Find out what happens between the games as Jennifer Lynn Barnes spins a web of eight heartfelt and adventurous short stories to fill the blanks in our knowledge of the world of The Inheritance Games.
From the blurb;
'Love is dangerous.
'Hannah Rooney despises the Hawthorne responsible for her sister's death, but if her criminal family finds out he's still alive, they'll kill him. Secretly nursing the object of her hatred back from the brink of death, Hannah soon discovers that arrogant, larger-than-life Toby Hawthorne has amnesia, which means he has no memory of who he is, what he's done, or the many reasons the two of them could never be.
'Love is salvation.
'Nash Hawthorne is a cowboy. Libby Grambs is a cupcake-baking goth. The two of them make no sense whatsoever. Libby knows that. But the cowboy has other ideas.
'Love is power.
'Prague is the City of a Hundred Spires - and the location of a grand game that daredevil Jameson Hawthorne has built for heiress Avery Grambs. Clue to clue and riddle to riddle, Avery races to outwit Jameson, unaware that Prague is a city of secrets... and a city of power.'
Seven of these stories are short, however one is a novella, and Barnes knows exactly which story her fans are desperate to know better.
The tale of Avery's mother and Toby Hawthorne, the lost love of her mothers life, is the only story in this book over 100 pages long and stands among these short stories as not only the only prequel but also the only novella. Taking us from the moment they first saw each other to after Avery's birth, it is a tale we know in part, but Barnes treats us to all the details and weaves her most captivating and bitter sweet love story yet. Of course The Same Backward As Forward is not just a wonderful glimpse into the relationship that laid the foundation for the entire series, but also a teasing hint towards what is to come, and the things buried in Hannah's 'I have a secret' game.
Throughout Games Untold Barnes skilfully sets up the stories that are yet to come, all the while gifting fans a mix of light-hearted, loving, fun and sometimes sad glimpses into the spaces between the novels, the parts unseen, the inner jokes and shared moments that have made this collective Hawthorne and Heiress group a lasting strength as the tales have progressed.
While we enjoy seeing the behind the scenes action from the series, these short stories are more about the greater fleshing-out of our main cast. Barnes treats us to in depth glimpses of all the little bits that, while maybe not poignant enough to have made it into the main novels, none the less have shaped our characters and built an unbreakable bond between them.
While some stories, such as 'That Night in Prague' are set out to encourage intrigue and spark new questions, the majority of these shorts are light-hearted. 'Five Times Xander Tackled Someone (& One Time He Didn't)' clues us into a long running inside joke between the Hawthorne Brothers that has been hinted at throughout the series, and '$3CR3T $@NT@' gives us a fun glimpse into how the Hawthornes and the Grambs became a real family. Each tale bringing a fresh opportunity for our lovable cast of characters to show us more of who they are, and the things that have made them so.
In particular Games Untold gives more space to Nash, a highly underappreciated character throughout the main series, whose importance to the running plot should never be understated and whose calm demeanour often holds the unruly group together. Through seven of the short stories, including one dedicated entirely to him and Libby, Barnes broadens our understanding of Nash Hawthorne and hopefully sets him up to be a much larger character in future instalments.
Teasing and delighting Barnes answers questions fans may not of even realised they had, while igniting new ones through these eight tales, and we could not applaud it more.
While being a collection of short stories, mostly within the past tense of the series history, Games Untold successfully lays the ground work for curiosity, setting up new questions and new games that will leave fans eager to see what is to come from this riddle filled series.
An absolute treat for the fans Games Untold should not be missed.
We give Games Untold Four Stars
ISBN - 978-0-241-68434-4 Hardback cover price - £14.99 First published in the USA by Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.., and in Great Britain by Penguin Books 2024
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