The Hawthorne Legacy
The Hawthorne Legacy Book Review by Jennifer Lynne Barnes
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: these books are just fun.
Are they the most sophisticated reads in the world? No. Do they have the most memorable and well-developed characters? Also no. Is the writing absolutely superb and filled with depth and nuance? I think you can guess the answer.
What this book does contain, however, is a guarantee to give you some mysterious fun and some delightful entertainment while you’re submerged in the tale.
The Hawthorne Legacy is the second installment of The Inheritance Games trilogy, in which the first book goes by the same name. You can read my review of The Inheritance Games HERE.
My thoughts and opinions for these two books are actually very similar, however, I do believe I enjoyed the second book more and I’ll get into why that is.
In my first review, I talked about how the book was enchanting and engaging, from the beginning to the end it was filled from cover-to-cover with puzzling mysteries that made me unable to stop turning the page.
Unfortunately, I also talked about how most of the characters were droll and banal archetypes and didn’t strike me as anything other than cookie-cutter characterizations of actual people.
The second book does slightly better this time around, which is why overall I enjoyed it more than the first. Continuing from the first book, the main protagonist and newly inherited billionaire of the Hawthorne Estate and its assets is Avery Kylie Grambs (aka A Very Risky Gamble).
Three weeks have passed (the duration of the first novel) since her life was turned upside down and Avery has been entrenched in mystery after mystery about her place in the complicated Hawthorne Legacy.
She develops feelings for the charismatic and alluring Hawthorne grandsons, more is revealed and discovered about the late Tobias Hawthorne, the mystery of Avery’s father and her birth, and all the secrets her mother was keeping and why, are tantalizingly laid out in this novel.
Each new revelation is more grand and shocking than the last and the book is a non-stop pattern of discovery and epiphany. The action feels like a roller-coaster without a stopping point and the story chugs along just as fast.
One thing I noticed about this book was how quick the pacing was. Barnes jumps from one action point to another, leaving very little time in-between. This makes the novel very easy to breeze through as well as very easy to consume.
If anything, it was almost too fast. I would have liked the pace to be a tad slower as I feel like Barnes sacrifices some great opportunities for character development and interaction in order to keep the break-neck speed she’s developed since page one.
Even seeing in print that Avery had only become the magnanimous billionaire three weeks ago was a shock to the system. I couldn’t believe how little time had passed.
While this is typical for YA stories, I feel like the time span was too short for the feelings that had developed between Avery and the rest of the Hawthorne’s to be truly convincing.
Oh, you love him? Oh, he wants to protect her? You guys didn’t even know each other 21 days ago. This part felt forced and a little unnatural to me, something reminiscent of the first book.
Perhaps it wouldn’t have been so bad if Barnes had taken more time to build the relationships between the characters, but like I said, the book moves from major plot point to major plot point with little to few instances in between of characters simply talking or interacting in a meaningful way.
Avery this book was very much the same. She’s still altruistic and too good to be true. She gets a little more interesting in this novel as she starts to realize that maybe the fortune she’s inherited is more of a blessing than a curse when multiple attempts on her life are made and she’s constantly faced with threats, fear, and confusion.
Her descent into this realization was interesting to see, although, once again, I wished we could have gotten a little more introspection from her throughout.
The Hawthorne boys are also largely the same. I still think they’re a little too one-dimensional and the author employs telling, rather than showing, annoyingly often. I’m told that Grayson is used to the world obeying him, but I don’t actually see instances of it. I’m told that Jameson is witty and crafty, but that’s hardly seen.
For a girl who’s known these guys for about three weeks, she has an absurd grasp on who they are as people. Nash continues to be unimportant and odd. I don’t know why this cowboy brother who stereotypically calls everyone “darlin’” is even in the book. Maybe he’ll become important in book three.
Grayson is expectedly cold and distant and Jameson is witty and dark-humored. And then there’s Xander who continues to feel left out, but remains exuberant and cheerful.
As always, each brother has about two traits that define them and somehow, despite the short time frame, feel very protective and affectionate towards a girl they just met and also took their entire inheritance.
Thea and Rebecca were also in the book. To be honest, I don’t even know why. They were largely unimportant and randomly appeared in my opinion. Max, the best friend, is...okay.
Also largely unimportant as a whole. I wish we got more scenes of Avery and Max interacting, but as always, the scenes with Max are either used for plot fodder or for comedic relief.
Like the first installment, the greatest allure of this novel is the mystery ridden plot. It’s just plain fun to read. And while I wish Avery and the other characters were more well-developed and that there was also just more to the book than action scene after action scene, it was still enjoyable nonetheless.
Maybe by book three, I’ll finally get the characterization I so desire, but I’m still along for the crazy and entertaining ride that is The Inheritance Games trilogy.
Recommendation: If you like easy to read novels, intriguing puzzles, and overarching mysteries involving lost heirs and seaside romances amongst the unrealistic billionaire backdrop, then jump along for the crazy action-packed ride that is The Hawthorne Legacy.
Score: 8/10
