Review: The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

I've finally found a new YA series to obsess over. The Inheritance Games is so addictive, and the perfect read for cosy autumn nights. Paper Princess meets Knives Out in a clever, compelling read. 

She came from nothing.

Avery has a plan: keep her head down, work hard for a better future. Then an eccentric billionaire dies, and leaves her almost his entire fortune. And no one, least of all Avery, knows why.

They had everything.

Now she must move into the mansion she's inherited: Hawthorne House. It's filled with secrets and codes, and the old man's surviving relatives - a family hellbent on discovering how Avery got 'their' money.

Now there's only one rule: winner takes all.

Soon Avery is caught in a deadly game that everyone in this strange family is playing. But just how far will they go to keep their fortune?

REVIEW

Avery Kylie Grambs is down on her luck. Working in a diner and sleeping in her car, she works hard at school and dreams of a brighter future. One day she is summoned to the will reading for Tobias Hawthorne, a man she has never met, and her world is changed forever. Suddenly she's living in a mansion on a vast country estate, with a family who all have ample motive for wanting her dead. Tobias has left a carefully curated trail for Avery to follow, and she finds herself embroiled with his four handsome and infuriating grandsons in a quest to discover why she is there, and who she really is. That is, if she makes it out alive. This is one of those books that you literally can't put down, with short chapters that compel you to keep reading. It's full of tension and intrigue, with a cast of characters straight out of an Agatha Christie novel. 

Avery is a great leading character. Smart and moral, with a great sense of humour, she's been dealt a rough hand in life and you can't help but will her to succeed. As the story is told from her perspective you puzzle out the clues alongside her, feeling her anger and frustration caused by the Hawthorne family. Speaking of - Avery aside, the four Hawthorne brothers are of course the stars of the show. I honestly can't decide which one I like best. Xander, the joker. Jameson, the rebel. Grayson, the serious one. Nash, the cowboy. They all have their flaws, and I'm not entirely sure that I trust them, but I love them all equally. Hawthorne House is of course a character in itself - all endless corridors, secret tunnels and surprises round every corner. It's dark and foreboding, yet the sort of place that you long to get lost in, to spend days exploring. 

The Inheritance Games is an intricately plotted, well written, fun and exciting read. One of those books you can easily read in one sitting - but be warned it ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. I need the next installment now please!

*Thanks to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the e-arc!*