The Final Gambit Book Review and The Inheritance Games Recap
Avery and all of your favorite characters are back for one last game, one last riddle, one last secret. I can’t tell you how happy I was to finish this series and how satisfied I am with it as a whole. Watch my video or read below for my review of The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes.
The Inheritance Games Series Review
MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW FOR THE INHERITANCE GAMES SERIES!!! YOU WERE WARNED….
Alright, so this will be a quick summary of what happened in The Inheritance Games and The Hawthorne Legacy because if you’re like me and read literally tons of books a year, you probably need a recap 😉
In The Inheritance Games, we get to meet Avery Kylie Grambs, a seemingly ordinary teen with more than ordinary financial problems. Until she gets a call from the estate of Tobias Hawthorne. When Avery goes to see what the old man could’ve possibly left for her, she discovers that she just inherited his entire multi-billion dollar fortune (much to the dismay of Tobias’ daughters and grandsons).
Avery assimilates pretty quickly into the Hawthorne family, becoming close with Jameson and Grayson (a love triangle of sorts). As they all grow closer to each other, they solve more puzzles that the old man left behind, eventually discovering that Harry, the homeless man that Avery used to play chess with, is the long lost (presumed dead) son of Tobias Hawthorne, Toby Hawthorne.
Like I said, these summaries are going to be quick….
In The Hawthorne Legacy, Avery, Jameson, and Grayson are back to solving puzzles. They discover that Toby’s wing had a secret journal written on the walls in invisible ink and Avery begins to think that Toby is her real father. Besides another attempt on Avery’s life and the ever-present love triangle, the only thing they really discover in this book is that Toby is, in fact, not Avery’s father, and that Avery and Jameson end up together for real. Of course, other things happened during this book, but not super important to the plot of The Final Gambit.
Book Information
When Toby’s biological daughter, Eve, shows up at the Hawthorne House saying that Toby has been kidnapped, Jameson, Grayson, and Avery spring into action to solve why the kidnapper is after Toby, what they want in order for Avery to get him back, and if Tobias’ last game could really solve everything. The culmination of The Inheritance Games series, The Final Gambit is a satisfying end to an already amazing series.
The Final Gambit Review | Heidi Dischler
Alright, what did I love about this book? Obviously, the characters because they’ve always been amazing, (Xander is the comic relief we all need in our lives). The writing is phenomenal as ever. I also absolutely loved how everything tied together. Jameson and Avery are definitely endgame. Don’t even get me started on that mother faxing amazing ending. I don’t even know what else to tell you except to go read this book and the whole entire series if you haven’t started it yet.
What did I not like? It was a little slow in the beginning and at times in the middle, but otherwise everything was just as fun as ever. Also, there were parts that were super predictable, but sometimes I feel like you just can’t help that.
To be completely honest, I just want to talk about the spoilers, so here we go.
Spoilers ahead.
Let me start with this, for all you Grayson shippers out there, I feel your pain. I really do. Grayson was an amazing character and he deserved better. But if we’re being honest here, Avery could’ve ended up with either one of them. Jameson or Grayson. She chose Jameson and stuck with that choice. She never came between the brothers once making her choice like Emily did. She didn’t let the love triangle continue (thank God). She chose Jameson, chose to love him, and stuck with him despite him always questioning whether or not she loved Grayson, too. They would’ve both made her happy, but in the end, she had to make a choice. I’m happy she stuck with it instead of stringing them both along.
Secondly, Eve was so see-through. Let me tell you that was probably the most predictable part about this book. Her affiliation with Vincent Blake was obvious from the start even though we didn’t know it was Vincent Blake at the time. The whole thing with the Blakes, though? I loved it. I just hated that Toby had to be used as collateral.
Last thing for the spoilers, I swear!! The ending. I mean, THE ENDING. It was beautiful. It was everything that I could’ve hoped for. It is what I want the world to see on a daily basis. When the money gets to a point where it’s not about money anymore, it’s about power, let it go. Avery let go of the power. She gave it all up except what she needed to maintain Hawthorne House and the people employed and living there. It was such an amazing and wholesome ending. This is what needed to happen. No one should ever be that powerful or have that much money. It isn’t necessary. Not to mention, all the power and money is what led Tobias Hawthorne to have hundreds of files of people he’s hurt in the past. Can you imagine? Hundreds of people whose lives you ruined? No thank you. Get rid of the money. Avery did exactly that. In doing that, she unknowingly got rid of the hold that Tobias had on the boys. Nash, Grayson, Jameson, and Xander no longer felt like they needed to prove themselves and that was a wonderful thing.
Overall, this book was everything I hoped it would be. I’m so glad I got it the day it came out and was able to finish it in less than two days. It was that good and Jennifer Lynn Barnes deserves all the praise that she gets for this series. I highly recommend it for anyone who hasn’t read it yet!
Source: Personal Copy
(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!)
I loved this book. I read the whole series in about a week. Absolutely amazing. We had to make a digital poster for school and of course I did it on the last one, The Final Gambit. I love how Toby told Avery at the end of The Hawthorne Legacy, “You have a daughter.” Avery says. “No I have two,” Toby replies. BEST SERIES EVER. Can’t wait for the last one in August 2023.
I loved this book series. The characters and plot were well developed and beautifully introduced throughout the series. I love how reassuring the Hawthorne brothers were when they needed to be. I have a lot of favorite parts, but my personal favorite is when Avery says, “You have a daughter.” And Toby replies, “No, I have two.” Great series and I can’t wait for the 4th one in August 2023. I