*****/5
"If yes is no and once is never, then how many sides does a triangle have?"
"Two."
CW: the older sister is in an abusive relationship that readers see/hear the aftermath of as opposed to living with the character
Written by: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Book Review (mild spoilers)
This book was AMAZING! It featured one of my favorite tropes: girl comes from nothing and suddenly has everything. Extra bonus points if the rich, selfish boy(s) have to learn how to act a little more human around her. It's a comfort trope for me, it doesn't take a lot of mental stamina to keep up with and usually is very predictable, but I love it just the same.
Avery Grambs is a 16 year old girl living with her mid-twenties half-sister, Libby. Avery and her mom made up games constantly to get through their life, trying to find bits of fun wherever they were. Unknowingly, this set Avery up for the puzzles and mysteries of Hawthorne House, when she was discovered to be the main heir to Tobias Hawthorne's $46.2 billion estate, over his 4 grandsons and 2 daughters.
The book takes the reader on a journey as Avery and the middle two Hawthorne boys (Grayson and Jameson) try to solve the riddles left behind by Tobias himself. Hungry for answers to why Avery was chosen when she was a stranger, the three teens discover secrets, secret passageways, and secret compartments to bring them a little closer to the solution.
I found the book well-paced and interesting, although I was definitely expecting more kisses in secret passageways than how many I actually got. It ended with a cliffhanger for the sequel, which comes out on September 7, which I am more than ready for. I have read this book twice already because it was really such an easy read. Some plot twists I predicted easily, and others threw me for a loop.
There were two aspects of the book that I didn't like:
1. the love triangle between brothers trope is 100% one of my least favorite love traingles. I get that it adds a layer of drama to the story, but at what cost? I'm a little nervous how this will play out in the sequel.
2. the chapters were uneven lengths. Some chapters were three pages, while others were 10 or 12. It made reading "one more chapter" difficult when the next chapter was only a couple pages. I'm not 100% sure how I feel about uneven chapters, but they definitely made the flow of the book feel a little off.
Would I let my daughter read this:
YES! There is very little language, as one of the characters makes a point of making up alternatives for expletives. There was no passionate makeout or inappropriate touching. There are a few stressful moments of near death or speaking of death, but otherwise this was a very clean book. I recommend this to anyone wanting a comfort read with a bit of intrigue and mystery.
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