“That’s my girl!” Xander bellowed. “Woman,” Max corrected. “That’s my woman! In a completely not possessive and absolutely unpatriarchal kind of way!”
― Jennifer Lynn Barnes, The Final Gambit
The Final Gambit picks up immediately after the final reveals of book two, The Hawthorne Legacy. Toby vanished in the wake of Avery’s rescue from Sheffield Grayson and left Avery with a new mystery: what is the meaning of the treasure he left for her mother, Hannah, and why did he steal it back from Avery after she recovered it from its hiding place?
Since the reveal of Emily’s death and how it affected Grayson and Jameson, Avery has grown closer with Jameson while Grayson has kept everyone at a distance. Although Avery is in love with Jameson, she regrets how Grayson has pulled away from her and from his brothers. Max, Xander, Libby, and Nash are on site to support her as she draws closer to the anniversary of her mandatory inheritance period of one year’s residence at Hawthorne house. Anything could go wrong and prevent her from claiming the fortune, so she must tread carefully. Unfortunately, trouble comes for her and her family in a the form of a decades-old grudge and a plan to destroy Tobias Hawthorne’s family and fortune.
Last year, I read books one and two in quick succession but it was not recent enough to remember what was going on at the start of this book. Book two had so many hidden affairs and secret heirs that I had to go back and read the last few chapters of it just to know what was going on in book three.
This book is a page turner, but it relies on the same tricks as the first two. If there is any opportunity to introduce a secret baby or a DNA test, it does. The books need an updated family tree in each installment as I could not keep track of who impregnated which older, Hawthorne relation over the years. As it turns out, the majority of the story is NOT about teenagers solving puzzles. It is about generational trauma, abuse, and repression. I’m not saying that these books are too heavy. They are a soap opera, which is fine. It’s just predictable and less thrilling when every new clue leads to an affair, a banishment, or a secret baby. The love triangle could be interesting, but everyone is so noble that it makes it too dull for me to truly care about whether or not Avery loves Jameson or Grayson more. Xander is irritating but provides the levity that keeps the action moving. Nash is awful. He’s useless. He’s less than useless. He’s appalling. He is a phony, cosplaying cowboy with a savior complex. He spouts patriarchal word garbage at Avery and Alisa, and patronizes every woman in his orbit other than his grandmother. He can fall into a bottomless pit for all I care. I do not know why he exists in the story other than an attempt to create some tension for Avery’s attorney Alisa, and to be the love interest for Avery’s personality-free sister Libby. Nash is a cowboy. Libby is a goth baker. They are dating. So wild. So crazy.
The thing I appreciate about these books is that Avery is well-intentioned but flawed. Sure, she is the chosen one, but she is not perfect. She is impulsive and careless and knows she gets away with her actions because of her newly-obtained and unearned wealth. She tries to do better, to learn more, and to be humble when she needs to do so. In summary, it is easier to root for her than to pick apart her reasoning for each impulsive move.
There is a ten-week wait on Libby for book four, so I ordered the paperback today. Help me.
