(Steeplechase) (BWF Extra) The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes- 3 Stars

[Hayjay315]

Avery Grambs is focused on graduating high school and obtaining a scholarship to pursue an Actuarial science degree that will enable her to provide a better life for herself and her older half-sister, with whom she has lived since her mom passed. Numbers and problem-solving come easily to Avery, and she is just a few short years away from graduating with a year of college credits already completed. She doesn’t know that her life will change drastically as she becomes the heir to the fortune of Texas billionaire Tobias Hawthorne, a man who delighted in puzzles and riddles. All she has to do to inherit the fortune is live for one year in Hawthorne House, which she discovers is a mansion filled with secret passages, riddles, and codes. In addition, the mansion is filled with the disinherited Hawthorne family, including Tobias’s four grandsons. Nash, the eldest, always wants to save the day; next is the enigmatic Grayson, followed by adventurous Jameson, and then there is the playful Alexander.

During the reading of the will, all the family members are provided with letters, and when Avery reads hers, she becomes convinced it contains a clue as to why the fortune was left to her. As she continues to live in the house and talk with the brothers, she discovers they are all caught up in a final game constructed by Tobias.

I give this one 3 stars. Towards the end of the book, I realized specific phrases and details I had glossed over were actually important, and I appreciated not being able to solve everything right away. I did figure out one of the key twists, though. I felt the secondary characters, like Avery’s best friend Max, were annoying and took up unnecessary space in the story's pacing. The book ends with a cliffhanger, and I’m intrigued enough with the puzzle to see where it goes. After all, “there’s nothing more Hawthorne than winning!”