The Brothers Hawthorne

By: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

⁀➷ ❝It was—now and always—Jameson and Avery against the world.❞– Jameson

⁀➷ ❝Let the rest of the players think I’m dealing with daddy issues. Hawthornes have grandaddy issues instead.❞– Jameson

⁀➷ ❝There is nothing frivolous about the way a Hawthorne man loves.❞– Tobias Hawthorne (in a flashback)

So, everyone out there that loved Grayson: This should be your favorite book. We’ve got Grayson POV chapters now! But I really do think that we need a book with Xander’s POV. Just saying. Anyways, let’s get an overview of this book.

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.

So this book will satisfy any Grayson, Jameson, or Avery fans. Well, mostly just Grayson and Jameson. Avery fans were satisfied enough in the first 3 books. They were, after all, from Avery’s POV. No offense. I also liked the flashbacks. It helped me better understand the story. We got so much Avery-Jameson content. How they got entrance into Devil’s Mercy. How they solved the puzzle. They are so smart! But I’m a little upset that Jameson’s father was so…so power hungry. Why can’t he be like Xander’s dad? Nice and wants his kid back. I really do want to know about Nash and his father’s interaction. But I don’t have much to say about Jameson’s chapters. I think I already said everything in my previous reviews for the first three books.

Grayson’s chapters were great. I was not Grayson’s biggest fan, but…this books really made me rethink that. So in the first three books, we know that Grayson looks cold on the outside, but on the inside he’s very caring. He cares about Avery. And now he cares about his half-sisters, Gigi and Savannah. Grayson seems like he doesn’t care about things. But he’s still keeping an eye on his sisters. When Gigi lands herself in jail (long story) Grayson is the one who gets her out. But Savannah is a little…frosty when she meets him (understatement of the century). Well, she has every right to be. After all, her father Sheffield Grayson had a secret child. Grayson. And things get worse when they open the bank vault and see that it’s filled with pictures of Grayson. But in the first book, it sounds like Sheffield doesn’t care about Grayson. So why are those photos there? But Savanah slowly (very slowly) warms up to him. But Gigi is so heartbroken when she finds about Grayson and who he really is. But I had thought that Grayson wouldn’t be able to love anyone after Emily. And I have never been so wrong. Grayson loves his sisters. And I’m really glad he used his 911.

Eve makes a come back. Of course she does. Does the girl ever stop? And now she’s targeting Grayson’s sisters. And she’s trying to emotionally manipulate him. UGH! She needs to go away. But considering how she’s probably going to be in The Grandest Game I want her to stay. But please. Stop manipulating people. Try being nice. And please stay away from Savanah. Please? (I think that none of this is going to happen)

Xander: ❤️ He’s the most lovable, chaotic character. I also love how he cares about his brothers when they’re away. He shows his care in his own way. Which I love! Best Brother Ever! Also: Best Hawthorne Friend Ever! I really do want a book just for him. I hope there’s a lot of Xander in The Grandest Game. Really really really really really hope.

Nash: We didn’t see much of him and Libby so I hope they’re in The Grandest Game. I like how he’s really protective of Libby and his brothers.

So, overall my sanity is in your hands, Jennifer Lynn Barnes. I will go crazy if Xander is not in The Grandest Game. Just kidding. … not really. But I am excited for it. We’re going to get more Eve in it, which might add a lot of drama. We’re getting Avery and the Hawthorne Brothers since they’re designing the Game. And we’re probably going to get some more new characters: people playing the Game. Since this Game is designed by Avery and the Hawthorne brothers, the people playing will need to be clever cause they are smart. Very smart and clever.

And the ending! I feel like at the end of every Inheritance Games book I say that. (I BEG OF YOU: PLEASE DON’T FINISH THIS PARAGRAPH IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE FIRST THREE BOOKS. YOU SHOULD HAVE IF YOU GOT THIS FAR, BUT I FELT LIKE I SHOULD SAY THAT) But there’s a good reason. In book 1: We learned that Toby Hawthorne is alive in the form of Harry. Book 2: She got emancipated (not a secret, but that’s the best I got, sorry) Book 3: a- Avery donated 98% of Tobias Hawthorne’s money and b- The Game. But this secret might have been the best. This one is explosive. This could change things drastically. I’ll give you a hint:

Four words. An ‘H’. The word ‘is’. The letters ‘v’ and ‘e’

This whole book took place in the one year between the ending of The Final Gambit and the epilogue that took place at the end of The Final Gambit. Because at the end of both books, Avery makes her big announcement about The Game. The Most Exclusive Game in the Wold.

I like a challenge. I like to play. I play to win. And I’ll be waiting for The Grandest Game.

XOXO

Aaradhyaa

#TheGrandestGame

#TeamXander