I couldn’t put it down. Captivating! It will keep you guessing, which is rare these days. I highly recommend this series.

I mean, I read the entire book. And I didn't hate it. But it took all the aspects of the first book that weren't so great and made them worse. It also felt very much like a repeat of the first book in some aspects. I kept a mental checklist: here's where Avery kisses _______, now here's where Avery kisses ________, here's where someone tries to kill her and fails, here's the kindness moment from Mrs. Laughlin. (I could go on and on.) Maybe it was my imagination, but these all seemed to happen in the same story moments (25%, 62%, etc.) of the story. The puzzles were even less puzzling than the first book. I figured most of them out way before Avery and the Hawthorne's and many were so dead obvious that Avery and the Hawthorne's started to feel a bit dense. I figured out the family dynamics/connections hundred of pages before they were revealed. And there were a number of dead-obvious clues that no one else noticed. I kept wondering when someone was going to follow up on ____________________, but then they never did. The theme of 'I can't because I feel too guilty' felt tired in this book. Too much of a repeat of the previous book. Made the conclusion unsatisfying. I also found several aspects of the plot unbelievably cruel. The first was Avery's Mom endlessly telling her 'I've got a secret about the day of your birth.' It's hard to discuss this without giving away spoilers, so I'll make my own metaphor as an example of what happened (this is not what happened). Let's say A Person grows up poor with a Family Member saying that one day the person would inherit a billion dollars. Over and over again the Family Member says this. But then when the inheritance comes in, it isn't The Person who inherits, it's the Family Member. The Person gets zero because they have zero connection to the money, only the Family Member does. Even worse, The Person is expected to be just as happy about the Family Member having their dreams come true as if it actually had been The Person themselves. (I hope that makes sense.) In this situation, it was CRUEL of the Family Member to endlessly tell The Person that they would inherit billions because it had nothing to do with The Person. This is pretty much what Avery's mother does to Avery. And of course Avery is thrilled with getting nothing and her mother's cruelty. That her mother did a hugely unkind thing isn't even mentioned. (Truth, it occurs to me as I write this that Avery is becoming a Mary Sue.) And then in the same vein, Avery spends the book continuing to develop romantic relationships with both Jameson and Grayson. Not once does she pause to consider that's she creating a repeat of the Emily fiasco, which nearly destroyed both boys. Avery just switches back and forth between them, without even considering whether this is a good idea or not. She is supposed to be so brilliant, such a good reader of people, and yet in this aspect she also came off as cruel. The only person who showed any common sense in this three-some was Grayson. The thing is, I have a feeling all of this is unintentional on the author's part. One of those situations where the author just didn't think things thru well enough. I'll probably read the third book. I'm curious how the author redeems Avery's situation. My guess is that Avery is going to become even more of a Mary Sue. But we'll see.

I liked The Inheritance Games enough to read the second book. Little did I know that I would love this one as much as I did! It’s fast-paced, intriguing, mysterious, and full of romantic angst. I hope the third is even better!

Fell in love with this series and binged it over a couple of days. This book falls into the "second in a series" trap where it mostly is there to set up the events of the third book. Regardless, it was still enjoyable and kept me on my toes!

This whole series was a solid 5/5. I am absolutely in love with all of the Hawthorne boys and their shenanigans. The puzzles and riddles were so fun, and the entire series was a nice change from a normal mystery because it didn't feel like the reader COULD solve the puzzle before the characters. We were missing so much information, we had to rely on them to solve it. There was no pressure as a reader to guess or predict anything, and I loved that. This book picks up right where the first one left off and a new game is afoot. The relationships between the characters has seemingly developed so naturally and it's believable that they would do anything for each other, even though it's only been a few weeks.

You must read Book 1 to really fall in love with the characters. There are so many surprises. I’m usually good at figuring things out, but not entirely with this book. Read the series. You will not be disappointed.

I like the ending. It wasn't what I was expecting and that's the point and what makes it good. I really enjoy Avery as a main character.

The Series should be read in order for maximum enjoyment!!! The story has four major characters and an excellent supporting cast. The books are well written and edited and characters well developed with good back stories. Highly recommended.