Book Review: The Inheritance Games

Yes, hello. I’m back again with more of my incoherent nonsense disguised as a “professional” review.
The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes is a mystery trilogy surrounding the up-ended life of Avery Kylie Grambs as she scrambles to survive the life of high society when she finds herself going from rags to riches when well-known billionaire Tobias Hawthorne dies and leaves her with his entire fortune. Now she has to deal with the bitter Hawthorne family and the vast secrets that the Hawthorne mansion holds.
When I first read the first two books (the third hadn’t been published yet) I was eating the plot and romance up. The mystery was exciting and I enjoyed following Avery and the clues Tobias Hawthorne left behind. Who wouldn’t be invested in a mystery where some random girl inherits billions from an eccentric Texas billionaire and no one knows why? Every time a puzzle or clue was solved, another piece of information was discovered that deepened what they believed to be set in stone.
It wouldn’t be a good TIG review if I didn’t mention the four Hawthorne brothers and grandsons of Tobias Hawthorne. They all somehow fit into the different book-boy archetype. Nash, the oldest, isn’t as present but is described as having a savior complex. Grayson, the second oldest, has the icy confidence of one who pretends to not care about anything because he’s #angsty inside but you later discover he’s extremely vulnerable and mushy inside. Jameson comes next, he’s the reckless snarky devil-may-care type with a secret soft side and–you guessed it!– is also (secretly) #angsty. Last but certainly not least (and my personal favorite) is Xander, the funny hyperactive character that remains stubbornly cheerful about any situation so he doesn’t crumble apart inside because–woah!–also #angsty.
Now any seasoned book reader can predict where this is going regarding romance. The strong intelligent girl with a stubborn side caught between the hot “I don’t care about you– wait yes I do come back please–” and the hot “I’m purely in this for fun I totally don’t care about you like that…” We all know the one right? Sophie, Keefe, Fitz (#teamsokeefe for life). Tessa, Will, James (love them all).
Avery, Jameson, Grayson.
Ugh.
Like I said before, the first time I read the series I was absolutely invested in this story, especially the romance. But I don’t know if I’ve been deprived of love triangles and only been exposed to a healthy blooming romance between only two people or if it’s just this particular book but I cannot stand love triangles anymore. Especially when brothers are involved. It’s just so irritating. Props to you if you get a kick out of them, I wish I had your patience.
The entire series I had to refrain from rolling my eyes when those three had their…moments. Avery’s attraction to either of them confuses me, there was absolutely no build-up whatsoever. I do get being attracted by their looks and personality when first meeting, that’s normal, but to wax poetic about how you love them when you’ve known them for like a week?? Calm down girly! This isn’t a fantasy novel. If Avery’s feelings don’t make sense, Grayson’s even less so. He spent a good chunk of the beginning hating her guts because he thought she somehow swindled him of his inheritance (and she still found herself drawn to him but you do you) but when he found out she really was innocent in all of this, he was suddenly in love with her? Hello? You barely had any positive interaction with her where the heck did this come from? So unfortunately most of my view of this book was tainted by my annoyance whenever the unnecessary dramatic love triangle made its appearance. However, book three did have a good enough mystery where I was pleasantly invested in the story and enjoyed reading about the characters scrambling to solve this last puzzle (now with even more high stakes!).
Personally, I think Knives Out did it better.
However, don’t let my disdain dissuade you, this is a bit of a me thing I apologize. Overall, the plot is a 10/10, the characters are a 9/10, and the romance is …/10.
I am willing to listen if you believe you can persuade me otherwise.