Jennifer Lynn Barnes has written a lot of really entertaining young adult books. Her most popular has been the Inheritance Games series. The original three have spun out into several more books, including this series of three. The Grandest Game and Glorious Rivals both take place over a period of days, in which Avery Grambs and the Hawthorne brothers, the focus of the original series, run a game each year where contestants can compete for a huge cash prize. Of course, the game involves many, many puzzles, just as the Hawthornes grew up solving and Avery had to begin doing to be eligible to secure the huge Hawthorne inheritance.
I really enjoyed the three core Inheritance Games books, and now Barnes has added more and more intrigue, secrets, clues and true danger. I must admit that this many books in (with The Brothers Hawthorne, etc.), I’m feeling fatigued. All the same elements are just being recycled: enigmatic characters, somewhat-dark humor, attraction between characters who downplay said attraction, all of them oh-so world-weary, etc.
I did think that this series would be mostly just about “the grandest game,” but it’s become more of a stage on which big, dangerous, old secrets are being played out on. The end of Glorious Rivals has a big cliffhanger, so book three is in the works! I’ll read it when it comes out, to see how it all comes together, but I’m honestly not on the edge of my seat.
Rated: Moderate. Profanity includes around 10 instances of moderate profanity, about 60 uses of mild language, and a couple of uses of British profanity. Sexual content includes some kissing, and only the mildest references to sex having happened. Violence is somewhat frequent; there are fights and injuries, use of knives, and threats with guns.
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