Book Review: The Grandest Game by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Picking up after the events of The Brothers Hawthorne, The Grandest Game follows three new point of views and is, quite literally, a grand game. I’ll de a quick recap of The Brothers Hawthorne and then jump right into the review. Check out my full review for The Grandest Game below!
Book Information
Lyra doesn’t trust the Hawthornes. They’re the reason her biological father is dead after all. But when she gets the chance to play in The Grandest Game and win millions of dollars? Yeah, she jumps at it.
Gigi needs to win. Not just to prove that she can beat her perfect sister, but to prove that she can do it herself without anyone’s help. But she doesn’t expect just how hard it might be.
Rohan needs this money. He needs it to become the owner of the Devil’s Mercy. So, he’s not just in it for the money. He’s in it because it’s the only way for him to do what he’s been raised to, and he’s willing to do anything to make sure that he’s the victor.
The Brothers Hawthorne Recap
DO NOT CONTINUE READING IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE BROTHERS HAWTHORNE.
MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD.
Just a quick recap of the last book since it’s been a while. We were following Grayson as he watched over his half twin sisters Savannah and Gigi. During this, the sisters find out about him and Gigi asks for his help figuring out what happened to their father. Grayson agrees only because he knows that their father is dead and doesn’t want them to find out that the Hawthornes had him killed.
Along the way, the sisters discover that Grayson has been hiding things from them, but when Grayson saves their mother, Gigi forgives him. He then tells her about their father. Gigi thinks that, for once, she should protect her sister. So, she asks Grayson not to tell her.
Meanwhile, in the other POV of the book, Jameson is challenged by his father to win back their ancestral home. He, of course, agrees and enters into the Devil’s Mercy where he meets Rohan, the heir, and he and Avery are thrust into a game where the winner can choose their prize. Jameson, of course again, wins. He was hiding a secret, though, and knows that Alice Hawthorne (his grandmother) is still alive even though everyone thought she’s been dead for decades.
And that’s where the book ends, so onto the review of The Grandest Game!
Review | Heidi Dischler
So, I thought this was going to be a completely new series (which it is), but you’re still kinda following Grayson (which I don’t mind at all). You have a ton of new characters all with their own nuances, but Lyra is definitely my favorite.
So, Lyra is the person who called Grayson in one of the books (I forget which one – The Inheritance Games, The Hawthorne Legacy, The Final Gambit, or The Brothers Hawthorne). Anyway, she called Grayson and asked for help because she had flashbacks of her father’s death and her father said that it was a Hawthornes’ fault. He told her to stop calling and now she hates all Hawthornes. However, her family is about to sell their estate (and Lyra’s favorite place to be) to pay for her college. She is obviously not going to let that happen.
You’ve also got Gigi, who is another one of my favs. She’s happy and broken and won’t let anyone see anything but the bubbly exterior that she is willing to show them. She reminds me a lot of Xander in that regard, so I really enjoy her character.
Plot-wise, you’re following a lot of these new characters as they are competing for the prize money. Alliances are made. Puzzles are solved. And, I’m not gonna lie, it’s a hell of a lot of fun. I really enjoyed this novel and it ends on a cliffhanger that raises the stakes so much that you’ll be waiting for the next book to come out immediately after you finish this one.
You get WAY more puzzles in this book than in The Brothers Hawthorne, so I actually liked this one way better. And a huge bonus, you get like three different romantic subplots. It was a lot, but it was so great. Think gameshow but with a ton more secrets between all the players.
Spoilers ahead.
A few things that blew my ever-loving mind:
- Alice Hawthorne was “a Hawthorne did this” and I thought that was super clever and interesting. Can’t wait to see where this thread takes us in the new book, and I’m so glad Jennifer Lynn Barnes mentioned her again after the bomb she dropped in the last book.
- Savannah knew Avery was responsible for her father’s death (kinda saw this one coming but the revenge thing has me going 👀.
- I really really didn’t want Gigi to lose and I was heartbroken for her (even though I want Lyra to win too…).
- Also knew Brady was a little bad dude and knew he wouldn’t be good for Gigi. Knox on the other hand 👀🤭. Let’s just say I’m rooting for him and Gigi.
- AND WHAT THE HECK GIGI IS KIDNAPPED??? This better get picked up in Games Untold because if I have to wait another year to know if Gigi is alright, I’m gonna scream.
Overall, you don’t get a lot of Avery and Jameson, but you get a whole ton of Grayson (I’m totally here for it). This book is full of fun puzzles and new characters, and I really think it brought the spark back to this Hawthorne world and the series as a whole.
Source: Audiobook from Audible
(P.S. You can read this book for free by signing up for a free trial of Audible, which gives you two free audiobooks of your choice!)
Now I know being biased and defensive about Avery. But, I was taken aback when Savannah told Rohan it’s Avery whom she is after.
On what basis did Savannah come up with that accusation? Avery couldn’t have anything to do with the death, right?
Personally, I think Savannah is having more of a grief response than actually thinking logically. In my opinion, it seems pretty unrealistic to think that Avery is the problem when Grayson was really the one keeping secrets from Savannah.