The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

The Inheritance Games (The Inheritance Games, #1)

by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

An utterly addictive and twisty thriller, full of dark family secrets and deadly stakes. Perfect for fans of One of Us is Lying and Knives Out.

She came from nothing.

Avery has a plan: keep her head down, work hard for a better future.

Then an eccentric billionaire dies, leaving 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.

It's filled with secrets and codes, and the old man's surviving relatives - a family hell-bent on discovering why Avery got 'their' money.

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


'A fantastic rollercoaster of a book! We Were Liars meets The Da Vinci Code. I loved it!' Kat Ellis, author of Harrow Lake

'A thrilling blend of family secrets, illicit romance and a high-stakes treasure hunt . . . The nonstop twists kept me guessing until the very last page!' Katharine McGee, New York Times bestselling author of American Royals

'One of YA's more reliably twisty and brilliant thriller authors is back with a brand new series that's every bit as impossible to put down as her others' Buzzfeed

Reviewed by Quirky Cat on

3 of 5 stars

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I'm a few years late to the party, but I finally sat down to read The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (all thanks to my library for this impulsive grab!). This series blends mystery and thriller elements into a young adult story, making it just the sort of thing I'm typically looking for.

Avery Grambs is smart, the type of smart where she has a life planned out for herself. None of that planning includes a surprise inheritance from billionaire Tobias Hawthorne. While her instincts scream at her to run, her sister and her mind say otherwise.

Inheriting his fortune comes with a caveat – she has to live in his mansion alongside the family who thought they would be getting all that cash. To say things are tense is an understatement. However, the mystery in need of solving is more than enough to keep Avery distracted from all that.

“Everything’s a game, Avery Grambs. The only thing we get to decide in this life is if we play to win.”

If you pitch a book to me saying it's Cinderella mixed with legality and mystery, you just know I will read it even if it did take me two (plus) years to actually get around to it. In truth, The Inheritance Games has been on my radar since it was first released. I just never made time for it before now.

Readers are pretty quickly thrown into Avery's life. As one might expect, it starts off pretty normal, but it doesn't take long for that major twist to come out swinging. You know the one I'm talking about – the one that will forever change Avery's life.

Admittedly, I didn't end up head over heels for The Inheritance Games as expected. I enjoyed Avery's character and all the puzzles she had to work through, but there were also parts I didn't enjoy as much. The whole life triangle thing felt very tired, as did other elements regarding the money plots. Maybe that's just me?

I'm glad I finally sat down to read The Inheritance Games. I think I'll probably give the rest of the series a go at some point; I'm just not sure when. Like I said, very behind on the times with this series.

Read more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 4 May, 2022: Finished reading
  • 4 May, 2022: Reviewed