Bingo Square: Guide (might be stretching this one a bit but she’s being guided to the truth through puzzles?)
17 year old Avery Grambs is a bright student who keeps to herself. Living with her half-sister since her mother died, she’s working hard at school and her job to better her life. But when her sister’s awful boyfriend moves in, Avery moves out, and into her car. Life isn’t going great, until Grayson Hawthorne shows up at her school. She’s been summoned to the reading of a will for a billionaire she’s never heard of, and it can’t be read until she’s present. So off she goes to Texas, where she learns she’s the sole heir to the Hawthorne fortune. The catch? She has to live in the family mansion for a year, with the family that was just disinherited. Some of whom think she’s a gold digging hustler. Can Avery figure out how she fits into Tobias Hawthorne’s final game?
I really enjoyed the beginning of this book. It’s very Knives Out, a film I love. And who doesn’t love the idea of being told you’ve inherited billions out of the blue? The idea of puzzles and games also really appealed (blame Candleshoe) but after the set up the rest didn’t really deliver. Don’t get me wrong, this is an enjoyable, fast paced read with strong writing, but the puzzle aspect isn’t really there. First off, Avery’s name screams ‘I am an anagram’ so that annoyed me. Then there’s a few ‘riddles’ that need to be solved that aren’t particularly head scratching. But that aside, the middle becomes bogged down with almost too much stuff, as if to distract from the lacking game. There’s Avery’s sister’s awful ex showing up, a mysterious death in the Hawthorne boys’s past, meddling relatives, a gala?, a makeover, a missing/dead uncle… which is probably all set up to continue the series but it’s at the detriment to this book I think.
There’s also times where Avery is kind of dumb/annoying. She’s been attacked, but believes she’s safe in the house because of security, even though she’s well aware there are secret passages all over the house, some which lead to her room. She could probably guess that there are ones not known about? Maybe be a little less trusting there? And of course there’s a love triangle aspect that just bogged it down for me, especially given the two boys in question had already been there done that with another girl who met a bad end. It wasn’t necessary for me.
Loved the premise of this, wish the execution held up. Having said that, I will read the rest, if only to understand what the hell is happening. Hopefully.