Glorious Rivals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Jennifer Lynn Barnes returns with Glorious Rivals, delivering a sophisticated sequel that transforms what began as an elaborate competition into something far more treacherous. Barnes raises the stakes while deepening character development, creating a reading experience that satisfies on multiple levels, proving her continued mastery of the young adult thriller genre.

The plot picks up seamlessly from The Grandest Game, following seven players as they navigate the increasingly perilous challenges on Hawthorne Island. Millions are at stake, but so are hearts, and lives. The players now must race to win the game, solve mysteries, and survive the twists and turns that Barnes orchestrates with precision. What distinguishes this instalment is how the author systematically dismantles the safety nets established in the previous book, revealing shadow players manipulating events from behind the scenes whilst the supposedly deceased Alice Hawthorne looms over every puzzle and alliance.

Barnes demonstrates her evolution as a storyteller through her sophisticated character work. The ensemble cast (including Rohan, Savannah, Grayson, Lyra, and Gigi) receives considerable development, with each player's motivations and backstories becoming more nuanced and compelling. The author's background in psychology, evident throughout her work combining both disciplines to write a work of intrigue, shines particularly bright here as she explores the psychological toll of high-stakes competition on young minds. The romantic tensions that simmer beneath the surface never overshadow the central mystery, instead serving to heighten the emotional stakes and character investment.

The novel's structure builds tension methodically, with Barnes layering revelations and complications in a way that maintains reader engagement throughout. The mysterious figures of Eve and her partner Slate operate with surgical precision, their motives remaining tantalizingly obscure until the final act. This careful withholding of information demonstrates Barnes's maturity as a thriller writer, understanding that the most effective mysteries lie not just in what is hidden, but in how the revelation reshapes everything the reader thought they understood.

However, the novel is not without its challenges. The sheer number of moving parts occasionally threatens to overwhelm both characters and readers, with some finding the multitude of simultaneous plotlines difficult to follow initially. Additionally, whilst the book provides answers to several lingering questions from the previous instalment, like the identity of Gigi's kidnapper and the resolution of the Grandest Game itself. Some readers may find some of the revelations insufficient to justify the extended narrative arc.

Glorious Rivals succeeds most impressively in its role as both a satisfying continuation of an established series and a compelling thriller in its own right. Barnes has created a world where intellectual puzzles merge seamlessly with emotional complexity, where the pursuit of victory carries genuine consequences, and where the line between game and reality becomes increasingly blurred. The novel's exploration of how competition can bring out both the best and worst in people resonates particularly strongly in contemporary culture.

Reviewer: Chris Reed

Penguin