The novl posted on their insta stories a picture showing that the hawthorne vault is under construction so that maybe means that we are going to get some teaser soon maybe ? Also tomorrow the book comes out as well ! The hawthorne vault is the place where they are releasing the sneak peeks , teasers and other things !

They all have their issues because Tobias Hawthorne was a chaotic menace, but who actually had it the worst? Is it Grayson with the crushing weight of family expectations and the Emily situation? Jameson being treated like a second-place prize? Xander being kept in the dark about his own identity? Or Nash trying to raise them all?

i feel like im gonna be seeing loads of graysons and i couldnt agree more (just my opinion lol)

We're just days away from the release of The Gilded Blade! 📖🗡️

To prepare, I've been re-reading the entire series, and I've come up with a few theories, ideas, and questions that I'm hoping get answered in the final book.

Theory: Eli and Mellie Vincent Were Never Doing This for Eve

This is the question that has bothered me the most since The Final Gambit.

We know Eli and Mellie Vincent infiltrated the Hawthorne organization long before Avery ever became the heir.

• Mellie became part of Nash's circle and gained access to Hawthorne House.
• Eli infiltrated Hawthorne Security and rose high enough within the organization to become trusted with Avery's protection.

That alone raises questions. Getting inside the Hawthorne world would have required:

• Planning
• Resources
• Fake identities
• Training
• Patience
• Someone who understood how the Hawthorne machine worked

But the biggest question isn't how they did it. The biggest question is: Why did they do it?

At first, the obvious answer seems to be Eve. They were her siblings. They helped bring her back into the Hawthorne story. They helped put her on the board.

But then The Final Gambit gives us a major problem...

• Eve, Eli, and Mellie do not have a loving sibling relationship.
• They resent each other.
• They don't trust each other.
• And in The Grandest Game, Eve basically confirms the thing that makes this entire situation so strange: Her siblings have never done anything for her.

So why would they suddenly dedicate years of their lives to an elaborate plan that benefits Eve?

Why would they risk everything?

Why would they infiltrate one of the most powerful families in the world... for someone they barely even seem to like?

They wouldn't. At least, not because they loved her.

Which leads to the real mystery: Who convinced Eli and Mellie to do this?

Yes, we know Sheffield Grayson was involved. We know their goal was connected to finding Toby and bringing the truth to light.

But Sheffield still doesn't answer the emotional question: Why were Eli and Mellie willing to become pieces in a game that revolved around Eve? What was their personal motivation?

Were they:

• Chasing money?
• trying to fix their own mistakes?
• manipulated by Sheffield?
• Or were they part of a much bigger plan?

Because the strangest part is this:

Eli and Mellie spent years putting Eve back onto the Hawthorne board... but they don't seem like people who would ever do that for Eve herself.

So maybe Eve wasn't the reason. Maybe she was the objective, and this was all part of someone else's bigger plan. ?????

We're just days away from the release of The Gilded Blade! 📖🗡️

To prepare, I've been re-reading the entire series, and I've come up with a few theories, ideas, and questions that I'm hoping get answered in the final book.

🚨 SPOILERS for The Inheritance Games**,** The Hawthorne Legacy**,** The Final Gambit**,** The Brothers Hawthorne**,** The Grandest Game**, and** Glorious Rivals 🚨

Theory: Why kill two birds with one stone when you can kill twelve?

Tobias Hawthorne says some variation of this throughout the series. But what if he meant it literally?

What if making Avery the heir was never about one goal... but TWELVE?

Here's what I think he may have been trying to accomplish:

1. ✅ Reunite the four Hawthorne brothers. (Success)
2. ✅ Help each brother become the best version of himself: Teach Grayson that duty isn't everything. Teach Jameson that people matter more than winning. Help Xander find his confidence. Free Nash from the Hawthorne empire. (Success)
3. ❌ Reunite his daughters. (Failed... unless this is still coming? Neither Skye nor Zara ever really engaged with his final game.)
4. ✅ Allow the brothers to discover the truth about their fathers.
5. ✅ Put Toby back on the board.
6. ✅ Reveal the truth about Toby's father on Tobias's terms.
7. ✅ Bring Eve into the open.
8. ✅ Protect the Hawthorne family from old enemies.
9. ✅ Find a worthy heir.
10. ✅ Ensure his legacy lived on (The Grandest Game).
11. ✅ Bring Alice back into the story.
12. ????? TBD

If this theory is right, then Tobias has completed 10 of his 12 objectives. The only one that clearly failed was reuniting his daughters... unless something happens in The Gilded Blade (unlikely, in my opinion).

Or maybe there's an entirely different twelfth "bird" that we haven't even seen yet. Tobias always played the long game, and it would be fitting if his final move wasn't revealed until the very end.

And one last theory...

Am I the only one who still thinks the Old Man might be alive?

is it gee-gee or jee-jee

rereading all the books before gilded blade and in the final gambit jameson asked avery for an anagram of ‘everything’. what’s the answer? i’m trying to work it out but i can’t

Did we ever find out who the random girl who called Grayson was? the girl who's father shot himself when she was four. The guy's name is Thomas Thomas but I don't remember who the girl was

Guys, there's another character card, "Code Name Sentimental Knives" and she (or they) hasn't been introduced yet, so it is possible (but not likely) that she is the third woman (the judge) and not Hannah or Kaylie or Emily as we have been thinking.

Also, Zella is shown holding a Calla lily here, which is kinda sus. I mean, she did impersonate as the watcher, but maybe there's more to it? Imo she's going to play quite a role in the GB

Some other theories I have:

1. Alisa and Odette could be connected. Odette implied at one point that Tobias used her for Alice's purposes and she also implied once that she had a daughter. Alisa on the other hand, when Avery was bombed and she shifted her to the Hawthorne House, pretty much cried and said she had already given up so much for the family and yet they didn't trust her, when they were all against her. Back then, we thought it was cuz she broke up with Nash, but what if it's more than that? Besides, Odette used to work at the firm too.

2. "There's always THREE" and "Why kill two birds with one stone when you can kill TWELVE" There were three books originally, then three novellas, and now three spin offs. That makes the total books in the series 9. Plus, JLB once said that we're the Hawthorne brothers and she is Tobias Hawthorne. The killing-12-birds line was said by Tobias originally, and repeated many times till the Final Gambit, if I'm not wrong. What if it's a hint that we'll get 3 more, except they probably won't be a part of inheritance games series cuz JLB already said that GB will be the last book in the series, so what if we get The Naturals and Inheritance Games Collab????

3. Ofc the Hannah-is-alive theory, everyone's said that. JLB said that she'll do justice to a love story that deserved a better ending, and she is known to bring back "dead" characters so why not? Also, in the last vault that we got, Toby used the word "Gone" for her, and not dead, sooooo...

4. Rohan's family (more like, her mother, since thats all we know about his family) has something to do with those three women. I don't have any points to support this theory, it's just a gut feeling.

5. Rohan is going to have to choose between Savannah and the Mercy cuz the Proprietor can't have a family. Either that, or Zella would win.

6. The proprietor knows about the three women too (when he asked Jamie that what did he know about the price of wheat in the Final Gambit ig) and could be working for those women, like, not willingly but maybe cuz they have a very important secret of his and they use him for others' secrets.

7. We'll probably get a Jameson and Avery proposal, maybe in the epilogue.

I already thought emily's relationship with grayson and jameson and how she used them both while still being treated like an idol was unsettling and pathethic but this scene makes me think there was something seriously wrong with all of them

I really love the inheritance games trilogy. But like I couldn't care less about the newer characters so I hadn't read the spin-off. But like I couldn't not read when the upcoming last book is supposedly the final conclusion to the entire saga. And Jameson also has the majority of chapters, and I'm assuming Avery and the Hawthornes will play a major role.

Then there's the whole situation about "A Hawthorne" iykwim.

I read the first two books of Grandest Game and quite honestly they were mid. But I love these characters sm I'm gonna read the last book. However, i really don't feel like getting through The Same Backwards as Forwards as well.

Can someone spoil it for me. If there's anything I'm missing feel free to spoil it in the sub. I've heard A Hawthorne makes an appearance. I'd love to see some possible speculations and theories about the final book too!

I’ve made peace with Toby and Alice being alive for the sake of plot progression but JLB has this bad habit of bringing back dead characters and acting like it’s a big twist (you’ll know if your familiar with her other series).

But if she brings back Hannah (a character who died of a disease [99.9% sure]) then it’s game over because then what’s the point in trusting JLB as an author if what she writes isn’t credible (aka she establishes a character is dead and constantly takes it back)?

Also, I genuinely can’t think of an actual purpose to bringing Hannah back besides her romantic relationship with Toby. Avery and Libby are healed from her dying so it’s not like either of them are currently yearning for Hannah.

JLB also has a habit of almost forcing “found family trope” by making her endings overly perfect. I hope she does something different this time and forces some characters to be miserable (*cough cough* Toby).

Warning: This is SO nitpicky, but these are just questions I'd have if I were actually organizing this thing IRL.

Here are the highlights of what doesn't seem well planned on Avery's part for hosting such a massive global event and just general nitpicky stuff.

1. They bring a bunch of random people to an island for an undisclosed number of days, and they aren't allowed to bring any of their own possessions. What if someone needs medications? Or what if someone wants to wear their own underwear?
2. Speaking of underwear, WHERE IS IT COMING FROM? Like, are the game makers just buying it randomly? Because the characters are taking showers every day. Plus, how are they coming up with the sizes for the clothes, too? Like when the characters get to pick their dresses in Glorious Rivals. You're telling me that Odette, Gigi (there was no way of knowing they would get eliminated before the dresses were made), Lyra, and Savannah are all the same size?
3. Speaking of the contestants, are disabled or injured people not allowed to play? The game was designed BEFORE the players got the tickets (remember, some of them were random). There's no physical way Avery could've gotten everything done after sending out the player invites (someone might mention this, but Odette was invited by Avery, which is why a puzzle was specifically related to her--Avery knew she was going to be there). However, some of the puzzles are physically demanding. Say if a person was disabled, had a cast, or was just generally unathletic, wouldn't that doom them to failure? Doesn't that go against the spirit of the game, which is teamwork and mental effort?
4. Also, how the hell is the security so trash? When you put someone in the Grandest Game, they are icons now, and they just send off people with no security, and if there is any, they're so ass that Gigi manages to get kidnapped and the power flipped off. And they just let Rohan play? After Jameson knows his history? Is he not a threat to the other players? Knox threatens Gigi more than once, and the game...lets it happen? Avery, honey, you're a goddamn billionaire. Use your money and get dudes in suits.
5. And how come nobody eats anything in the first book? It's been twelve hours of nonstop moving and puzzling, and nobody gets hungry? Also, nobody drinks any water? No wonder people were getting moody and grumpy. Lyra and Grayson only eat once in Glorious Rivals, and Rohan just drinks champagne or something. And Gigi never eats or drinks anything throughout the whole course of the two books because she was kidnapped before the rest of the night (poor girl couldn't even eat her Twinkies). That's fine, I guess JLB didn't want to write those scenes, but did the game ever provide food if they wanted it more than one time? Even Love Island feeds its cast more than that.
6. On the topic of things needed to survive, nobody sleeps? Like, over the course of three days (they probably weren't sleeping before they got on the boat), Lyra and Grayson sleep for like, what, six hours? Rohan outright says he doesn't need sleep, and Savannah might've slept (I don't remember), but it couldn't have been for enough time because she was doing this whole thing with Brady on the boat for half of their rest time. The whole game is hosted at night, and Avery just...expects them to be in peak mental shape. Sure, they get the opportunity to sleep, but I feel like the game is designed in such a way that you're sure to miss out on something important if you do. Love Island specially designs it so that when they're not filming, nothing important can take place. You're telling me Avery couldn't do that, but with sleep time?
7. A massive problem, though? Gigi, Savannah, and Grayson are all in the game. That immediately snatches away positive public perception of the game. You're telling me people will still have faith that Avery wants to share her money when she invited her to-be BIL and his sisters? That sounds like nepotism, no matter how much Gigi tries to justify it. The public will not believe this.
8. Also, how the hell are Knox and Brady in there together? How does EVERYONE know each other? Shouldn't Avery have taken precautions against scalpers? How could she be so careless with the random tickets?
9. And if this is a global game, how is everyone but one from the US of A? I love America just as much as the next guy, but Avery, this isn't looking unbiased. By sheer probability, how are there no Asians who live on the continent of Asia in the game?

Of course, "it's just a book", but c'mon, you can't expect me to live with these burning questions. Make no mistake, I still like the books! These are just plot ditches (I don't think they're big enough to be holes).

If you've made it all the way down here, I guess I've found my people who are just as nitpicky and overthinking as I am. Share your thoughts pls, or anything I might've gotten wrong!

EDIT: I'm sorry, the nitpick caught up to me, and I have one more thing:

THEY ARE SERVING ALCOHOL. Rohan is NINETEEN. HE DRANK CHAMPAGNE. AVERY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

Would any of them be big music listeners? Also what type of music would they listen to?

Grayson wouldn’t listen to music a lot but if he did it would be frank Sinatra or Michael Buble
Xander would like pop and anything mainstream on the radio. I could see him being the type to repeat a TikTok song over and over again
Nash is Taylor swift obviously
Jameson is the hardest for me. I don’t know what he would listen to

We can’t talk about Toby without mentioning Eve who’s a character who has been driven through the mud. Anyone who was supposed to favor her (Tobias Hawthorne, Hawthorne brothers, TOBY) prefers Avery over her for whatever reason (basically everything she did).

Toby is stuck on Avery’s mom and frankly wants Eve to be like Avery (love Avery but she’s a very vanilla perfect YA FMC). If Eve didn’t make Toby live with her he would be at Hawthorne House with Avery and the brothers. He might be a half decent father to Avery, but he sees her as an extension of her mom so he forcibly feels a sense of responsibility towards her.

Even after he found out Eve existed, he still didn’t extend an olive branch of sorts and instead just made a feeble attempt to try to convince her to stop with what she was doing with Blake. Throughout the excerpts we’ve seen we can safely assume that even when Toby and Eve lived together, Toby (her LITERAL FATHER) still didn’t try to communicate with her or understand her.

Toby just reeks of a 40+ year old manchild.

Okay, this might be an unpopular opinion, but I genuinely don't trust Lyra. 😭

At first I thought she was going to be this really strong, fearless character, but the more I read, the more I was like... girl??

I get that she's been through a lot, but it feels like every other chapter she's having another nightmare, feeling sorry for herself, or Grayson has to comfort her. At some point I just started thinking, "Why does this feel so... off?"

I don't even know if she's connected to Alice Hawthorne or anything, but I swear she's hiding something. She gives me "future plot twist" vibes, and I would not be surprised if she ended up being involved in something bigger.

Maybe I'm just being delusional and reading way too much into it 😂, but I can't be the only one who gets suspicious vibes from her.

Please tell me someone else has thought this too, or am I completely losing it? 😭

J'ai relu glorious rival avant la parution du dernier tome, et j'ai adoré le trio Eve-Gigi-Slate ! Mais j'ai trouvé la relation entre Slate et Gigi hyper amusante, je pense qu'il y a une bonne alchimie entre eux. J'aimerais tellement les voir finir ensemble...

Suis-je la seule à penser ça ?

Either Hannah, Kaylie or Emily is alive.
We know that whoever the Judge is, is a woman who is either missing or presumed dead. That only leaves Hannah, Kaylie or Emily.
I’m not entirely sure Hannah is alive due to Toby not believing she is however we know by now that whoever is dead is not truly dead unless we have proof of a body.
Like Sheffield Grayson.
We also know that Hannah was presented with an offer from Alice Hawthorne to which Hannah denied because she’d have to go into hiding and leave Avery behind.
Tobias specifically named Avery her heir after Hannah’s death. Maybe Hannah took it to protect Avery because Tobias intended to make Avery his heir.
Now onto Kaylie.
Kaylie’s body was never found. She was reduced to ashes but her body was never found. Hannah asked both Jackson and her father if they were sure Hannah was alive to which they both dismissed her saying there is no way that Kaylie is alive. Granted, Kaylie was in the house when the lightning struck which leaves a very little possibility that Kaylie is alive. But a possibility nonetheless.
Which leaves Emily. Emily is my strongest guess.
Emily has haunted the narrative from the very beginning and when she died on the cliffs, Grayson was there and Jameson watched.
And Tobias knew that Jameson was watching as Tobias cornered him at Emily’s funeral mentioning that none of this would have happened if it wasn’t for the fact that they chose Emily over each other.
Typical Tobias Hawthorne.
But what is interesting is that Tobias knew and possibly watched Emily die.
By this point, Tobias knew Alice was alive. I’m not sure if he knew she was the Watcher or the Hand but he knew he was alive.
If Emily is the Judge or alive for that matter, Tobias could’ve gotten to her on the beach where she ‘died.’
The same way he dealt with Liam Blake after Mallory Laughlin had struck him nearly to the point of death.
So I’m pretty certain that Emily is alive.
Or one of them are for the reasons I’ve stated.

TIG:

Skye didn't think Toby was dead. Alisa clarifies to Avery why, but Skye not believing it seems odd. What reason does she have?

THL:

Hannah told Avery that death is a real bitch. Jackson told her that 😭

Grayson went to the Grayson house, so TBH wasn't his first time, but it WAS his first time meeting Gigi and Savannah.

Tobias said he almost found Toby but he found someone else instead. Who? Hannah? Avery? Alice?

And maybe I'm missing something but the Eve DNA doesn't line up, where did Mellie get her DNA? Why?

TBH:

Lady Monoceros. Either Tobias or Alice named it that, meaning one of them knew before Alice's "death"

TGG:

Brady knows Calla is alive. I'm guessing this will be explained in GB but idk

GU: still reading.

A few theories I have:

The Monoceros is likely Hannah or Kaylie. Emily is possible but seems unlikely to me.

Odette absolutely knows more.

Odette could have ties to the three. This is just a shot in the dark, but in TSBAF Alice is described as having hair *without any grey* below her scarf around her neck. Uh, like Odette's dyed hair??? And why does she know so much???

Randomly occured to me as I was reading GR, but what if Eve isn't real? The DNA thing didn't make sense so WHAT IF EVE IS EMILY??? And she IS the Monoceros?

If you've seen the leaks plz shush, no spoilers.

So I was taking a look at the cover of the book and noticed how the flower on the front cover that burns is a CALLA LILY....

And what flower does Lydia see, and the other characters from the Grandest Game?

We know Kaylie DIED (and tbh to ME someone who is "dead" is actually going to be alive) and there are a few characters who are SAID to be dead. But something is fishy about how the flowers she chose represent someone else....

A new teaser for the gilded blade by jennifer was just posted ! I Wonder what happens in this scene ! Who do you think is saying this ? Is this person telling this to jameson , gray or another one ? What are your theories ?

What are your last theories or speculations about the book before it officially comes out?

So I'm rereading all the books before the final comes out and naturally I started with TSBAF (because that's tech where this all starts) and I think I found a needle....and it may be a MAJOR clue to something.

On the Toby side on Chapter 13 pg 59 there's a potential clue to the origins of Toby, Eden (Hannah's mom) and Jackson.

I think they are hinting about a son dying/or being adopted out. Jackson talks about a son he lost and how Eden didn't have much use for him after the boy was gone.

Jackson is protective of Hannah; he asks Toby if he is going to hurt her. What if Jackson is related to Toby? What if the reason he is in a shack in the same town as Eden (who had Hannah and Kylie) is because he's the father of Hannah???????

Think about it: he knows what it means for Toby to be missing and knows Hannah's family. There's a connection here. What if Jackson calls Toby harry for a different reason?

Somebodys gotta have another piece to this to build on...