“The Inheritance Games” by Jennifer Lynn Barnes is a book that you can never put down. With its short chapters, captivating mystery and a crazy love triangle, it always leaves you wanting more. 

Avery Kylie Grambs, a 17-year-old girl, wants to survive high school, go to college and get a decent job. Most of all, she wants to travel the world, just like her mom had dreamed of doing before she passed away. Avery was always short on cash, so it became even harder to complete her dreams of traveling. One day, she mysteriously gets invited to go to the will reading for billionaire Tobias Hawthorne, an old man who she has never met before. Instead of passing down his fortune to his grandsons, Hawthorne shockingly leaves it all to Avery, but she has to solve a riddle and live in the Hawthorne House for a year in order to actually get the money. 

The house isn’t like any normal house: every year Tobias Hawthorne used to add a room, or a secret passage to the already marvelous mansion. Inside this castle-like structure live the four handsome and charming Hawthorne boys: Nash, Grayson, Jameson and Xander Hawthorne. They are all different in their own way, making the dynamic between them so engaging. Hawthorne had raised them to be extraordinary; everyone thought that the heir to the fortune would be the responsible, seemingly perfect grandson, Grayson, so he was more than confused when his grandfather chose a random girl over himself.

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The dynamic tension between the characters, especially with Avery and the love triangle between two of the brothers, is extremely well-written, with snappy dialogue and manageable chapters. The audience connects with the characters throughout the book, and even more throughout the series as it continues in “The Hawthorne Legacy” and “The Final Gambit.” Not only are the characters engaging, but plot twists and riddles continue to unfold throughout the whole series. In “The Inheritance Games,” it’s hard to see the end coming, which is always excellent with a mystery. 

The second book starts right where the first book left off, and gets sucked back into Tobias Hawthorne’s riddles and games. In many series, the second book is usually not as well written or the plot isn’t as good, but not with this trilogy. The plot, once again, was filled with twists and the writing was as good as ever. 

The third book, “The Final Gambit,” unfortunately didn’t live up to the first two books. It went a little slower than others and the love triangle wasn’t written as well as the other books. While pacing dragged more than the others, the ending tied together well, but some fans may be surprised by who Avery ends up with. 

If three books aren’t enough, “The Inheritance Games” fans can look forward to a spin-off that will focus more on the brothers, called “The Brothers Hawthorne,” which will be released this August. 

If you are looking for a quick, fun, easy read, the “The Inheritance Games” is for you, and if you get sucked into the story like I did, you will be reading the whole trilogy before you know it!