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 conwoman, and he's determined to take her down. His brother, Jameson, views her as their grandfather's last hurrah: a …
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 conwoman, 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.
it was a good book, the puzzles and mysteries were interesting to read but I feel like the love interests hadn't been written about much/were hard to picture due to the lack of descriptions so it was hard to imagine them as love interests. The dialogue was written well, it showed aspects of their personality. Also, it felt like I didn't know much about Avery since there wasn't much written about her as a person.
I had a blast reading this entertaining young adult mystery novel about a teenage girl who - out of the blue - inherits several billions from a philanthropist even though she's never met him before (and, of course, he has not one, not two, but four handsome and also somewhat baffled and miffed grandsons) and no, for once I didn't care that the plot is ridiculous at times, and that the twists are fairly predictable, and that the characters are...well, straight out of a YA novel.
I want more. I'd also super like a billion dollars, please.
I hate it when I get a book and think "is this a YA novel?" only to get to the end and see that, yes, the author is known for writing YA novels.
So I'm not the target audience here. I found it to be very manga-ish. A young woman catapulted into a different life, confronted by a series of characters that are almost caricatures. The cowboy, the nerd, the heir, the mysterious one. Add a little Mean Girls, throw in a pile of regret. The puzzles weren't as puzzling as I expected, and just generally it wasn't my thing. But it's a YA novel and these novels aren't my thing, so there you go.
- you like strong teenaged heroines who just happen to have exactly the right set of skills and interests to solve lots of carefully-placed riddles - you enjoy discovering very obvious plot devices and how the author employs them to advance the story - you do not mind a plothole every now and then for the sake of drama - you are okay with two-dimensional characters with only a hint of nuance - you enjoy watching teenagers engage in cookie-cutter romance situations - you don't mind reading a book that is clearly designed to lead up to a sequel because many questions of the first part remain unanswered.
I do not like any of the above, so I did not enjoy this book very much.
That being said, it is definitely a page-turner and made me want to know what happens next. …
This is the right book for you if...
- you like strong teenaged heroines who just happen to have exactly the right set of skills and interests to solve lots of carefully-placed riddles - you enjoy discovering very obvious plot devices and how the author employs them to advance the story - you do not mind a plothole every now and then for the sake of drama - you are okay with two-dimensional characters with only a hint of nuance - you enjoy watching teenagers engage in cookie-cutter romance situations - you don't mind reading a book that is clearly designed to lead up to a sequel because many questions of the first part remain unanswered.
I do not like any of the above, so I did not enjoy this book very much.
That being said, it is definitely a page-turner and made me want to know what happens next. It was especially the super-obvious plot devices (like secret passages and little riddles in every nook and cranny of the mansion) that were not necessary and "The Inheritance Games" would have been just as exciting without them. The way it is, it feels like an overengineered gadget - okay to use, but just too much of everything.