An Inheritance Games series explainer

Do you love puzzles and mysteries? Fancy yourself an at-home detective? Love a story where the reveals just keep coming, sometimes way down the track?

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of the above, then The Inheritance Games series is a must-read!

Following a girl named Avery who mysteriously inherits a huge fortune from a stranger, the books are fast-paced, entertaining and full of lovable characters – including a love triangle between the Hawthorne brothers, the grandsons of Avery’s benefactor.

With three books at the core, a new trilogy in progress, and a few standalones, you’d be forgiven for forgetting all the details of this incredible series or not knowing where to start! But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered!

Correct order to read the Inheritance Games series

9 books, 2 series and a few standalones

The core trilogy

The core series is comprised of three books:

1. The Inheritance Games
2. The Hawthorne Legacy
3. The Final Gambit

The core trilogy follows Avery Grambs and the Hawthorne brothers: Grayson, Jameson, Xander and Nash (learn more about the characters here). This trilogy kicks off with Avery inheriting the entire fortune of billionaire Tobias Hawthorne.

Though Avery has no relation to Tobias – and has never even met the man – he bestows his entire estate upon her, jilting his grandsons. The one condition: Avery must live on the Hawthorne estate for a year. And no matter how much they might want to, all Hawthornes are prohibited from harming her . . . but that doesn’t mean they won’t try.

Spinoff books

Set after the core trilogy, this spin off collection consists of three more books which should be read in order:

1. The Grandest Games
2. Glorious Rivals
3. The Glided Blade, coming July 2026

This trilogy follows Avery, now the proud owner of the entire Hawthorne estate, as she announces a competition to give other ordinary people like her the chance to use their wits to win fame and fortune. Set on a remote island and full of puzzles and games, this series expands the world we know and love.

The standalones

There are three standalones in The Inheritance Games universe. While they don’t exactly need to be read in a particular order, the events described in these books take place at various times throughout the core and spinoff trilogies:

• The Brothers Hawthorne: Takes place between the events of The Final Gambit (book #3 in the core trilogy) and The Grandest Game (book #1 in the spinoff trilogy)
• Games Untold: A collection of short stories that take place across the timeline of the entire series.
• The Same Backward as Forward: A prequel set many years before the events of The Inheritance Games, acting as a sort of fire-starter to the wider story. Although it’s a prequel, it’s recommended that you read the core trilogy first (at least) to avoid any potential spoilers.

Key points revisited: what you need to know

🚨 WARNING: Spoilers ahead! 🚨

Key points from The Inheritance Games

• Avery Grambs, a smart but financially struggling teenager inherits the vast fortune of billionaire Tobias Hawthorne, a man she’s never met.
• The inheritance comes with a catch: Avery must live in the Hawthorne House for one year, alongside the disinherited Hawthorne family, including Tobias’s grandsons Nash, Grayson, Jameson and Xander.
• Avery becomes entangled in a series of riddles and mysteries left behind by Tobias, who seems to have orchestrated the inheritance as part of a massive game.
• Clues suggest Avery may be connected to the Hawthorns in ways she doesn’t understand, perhaps related to her late mother’s past.

Key points from The Hawthorne Legacy

• Avery is still living at Hawthorne House and growing closer to the Hawthorne grandsons, especially Jameson and Grayson, creating a love-triangle dynamic.
• The investigations into why Tobias left her this fortune turn Avery towards her own parentage, where she begins to suspect that Tobias might be her biological father.
• Avery discovers connections between her mother, Tobias Hawthorne, and a man named Harry, a mysterious figure living in the woods close to where she grew up. In a dramatic twist, it’s revealed that ‘Harry’ is the supposedly-dead son of Tobias Hawthorne. His real name is Tobias Hawthorne II (AKA Toby), and he’s been living under a false identity.
• The brothers and Avery learn she is not biologically related to the Hawthornes, but that Tobias Sr chose her as part of a deliberate, emotional game to challenge his family.

Key points from The Final Gambit

• Avery nears the end of her year at Hawthorne House, preparing to inherit Tobias Hawthorne’s fortune when Eve Shane, Toby’s secret daughter, arrives claiming that Toby has been kidnapped.
• The abduction is tied to the Hawthorne Island fire: a tragic blaze twenty years ago which claimed the lives of Toby Hawthorne, and two other young people – though by now, we know that Toby did not in fact parish in the fire. In the present, Toby’s disappearance is also linked to a revenge plot, leading Avery through puzzles and clues that point to Vincent Blake, Tobias Sr’s former mentor and rival.
• Avery discovers that Toby is both a Hawthorne and a Blake. He is the adopted son of Tobias Hawthorne Sr, but the biological son of Liam Blake and Mallory Laughlin.
• Vincent is seeking vengeance for his son Liam’s long-ago death and Tobias’s role in covering it up.
• After Eve’s betrayal and a high-stakes chess showdown with Vincent, Avery wins back freedom for Toby and Grayson, who has also been taken captive by Vincent. A year later, she donates most of her fortune and launches a new game of her own: The Grandest Game.

Key points from The Brothers Hawthorne

• Jameson and Avery travel the world preparing to launch her charitable foundation but are drawn back when Nash announces his engagement to Avery’s sister, Libby. In London, Jameson is recruited by his estranged father to enter a secret society called the Devil’s Mercy and compete in ‘the Game.’
• Grayson travels to Phoenix to help his newly discovered half-sisters, Gigi and Savannah, after Gigi lands in jail in connection to her father’s death. His investigation into their late father, Sheffield Grayson, uncovers evidence of embezzlement, manipulation and family secrets he’s desperate to conceal.
• Jameson and Avery navigate dangerous riddles and betrayals in ‘the Game’ to win back the Hawthorne family estate, Vantage, while Grayson races to expose a corrupt lawyer exploiting his sisters’ mother. Both brothers are forced to face painful truths about their families.
• The story ends with Jameson revealing that Alice Hawthorne (Tobias’s wife) is still alive, and a final epilogue shows Eve plotting revenge, setting up future conflicts as Avery and Jameson prepare to launch the Grandest Game.

Key points from The Grandest Game

• Avery Grambs and the Hawthorne brothers host the first annual ‘Grandest Game’: a high-stakes puzzle competition with seven contestants – four who are entered after finding hidden tickets and three who are personally invited by Avery. The grand prize? $17 million.
• Among the players are Gigi and Savannah Grayson (Grayson Hawthorne’s half-sisters), Rohan (Factotum of the Devil’s Mercy) and new characters Lyra, Odette, Brady and Knox. Each player has secret motives and hidden ties to the Hawthorne Family, the Devil’s Mercy club, and Tobias Hawthorne’s legacy.
• As the players face puzzles, alliances and betrayals on Hawthorne Island, secrets surface – the mysterious death of Lyra’s father, Odette’s past romance with Tobias, and hints that Alice Hawthorne (supposedly dead but known-to-few as being alive) may still be involved.
• The game turns deadly: Gigi uncovers surveillance equipment and suspects sabotage, Rohan and Savannah’s relationship deepens amid lies, and Eve (Toby’s secret daughter who was previously in cahoots with Blake) reemerges in the shadows, knocking Gigi unconscious as the story ends on a cliffhanger.

Key points from Games Untold (short story collection)

• That Night in Prague: Avery reunites with Jameson in Prague for a romantic puzzle adventure. Jameson proposes to Avery, giving her an infinity ring, but then mysteriously disappears and returns covered in blood, leaving Avery unsure what he’s hiding.
• The Same Backward as Forward: Hannah Rooney saves an amnesiac Toby Hawthorne after the deadly fire on Hawthorne Island. They fall in love before Toby’s memories return, forcing him to leave her. Hannah later has a daughter, Avery Kylie Grambs, who she sees as Toby’s ‘almost’ daughter.
• This narrative is further explored in The Same Backward as Forward, which tells this love story from both Hannah and Toby’s perspectives in a two-sided book.
• The Cowboy and the Goth: Told from Libby Grambs’ perspective, this story follows her relationship with Nash Hawthorne, tracing their unlikely love from first meeting to Libby discovering she’s pregnant. They decide to name their baby Hannah, after Libby and Avery’s late mother.
• Five Times Xander Tackled Someone (& One Time He Didn’t): Xander Hawthorne’s chaotic, heartfelt personality shines through in a series of stories of him literally tackling people he loves as playful acts of protection and affection, culminating in a moment when his crush Max tackles him instead.
• One Hawthorne Night: The Hawthorne brothers organise an atonement night to make Grayson pay for letting Xander down. Forced through a series of humiliating challenges – from makeovers to karaoke – Grayson endures it all, strengthening the brothers’ bond.
• &3CR3T $@NT@: Avery and the Hawthornes play a chaotic month-long Secret Santa game at Hawthorne House that mixes strategy, sabotage and sentimentality. Avery wins the game with a heartfelt engraved gift for Grayson, proving that thoughtfulness can triumph over trickery.
• What Happens in the Tree House: The four Hawthorne brothers travel to London for Nash’s bachelor party, spending the night on wild adventures, from ice climbing to clubbing, before the night ends in their old tree house, reaffirming that their brotherhood will never change.
• Pain at the Right Gun: Jameson finds himself trapped in a dreamlike confrontation with Alice Hawthorne, his dangerous grandmother. After surviving her attempt to poison him, he chooses love and life with Avery and his brothers, symbolically closing a dark chapter of the Hawthorne family’s legacy.

Key points from Glorious Rivals

• Set moments after the conclusion of The Grandest Game, Avery and the Hawthorne brothers bring the remaining competitors in their high-stakes puzzle game aboard a luxury yacht for the next stage of the game. Returning players include Lyra, Rohan, Savannah, Brady and Grayson. Gigi Grayson has been kidnapped by Eve and is still on the Island.
• Lyra joins forces – and grows romantically close – with Grayson, as they work together to complete the game. Whilst doing so, they uncover clues linking her late father’s mysterious death to the Hawthorne family. Evidence suggests Alice Hawthorne, Tobias’ supposedly-dead wife, may have been involved.
• Rohan and Savannah form their own alliance as they navigate traps, coded messages and rivalries. The Game’s challenges reveal manipulation by outside forces, including the lingering influence of Eve, who secretly orchestrated parts of the competition and still seeks revenge on Avery in order to prove herself to Vincent.
• In the final act, Toby Hawthorne reappears, forcing the family to confront buried truths about the Hawthorne bloodline, Tobias’ past games, and Alice’s survival. The story ends on a dramatic cliffhanger, with Gigi, Slate and Eve being captured by a mysterious woman (or three) in red who are all out for revenge, and Avery kidnapped. She wakes disorientated in the middle of a maze-like prison, setting the scene for the final phase of the Game.