(*my overall rating is a 4.0)
(mild spoilers)

hello everybody and welcome to my first review in, like, ages. 2020, aside from being a horrible year, put me into the worst reading slump ever. but now i am so very determined to NOT BE IN A READING SLUMP ANYMORE. and, if you are currently in a reading slump, this book is perfect to get you out of it.

now, let’s start with the actual review.

so, i’m gonna start off with characters. the only qualm i have with them is there are way too many. i only could differentiate them by page 200. it didn’t help that they all had odd, obscure names that are hard to remember (do you know how many times i forgot it was jameson, not james? or zara and cara? or skye and kai? or constanaine and clementine?)

and i already finished the book and i am still so confused about the family tree and who’s related to who and all that kind of jazz.

but aside from that, the characters were cunning and rude and just what i’d expect corrupt rich people to act like if all their money privilege got ripped out of their hands.

jameson was oh-so-attractive but, as much as i have a crush on him, he’s very toxic. jameson and grayson were just...filled with toxic masculinity. it was just on the surface, so very subtle, but it was certainly there. i’m not sure if that was what the author intended, but it was certainly what i observed. jameson and grayson’s constant need to “protect” avery, and always touching her in ways that sound like they’re petting a dog or stroking their most prized treasure. in other words, they don’t act like she’s their equal.

it was so...creepy. in my opinion, at least. avery saw it as them being soft or letting down their guard, but that’s certainly not how i saw it.

aside from that, i liked how they showed just how corrupt jameson and grayson are and how much their past mistakes define them, especially emily. i dislike grayson (A LOT) and i like jameson (even though he just sees avery as a way to win the final game) but they were very interesting characters that were VERY important to the plot.

one last thing about grayson: why did he just do a full 180 on his feelings for avery? one second he hated her with his entire being and the next page he just felt he needed to “protect her” and “be there for her”? nah fam, i don’t get it.

now onto the better brothers: nash and xander.

nash was very mysterious but also really...cool? i’m not sure what the right word is but that’s the best one i can think of. he was sweet and i like how he had the inherent need to protect anyone and everyone. not as crucial to the plot but he was a cool character to have around.

xander was...THE BEST CHARACTER IN THE ENTIRE BOOJ HE DESERVES THE WORLD OMG.

in all seriousness, xander was wonderful. he DIDNT use avery for anything, he made sure to go through with what his grandfather wanted, even though he wanted to win the game. xander was funny and comedic while also being helpful to those playing the game. i would take his scones any day of the week and omg will he please take my hand i’m marriage—

okay, i’m getting a bit ahead of myself.

the rest of the characters were...characters. they all had very similar character traits, so it’s hard to talk about them without saying the same thing about each of them.

what i will say before we talk about avery is: i feel so so so bad for max and libby.

although avery was a good person, she just outright used max and libby, especially max. max deserved so much better and i feel bad because, as she mentioned later on in the story, avery only ever really cared about herself. she never even bothered to ask max about her own life and what was happening. i will give her the benefit of the doubt, though. avery was under a lot of stress.

avery was great in the beginning, but as the story progressed, i started to like her less and less. she got more and more curt and emotionless. i hope she gets better in the next book, and i hope she ditches grayson and jameson.

also, was that supposed to be a love triangle? was it not supposed to be a live triangle? i don’t even know, dude, i was so confused with the romance. the kiss was random and unexpected, and it was almost like an afterthought.

aside from that, the writing was wonderful, the descriptions vivid and gorgeous. i fell in love with the Hawthorne House! it seemed like a wonderful place.

anywho, the book was good and i would definitely recommend! the twists were mediocre, though, so be wary. i completely knew that harry (the man avery played chess in the park with) was going to be related to the Hawthornes.

hope you enjoyed this VERY LONG review!

-rebe