Book Review On The Inheritance Games: The Hawthorne Legacy

Have you ever read a mystery book that got deeper and more complex with time? That's what I experienced when I  recently read a book called "The Inheritance Games: The Hawthorne Legacy" which is the second installment to the Inheritance Games series. After reading the first book, authored by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, I was inspired and motivated to read the sequel. Here's some background information from the first book that you need  to understand the second book :

The main character, Avery Kylie Grambs, unexpectedly inherits almost all of the wealth owned by the Hawthorne family. She is a smart highschooler who is in legal custody of her half sister as her mother passed away and her father was not connected to her. The Hawthorne family is a well established due to an oil business started by Tobias Hawthorne. The Hawthorne family consists of his children- Zara, Toby and Skye- his grandsons- Nash, Jameson, Grayson, and Xander- and his mother- in- law, Nan. Toby was believes to have passed away as a teen because of a fire on Hawthorne Island with three others. 

Avery is shocked to know that she received almost the entire portion of the estate on the reading of Tobias's will, even though they had no known connection. The only catch is that she stays in the house for one entire year. During her stay, she and the other Hawthorne brothers try to figure out a mystery set by Tobias by following his set of clues. Once the mystery is solved, however, another pressing one takes its place. Towards the end of the book, Avery realises that she knew Toby personally as they often played chess together. She clarified that he wasn't dead, contrary to popular belief. 

Now that you have the context to connect with the second book, let's dive deeper into the sequel.

Avery's main motive is to find Toby. Unfortunately, she doesn't find him at his usual place of residence. He vanishes after she left. She is only left with a letter from Toby that tells her to stop looking for him. Regardless, she scrambles to find clues about his whereabouts, but she finds nothing. Her luck turns around when she, Jameson, and Xander find some clues and Toby's diary on the mirrors surrounding his room. From there, they realise that Toby was secretly adopted by the Hawthornes from the Laughlins (the caretakers of the estate). This revelation led him to resent Tobias. As an act of defiance, he attempted to burn a house on the Hawthorne Island. Unfortunately, a lightning strike set the house on fire which led to three others including Avery's aunt- who was wrongly assumed to have been responsible for the accident-  passed. Toby barely survived and suffered temporary memory loss due to the incident. He was nursed back to health by Avery's mother. At first, Avery supposed that Toby was her real father on matching the handwriting on the mirrors and her birth certificate. Avery soon learns the truth after Toby saves her from a near death encounter with Grayson's father that he had merely signed her birth certificate as her real father hadn't showed up at the hospital. Avery asks Toby to come back at the Hawthorne House but he refused, as he did not want to get involved in the family tensions once again. 

I had thoroughly enjoyed the book from the beginning to the end. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes slow yet page turning mysteries. The storyline was utterly brilliant and it kept me guessing to the end. It was really a thrilling read! I am keen to read more of the Inheritance Games series as soon as I get the chance! Jennifer Lynn Barnes has truly created an ingenius plot that only thickens with time. I cannot wait to dive deeper into the mysterious realm of the Hawthornes and uncover more of their secrets.