The Hawthorne Legacy (the Inheritance Games #2)

 Synopsis

Overnight, Avery Grambs went from sleeping in her car to billionaire heiress. Now ensconced in a world of opulence, riddles, danger, and family secrets, Avery is on the hunt for the one person who might hold the answers to all her questions-- including why eccentric billionaire Tobias Hawthorne left his entire fortune to Avery, a virtual stranger, rather than to his own daughters and grandsons.

Avery has a DNA test that proves she's not a Hawthorne by blood, but cryptic clues begin piling up, hinting at a deeper connection to the family. Soon, Avery finds herself pulled into another game just as twisted as the first. As she works her way through puzzle after puzzle, it becomes clear that nothing is what it seems. Grayson and Jameson, two of the enigmatic and magnetic Hawthorne grandsons, continue to pull Avery in different directions, and it's getting harder to tell who her allies are and who will stop at nothing to see Avery out of the picture-- by any means necessary.

Loved

• The mystery. As I said about the first book, it's  refreshing to have such a compelling mystery that doesn't revolve around a murder. The fascinating question of why Avery inherited Tobias Hawthorne's fortune is very compelling, making us question every connection, comment or action and trying to interpret if it's a clue. Not only is there the big question of inheritance, but many mini-mysteries and family secrets going on that keep us guessing and speculating at everything.

• The pace. This is quite the page turner- I read most of it in one sitting and was flipping pages furiously trying to get answers and stay on top of the clues and plot twists. The writing is very engaging, with every chapter ending in a cliffhanger and every comment or gesture relating back to something significant. I was worried this book would suffer from second book syndrome, but it was just as fast-paced and interesting as the first!

• The clues. Although this second book didn't have quite as many riddles and puzzles as the first, there were still some brilliant clues planted everywhere (all over the country!) and I loved speculating how they related to family secrets and connections. In this story we get a lot more about Avery's background and family, which gets pretty juicy! :)

Didn't Love

• The romance (or lack thereof). I talked about this with the first book, but I just can't get behind the "romance" between Avery and Jameson. I feel like it's very shallow and just about NCMOs and "escaping." Also the sortof-love-triangle-thing with Grayson is just weird. Why would Jameson and Grayson go for the same girl TWICE? They are so different and I don't think they would really have the same taste in girls.

• Too many plot twists. I love a twisty plot, but this had so many twists and turns that I could barely keep up with what was going on. So many strange family connections, secrets, one-night-stands, adopted kids, and lost family members that it got really confusing. I still don't quite understand how everyone is connected and I found that I didn't care enough to really sort through it.

• Avery. I still also just don't like Avery very much. I appreciate that she's brilliant and she can hold her own against the Hawthornes, which is awesome. But I feel like her being smart and sassy are the only things going for her- otherwise she's a little self-centered and impulsive (or maybe just a teenager haha).

Content

• Language: 
• Fairly frequent uses of "damn," "hell," and "ass," and "sh**."

• Sexual content: 
• A makeout scene in the hot tub- more describes the feeling of being free, wild and distracted than what their bodies are doing. Describes her wearing little clothing and his hands on her bare skin, her hands in his hair. Gets interrupted.
• A game of strip bowling- not a very long scene or described much. Scene begins and then fast forwards to the end where a boy is about to take off his pants, and a girl is in her bra. Nothing else described.
• Two girls are caught making out in a hallway.
• Lots of references to affairs, one night stands, and clandestine meetings. Speculation over who is whose child based on one-night-stands and affairs. Sometimes innuendo around these situations.

• Violence
• A bomb goes off, injuring main character and killing two other people.
• References to arson and people accidentally dying in a fire.
• Kidnapping and threats of death at gunpoint.
• A man is shot and killed.
• Lots of death threats. A cow heart with a knife through it is put in a room as a threat.


• Other themes:
• LGBTQIA: Two female secondary characters are in a relationship. They talk about being in love with each other and are caught making out.
• Substance abuse: Some characters had gotten out of rehab before the story starts. Talks about being high and being in recovery. Teens find drugs in an adult's room.

Overall Thoughts

This was fun to read because of the fast pace, the compelling mystery, and the witty Hawthorne brothers. The clues and puzzles are also engaging and keep readers turning pages with speculations, theories, and conjectures. However, I felt like the plot had so many twists that it became too confusing. There were so many strange connections and secrets that when I closed the book I said to myself "Huh" and went about my day. I found that I didn't care enough to diagram out how everyone was related and all the connections, and it was just too much. I also just can't jump on the Jameson/Avery train because they both seem so immature, impulsive, and shallow. Overall it was a fun read and I was entertained and engaged, but I don't think I'll continue with the series because I feel like it got too complicated and felt a little too contrived. A person can only handle so many family secrets after all . . .