What would you do to win?
For the characters in Glorious Rivals, the answer is simple: anything. If you’ve ever tried to find a popular book to read, The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes has probably appeared at the top of the list. The book is an ongoing mystery about Avery Grambs, a young girl who inherits billions from a stranger, who is later found to be named Tobias Hawthorne, and begins to try to uncover why. Later, the series expanded into a spinoff where, as Avery’s mystery concludes, she decides to use her own fortune and create a competition with players who have to solve puzzles to receive the prize of millions.
The series begins with the first four books of The Inheritance Games, which spark a series of riddles and rivalries among the Hawthrone heirs, as well as the introduction of Avery and how the fortune changed her life. Its spinoff, The Grandest Games, shifts its focus from Avery to seven new characters, all participating in a competition that raises the stakes for victories and tests the loyalties and incentives of each character. These characters –– Rohan, Savannah, Lyra, Grayson, Gigi, Knox, and Brady –– all have different reasons for being there, and despite the rules, also have different sponsors. Following their story, many readers begin to question whether there is an outer person manipulating the competition for a completely different goal, power, and control. Glorious Rivals follows the final five competitors, many uncovered mysteries, and the final stages of the competition.
The number of plot twists contained in the book perfectly embodied the author’s ability to write as though their stories were real adventures. I cannot get into the basics or even the specific parts of the book without the fear of spoiling the characters or the amazing plot. However, what I can say for sure is that there are many moments of tension, betrayal, broken promises, and, like every book Jennifer Lynn Barnes writes, many moments in which there was a lot happening at once.
One aspect I loved was how Barnes made sure to connect to this sequel to all the previous books she wrote about this universe, making sure readers have not forgotten the characters and the content. Throughout the book, many old characters and their very differentiating personalities were revealed to be involved in one way or another. I love it when authors, especially ones who’ve dedicated many books into a series, include not only the main characters into the plot but also the small side characters, and even characters that fandoms hate. Another aspect I really loved in this book was its fast-paced plot. When reading, I find it boring if certain books have chapters for only explanations and absolutely no action. This book did quite the opposite, with quick twists and turns as well as little cliffhangers at the end of many chapters that kept the book interesting and hard to put down.
Yet, in many books, there are inevitably imperfections. In Glorious Rivals, I found a few critiques. Primarily, the dense and overloaded information in the book may cause many readers to find themselves confused at certain points. Additionally, many readers believe that the book series has been drawn out too much, making readers lose interest in the overloaded and unnecessary plot additions. In my opinion, I do not believe this to be true, as I have always enjoyed the book series and love coming back to the universe and characters each time I read another installation.
Overall, I highly recommend this series–especially this sequel–to anyone interested in tension, high-stakes plots, banter, and constant suspense throughout the book. Some parts of the book may be a little confusing, but I promise you that if you stick through those parts, the rest of the book will fall into place. The second I closed the book, I immediately began counting down the days until the final book, and hope that it will answer all the unanswered questions this sequel gave. To anyone who has never heard of this series before or has been on the edge of starting it, it is certainly worth the read!
