a hard pill to swallow. Also the whole drama with Eve offering up her phone for Avery to check seemed a bit suspicious to me ngl (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 55 – 72 : (view spoiler)[Tobias really was a bastard, he simply named Avery as heir to make her Vincent’s target, I am growing to hate him. My doubts regarding Eve turned out to be true as well and everything is starting to make sense. I just couldn’t believe she would betray Toby like that. These people are ridiculously rich yet still so fucking greedy (hide spoiler)]

Finished: (view spoiler)[Oh wow damn! That were some really clever moves by Avery. I was a bit sad for Eve because she really just wanted to be seen by everyone. Also Toby was stuck with Vincent at the end. I'd like to hope that Avery would find a way to save him from Vincent's clutches. AND AND AND the great ending! I was NOT expecting Avery to do that, it was hands down the best part! (hide spoiler)]

[Alaina]

Today is the LAST day to comment for BOTM points!