a little slow at times, but a fun book with a fun mystery. very reminiscent of the westing game (a childhood fave of mine). it was heavier on the drama and lighter on the real mystery and hunt itself than i expected, but the characters were relatable and the mystery was unique.

4.5 ⭐️

Lily Rosewood lives with her only remaining family member, her gran, Iris. She has big dreams to go to FIT, although her grandmother is pushing business school so she can learn how to manage the family company, Rosewood Inc. The night of the big party for Grams birthday, it’s a mess, trust is betrayed and before anything can be fixed Gram suddenly passes away. Lily is left with a note in invisible ink and a group of unlikely friends, and her estranged cousin Daisy, as they try to navigate Grams notes and reach the treasure before anyone else. The stakes are high and and this book will take you on an action packed ride all the way to the very end!

I had so much fun reading this book; it’s a fast paced, high stakes treasure hunt with a combination of funny and sweet moments that will have you falling in love with the characters. Even though the focus of the book was the treasure hunt, the friendships were such an integral part of the book, and seeing them grow closer as a group and becoming family was everything!

Thank you so much to @netgalley @harpercollinsch @mackenziemreed for the digital copy of this book, all opinions are my own. The Rosewood Hunt is releasing October 31st!!

I loved this story — about the hunt for a missing inheritance, but, at its heart, about found family and the end of loneliness. It brought me so much comfort, and I couldn’t put it down!

I knew I was going to love this book as soon as I heard about it (a found family treasure hunt thriller in a small coastal town? Come on!) so it's no surprise that I absolutely TORE through it. The Rosewood Hunt has it all: high stakes, an atmosphere so vivid it feels like you're really there, an eccentric grandmother with a penchant for ~riddles~, the sweetest friendship and romance dynamics, ballgowns, and banter. Truly, what more could you want? I highly recommend it to anyone who loves Outer Banks, The Goonies, or Knives Out, and I'm so excited to shout more about it on debut day!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC! WOW this book was fun. If you loved The Inheritance Games, you need to read this! Lots of lovable characters, intense action scenes, and funny banter. I would have rated it five stars if it had been just a little more fast-paced. Absolutely recommend this book!

Classic Agatha Christie sharpness for detail. Juicy twists of Inheritance Games. Page turning sentences. What more can a reader ask for! This was a great romantic mystery!

When Lily’s grandma dies no one in the family is left the fortune. Lily is left a necklace and a letter. A letter with a clue that leads her to a missing map and 3 other people with letters. What was Gram’s goal? Will Lily and the other live to find out?

This was a fast paced YA treasure hunting read. I felt for Lily and liked her as a character. Her grief was palpable and her actions understandable. The author provides an understandable plot with even a few twists and turns. I throughly enjoined it.

Thank you Netgalley and HarperTeen for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

As the wealthiest family in a fictional town in southern Massachusetts, the Rosewoods are known for hosting the most extravagant parties. With DJs playing the hottest songs of the season and news reporters capturing the family’s every move, it is no surprise that the Rosewood Manor is flooded with visitors from all over town.

Lily Rosewood wants nothing more than to study fashion design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City and to take over her grandmother’s iconic luxury coat company. But when her grandmother dies unexpectedly after the party and the Rosewood fortune is discovered to be missing, Lily’s life takes a turn.

All that Lily’s grandmother left for her is a blank letter and her signature ruby necklace. Or so she thought. Lily’s grandmother was infamous for her tricks and games, and the letter is written in invisible ink, full of riddles.

Soon after, Lily comes to the realisation that she is not the only one who was given a cryptic letter, and she must join forces with four other teenagers on a hunt for the missing money. In this unlikely group, there’s Lily, her former childhood best friend Leo, her influencer cousin Daisy, Daisy’s rival Quinn, and an intelligent boy from another town named Caleb. With tension high between the group, things become increasingly complicated, but each member is determined to find the missing inheritance and win the money for themselves. Together, they set off on a thrilling adventure filled with twists and turns, searching for clues, and solving riddles.

As the hunt for the inheritance progresses, the stakes get higher and more dangerous. Suddenly, people are out to tear the group down and look for the inheritance themselves. Time is ticking, and if Lily and her friends do not find the money fast enough, they may lose it all to their enemies.

Clue after clue, Lily discovers family secrets she couldn’t have imagined, but the most meaningful message Lily learns is that her grandmother’s final gift to her was not only a treasure hunt, but a lesson detailing the power of friendship.

At its heart, The Rosewood Hunt is a story about the choices you make and the friendship that blossoms in times of uncertainty. By far the best part of the book was watching the characters go from strangers to lifelong friends. Their personalities complement each other perfectly, and they each bring something memorable to the friend group. While the friends may have been hesitant to work together at first, the goal of finding the inheritance brings them together in ways they never could have imagined.

Readers seeking a fast-paced treasure hunt with humour and adventure should have The Rosewood Hunt on their radar. This novel has a very classic young adult mystery feel, and I won’t be surprised if Mackenzie Reed becomes a household name in the YA genre.

Suspense is in full bloom in this ambitious debut. With unlikely allies, complicated family issues, secrets, and humor, The Rosewood Hunt is a highly addictive read for anyone who loves a good mystery.

so much bad stuff happened to this girl so fast at the start I felt so bad. I also really disliked the romance although it did make me laugh once. I did like the overall friend group, the queer side characters and solving the mystery! If you liked the inheritance games you'll probably like this one

The novel begins by describing how Lily lives with her grandmother, due to her father's death and mother's subsequent departure, and that she has only one friend, Miles. We learn that Lily's ancestors founded Rosewood, Inc., a luxury brand company now run by Lily's grandmother, and established Rosetown to house its employees. Despite the family wealth, Lily herself is broke as her father killed himself while in debt and after causing the financial troubles of several townspeople. In solving Gram's riddles, Lily is able to reconcile with her cousin, build solid friendships, find love, and learn the truth about the nefarious actions of her uncle. The last two-thirds of the novel is gripping and fast-paced as new information is learned and details about the Rosewood family are revealed. My favorite parts of the book are the unexpected turn of events, such as the secret tunnel that Lily and her friends find between the Rosewood manor house and the old factory, as well as seeing Lily's development. She comes to appreciate that ambition can lead to greed, and that true wealth is derived from love and friendship. A dislike would be that certain events appear a bit too far-fetched, including the fact that a Will, as a legal document, is unlikely to be allowed to be so unclear. But, overall, the action that follows makes it easy to overlook this.

This book is a great fast-paced, fun treasure hunt set in a small fancy town. Enjoyable side characters and plot.
It follows Lilly, a girl struggling with the recent loss of her grandmother until she receives a clue that sends her on a treasure hunt to discover her inheritance and is teamed up with an unlikely group along the way.
I’d never read a treasure hunt book before and I really enjoyed it. The small fancy town and clues made for a fast-paced book that I was able to blaze through.
I enjoyed a lot of the side characters and relationships. However, I wasn't as invested in the main characters and their love story.
The writing at times would bring me out of the story or make me feel disconnected.
I still enjoyed this book and had a fun time reading it!

Full thoughts

Characters:
I enjoyed the side characters in this book. Miles, Caleb, and Quinn were the ones I was particularly invested in and the most interesting in my opinion. I felt like they were slightly stereotypical but still enjoyable. Surprisingly I wasn't as invested in Lilly and Leo. I felt like the plot was the main focus and all of the characters had slightly rushed backstories because of it. Things were often told to us instead of showing or letting us figure it out. A lot of the characters' growth felt sudden and in the main characters' case unwarranted. I thought Lilly was an unconventional main character, coming from money but still having hardships, being lonely, and losing her parents and grandmother. At times she was slightly unlikable and I think that was purposeful to show her growth. I didn't dislike her, I just wasn't super invested in her. Leo was a bit more interesting. I just felt like we didn't get a lot of depth to him.

Relationships:
I honestly feel like the strongest relationship in this book was between Gram and Lilly. Even though they were only on page together for a short time, their love for each other was obvious and well-written. I loved the focus on a grandma's love. For me, the second-best relationship was between Miles and Caleb. They deserved so much more page time! Caleb was probably my favorite out of the bunch (I actually thought he was the main love interest in the beginning). I wish we would have had more Miles as well because he was probably one of the best-rounded characters in the book. He and Caleb really stole the spotlight for me and I wished we would have gotten more of them. While Quinn wasn't with anyone, her relationships with her mother, Leo, and Daisy, while somewhat off-page, were all very evident. You could see the history and emotions every time there were interactions.
If I’m being honest the relationship I was least invested in was Leo and Lilly. I didn't even realize Leo was the love interest for a while. I felt like the love part of the relationship was very rushed, and they had so much potential. Other than one conversation they didn't really talk about their past, even though they used to be best friends there were almost zero thoughts about it, and then they jumped to suddenly being into each other. I feel like it was really rushed, and it could have been better.

Plot:
The plot was intriguing, the execution was pretty straightforward. I had never really read a treasure hunt book before and I had quite a lot of fun with it. Once I got a bit further into it, I blazed through it. I enjoyed the small but fancy town feel. The ending in my opinion was satisfying, which is important in a mystery book, and there were definitely some plot twists I didn't see coming!

Writing:
For the most part, I didn't have an issue with the writing. There were a few abbreviations or references to modern society, which fit the case scenario. I feel like there was quite a bit of monologue about the characters. But overall it wasn't bad.

Star Rating: 3 stars ⭐⭐⭐

I received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review. Thank you 🙂 :)

Thank you to HarperTeen and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. The Inheritance Games is my favorite series ever, so to see The Rosewood Hunt heavily marketed to fans of The Inheritance Games, I was definitely intrigued. This book was decent, especially for a debut. The Inheritance Games and Knives Out are heavy here, and having seen the author on social media from time to time, I can tell The Inheritance Games comp felt like a bit of a promotion; it was trying to ride off of its coattails, almost. Understanding that, I tried to examine it as its own work, and I enjoyed it!

The Rosewood Hunt follows Lily, the granddaughter of Rosewood Inc's current chair. Lily dreams of inheriting her grandmother's company and fortune one day but upon her grandmother's death, a lot of the fortune goes missing. Lily and four other teens must uncover this based on the clues her grandmother left before someone else does.

I found the mystery to be personally lacking a bit, but overall, it was a decent read if you have the patience to get through the slow parts!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

I truly enjoyed this YA mystery/thriller. It was a well-executed exploration of generational wealth, familial ties, and loyalties. The author thoroughly explored the main characters’ motivations and desires while developing their personalities and relationships with each other.

The treasure hunt was a good time, but I wish we found out more about the other people who were hunting the treasure. We didn’t get to find out much about their motivations, which made them somewhat ambiguous villains.

Overall, I thought this was a fun read and would recommend it to fans of YA mysteries.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for the digital arc for "The Rosewood Hunt" by Mackenzie Reed.

The statement that this book is perfect for those that enjoyed 'The Inheritance Games' and 'Knives Out' is correct.

My favourite part of this book was the clues, and hunt for the grandmother's treasure that Lily Rosewood and her unlikely group of friends went on. The clues really showed the bond that Lily and her grandmother shared.
The twist as to who was behind the attempts to stop them from success was surprising... but not unexpected.

The only problem I really had was Lily as a character bothered me initially... she was jealous, had no real personal identity, and really seemed to care more about the money than anything else. The more I read, the more I understood why her grandmother made the choices she did - to teach each family member a valuable lesson.

This is definitely something I can see my students excited to read.

As for me... 3/5.

The matriarch of Rosewood House has died leaving her granddaughter clues to find her inheritance. Usually a loner, Lily must team up with others her age whom her grandmother has befriended. An unbelievable plot that’s still fun to read.

What a fun YA mystery, full of found family goodness, a sweet romance, and plenty of glitzy small-town wealth! A delight!

This is a super quick, engaging read! It requires quite a bit of suspension of disbelief because the plot it pretty wild - but damn is it a good time. Definitely for fans of the Inheritance Games, but it definitely feels like it's own unique story!

Ahh the found family + betrayals + emotions were done so good in this book, I was couldn't stop crying at the end 😭 it's a hea so dw, but the emotions were written so good 🥲

Also the treasure hunt storyline was so good, I was very invested. And the found family!!! They all needed each other sm and they got it 😭

TWs - death of parent by suicide (past), sudden death of grandparent (present), teens abandoned by their parents (past), gun violence, arson, general violence, blackmail

-- ty to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

The Rosewood Hunt is an updated YA take on the Westing Game. There’s a huge inheritance at stake and everyone is on the hunt for a hidden fortune. With people prowling for clues things could get dangerous so assemble a crew and get looking for clues.

The rosewood hunt is a beautiful story about friendship, and not taking things or people for granted. I cannot tell you how many times I smiled , cried and laughed throughout this book. It really shows you money isn’t everything, it’s the people surrounding you. Absolutely loved it and will be adding to my bookshelf !