The Brothers Hawthorne
Jennifer Lynn Barnes
469 pages
Little, Brown and Company
published August 29, 2023
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About the book
Four brothers. Two missions. One explosive read. Jennifer Lynn Barnes returns to the world of her #1 bestselling Inheritance Games trilogy, and the stakes have never been higher.
Grayson Hawthorne was raised as the heir apparent to his billionaire grandfather, taught from the cradle to put family first. Now the great Tobias Hawthorne is dead and his family disinherited, but some lessons linger. When Grayson’s half-sisters find themselves in trouble, he swoops in to do what he does best: take care of the problem—efficiently, effectively, mercilessly. And without getting bogged down in emotional entanglements.
Jameson Hawthorne is a risk-taker, a sensation-seeker, a player of games. When his mysterious father appears and asks for a favor, Jameson can’t resist the challenge. Now he must infiltrate London’s most exclusive underground gambling club, which caters to the rich, the powerful, and the aristocratic, and win an impossible game of greatest stakes. Luckily, Jameson Hawthorne lives for impossible.
Drawn into twisted games on opposite sides of the globe, Grayson and Jameson—with the help of their brothers and the girl who inherited their grandfather’s fortune—must dig deep to decide who they want to be and what each of them will sacrifice to win.
Quotes that caught my attention
Blood doesn’t make family. I have Avery. I have all of you. I don’t need anything else.
There was just enough left to the imagination to make Jameson want to imagine. (about Avery’s outfit)
Some of us exist just a little too loudly for the comfort of those who would prefer we did not exist at all.
Grayson knew that every problem had solutions, plural. Falling into the trap of assuming there was only one would keep you from seeing the optimal combination. Complex problems were fluid. Dynamic.
If you never give, Savanah, someday you’ll break.
Winning always matters. Being with her like this – it felt like winning every damn time. An impossible challenge he murmured directly into her skin. A hidden world. A secret game. It’s all very me.
I have to wonder, though, once you see the web of possibilities laid out in front of you, unemcombered by fear of pain or failure, by thoughts telling youwhat can and cannot, should and should not be done… The intensity of the old man’s words built. What will you do with what you see?
My Review
I find it interesting that we have a sequel to a trilogy. As I started this one, I was both excited to visit again with the characters and yet wonder what this new chapter would hold. After the first 50ish pages, the brothers go their separate ways and Grayson and Jameson, along with Avery, each have their own story that flips back and forth spattered with chapters from the boys growing up. I kept wondering if the stories would go full circle and all three would have a common point. You’ll need to read it for yourself to find out.
Most of the quotes I picked were early in the book (no accidental spoilers), but they also share one thing. They give a little more insight into the brothers. Thoughts about how they think and what makes them tick. Ms. Barnes has a way of depicting the brothers thoughts that intrigues me.
While this is longer than the average book I usually read, it was a quick easy read for the most part. For some reason the few chapters by Jameson followed by a few of Grayson did take away the flow a little bit for me. Most dual perspective books flip back and forth at a quicker interval. I would really get invested in what was going on then poof, we would get the other brother. But that noted, I did enjoy this one. The trilogy was mainly about Avery and this one lets us see the world from other vantage points. We get Avery through Jameson’s eyes.
There are some new characters and I might have a new favorite supporting character. Also some old characters resurface.
I would not read this if you are not caught up on the series and I would suggest a refresh if you need every detail, but the author did a good job of reminding you of what you needed to know.
I think fans of the series will enjoy their time with the Hawthornes. I can’t wait to see what the next two books are about.
About the author
Jennifer Lynn Barnes (who mostly goes by Jen) is the author of more than a dozen critically acclaimed young adult novels. She has advanced degrees in psychology, psychiatry, and cognitive science, including graduate degrees from Cambridge University, where she was a Fulbright Scholar, and Yale University, where she received her Ph.D. in 2012. Jen wrote her first published novel when she was nineteen-years-old and sold her first five books while still in college. In additional to writing YA novels, Jen has also written original pilot scripts for television networks like USA and MTV, and she is one of the world’s leading experts on the psychology of fandom and the cognitive science of fiction and the imagination more broadly. Jen is an Associate Professor at the University of Oklahoma, where she holds a dual appointment in Psychology and Professional Writing.
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