The first book in The Inheritance Games series, acclaimed by The New York Times Bestseller young adult fantasy trilogy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. The Inheritance Games is a book full of puzzles, plot twists, emotion, and tension with an interesting take on games. The Inheritance Games has plot twists from the very beginning and will keep you guessing throughout the book.

When Avery arrived back at Hawthorne House, the paparazzi were outside the gate. Oren told her that Alisa will kill her if she talks to them. But Avery walked up to the paparazzi and told them she knew why Tobias Hawthorne had chosen her. She then walked into the house to find Libby. Libby was in the kitchen baking. Libby was a stress baker and she was making Avery cupcakes. Nash tells Avery that she has been at it for hours and her phone has been going off just as long. Libby was sorry for Drake and told Avery she was supposed to protect her and not cause problems. Avery said it was fine and Alisa would take care of it. 

Later that night, Avery look up pictures of Emily Laughin. There was no mention of Jameson or Grayson. She heard knocking coming from the wall. She got up and walked over to the fireplace to let Jameson in. Jameson asked her if what she told the press was a lie. She nodded and said it was a bad idea to say that. He said it was hard to tell if she was lying sometimes and took a couple of steps toward her. He reached out to touch her face but she told him not to touch her. Jameson said the joy ride did him some good because he figured something out. Avery said the middle names and Jameson nodded. He then asked if she felt like going on a walk. 

They walked to Black Wood together. On the way, Avery asked him questions, but Jameson changed it to two lies and a truth. Avery got to decide which is true. He said he knew what was in his grandfather’s will long before she came. He is the one who sent Grayson to fetch her. And he watched Emily Laughin die.

Avery didn’t play the game. She knew he watched Emily die. She noticed the way his throat tightened when he said it. Avery and Jameson arrived at a bridge on the property. Jameson said that the old man had built something into it, and they needed and they needed to find it. He said he’ll know when he sees it. He jumped on the railing and told Avery to hold him while he looks under the bridge. He changed his mind and told her that he is too big and he will have to hold her. She was dangling off the railing when Jameson said “Don’t drop your phone and I won’t drop you”. She counted the boards underneath noticing they were different than the ones above. When Jameson pulled her back up, Avery counted the boards. There was the same amount as the ones underneath. Jameson was pacing up and down the bridge when Avery notice every time he steps on a certain board, it creaks. They both pressed down on the board together. Jameson grabbed Avery’s hand to get more power when they pushed into the board. Eventually, the board snapped. Jameson said it was the infinity sign but Avery said it could be the number eight.

Avery got up and a maid told her they were deep cleaning the house and that she’ll start with the bathroom. Avery thanked her and asked what her name was. The maid said her name was Mellie. She went across the room and knocked on Libby’s door. She opened it and saw Nash sleeping in the chair with a cowboy hat covering his face. Nash woke up and joined Avery in the hallway. She asked what he was doing and he said Libby is going through something and she needs him. Avery told him Libby isn’t one of his projects. Nash narrowed his eyes and asked what Alisa has been telling her. Mellie exited the room and smiled at Nash but stopped when she saw Libby’s bedroom door open.

Avery got in the car and Oren said, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you”. Alisa smiled and said Avery better not have plans for the next two weekends. She said that Avery is two attend a pink ribbon fundraiser this Saturday and a game for her football team next Saturday. Before Avery could protest, Alisa cut her off and said yes she has to. 

Thea walked up to Avery when she arrived at school. She said that she will be spending time at Hawthorne this weekend because her parents are going out of town. Avery asked why she would want to spend time at the house and Thea said by popular belief and Emily was her best friend and that she was immune to the Hawthorne charm due to what happened to Emily.

At the house, Xander said that if Thea was there, she was up to something. He dragged Avery through the house to his lair. In his lair was a machine. Avery asked if it was an anvil but Xander said it was a Rube Goldberg machine. He said he is a three-time world champion at building machines to do things in overly complicated ways. He placed a marble on the pinwheel and it went through the whole machine to end up in a glass. She asked what this has to do with Thea, but Xander said, “Who said this has anything to do with Thea”.

At the dining table, Mrs. Laughin pulled out all the stops for Thea. There was so much food it could feed an entire kingdom. Out of nowhere, Skye declared a toast. To Avery. For once she got her name right. Suddenly, Thea added, “To Emily, may she rest in peace.” and she drank. Jameson slammed his glass down and left. Grayson’s fingers tightened around his glass, his knuckles going white. Constantine hissed Thea’s name, but Thea put on the world’s most innocent expression and asked what. Avery waited a few minutes and excused herself to go find Jameson. She headed toward Black Wood thinking that is where he would be. Grayson stopped her in the hall. He said he went to the red will and found out about the last names. He said he followed them to the bridge. Avery asked what he wanted and he said if she was smart, she would stay away from them. He said Thea is right. His family destroys everything they touch.

Avery found Jameson punching furiously at a tree on the outskirts of Blackwood. Avery yelled out his name and he stopped. She asked lightly if he has broken any fingers lately. He closed his hand and said they were still intact. She then asked what they were looking for. He said her guess was as good as his. He said there are two hundred trees in a healthy forest on four acres. In Black Wood, there was at least twice that. Jameson handed Avery glow-in-the-dark duct tape so they can mark off the ones they check. 

Two days later, they still haven’t found anything. Jameson said he saw Grayson looking for the clue too and Avery said Thea has been tailing her unless she sees an opportunity to mess with Xander. He said Thea holds a grudge against Xander ever since they broke up. Constantine is Zara’s second husband and Xander has always been a fan of loopholes. Avery walked up to another tree and ran her fingers across it. Immediately she felt a groove. Jameson walked over and shone his flashlight over it. It said Tobias Hawthorne the second. It looked like it had been carved by a child. They heard a crack and Jameson yelled to get down. Avery was bleeding and she felt pain. His body was covering hers when Avery realized someone is shooting at them. Oren appeared and told them to stay down. Oren came back and asked where she was hurt. She was bleeding below her collarbone. Jameson roamed his hand over her facing where she had scratches. She had bark embedded in her collarbone and Oren said she was lucky but he will have to stitch her up. Oren picked a bullet out of the tree and said he could trace where the bullet came from. Oren said there was someone out there who is long gone now, but he saw two easy targets and took two shots at them.

Two teams showed up at Oren’s command to sweep the forest. Oren climbed onto a four-seat ATV and waited for Avery and Jameson to do the same. He said they are going to the cottage. Avery realized that Oren didn’t trust the staff or the other people in the house. Mrs. Laughin opened the door and let them in as if this was completely normal. Avery sat on the kitchen table while Oren removed the bark from her collarbone. Mrs. Laughin gave her tea that was laced heavily with whiskey. Oren knowing that there was whiskey in the tea, told Avery to drink it. Mrs.Laughin scowled at Oren and told him someone needs to clean up her face. She said she needs to tell Mr. Laughin what happened. As if she summoned him, he walked through the door with mud on his boots. Mrs. Laughin rested a hand on Avery’s shoulder and told her where the bathroom was so she could clean up.

Avery went to the bathroom and stared at herself. She couldn’t bring to start washing her face. Jameson reaches pass Avery and turns on the water. “It’s okay, Heiress. I’ve got you” Jameson says. He washed her face and something in Avery snapped. She pushed against the wall and kissed him. He pulls back and tells her he always knew she was special. He said he could fell, someone didn’t want them looking at the tree. He tried to kiss her again but she pulled back. Avery said that someone just shot at her and he is worried about the game. He didn’t say anything. She said everything isn’t a game. But he said if Emily taught him anything, is that everything is a game.

Jameson left and she didn’t follow. She tried calling Max but she didn’t answer. She headed back into the bedroom and saw Rebecca. Rebeccea stood there shell-shocked. They talked shortly about the incident and Avery asked if she shared the room with Emily. She nodded and said that Emily wasn’t good to the boys and that she should warn her. Emily liked both Grayson and Jameson, they didn’t know they were sharing her till the end. She made it into a competition, who could be better. Rebecca left and didn’t warn Avery.

Three hours later, Avery was able to go back to the house. Oren told her that everyone had an alibi. She asked about a couple more people but Oren said they were cleared too. Alisa asked how she wass and Avery said she was p*ssed, sore, and a little terrified. Avery told Alisa that she said she would protect her. But Alisa said there was an oversight, legally speaking. If Avery died before while the will was in probate, then her inheritance would pass through the estate. So if Avery died the money could possibly go to charity. Alisa and Oren argued for a few minutes about her safety and Oren eventually said that she will go nowhere without him. Alisa said the shooter’s gun did not come from Hawthorne house, and Grayson and Jameson had visited the armory to look at a Winchester rifle. Avery knew why, Jameson’s name was winchester.