"The Inheritance Games" by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

 Jennifer Lynn Barnes has done it again!

There's a reason that Jennifer Lynn Barnes is one of my top 3 favorite young adult authors. 

It's because her books are AMAZING!!!

I fell in love with Barnes's storytelling with her "Naturals" series.

I highly enjoyed "The Fixer" duology and I was captivated by "The Lovely and the Lost".

But it is possible I may have a new favorite. 

"The Inheritance Games".... aahhhh, how do I even describe it? I feel like my brain is still spinning from all the puzzles, riddles, and revelations that are woven through the fabric of the story. The story is a mystery in the truest sense of the word. It will leave you guessing until the very end, and if you think you've figured it out... think again. 

"The Inheritance Games" centers around 17 year old Avery Graham, who is doing everything she can to save money for college while still making the grades she needs to get accepted.  Avery lives with her half sister after her mother passed away, and their deadbeat dad isn't in the picture. Despite Avery's brilliant mind, her future is anything but certain due to her current financial situation. 

But then everything changes.

Grayson Hawthorne has tracked Avery down and informed her that she has been named a beneficiary in his late grandfather's will. Tobias Hawthorn was one of the richest men in the world when he passed away.

And Avery has no idea who he is.

Avery and her sister fly to Texas, courtesy of the Hawthorne family, to hear the will read. The rest of the Hawthorne family is waiting for them: the two daughters of the late Tobias Hawthorne, his four handsome, brilliant grandsons, as well as several members of the staff. 

And no one is more surprised than Avery when Tobias Hawthorne's lawyer announces that other than a mere pittance left to his family and his staff, the Hawthorne fortune, the businesses and the sprawling mansion now belong to Avery Kylie Graham. 

Avery is now one of the richest women in the world.

The disinherited family isn't sure what to make of this revelation. Who is Avery? Why did Tobias Hawthorne leave his immense fortune to this stranger? 

Grayson Hawthorne, the heir apparent, thinks Avery is little better than a con woman, who has some how tricked, conned, or manipulated her way into a fortune. Jameson Hawthorne, the third grandson,  sees Avery as a puzzle, as one more riddle left behind by the old man for his grandsons to figure out and solve. 

What happens next is a series of puzzles, secret passages, hidden messages, and daunting riddles that begin to reveal family secrets and haunting tragedies. Avery starts down this path, working with Grayson and Jamie to solve the mystery behind Tobias Hawthorne's bizarre decision regarding his will, and discovering that the rabbit hole that is the Hawthrone family goes much deeper than she ever could have imagined.

Despite being an amazing book, there was one downside to this book.

I did not like the insta-attraction between Avery and two of the Hawthorne grandsons. It felt a little bit rushed and I never like it when a character is attracted to multiple people in the same family. There is no way that ends well for anyone. 

This book kept me turning pages late into the night. Tension and suspense is interwoven masterfully throughout the plot and the engaging and sometime quirky characters has me reaching for book two even as I am finishing this review.