The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Inheritance Games Book 1

A Cinderella story with deadly stakes and thrilling twists, 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.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52439531-the-inheritance-games

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My Review: 5/5 Stars

Jennifer Lynn Barnes is the queen of writing mystery thrillers in YA. Seriously. Every book I have read by her has never let me down. Once you pick up her books, you can't put them down until you get to the end. You have to solve the mystery that plagues the characters. You have to see if you can see it before them. And I don't think I ever have. At least not until that last moment where something clicks just as the main characters sees it too. Just brilliant. This has to be one of, if not, my favorite book by her. And I'm so glad there is a book two. So this book follows Avery who has a simple plan for her future. Get through high school, get a scholarship to college, and get out. Stay invisible and not drawn attention to yourself. Just survive. But then her life changes when Grayson Hawthorne tracks her down. Apparently she was named in his grandfather, Tobias's, will. She has no idea who Tobias is or why he would name her in his will, but with little choice she goes with her half-sister/guardian to Texas to find out. She soon learns that not only were Tobias's daughters not the one to inherit his massive billion dollar fortune, his favored four grandsons weren't either. After leaving practically nothing to any of his family, he leaves everything—billions—to Avery. Avery's life changes in the most impossible of ways but she soon learns something interesting about Tobias. He has a knack for puzzles and riddles. Something he taught his grandsons. Drawn to discovering why Tobias picked her, Avery finds herself working to solve the puzzle and clues Tobias left behind. And she doesn't do it alone. With shaky trust, she finds herself working side by side with more than one Hawthorne brother. The puzzles were super intriguing and the book was definitely a thriller. With the possibility of someone wanting to kill Avery and the race to solve the puzzles this book was anything but boring. I loved it. And by the end we have another mystery to solve and I cannot wait to read the next one! If you love puzzles and just so many great mysteries threaded into one book, then you definitely want to check this book out. Can't wait for more!