A sequel better than the original?


After reading The Inheritance Games I wouldn’t say I was disappointed, but it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. It was a basic teenage novel, nothing special. It wasn’t anything special, but good enough that a week later, I picked up the next book in the series. The Hawthorne Legacy changed my whole perspective of the series. Usually, especially in a three-book series, the second book is the worst. You have the hook, the first book, the finale, the third book, and the buildup nothing much, book two. My problem with the first book was the plot. Simplistic, predictable, nothing special, especially given the expected twists and turns with the plot base of a multibillion dollar will spinning out of control. But the second book? It took a puzzle game some old man left for his grandchildren into a multi decade mystery. A long though dead uncle… alive? A hidden Hawthorne child? Attempted murder, by who? Reading the last 50 pages, my mind was blown. It went from a reading because I have to read something on Monday, to a keep you up all nighter. It ties right into the first book too. The Inheritance Games, initially seeming mundane, was just this huge setup for the second book. All of those weak plot twists went off in crazy directions in the second book. In a three-book series, that is a very odd phenomenon. But it works. If you are reading the series, read the first book and think “ehh it’s ok”, I promise it is worth it to read the second. 

The Hawthorne Legacy starts off with Avery Grambs trying to juggle life as a 17-year-old multimillionaire and the crooked mystery left by the deceased grandfather. Nonexistent father of 17 years showing back up, trying to get a piece of your heritage? Homeless man at the park, maybe actually the son of the multi-millionaire who mysteriously left you billions of dollars? Taken hostage? Blown up by a bomb? Betrayal? All part of daily life. And that was just the second book. Can’t wait to see what The Final Gambit has to bring.

 - Eve Anderson 

Comments

  1. Jonathan ChenOctober 27, 2022 at 11:05 AM

    Hi Eve,
    I agree that typically in trilogies that the second book is all about building up to the finale. It's great to know that there finally is a book series where they made the sequel even more interesting than the hook, or that means the first book wasn't written engagingly enough. Thanks for your thoughts on The Hawthorne Legacy.

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  2. SriOctober 27, 2022 at 11:37 AM

    Nice review Eve. I haven't read or even heard of this series before, so it was a little confusing when you were talking about certain parts because I didn't understand the context, but that's on me. In the end, I was intrigued in reading this book series because I have never heard of a sequel that his better than the original.

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  3. CaliNovember 1, 2022 at 3:12 PM

    Hi Eve, I agree with you so much on this! I read the first book as soon as it was released, but I have yet to read the last book. I really enjoyed the second book as well, since it had a little more plot than the first one, and I liked the characters more. I liked hearing about another perspective on this series, great work!

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  4. eldagNovember 9, 2022 at 9:23 AM

    I've also read the first two books of this trilogy. I also really enjoyed the second book up to the point where I couldn't put it down. I'm glad you didn't give up on this series.

    ReplyDelete
  5. SahnanNovember 14, 2022 at 11:37 AM

    This is very interesting, because in most books I read, the sequel feels forced just because the original did well, and the sequel is never as good as the original. I have read and really liked other mystery books like this. I really liked the way you described the two books to compare and contrast them.

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