(A little late, but same month at least?)
Hashtag richpeopleproblems. Seriously, though…only somebody with a treasure trove of guap would spare no expense to re-enact historical events as part of a competition.
INHERIT MIDNIGHT
by Kate Kae Myers
Bloomsbury USA Childrens, February 2015
Young adult contemporary
Rated: 
/ 5 cookies
provided by NetGalley
The Competition:
Outlandishly wealthy Grandmother VanDemere has decided to leave her vast fortune to the family member who proves him or herself worthiest-by solving puzzles and riddles on a whirlwind race around the globe, from the mines of Venezuela to the castles of Scotland. There will be eight competitors, three continents . . . and a prize worth millions.The Players:
Seventeen-year-old Avery is the black sheep of the VanDemere clan, the ostracized illegitimate daughter. Finally, she has a chance to prove herself . . . and to discover the truth about her long-lost mother.Marshall might be Avery’s uncle, but there’s no love lost between the two of them. He’s her main competition, and he’ll do anything to win-including betray his own children.
Riley is the handsome son of Grandmother VanDemere’s lawyer. As the game progresses, Avery falls hard for Riley. Suddenly, losing the game might mean losing him, too.
As the competition takes treacherous turns, it becomes clear there can only be one victor. Who can Avery truly trust? And is winning worth her life?
Gifly Thoughts
You know, the cover actually made me think the book was a mystery, and while there were mysteries strewn into the story, they mostly played third fiddle to what looked like a teenager’s self-discovery and romantic interlude. If I had to describe Inherit Midnight, though, it would definitely be a cross between the movie Rat Race and one of those reality TV shows that eliminate people every week (pick one, there are many). Oh, with lots of historical smatterings about a family that can be dated back to the Scottish kings.
Kind of a snorefest, once I think about it. I’m not a big fan of American history (I blame ten years’ worth of having to learn about it from grade school all the way to high school), and I’m not exactly a rich person with a known ancestry, so I didn’t quite relate to the need to win or learn about this competition. Also, for a woman whose company and net worth probably cost in the hundred millions (or billions, considering the VanDeMeres deal in diamonds), why the hell is a hundred thousand the default inheritance payout?! What, did Grandma VanDeMere use most of the money just running the competition? Because if so, that’s a little silly.
That all said, main character Avery kept me entertained from the first chapter and throughout the book. Inherit Midnight practically opened with her trying to scale out of her boarding school prison (in the literal sense, might I add) after being sent there for–gasp, groan, eye-roll–kissing a boy and scandalizing the VanDeMere family name. Well, turns out Avery’s attempt at escape was justified: the reform school was beyond questionable in terms of treatment of delinquents. From there, she meets Riley, and with his help (or, well, his father’s help), Avery eventually leaves in order to compete in some grand competition for an inheritance she doesn’t want.
The contest itself was pretty darn fun, even when I wasn’t interested in the history. I did like that I saw a lot of the characters either evolve or devolve into people I ended up liking/disliking. There were a couple of twists that I was kind of glad to see, others I didn’t care about, and dialogue I thought was way too over-dramatic, like…Gossip Girl dramatic…not that I watch the series or anything (BLAIR/CHUCK SHIP FTW). But in the end, I thoroughly enjoyed the story and in no way wanted to chuck the book out or anything.
On an end-note, am I the only one thinking the girl in the cover could have been a bit differently rendered? The whole point of Avery’s appearance was the fact that she was a dark-haired Croatian like her mother, and in no way had the “blondeness” of the rest of her VanDeMere family. Just a slight nitpick, is all.
4 out of 5 cookies!
Story and Somnomancy 