Review: Inherit Midnight

Inherit Midnight by Kate Kae Myers
Grade: C+
Release date: February 10, 2015
This e-galley was provided by Bloomsbury USA Children's and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Summary: 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?

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: When I first read the synopsis, my mind immediately went to the original 39 Clues series. Inherit Midnight is like a YA version of those books, but in only one book since this is a standalone. However, at times, this book read very much like middle grade fiction to me. The writing was simplistic and straightforward and it often felt a bit heavy on telling and not showing. The good news is, for a 400-page book, Inherit Midnight didn't drag too much. The secondary characters were given surprising depth, considering pretty much all of them started out as nasty relatives. Daisy is quite possibly my favorite out of all of them. Riley is not my favorite. I'm sure he had honorable intentions, but all I saw was him distracting Avery with kisses at the most inopportune moments and then declaring his love for her when they'd only known each other for a few weeks.
I enjoyed the little history tidbits, particularly the inclusion of a famous quote. However, I felt like Avery and Riley acted like they knew a lot about the Revolutionary War when they really didn't.

The Verdict: I know it sounds like there's a whole ton of things I didn't like, and therefore my rating is surprisingly high. But I did enjoy myself while I was reading Inherit Midnight. Would I reread it? Probably not; but it was a fun read that I think those who like adventure stories and lower YA will enjoy.

Buy: Read Between the Lynes  Barnes & Noble
Will I be adding this book to my library?: Probably not. If I want to reread it, I'll borrow it from the public library.