Glorious Rivals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Grandest Game book 2)

 

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read the first book in the series, The Grandest Game, Stop! I don’t want to ruin the story for you.

Please visit the Recaptains blog if you need a refresher of the first book.

“Seven players arrived on Hawthorne Island, each with their own secrets and motivations to win the Grandest Game. Millions are at stake, but so are hearts—and lives. The players now must race to win the game, solve myriad mysteries, and survive the twists and turns of Glorious Rivals.” - taken from Goodreads.

Picking up immediately where the first book left off, five players are left in the game and the stakes have picked up. This is really Grayson’s and his sisters’ story and the ride is contagious. Readers will quickly figure out that this is not the end of the series and the explosive ending will leave readers waiting for the next book. Lots of mysteries are still unsolved.

This trilogy will conclude with The Gilded Blade out sometime in 2026.

Visit Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ website.

The Grandest Game by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Greatest Game book 1)

 

SPOILER ALERT! This is a spin off series of the previous series, The Inheritance Games. Events in this book take place after the events that take place in the book, The Brothers Hawthorne. 

“Seven tickets. An island of dreams. The chance of a lifetime.

Welcome to the Grandest Game, an annual competition run by billionaire Avery Grambs and the four infamous Hawthorne brothers, whose family fortune she inherited. Designed to give anyone a shot at fame and fortune, this year’s game requires one of seven golden tickets to enter. With millions on the line, those seven players will do whatever it takes to win.

Some of the players are in it for the money. Some for power. Some for reasons all their own. Every single one of them has secrets. Amidst it all is Grayson Hawthorne, tasked with a vital role in this year’s game. But as tensions rise and the mind-bending challenges push the players to their limits—physically, mentally, and emotionally—it soon becomes clear that not everyone is playing by the rules.” - taken from Goodreads.

This new Inheritance Game series picks up following the events that transpired in The Brothers Hawthorne. Heiress Avery Grambs and the Hawthorne Brothers hold an annual competition called the Grandest Game to distribute the wealth that she inherited. This year's competitors all have ties to the Hawthorne family, including the surprise player Grayson and his half-sisters. As the mysteries deepen and the stakes are raised higher, who will survive this year's competition unscathed?

This book does end on a cliffhanger that will be resolved with book two, Glorious Rivals, due out July 29, 2025.

Visit Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ website.

The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (The Inheritance Games book 3)

 

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read the first two books in the series, The Inheritance Games and The Hawthorne, Stop! I don’t want to ruin the story for you.

Check out Book Series Recaps for a refresher of the first two books.

Please visit the Recaptains blog if you need a refresher of the first book.

“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.” - taken from Goodreads.

This was an exciting ending to the mystery of why Tobias Hawthorne left his billions to the unknown Avery Grambs. With lots of secrets left to be uncovered and a new danger lurking, will Avery survive to inherit the money? 

And there’s more! Book four, The Brothers Hawthorne, is due out on August 29, 2023.

Visit Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ website.

The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (The Inheritance Games book 2)

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read the first book in the series, The Inheritance Games, Stop! I don’t want to ruin the story for you.

“The Inheritance Games ended with a bombshell, and now heiress Avery Grambs has to pick up the pieces and find the man who might hold the answers to all of her questions—including why Tobias Hawthorne left his entire fortune to Avery, a virtual stranger, rather than to his own daughters or grandsons. 

Thanks to a DNA test, Avery knows that she’s not a Hawthorne by blood, but clues pile up hinting at a deeper connection to the family than she had ever imagined. As the mystery grows and the plot thickens, Grayson and Jameson, two of the enigmatic and magnetic Hawthorne grandsons, continue to pull Avery in different directions. And there are threats lurking around every corner, as adversaries emerge who will stop at nothing to see Avery out of the picture—by any means necessary.” - taken from Goodreads.com 

The stakes are now higher after the cliffhanger ending of the first book. Avery is on the hunt to find the one person who may hold the answers to all of her questions about why Tobias Hawthorne chose her to inherit his billions. With the help of the brothers Hawthorne, more clues are discovered and several family secrets are revealed. Not to mention, Avery finds herself drawn to one brother in particular.

With another jaw-dropping ending, fans will be counting the days to August 30th, 2022 for the last book in the trilogy, The Final Gambit.

Visit Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ website.

The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Inheritance Games book 1)

 

“She came from nothing. They have everything. Let the games begin.”

“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.” - taken from Goodreads.com

I picked up this book because it was the reading selection for a book group that I am in. I'm absolutely glad that I did. Full of mysteries, secrets, and puzzles, the reader follows Avery Grambs as she tries to discover why Tobias Hawthorne left his billion-dollar fortune to her instead of giving it to his own family. It also doesn't help that it seems someone is out to kill her and she doesn't know who to trust. Without giving too much away, readers will be shocked by the ending reveal and we'll have to wait until book two to find out why Avery inherited the vast Hawthorne fortune.

The story will continue with book two, The Hawthorne Legacy, to be published on September 16, 2021.

Visit Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ website.