#grandest game

[xo-zozo]

screw the grandest game honestly i want games untold

[berryz-writes]

Hawthorne Headcanons -If they had a younger sister

They are obviously going to be so so so protective, especially Grayson and Nash

Xander would most definitely get up to the most mischief with you because of the smaller age gap

Jameson would come to your room before your about to sleep and ask if you want to go racing or literally just ask about your day and add in his unwanted advice (you do love it though)

If it's just you 5 having dinner you get to sit at the head of the table

Jameson loves pinching your cheeks to annoy you

After asking Grayson for weeks to go shopping with you because he has the best taste he finally agrees (his walk in wardrobe is something else)

the amount of times you've hidden Nash's hats is insane- he says he hates it but in fact he loves finding them in random places in the house

All the brothers used to purposely loose when you were younger so you could win at board games

Xander would interrogate any guy you were talking to and Grayson would run all the background information even if they're just a study partner

Once when you were younger you said you wanted a sister so Xander volunteered himself for you to put makeup on him (he is now a professional and even does your eyeliner sometimes)

Grayson actually watched a tutorial on how to do a fish braid and was extremely proud when he did it on you (it took him like an hour)

Anytime someone asks the brothers who their favourite is they say your name

You wouldn't say you had a favourite but you loved spending time with Grayson because he was a good listener and actually quite funny and sarcastic when he wanted to be

Nash will always treat you like you haven't grown up yet, will ask if you've done your homework and if you need help to revise for your exams

Nash will mention you as his "baby sister" which annoys you to no end

Jameson whenever he does anything will ask if you want to join in. Going on a late night drive in a race car? Climbing a roof for the fun of it? Doing things that are probably illegal for you age? Your always invited just as long as your safe and listen to him

Thea is like an older sister to you and is always bringing you with her to get your nails done together and literally just spend time with each other

Once Avery joins the house you don't like her at first, you and Gray being equally suspicious about her

Eventually you warmed up to her and now you stay up till 4 in the morning whispering about who knows what

LAST ONE: You are always chosen to put the star on top of the tree ("Why don't one of you do it this year?"  Literally all 4 of them start arguing with you that they're going to burn the tree down if you don't do it) You of course don't want the tree burnt down so you place the star on top with Xander, Jamie and Nash holding on to the ladder and Grayson taking a picture. (and a selfie because we don't want him missing out)

[thetypedwriter]

The Grandest Game Book Review

The Grandest Game Book Review by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

I feel like I’m writing about Jennifer Lynn Barnes constantly. 

Thankfully, this is not a case of diminishing returns. 

In fact, this might be Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ best novel yet, which is astounding to me. 

The Grandest Game is now the…fifth book in the Inheritance Games series which is insane, but it’s also the first installment in a spinoff series.

So related but not a direct sequel, although you would be lacking in a significant amount of understanding if you had not read the first four books of the Inheritance Games.

At this point, Jennifer Lynn Barnes is becoming the new Cassandra Clare.

But back to The Grandest Game, one of the key differences is instead of focusing on Avery and the Hawthorne brothers, this novel focuses on other players that have either been invited to play or won themselves a nomination. 

The Grandest Game itself is not that noteworthy, but the plot essentially boils down to this: Avery has set up a competition game where the prize money is $26 million.

Most of the game includes the players getting involuntarily put into teams and trying to solve a series of riddles and puzzles while attempting escape-room antics. 

Avery and the Hawthrone brothers are in the novel, but they’re in the periphery and largely unimportant other than the history they have with the players and the fact that they have masterminded the game. 

However, I can not emphasize enough how much better the book is by not focusing on them. Avery was never much more than a Mary-Sue from the get go and the Hawthorne brothers were all largely one-dimensional cliches.

The side characters who take center stage in this novel are a huge improvement, personality and interest wise. 

Rohan we know from the last book, The Brother Hawthorne, and his POV is fascinating. I’ve always had a soft spot for characters who are selfish and conniving, two characteristics Rohan has in droves. 

However, he also has a good motivation for playing the Grandest Game—getting money to take over the Devil’s Mercy, a secret club that he’s been a part of since he was a child. His penchant for winning always makes his POV fun to read. 

His relationship with Savannah, while predictable, was also really charming. I love relationships that are fierce and fiery, have cat-and-mouse banter, and are between two very stubborn people who don’t want to admit defeat. Every chapter with them working as a team was titillating. 

The POV I enjoyed the most was Gigi’s. Her fun, bubbly personality and bright way of connecting with people and seeing the world was fresh, fun, and authentic.

Her interactions with Knox and Brady were hilarious, but also strangely deep and intriguing, as they were both new characters with a sordid and complicated past with each other. 

Gigi’s intellect shone through while others constantly underestimated her, a plot point that never got old. Gigi trying to piece together what happened with Knox and Brady, while at the same time learning she’s bugged and trying to untangle the larger mystery of who’s on the island, was the most riveting part of the story for me. 

The last POV was for a character named Lyra Kane. Essentially, she’s Avery 2.0. I disliked her POV the most, especially as her motivation to win–saving her childhood home—while nice, was boring.

She also had the hackneyed story arc of being attracted to Grayson Hawthorne while incessantly telling herself to stay away from him (without success). 

The most interesting part of this POV was Grayson’s and Lyra’s interaction with their third teammate, Odette, an older woman who was once involved with Tobias Hawthorne.

I liked Odette’s backstory and the diversity of having an older character, but she was too cryptic throughout the whole novel and then decided to give up her spot at the end, a choice that riddled me with frustration and made her character dip in the favorite department. 

That being said, these three POV’s were still a huge improvement from the banality of Avery’s mind and the vapid love triangle she found herself in of the previous books. 

Instead, we have two interesting perspectives (plus Lyra) to carry this new spinoff series forward, a journey I am wholeheartedly ready to embark on.

Plus, all the riddles are a lot of fun to try and piece together as a reader. It may not be the most complicated of plots, but it’s entertaining and the characters propel it forward with their intersecting relationships and personal motivations. 

Recommendation: The best Jennifer Lynn Barnes novel yet. Read it and try to solve as many of the puzzles as you can (I got two of them!).

Score: 8/10

[thanks--for--listening]

Savannah Grayson they could never make me hate you

[rosemelodyshah]

Dear Rosie

From your comrades Remsha, Jazya and Queenie;

There are MANY you COULD be, but currently the top bit is Savannah Grayson (and yes we have a whole system and we've had this in mind for a WHILE now) from JLB's inheritance games series and the subsequent sequel grandest games series

If you want we'll send you more.

Also, @lostwriter--xx3 gonna give you one and it isn't allowed to be James bc we alr know U ARE JAMES. Also she can't say Hermione or Luna OR SIRIUS or Bellatrix. She gotsa think outside the box of Harry Potter. Also ink house don't count

This ofc is the post about book characters describing u ask thingy

Hello!!!!!!!

If one of the other options, okay uknow what i know you want tell me so ill torture it out of u someother way. But yes me and gigi got similarities here and ther (and then alot of here again) and I love her!

Also regarding inkypad, why don't we say that she can give HP characters and non-HP one bc im not FORCING her to choose someone else if she doesnt want to? @lostwriter--xx3 tell me!!!!! hp and non-hp ones (PLESH) bc they j want to here the non hp ones and tbh i want to know asw

ALSO FOR THOSE WONDERING, MY COMRADESS ENT ME A MSSG THEY MEANT GIGI BUT ACCIDENTLY WROTE SAVANNAH. BUT... I DO HAVE SIMILARITIES WITH SAVANNAH SO STILL WRITE (WOULD NEVER DO THAT TO MY HAIR THO SAV I DONT GET U WHY???)

[lyra-kane]

Did you ever have a shut up moment with your favorite fictional men. Like I love them, but at that moment, I was like AHHHH

"It was purely physical" SHUT UP AARON

"If it's about money" SHUT UP GRAYSON

"Why do you keep calling me Scarlet?" " Isn't that your name?" SHUT UP JULIAN

"I wanna to return to the moment I meet dontella" SHUT UP JACKS

Reblog if I forgot anyone!

[inmyheaddd]

coffee sweetener — grayson hawthorne x reader

a/n: the way i have like 6 other fics i'm working on, this was so cute though I had to write it asap!! thank u sm for the req! wc: 1.8k summary: one of your regulars at your café, grayson— who happens to be insanely handsome, comes in today like usual. but strangely enough, things go a tad further than the surface level small talk you usually have.

a familiar suit clad blonde walked in the near empty cafe you worked in. there was a soft hum of some chatter, but not much, as the early morning sun filtered through the large windows.

some people glanced up from their tables for a second, and some people glanced up at him for a lot more than a small second. could you blame them? no, not really. 

his eyes immediately found yours as he walked up to the cash register which you stood behind, and you found yourself averting your gaze involuntarily. 7:14 AM the time read. there was only one thing that made the early morning shift worth it, and it seemed to be standing right infront of you now. 

today his suit was gray, you noticed. it made his eyes stand out so much more, you nearly stumbled over your words. “you again,” you said, narrowing your eyes jokingly and biting back a smile.

he smiled the tiniest smile, shrugging as if to say ‘what can i say’ before pretending to look up at the menu to order.

“what would you recommend today?” he spoke smoothly, a stark contrast to some of the other people that would come in and simply shout at you.

“why does that matter?” you teased, tilting your head to the side before you looked down at the cash register for a moment and realised you’d already started putting in his usual order. “you get the same thing every time.” 

“'there seem to be no specials, but I'm in the mood for a change.'' he said, his grey eyes doing a once over on you. god, how you wish you weren’t wearing that horrible work apron right now. ''I can be a man full of surprises.”

you let out a small chuckle, “i find that hard to believe.”

everything about him screamed precise and orderly. that was partly what intrigued you so much when you first met him. the fact that he was incredibly gorgeous wasn’t so bad either. 

you expected him to get a black coffee, maybe a croissant if he was feeling extra adventurous that day, but no a large americano and a muffin. he would also get a blueberry scone or two some days, but always get it to go, and never eat it himself.

you almost wondered if he was ordering for someone else, maybe a girlfriend. but again, no. he sat alone with just his work laptop, having his americano and muffin. 

“is that so?” he countered, a slight raise of one of his brows and an amused smile playing on his lips. 

you’d be lying if you said you weren’t smiling yourself. “very much so.” 

you were thankful there weren’t any customers in line behind him that would yell at you for taking too long. but even if there was a rude customer, you doubted they yell.

grayson had one of those sort of intimidating presences that made you think he was born to be a ceo or something. now that he’d been a regular for a couple months, that intimidation mostly wore off on you. you just thought he was a pretty cute guy with an obsession for suits. 

“i suppose i’ll have to prove you wrong then,” he said that in a way that made you think he proves people wrong very often. he adjusted one of his suits lapels, inadvertently drawing your eyes to his arms. “so i ask again, what do you recommend?” 

tearing your eyes away from his arms and back to his face, you asked, “you’re really going with this? okay, fine.” you raised your eyebrows like he had challenged you, but you still couldn’t wipe that stupid smile off your face. 

you rested your hands on the counter, “uhm,” you thought, humming slightly, “well, i usually get a refresher— like the strawberry or dragon fruit ones, or i get a hot chocolate.” you said, then a thought sparked in your mind. “oh! and a chocolate chip cookie. and a cake pop.” 

you bit back a grin— you did not get cake pops or chocolate chip cookies regularly, but the image of grayson with a cake pop or cookie made you want to laugh for some reason. 

“alright then,” he said, ''may i get a medium strawberry refresher, and a,'' he paused, saying the words like they almost pained him, ''two... two chocolate chip cookies, please.''

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

grayson left with his drink and cookie, sitting down at a table a bit further in the back, but he was still conveniently in your eyeline. he opened his briefcase, which you hadn't even realised he was holding. it seemed so natural for him to hold, you hadn't looked twice. you caught yourself looking at him frequently, and sometimes he would glance up from his laptop and lock eyes with you for a moment.

he came up to the counter a few minutes later, his drink finished and thrown away, and a cookie and a half left, adjusting his suit jacket with one hand, briefcase in the other. you fake sighed in annoyance as if his very presence was pestering you-- quite the contrary, really.

he only smiled in response.

''well?'' you said, wiping imaginary dust off of your apron, ''how was it? you sticking to the muffins?''

''I have to say, the refresher wasn't horrible. it was quite nice, actually.'' he said, and you gave him a teasing look that was like, 'told you so!' before he continued. ''however, the cookies were far too sweet. i’m sorry, you seem to have terrible culinary taste.''

you fake scoffed, painting the picture of being truly offended. ''okay, can i tell you a secret?'' you leaned forward, and he entertained you by doing the same, motioning for you to continue. ''yes, you're right. these cookies are absolutely horrible, i agree. but i make much better ones.''

amusement flashed across his eyes, like he guessed you had picked out the not-so-good snacks for him on purpose. “really?” he prompted, a dimple flashing in one of his cheeks as he smiled.

“yes,” you swore seriously with a smile that contrasted that no-nonsense tone, “really.” 

“i’d like to be the judge of that.” he said, his voice low and teasing and- god, you could listen to it forever.

“trust me, i’m not lying. i’ll bring some to work tomorrow, just remind me to actually bake them. i have such bad memory.” 

“and how exactly would i be able to remind you?” he tilted his head to one side slightly, a teasing glint in his eye like he could see where you were getting at, and was entertaining it. 

your heart was beating crazy fast, but it was time to finally make a move on this guy. the cash register flirting was simply not enough anymore. you hoped he felt whatever chemistry you were feeling too-- and that you weren't misreading things. then again, you almost failed the subject, so it wouldn't be surprising if you were still getting it wrong.

“why don’t i give you my number," you started, feeling your hands get clammy, ''and you could text me after my shift?” 

his dimples flashed a second time, his eyes doing another once over on you. okay, surely you couldn't misread that one.

you felt your cheeks get hot as he spoke once again, his voice so smooth and low that it fit perfectly with the serenity of the morning and café. “i think i’d like that very much, and that i'll be looking forward to tomorrow.” 

biting back a smile and ignoring the way your stomach erupted with seemingly a million butterflies , you somehow managed to say, “alright, then. i think i'd like it too.''

you wrote down your number on his receipt, ignoring the way your hands trembled with excitement and nervousness, drawing a little smiley face next to it.

holy shit, you were never like this. your heart raced as you watched his eyes find the bottom of the receipt and give you a tiny smile. you watched him sit down an his work laptop, then pull out his phone, type something in, and put it back in his suit's pocket.

ugh, you would break every rule and look at your phone right now, except you were on your last strike for using your phone in the middle of shifts, and you did not want to get fired from this little coffee shop for the sole reason of seeing that one blonde man every morning and having your usual banter. 

''wait,'' you called out, ''what are you going to do with the rest of the cookies? you said, ''don't tell me you'll throw those absolute delicacies away.'' you added jokingly, and grayson simply shook his head, looking down with a slight laugh with a single blonde strand of hair falling into his face.

''I'm keeping them for my younger brother,'' he replied, a fondness in his voice, ''he's quite something, with his extreme love for baked goods.''

you hummed in thought, suddenly realising this was the first time you'd heard about him having brothers. this was really the first conversation about anything that didn't involve small talk and café related things, and you found yourself wondering what it would be like to continue learning more about him. getting to know eachother.

''I think those atrocious cookies will change that love he has,'' you mumbled under your breath without thinking as you shook your head.

you heard grayson chuckle, ''what was that?'' he teased.

''god, i'm gonna get myself fired. forget i said anything.'' you groaned as you covered your face with your hands, already feeling your cheeks heat up again.

''that would prove very difficult,'' he replied smoothly as you put your hands back down. ''I find it near impossible to forget anything you say to me.''

if you thought your cheeks were heated a few seconds ago, they were blazing now. you averted your gaze for a quick second, but his gaze didn't leave yours.

chuckling slightly, you managed to speak without stumbling. "should i start worrying about all my bad jokes being permanently filed away?"

"bad jokes?" he quipped, "i've yet to hear one from you.'' he did not let up on his charm for a single moment, a laugh escaping your lips before he resumed. ''but if you insist, i’ll let you know when you make your first."

'''I'll see you tomorrow, then?''

you nodded, muttering a small 'bye' as you watched grayson step out of the café, the sound of the door chiming behind him.

the anticipation was unbearable, and despite knowing you were on thin ice with your manager, your hand inched toward your phone on the counter.

a quick glance over your shoulder confirmed no one was watching. you unlocked your phone, heart racing as you checked your notifications.

there it was—a new text, well, one from about 10 minutes ago.

Unknown Number:

Already counting down to tomorrow. 🙃 Don’t forget those cookies you talk of, I'm holding you to it.

you couldn’t help the smile tugging at your lips as you quickly saved the number, your hands trembling slightly. you almost let out a snort as his emoji choice before typing, glancing again to make sure the coast was clear.

you

i definitely won’t be forgetting now that you've texted I just may be looking forward to tomorrow too 🫣

you were thankful the place was practically empty, because surely you looked like a crazy person, smiling to yourself. you set the phone back down, trying to suppress the giddy warmth spreading through you. the day suddenly didn’t feel quite so long anymore.

taglist: @x-liv25-jamieswife @wish-i-were-heather @thecircularlibrary @whatsamongus @littlemissmentallyunstable @anintellectualintellectual @lovethornes @maybxlle @sheisntyou @emelia07 @midiosaamor @sweetreveriee @charsoamerican @hxress23 @imaseabear @clarissaweasley-10��@off-to-the-r4ces @thelov3lybookworm @graysw1fe @lanterns-and-daydreams @hermesenthusiast @elysianwayy77 @that-daughter-of-hephaestus @apollosmusee @hijabi-desi-bookworm @goldi-1-graysons-version @saigonharrington @peppapigsposts @thoughtdaughter3 

[herondalesbooklover]

Some of you all expected my boy gray to move slowly like he hasn't done that for years. Dude he has been bitchless for like 5 years straight, how much slowly you want him to move??

[astraeajackson]

he's drunk, shirtless, and about to fall off a wall!

avery: where?!

his yodeling skills are unmatched and he eats way too many scones!

max: where?!

he has a tragic romantic past with your sister's lawyer and the amount of cowboy hats he owns is slightly concerning!

libby: WHERE?!

[swiftreader1989]

this was grayson as a smol bean. you can't tell me otherwise😭

[downrightbooks]

I sometimes forget how close Grayson and Jameson were before Emily.

Like they literally made each other promises, and Jameson even handed Grayson the camera that had all his successful and non-successful attempts of his challenge their grandfather gave him. He literally shared with Grayson all of his failures when building the card castle. Jameson actually let him see his mistakes and did not try and cover them up, he was open and honest.

And, when Jameson said that all they have to do is choose a talent to cultivate he was thinking that they both would do the same thing. That’s why when Grayson said that they don’t have to choose the same thing as each other Jameson got a little upset and chose something else.

I also looked up what was the meaning of the gesture that Grayson did when he drew a line down his face with his thumb and…

😭 They literally were sooo close and all because of Emily they lost their bond.

I HATE EMILY SOO MUCH SHE RUINED THEIR RELATIONSHIP

[lanterns-and-daydreams]

Reporter, to Libby: So, how does it feel to be marrying someone so out of your league?

Libby: Well-

Nash, cutting her off: Feels amazin', darlin', thanks

[awordlybeing]

THE BROTHERS HAWTHORNE | Ch 29

NAW BC THIS WAS TOO FUNNY I HAD TO PHYSICALLY STOP MYSELF FROM BUSTING A LUNG ☠️

THEY JS KEPT ON GOING ON TOO ?? 😭

[lovethornes]

the hawthorne brothers wouldnt last an hour in the asylum where they raised avery

[reyreadersblog]

No cus i'll never forgive JLB not giving us the Hawthorne house map.

[inmyheaddd]

i hate it here so i will go to secret gardens in my mind (reading)