The Inheritance Games

The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Growing up I was a major Nancy Drew fan. I read all the books, played all the video games, and generally tried to become an amateur sleuth. Now that I’m an adult, I still love tales of mystery and hijinks. So when The Inheritance Games began making the rounds on Bookstagram, I snapped it right up.

Avery Grambs is a 17 year old who is just hoping to finish high school. When she’s called to the principal’s office one day, she’s met by a man in a sharp silver suit who is the bearer of puzzling news. Billionaire Tobias Hawthorne has died and Avery has been named in the will. The only catch? Avery has never heard of Tobias Hawthorne.

So begins Avery’s entry into the world of the rich and famous. Hawthorne House is filled with secret passageways, one of a kind antiques, and enigmatic occupants. The four Hawthorne grandsons Nash, Grayson, Jameson, and Xander are just as curious to find out why Avery has been named in their grandfather’s will. They’re even more curious when it’s announced that Avery is primary beneficiary. As Avery tries to get used to life as a billionaire, she finds clues that old Tobias Hawthorne has one last game to play- and she’s at the center of it.

This book is great for fans of Knives Out, Clue, or The Westing Game.

Make sure to pick up the next books in the trilogy as well, you’ll want to know what happens next!

Book 2: The Hawthorne Legacy

Book 3: The Final Gambit

-Melinda

Bookstagram Made Me Do It

Too many books, too little time has always been the predicament for avid readers. With the introduction of book-specific social media, your TBR (to be read) list is probably a mile long. #BookTok and #Bookstagram are full of recommendations for every reader, but some books come up every time you log on. These trending titles have staying power on social media, so give them a try!

The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (YA)

Avery Grambs has a plan for a better future: survive high school, win a scholarship, and get out. But her fortunes change in an instant when billionaire Tobias Hawthorne dies and leaves Avery virtually his entire fortune. The catch? Avery has no idea why — or even who Tobias Hawthorne is. To receive her inheritance, Avery must move into sprawling, secret passage-filled Hawthorne House, where every room bears the old man’s touch — and his love of puzzles, riddles, and codes.

All Good People Here by Ashley Flowers

Everyone from Wakarusa, Indiana, remembers the infamous case of January Jacobs, who was discovered in a ditch hours after her family awoke to find her gone. Margot Davies was six at the time, the same age as January–and they were next-door neighbors. In the twenty years since, Margot has grown up, moved away, and become a big-city journalist. But she’s always been haunted by the feeling that it could’ve been her. And the worst part is, January’s killer has never been brought to justice.

Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

Like an avenging, purple-haired Jedi bringing balance to the mansplained universe, Bee Königswasser lives by a simple code: What would Marie Curie do? If NASA offered her the lead on a neuroengineering project–a literal dream come true after years scraping by on the crumbs of academia–Marie would accept without hesitation. Duh. But the mother of modern physics never had to co-lead with Levi Ward.

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah Maas

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin–one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world. But an ancient, wicked shadow over the faerie lands is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin–and his world–forever.

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson (YA)

Pretty and popular high school senior Andie Bell was murdered by her boyfriend, Sal Singh, who then killed himself. It was all anyone could talk about. And five years later, Pip sees how the tragedy still haunts her town. But she can’t shake the feeling that there was more to what happened that day. She knew Sal when she was a child, and he was always so kind to her. How could he possibly have been a killer?

-Melinda

Five Readalikes for Fans of Colleen Hoover

Are you on the holds list waiting for your next Colleen Hoover (aka CoHo) read? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. There are hundreds of other readers discovering the queen of Booktok. While you’re waiting, try one of the following authors with similar writing style and feel.

If You Stay by Courtney Cole

Twenty-four-year-old Pax Tate is a tattooed, rock-hard bad boy with a tough attitude to match. His mother died when Pax was seven, leaving a hole in his heart that he pretends isn’t there . . . until he meets Mila.

Sweet, beautiful Mila Hill is the fresh air that Pax has never known in his life. He doesn’t know how to not hurt her-but he quickly realizes that he’d better figure it out because he needs her to breathe. But is that enough to make her stay?

Twisted Love by Ana Huang

He has a heart of ice…but for her, he’d burn the world. Alex Volkov is a devil blessed with the face of an angel and cursed with a past he can’t escape. But when he’s forced to look after his best friend’s sister, he starts to feel something in his chest: A crack. A melt. A fire that could end his world as he knew it.

Ava Chen is a free spirit trapped by nightmares of a childhood she can’t remember. But despite her broken past, she’s never stopped seeing the beauty in the world…including the heart beneath the icy exterior of a man she shouldn’t want. Her brother’s best friend.

Most of All You by Mia Sheridan

Crystal learned long ago that love brings only pain. Feeling nothing at all is far better than being hurt again. Then Gabriel Dalton walks into her life. Despite the terrible darkness of his past, there’s an undeniable goodness in him. And even though she knows the cost, Crystal finds herself drawn to Gabriel. Except fate will only take them so far, and now the choice is theirs: Harden their hearts once again or find the courage to shed their painful pasts.

After by Anna Todd

Tessa is a good girl with a sweet, reliable boyfriend back home. She’s got direction, ambition, and a mother who’s intent on keeping her that way. But she’s barely moved into her freshman dorm when she runs into Hardin. With his tousled brown hair, cocky British accent, and tattoos, Hardin is cute and different from what she’s used to. But he’s also rude–to the point of cruelty, even.

Tessa already has the perfect boyfriend. So why is she trying so hard to overcome her own hurt pride and Hardin’s prejudice about nice girls like her?

Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A. Tucker

Four years ago Kacey Cleary’s life imploded when her car was hit by a drunk driver, killing her parents, boyfriend, and best friend. Still haunted by memories of being trapped inside, holding her boyfriend’s lifeless hand and listening to her mother take her last breath, Kacey wants to leave her past behind. Armed with two bus tickets, twenty-year-old Kacey and her fifteen-year-old sister, Livie, escape Grand Rapids, Michigan, to start over in Miami.

If your heart is set on a Colleen Hoover, make sure you’ve read It Ends With Us before the sequel It Starts With Us comes out on October 18.

-Melinda