The Inheritance Games Books in Order

The Recommended Reading Order

If you want to experience the puzzles, family drama, and romance of The Inheritance Games universe without spoiling the massive twists, the absolute best way to read the series is in publication order. Because the books feature a tightly woven narrative where clues from one book directly solve mysteries in the next, reading them out of sequence will ruin the experience.

Here is the recommended reading order for the entire saga:

1. The Inheritance Games (2020) — The book that starts it all. Avery Grambs inherits billions from a stranger and must move into the puzzle-filled Hawthorne House.
2. The Hawthorne Legacy (2021) — Directly picks up after the first book's cliffhanger, diving deeper into Avery's past and the Hawthorne family secrets.
3. The Final Gambit (2022) — The high-stakes conclusion to the original trilogy, where Avery must survive the final weeks before inheriting her fortune.
4. The Brothers Hawthorne (2023) — A companion novel that shifts the focus to Grayson and Jameson Hawthorne as they embark on separate high-stakes quests in London and Europe.
5. Games Untold (2024) — A collection of short stories and novellas that bridge the gap between the main series and the spin-offs.
6. The Grandest Game (2024) — The first book in a spin-off trilogy, shifting focus to a global competition on Hawthorne Island.
7. Glorious Rivals (2025) — The second book in The Grandest Game trilogy, escalating the competitive stakes for the seven players on the island.
8. The Same Backward as Forward (2025) — A prequel novel focusing on Toby Hawthorne and Hannah Rooney, set 20 years before the events of the first book.
9. The Gilded Blade (Scheduled for July 2026) — The final book of The Grandest Game trilogy and the overarching conclusion to the entire Inheritance Games saga.

Understanding the Series Structure and Spin-Offs

To help navigate this sprawling mystery universe, it helps to understand how the books are grouped and how the narrative shifts over time.

The Core Avery Grambs Trilogy

The first three books (The Inheritance Games, The Hawthorne Legacy, and The Final Gambit) form a complete story arc. They center entirely on Avery Grambs, an ordinary high school student who suddenly inherits a multi-billion-dollar fortune from the eccentric billionaire Tobias Hawthorne. To claim the money, she must survive living in Hawthorne House alongside the family he just disinherited, including his four brilliant, magnetic grandsons: Nash, Grayson, Jameson, and Xander. This trilogy is packed with puzzles, secret passages, and romantic tension, and it reaches a definitive resolution regarding Avery’s inheritance.

The Bridging Books and Novellas

After the main trilogy concluded, Jennifer Lynn Barnes expanded the world with books that shift focus to the Hawthorne brothers. The Brothers Hawthorne is a split-perspective novel following Grayson as he deals with family issues in London, and Jameson as he infiltrates an exclusive, underground gambling club in London to win a game for his father. It provides vital character development that sets up the next phase of the series.

Following this is Games Untold, a compilation of short stories and novellas. This collection includes fan-favorite stories like That Night in Prague (detailing Avery and Jameson’s romantic travels), One Hawthorne Night (focusing on Grayson), What Happens in the Treehouse (a bachelor trip adventure), and $3CR3T $@NT@ (a Hawthorne-style holiday game of assassin). It is highly recommended to read this collection before moving on to the spin-off trilogy, as it offers crucial emotional context for the characters.

The Grandest Game Trilogy

With The Grandest Game, the series enters a new era. This spin-off trilogy introduces a global competition designed by the Hawthorne brothers, where players compete for a life-changing amount of power and wealth on Hawthorne Island. It features a mix of returning characters and new competitors, each harboring dark secrets. The story continues in Glorious Rivals and concludes in the upcoming 2026 release, The Gilded Blade.

Publication Order vs. Chronological Order

Because the series includes a prequel, The Same Backward as Forward, which takes place 20 years before the first book, some readers wonder if they should read the series chronologically. We strongly advise against this.

The Same Backward as Forward tells the backstory of Toby Hawthorne (Tobias Hawthorne II) and Hannah Rooney, detailing a tragic fire and the secrets that define the Hawthorne family legacy. Because the mystery of Toby's identity, his past, and his relationship with the family are central driving plots of the original trilogy, reading the prequel first will completely spoil the main mystery of the first three books. Additionally, the events in the prequel have thematic and narrative connections to the events of Glorious Rivals, making it much more satisfying to read in its publication slot.

Furthermore, The Same Backward as Forward features a unique physical reading gimmick. It has a dual-narrative format: readers read one side of the book to get Hannah's perspective (which is an expanded version of a novella in Games Untold), and then flip the physical book over to read Toby's perspective from the other side. This interactive design is best appreciated once you are already deeply familiar with the characters and the lore of the universe.

Practical Reader Advice

Here are a few quick tips to help you get the most out of your time at Hawthorne House:

• Can the books be read as standalones? No. The series is highly serialized. Attempting to read any of the books out of order will leave you confused by the complex web of family relationships and ongoing plotlines.
• Where is the best place to start? You should start with the very first book, The Inheritance Games. Do not skip to The Brothers Hawthorne or The Grandest Game, as they assume you already know the characters' history and the resolutions of the original trilogy.
• What is the tone of the series? Think of it as Knives Out meets Gossip Girl. It combines high-society glamour, wealth, and family rivalry with brilliant, fast-paced puzzles and riddles that the characters (and readers) must solve.
• Is there a TV adaptation? Yes, an Amazon TV series adaptation is currently in development, produced by Sony Pictures Television and Josh Berman, which will bring Avery and the Hawthorne brothers to the screen.