Book Review: The Gilded Blade

It’s the end of an era. I just finished reading The Gilded Blade – the last book in the Hawthornes universe by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. I first read The Inheritance Games a few years ago and quickly fell in love with Avery Grambs and all the Hawthorne brothers (and subsequently the other characters that got introduced in The Grandest Game series. I can’t believe it’s all over and I’m hoping that one day Jennifer Lynn Barnes will revisit these beloved characters!

Anyway, I finished The Gilded Blade yesterday and really enjoyed it. I loved being reunited with the characters and having a lot of the mysteries and puzzles solved and come full circle.

Some spoilers to the series below.

Without giving too much away, this novel takes place right after the ending of Glorious Rivals. At the end of Glorious Rivals, The Grandest Game has ended and while all celebrating on a luxury yacht, Avery goes missing. It has also been revealed that Alice Hawthorne, the boys’ grandmother, is actually alive. If you’ve read the whole series this was already known to the readers as Jameson was abducted and met with his grandmother during one of the novellas in Games Untold.

Jameson and all the Hawthornes and their closest friends search for Avery, solving puzzle after puzzle to find where she is. The more puzzles the solve, the quicker the realize Alice and a centuries old secret group are behind not only Avery’s disappearance, but everything in their lives and the threads that tie them all together.

There was so much going on in the novel that tied up mysteries and loose ends and kept me on the edge of my seat for most of the book. At the same time, it was so much that at times it was hard to follow everything. So much information! So much lore!

I loved the blossoming love stories between Grayson & Lyra, Gigi & Slate, and Savannah & Rohan. Even the hints of Alisa and Knox was cute. I loved seeing Max again and knowing her and Xander are still cute nerds in love. And how protective and in love Nash is with Libby and their soon-to-be twin girls. Toby is one of my favorite characters and his arc in this book made me cry. I love Jameson and Avery and wish we got to see more of them together, which is one of my main gripes!

I know this is the end of the series, but there are so many things left open that could let Jennifer Lynn Barnes write another book in the future and I really hope she does!

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