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Series · mystery

The Grandest Game

by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

The Grandest Game series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes has 3 known books (3 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with The Grandest Game (2024). The latest book with a fully recorded publication date is The Gilded Blade.

Books
3 known books (3 novels)
Published
3
First published
2024
Status
completed
Shelved under
Mystery & Crime
Last checked

Start here: The Grandest Game (2024) — then read straight through in publication order.

Book one

Cover of The Grandest Game

The Grandest Game (2024)

Reading order

The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.

  1. The Grandest Game

    Novel

    The Grandest Game is the book that started it all: the first entry in Jennifer Lynn Barnes's The Grandest Game series, published in July 2024. It precedes Glorious Rivals in the reading order. The series ran from 2024 to 2026 across 3 books.

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  2. Glorious Rivals

    Novel

    Glorious Rivals is the 2nd book in The Grandest Game series, written by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, published in July 2025 at 420 pages. It follows The Grandest Game and precedes The Gilded Blade in the reading order.

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  3. The Gilded Blade

    Novel

    The Gilded Blade is the 3rd entry in Jennifer Lynn Barnes's The Grandest Game series, published in July 2026. It follows Glorious Rivals as the final entry in the series.

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About The Grandest Game

Seventeen-year-old Avery Grambs isn't the only one who has ever inherited a fortune from a stranger with an appetite for games: the reclusive Miss Innerly Rhodes turns her own vast wealth into a single winner-take-all competition, drawing four teenagers, each hiding a devastating secret, into a mansion built entirely around puzzles that force them to confront exactly the truths they came to hide. Unlike Avery, none of these players are innocent -- and the game's real prize may be worth far more than money.

Jennifer Lynn Barnes returns to the puzzle-box formula that made The Inheritance Games a hit, but with a sharper, more morally ambiguous cast: instead of one ordinary girl thrown into wealth, The Grandest Game follows several damaged, secretive teenagers competing against each other as much as the puzzles themselves. It's set in the same fictional universe as The Inheritance Games -- Avery Grambs and the Hawthorne brothers exist in this world too -- but follows an entirely new game, cast and mystery.

Frequently asked questions

How many books are in The Grandest Game series?

Three: The Grandest Game (2024), Glorious Rivals (2025), and The Gilded Blade (2026), a complete trilogy.

Do I need to read The Inheritance Games before The Grandest Game?

No, it's not required -- The Grandest Game follows new characters and a new competition -- but it's set in the same fictional universe, and fans of the original trilogy will recognize some overlap.

What order should I read The Grandest Game in?

Publication order: The Grandest Game, Glorious Rivals, The Gilded Blade. It's one continuous story across all three.

Is The Grandest Game finished?

Yes, it concluded as a trilogy with The Gilded Blade in July 2026.

Reading order last verified .