Tag: jennifer lynn barnes

Book Review: Games Untold (The Inheritance Games #4.5) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Mystery Novella Collection
Length: 448 pages
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Publisher: Little Brown Books
Release Date: November 12th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Romance, luxury, and secrets abound in this thrilling new collection that take readers deeper into the world of the #1 bestselling Inheritance Games series

There is nothing frivolous about the way a Hawthorne man loves.

An amnesiac playboy and the woman with every reason to hate him. A daredevil, his favorite heiress, and three nights in Prague. An unlikely pairing between a cowboy and a goth. Four brothers with an inescapable bond, strengthened by the family they chose, in a house of wonders that promises to always deliver one more secret.

Discover their stories of love and loss, power, puzzles, and life-and-death secrets in this mind-blowingly romantic collection that proves that when you love the way Hawthornes love, there is no going back.

This collection includes:
That Night in Prague (novella)
The Same Backward as Forward (novella)
The Cowboy and the Goth
Five Times Xander Tackled Someone (and One Time He Didn’t)
One Hawthorne Night*
What Happens in the Treehouse*
$3CR3T $@NT@
Pain at the Right Gun
*previously published in limited release

THIS WAS FUN.

I had a good time with this collection set! I didn’t even know this was releasing so it was a fun listen to get some more background information (and lots of romantic moments that I was missing from the original trilogy) on all of these characters.

The puzzles are entertaining to follow and I loved the depth that these stories gave. While I don’t think this is a necessity to read I do think it enhanced the trilogy for me.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Mystery Novella Collection
  • Language: low
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: low

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Book Review: The Grandest Game (The Grandest Game #1) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Mystery
Length: 384 pages
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Publisher: Little Brown Books
Release Date: July 30th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Get caught up in the puzzles, games, danger, romance, and riches of this lush new chapter in the #1 bestselling Inheritance Games saga.

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.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Lynn Barnes delivers a brand-new series in the world of The Inheritance Games, where fan-favorite and new characters collide in a game you’ll never forget.

Do you have what it takes to play?

AN INTERESTING SPIN-OFF.

I had a good time with this one and definitely recommend the audiobook. I love having multiple narrators for multiple characters. I enjoyed the original The Inheritance Games series and was excited to pick this up. I loved that there was still so much mystery and puzzling involved. I am eternally amazed at how Jennifer Lynn Barnes crafts all of the intricate details of the game.

The new POV’s and characters were good additions too. I didn’t have any issues with them and thought they brought new angles and personalities to the story. I want to see and learn more about them. And see the dashes of romance I got too.

There weren’t any moments that I found shocking or big twists that left me gasping, but I still like and enjoy these books a lot.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Mystery
  • Language: low
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low

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Book Review: The Brothers Hawthorne (The Inheritance Games #4) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Mystery
Length: 480 pages
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Publisher: Little Brown Books
Release Date: August 29th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Four brothers. Two missions. One explosive read. Jennifer Lynn Barnes returns to the world of her #1 bestselling Inheritance Games trilogy, and the stakes have never been higher.  
 
Grayson Hawthorne was raised as the heir apparent to his billionaire grandfather, taught from the cradle to put family first. Now the great Tobias Hawthorne is dead and his family disinherited, but some lessons linger. When Grayson’s half-sisters find themselves in trouble, he swoops in to do what he does best: take care of the problem—efficiently, effectively, mercilessly. And without getting bogged down in emotional entanglements.
 
Jameson Hawthorne is a risk-taker, a sensation-seeker, a player of games. When his mysterious father appears and asks for a favor, Jameson can’t resist the challenge. Now he must infiltrate London’s most exclusive underground gambling club, which caters to the rich, the powerful, and the aristocratic, and win an impossible game of greatest stakes. Luckily, Jameson Hawthorne lives for impossible.
 
Drawn into twisted games on opposite sides of the globe, Grayson and Jameson—with the help of their brothers and the girl who inherited their grandfather’s fortune—must dig deep to decide who they want to be and what each of them will sacrifice to win.

A WEE BIT SLOW.

I was not as impressed by this as I had hyped myself for (and maybe that was my undoing???). I really enjoyed the first trilogy and thought we’d finally get some Grayson moments and instead I felt like that poor guy just kept getting beat down more and that we were all back at square one with the characters.

Some aspects of the mystery were intriguing, I loved seeing all of the brothers interact again. I am curious enough to read the next book and I did enjoy listening to this. While there was good, I’m overall a little perplexed (and cautious) at how the next book with further open these plot lines. I did like a few of the twists and betrayals.

And can we please give Grayson a dang break??!

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Mystery
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: Closed door
  • Violence: moderate
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: parental abandonment, brief mentions of cheating spouse, death of loved one recounted

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Book Review: The Final Gambit (The Inheritance Games #3) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Mystery + Romance
Length: 400 pages
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Publisher: Little, Brown Books
Release Date: August 30th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

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.

STELLAR FINALE.

Don’t you love when you finish a series and realize how much you’ve enjoyed it? Hallelujah this was the case here. What a fantastic YA mystery series.

I LOVE THESE BROTHERS. If I could get spin off books of everyone I would be in bookish heaven. I love Jameson, Grayson, Xander and Nash for in a hundred ways and will protect them at all costs.

The puzzles and games sprinkled throughout were intense to watch unfold. I am continually in awe at this author’s ability to craft such intricate enigmas. I love that I don’t quite know where each answer will lay and who’s on what side.

I do wish there was a touch more romance. I appreciated the growth from Jameson that I really needed to feel more connected to the relationship between him and Avery. They had some really sweet moments though!!

Short chapters make for a fast pace that had me binge reading this needing to know what happens next. I liked the conclusion a lot and how Avery ended up handling the inheritance and defeating the nemesis that came from the past.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Mystery
  • Language: a little
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: med-high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: weapons violence, kidnapping, recounted murder

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