Started on: 4 June 2023
Finished on: 24 June 2023
Finished on: 24 June 2023
Title: The Hawthorne Legacy (The Inheritance Games, #2)
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Publisher: Penguin
Pages: 380 pages / 369 pages (e-book)
Year of Publication: 2021
Price: Rp 188,000 (https://www.periplus.com/)
Rating: 4/5
Year of Publication: 2021
Price: Rp 188,000 (https://www.periplus.com/)
Rating: 4/5
*for those who haven't read the first book, this review may contain spoiler.
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"If there was one thing I'd learned about deceased billionaire Tobias Hawthorne, it was that he was capable of orchestrating nearly anything, manipulating nearly anyone. He'd loved puzzles and riddles and games."
After unlocking the final puzzle in the tunnels under the Hawthorne House, Avery has to find the man who might hold the answer to all her questions—including why Tobias Hawthorne left his entire fortune to Avery rather than his daughters or grandsons. After doing a DNA test, Avery confirmed that she's not a Hawthorne by blood, but some clues hint at a deeper connection between her and the Hawthorne family. As the mystery grows, threats are lurking around every corner as adversaries emerge trying to see Avery out of the picture by any means necessary.
"I wanted answers. This wasn't just a mystery that needed solving or another layer to a puzzle. It wasn't a game—not to me.Not anymore."
"My grandfather told us that as you amass the kind of power and money he had—things get broken. People."
When I finished reading the first book in this series, The Inheritance Games, I was contemplating whether I wanted to continue reading the rest of the trilogy because I was a bit disappointed by the storyline. However, after reading other books in between, I finally decided to dive back into the mystery of the Hawthorne family because the ending of the first book piqued my curiosity. There's a short recap at the start of this book that refreshed my memory about the events that happened in the previous one, so it wasn't difficult to ease myself back into the story. I don't know if it's because I lowered my expectations for this series, but I enjoyed the sequel more than the first book. The Hawthorne Legacy was quite a page-turner and upon finishing it, I was eager to pick up the last book of the series. I'm glad I decided to give this trilogy another shot instead of giving up on it completely 😊.
"We all make decisions, and those decisions affect other people. They ripple through the world, and the more power you have, the greater the ripple."
"I'd been given the world. It was time to stop living scared, time to take the reins.It was time to take risks."
The Inheritance Games ended with the speculation that Toby is still alive and has been living under the guise of Harry—a homeless man who used to play chess with Avery after her mom died. As Avery and the Hawthorne brothers explored the area in the Hawthorne House where Toby used to live, they discovered more clues that led them to more mysteries. In the first book, I felt bombarded with so many questions with few answers given. Thankfully, we got a lot of answers in this book—which seems to be why I enjoyed the second book better. We finally discovered the truth about the Hawthorne brothers' biological fathers that has never been revealed and the heartbreaking connection between Toby and Avery's mother after the events at the Hawthorne Island years ago. Then, we also learn about Toby's true identity that caused him to escape and want nothing to do with the Hawthorne family. The revelations in this book continue to surprise me. There are twists after twists that I didn't see coming.
Even though the storyline got better in the second book, there's one thing that I still didn't like: the romance. Is it just me that thinks the romance between Avery, Jameson, and Grayson confusing? The chemistry between them is lacking and I would prefer it if there's no romance in the story. I'm not rooting for Avery to be with either of them, I only need to know the answer to the mystery surrounding the Hawthorne family. If there's any character that I liked, it would be Xander and Max because their dialogues are fun to read. Although Max's character doesn't serve much purpose to the plot, she's still an entertaining addition to the story. The ending of this book wasn't as mind-blowing as the previous one, but at this point, I'm eager to read the final book in the series immediately. We already got a lot of answers, yet I think there are still many more things that will be revealed.
"This is Hawthorne House, Heiress. There will always be another mystery. Just when you think you've found the last hidden passage, the last tunnel, the last secret built into the walls—there will always be one more."
"In the past six weeks, I'd been shot at, blown up, kidnapped, and paraded around as the living, breathing embodiment of Cinderella stories. To the world, I was a scandal, a mystery, a curiosity, a fantasy.To Tobias Hawthorne, I'd been a tool."
As I've said earlier, I'm glad I didn't give up on this series and decided to keep reading because I thoroughly enjoyed The Hawthorne Legacy. I'm not sure where the story will go next, but I'm hoping for a big reveal that will satisfy my curiosity that the author has built up to this point. Even though some aspects stopped me from giving this book a 5-star rating, I feel the plot gradually got better over time.I will dive into the third and final book in the series immediately so I can be relieved from the ongoing curiosity.
"I thought about everything that had happened. All of it.I'd found Toby.I knew my mother's secret.I understood, more than ever, why my name had caught the attention of a billionaire who'd only met me once. Maybe that was all there was to it. Or maybe I was one stone meant for twelve birds, most of them still undiscovered."
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