The Brothers Hawthorne (The Inheritance Games, 4)

What I liked:
When I closed the final book of the Inheritance Games, I was sad as I did not feel we had gotten all we could from the Hawthornes. I wanted more puzzles, secrets, family, and an in-depth look at each brother, as they are like onions with so many layers. My desire came true with The Brothers Hawthorne and soon the deadliest game. This fourth book focuses on two of the four Hawthrone brothers, Grayson and Jameson. We learn more about these two brothers and their extended families. I am falling increasingly for Grayson and can not wait for him to get his happily ever after. I hope he gets a happily ever after.
Final Verdict:
I love the flashback quotes throughout the novel as the brothers reflect on times with Tobias Hawthorne and all the challenging puzzles he tested the brothers with. Lots of twists and turns to be found in this series, and it continues in this fourth book, and we are left with a tasty tidbit for the next book.

THE BROTHERS HAWTHORNE is a new, riveting installment in the THE INHERITANCE GAMES series. The book primarily follows Jameson and Grayson as they are set on separate paths due to their fathers. After what happened with his father, Grayson knows he wants to protect his half-sisters. When one of them is arrested, Grayson springs into action, heading to her side and trying to help her while also keeping his secrets safe - something that sounds easier to do than it is. Through the process, he is also confronting his feelings about family and love.

Jameson has been tasked with something different from his dangerously disconnected father, who found himself in some gambling trouble. He has been asked to infiltrate an elite underground gambling club in order to win back something that should have never been lost. In doing so, he will be playing the games set forth by a wealthy, powerful, and dangerous man - so, in many ways, it will be much like his childhood. Along with Avery, they find themselves entangled in new games and politics while Jameson confronts his feelings about his complicated family and what he wants for himself.

What I loved: This was a riveting and consuming read that captured my attention from the start. With a similar writing style and plenty of mysteries, twists, and puzzles, it fits well in THE INHERITANCE GAMES series. The ending also opens the door for the next book, and I am so excited to see this series becoming broader and more expansive than I had previously thought. The best parts of the earlier books were maintained in this one, expanding on Jameson, Grayson, and their relationships. The brothers and their connections remain strong, as well as some delightful romance with Avery, but the focus remains on the mysteries, puzzles, and family.

Though Jameson and Grayson are following different paths, the book was easy to follow with switches between perspectives that made it impossible to put down. Eve is rising again as a character to watch out for, and she adds some tension in Grayson's perspective, in addition to his conflicts between which secrets he is keeping from his sisters, while Jameson's tension is driven by the secret club and his conflicts with his father's side of the family, as well as the desire to win the game. This kept the story feeling quite suspenseful, and key switches in perspective meant the reader was hooked between chapters. Interspersed between their perspectives in the present were some key scenes from their past that set the stage for how they relate to each other, their family, and the obstacles they are emotionally overcoming.

Family remains a strong bond in this series with the brothers connecting with each other throughout. Their other families, in the form of the fathers they did not know growing up, is becoming more complex, and they are redefining the ways that they think about family and what their boundaries will be. These complicated insights occur at different paces with different extended family members that each begins to learn about. In addition to this powerful theme, other themes around romantic love, loss/grief, childhood trauma, competitiveness, and brotherhood were also really thought-provoking and extended the story from the earlier books with new character growth arcs.

One of the best features of these books are the complicated puzzles that get solved by these savvy characters, and this one is no different. Both Grayson and Jameson are set on a course that involves plenty of sleuthing, mystery, and high stakes. These continue to feel fresh and engaging in this sequel, and I am truly impressed with the author's ability to create these!

Final verdict: THE BROTHERS HAWTHORNE is a delightful and riveting new installment in absolutely fantastic YA mystery/suspense series. Highly recommend picking this one up if you love compelling characters, intrigue, and thought-provoking themes.

As a fan of the series, I was excited to learn it was about to expand to include a fourth book, and my anticipation of it being one of the top books I wanted to read in 2023 only grew from there. It is with great satisfaction that it continues the air of mystery, intrigue, riddles, and high-stakes situations that make this series so fun to read.
I like that the plot delves deeper into Jameson and Grayson’s strengths and weaknesses as they each try to find their footing since their grandfather died. The Old Man is still a driving force in each of their psyches and with flashbacks, we get to see events that shaped or broke their self-worth and his manipulations through the years.
In this book, Jameson meets his father who has an irresistible request. Avery and Jameson push themselves to the very limits of their cleverness and physical prowess which is thrilling to read as he tries to please his father. Along the way, he must come to terms with his father and his father’s side of the family and his place in that dynamic.
An equally compelling story arc is Grayson who receives an alert from his private detective that his father’s family is in trouble. Grayson is the perfect wounded hero. He is coming to terms with his need to be perfect and the mistakes that led to Emily’s death, Avery choosing Jameson to date, Eve’s betrayal, and now helping his sisters while trying to keep his intentions hidden. All these characters have larger-than-life personalities, but his younger half-sister, Gigi nearly stole the spotlight with her exuberance and charm.
There are several mentions of additional mysteries that crop up along the way but are not the focus. They do build up the ending to segue easily into a fifth book that I wish was already here. I loved this thrilling and compelling story but there are a couple of wishes that I have as a reader. For four books now the focus has been on Jameson and Grayson, whom I love, but I want Xander and Nash’s characters to get fleshed out a bit more since there are four brothers.
I wanted to utterly get lost in the pages of this book but one thing that was a bit jarring was Jameson and Grayson’s adventures were mostly independent of each other, yet the story kept switching off their stories. Just when I reached a part where I could not put it down and the action intensified the perspective would switch to the other character and I would lose momentum until that last part when they finally came together and then I stayed up late into the morning to finish. I hope in the next book they have a more unified story.