The Same Backward As Forward

The Inheritance Games #0

by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Après Games Untold, l'histoire d'Hannah et Tobias revient, plus intense que jamais... et racontée par Tobias lui-même !
Hannah Rooney sait se faire oublier. À vingt ans, elle évite les ennuis et attend patiemment de pouvoir fuir Rockaway Watch avec sa petite sœur Kaylie. Une seule règle : ne jamais se mêler aux affaires de sa famille criminelle.

Tobias Hawthorne II a tout du riche héritier intouchable. Mais derrière son assurance, il cache des secrets dangereux... et une rage prête à exploser.

Une nuit, tout bascule : un incendie, une tempête, et Kaylie meurt. Toby est retrouvé vivant, sans souvenirs. Hannah, rongée par la colère, accepte pourtant de le soigner. Elle veut le maintenir en vie, rien que pour le punir. Il est le dernier qu'elle devrait aimer. Et elle est la première dont il se souvient.

Genres: Mystery, Romance, Young Adult, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Thriller, Fantasy

448 pages, Paperback

First published November 4, 2025

About the author

Jennifer Lynn Barnes (who mostly goes by Jen) was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She has been, in turn, a competitive cheerleader, a volleyball player, a dancer, a debutante, a primate cognition researcher, a teen model, a comic book geek, and a lemur aficionado. She's been writing for as long as she can remember, finished her first full book (which she now refers to as a "practice book" and which none of you will ever see) when she was still in high school, and then wrote Golden the summer after her freshman year in college, when she was nineteen.

Jen graduated high school in 2002, and from Yale University with a degree in cognitive science (the study of the brain and thought) in May of 2006. She'll be spending the 2006-2007 school year abroad, doing autism research at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

Reviews

[Ashley]

help they just keep on coming?? she's writing books on the inheritance games more often than i talk to my dad😭

[h i n d]

idc if she writes 10 more books in this series i will read every single one of them

[Belle₊˚⊹♡ (for keeps ∞♡) · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
(Spoiler-free)

~ ‘𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨—𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥
𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘯 𝘴𝘬𝘺.’

~ "𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘐 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴. 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦."

This ultimately may be one of my favorite books out of the inheritance games series?? 😭
The writing, the absolute YEARNINGG in this book actually made me spiral I don’t know how I can get over this tbhh 💔

“Never fall in love with a Hawthorne.”

It’s such a common phrase they use throughout the series it HITS especially for this one 🥲🧍‍♀️

The illustrations for this book, concluding the pov’s was just a cherry on top for the pain. Because WHAT WAS THAT ENDING.. they are the epitome of
“Right person wrong time” 😩

Even though going into this book you already knew what’s to come and their story but it still hurt the same ☹️

And THE LETTERS. THE LETTERS.

"Dear Hannah, the Same Backwards as Forwards...”

WRAP IT UP. 🙏

There’s not much I can say other than I looooved this book and am afraid I will never see lighthouses the same after this. 🕯️

⭐️Rating: 5/5
📚Age Rating~ 14+
🔥Spice: 1/5 (closed-door, very vague details)

🎧Playlist:

~The One That Got Away~Katy Perry

~It’s all comes back~Lord Huron

~The Night We Met~Lord Huron

~Sad Beautiful Tragic~Taylor Swift

~Right Where You Left Me~Taylor Swift

~Loml~Taylor Swift

~Don’t Blame Me~Taylor Swift

~Snow On The Beach~Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey

~I look in peoples windows~Taylor Swift

~The Joker and The Queen~Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran

~Cardigan~Taylor Swift

~hoax~Taylor Swift

~Sad Girl~Lana Del Rey

~Dark Paradise~Lana Del Rey

~Free Now~Gracie Abrams

~I Love You I’m Sorry~Gracie Abrams

~I Told You Things~Gracie Abrams

~Arcade~Duncan Laurence, ft. FLETCHER

~Matilda~Harry Styles

~Eternity~Alex Warren

~Sienna~The Marias

~Wonder~Shawn Mendes

~Let Down~Radiohead

~Mind Over Matter~Young The Giant

~You’re Gonna Go Far~Noah Kahan

~If The World Falls To Pieces~Young Summer

~Do I Wanna Know?~Hozier (cover)

~Somewhere only we know~Keane

~Reflections~The Neighborhood

~Can’t Catch Me Now~Olivia Rodrigo

💌Quotes:

~ ‘𝙄 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧. 𝙄 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙚𝙮𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣. 𝙄 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙖 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙢 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙖𝙣 𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙣 𝙫𝙚𝙞𝙣 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙚𝙙. 𝙄 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨, 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤.’

~ "𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨," 𝙄 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙚𝙩𝙡𝙮, 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣
𝙞𝙣 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙. "𝙌𝙪𝙞𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪."

~ "𝙃𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙮?"
"𝙄'𝙢 𝙜𝙡𝙖𝙙,' 𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙚, "𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙜𝙤𝙩 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚." 𝙃𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙖 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙮 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝. "𝙃𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙮."

~ “𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘬𝘦𝘺𝘴, 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵." 𝘏𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘳𝘶𝘨.
"𝘐 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐'𝘷𝘦
𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘴."

~ "𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨, 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪,"
, "𝙄 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙝𝙪𝙢 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙗𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨, 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚."
_________________
💜Preread:
YAY THE TIME HAS COME WHERE I FINALLY READ THIS AFTER IT SITTING ON MY SHELF FOR LITTERALLY EVER 😻🙏
Will I be sobbing after this book and left forever depressed? Maybe. But omg I can’t wait ❤️‍🔥

🖤💙Prerelease:

So this is about Toby and Hannah’s story????
Brb I’m litterally gonna be crying my eyes out with this book I fear 💀

[ray ౨ৎ]

jennifer girly, i love ur books but js make an ending alr

WE DONT NEED MORE STOP MILKING THIS 😭✋

like we alr got their story in games untold that was abt 200 pages?? HELPPP. the only difference is we get toby’s pov also 🙄🙄

when you go to the therapist needing closure but ur therapist is jennifer lynn barnes with her psychology degree so she wants to elongate it as long as she can

WHY I THINK SHE’S MILKING: y’all. she never planned on writing ‘the brother’s hawthorne’ and ‘grandest games’ like girl 😭 and before you say it’s HER books they’re clearly money grabs writing a whole ‘nother unnecessary series. like everything was closed up in ‘final gambit’ so she wanted to get more money from readers??

[ava. · Rating 5 out of 5]

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ Post-read ౨ৎ

this was so good! I honestly have never given a Jennifer Lynn Barnes book under 5 stars lol, and while, sure, it's not quite as well written as some books (like divine rivals) it was entertaining, addictive and fun while also making me almost cry multiple times

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 𝑷𝒓𝒆-𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 ౨ৎ

am I currently reading 2 books already? yes. do I have a buddy read of another book scheduled in a few days? also yes. am I reading this anyways because I saw it on my shelf and wanted to? ABSOLUTELY YES. so um I might be insane but yeah I’m really excited to read it, I loved the novella in games untold so I’m 99% sure I’ll love this this as much since it’s basically just the same book lmao

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 𝑷𝒓𝒆-𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 ౨ৎ

Why did no one tell me that this was announced literally months ago??? Here I was, thinking the only new release by Jennifer Lynn Barnes this year would be Glorious Rivals, but no this is also coming out!!? And that close to my birthday??! I am so so so excited!!!

[sama]

JLB THREATENS to release ANOTHER spinoff to the inheritance games

[vivi · Rating 5 out of 5]

screaming crying throwing up.

i had originally read hannah's side of the story from the games untold novella, so i jumped straight to toby's story. and my expectations were shot right through the roof.

i'm currently crying in the middle of the library after reading his side. just half of the book.

toby hawthorne is jameson hawthorne incarnate.

every single word hurt. every memory hurt. everything hurt.

hannah rooney is my model, my wonderful, amazing, incredible person she is. if i am ever reincarnated into this universe, she is the first person i'm going to.

toby and hannah. hannah and toby. they are the love story for fairy tales, and dreams. they are my standard and my everything.

hannah, the same backwards as forwards.

harry. toby. the hawthorne that he is. the bastard, the hero, the villain.

avery kylie grambs. a very risky gamble indeed.

alice hawthorne can go to hell. and tobias hawthorne as well.

the art of the book itself is raw finesse and i love it. we see avery, and hannah, and toby...they are my everything.

i have no more words for this book. it genuinely has rewired my brain and heart and god i love them

🌊

once upon a time, everything was dark, and i was nothing but pain- a wall of it, a world of it.

and then...there was hannah.

🌊

[Kie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did I know how this was gonna end? Yes.
Did it still break me?
Also yes.

[ari [gin’s vrsn 🩵] [semi ia]]

pre-release

jlb is one of my favorite authors, and toby and hannah are my favorite book couple

BRING IT ON

[Aliyah Z]

I swear I manifested this when The Hawthorne Legacy came out

[dilan ♡]

she’s really milking tf out of this series omg

[Melissa (Always Behind) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though this one is marked #0, it spoils a LOT from The Inheritance Games series so I'd read it in the order it was written, not based on number order.

This is novella was first featured in Games Untold: An Inheritance Games Collection, and it gives the back story of Hannah and Tobias.

That previous novella just gave Hannah's side of the story. This book has both sides. The first half is the same story from Games Untold, so if you've already read that one and remember it, you can safely skip that part. I didn't notice any differences. Toby's story is an interesting perspective and I'm glad I took the time to read this even though I had already experienced it through Hannah's eyes. It builds a lot of the backstory that you learn about throughout the Inheritance Games series.

I listened to this as an audiobook and really liked the narration, it added to the drama and kept me invested.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.

[kie (ia)]

ily jennifer, but FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYONE, please let this be the last book in this series

love, khiara (ps. no more milking, PLEASE, WE'RE DONE.)

[phideɭia]

She had the audacity to write a prequel, and I had the audacity to immediately click that 'want-to-read' button. 😭😭😭

[lena ⊹˚.⋆]

GOODNIGHT. the cover is so fucking ugly i cant- she needs to hire a new designer ASAP ISTG

when you're in a "stop milking your series until its dry" competition, but jlb is ur opponent
oh you are cooked

[Dawn Solaris]

𓍯𓂃𓏧 Anticipated ᯓᡣ𐭩

⤷ I didn’t know this was going to be a thing until now! Give me more Hannah and Toby, yes please… I can predict lots of ugly crying and breaking stuff

[faith𝜗𝜚]

the way i screamed when i found out about this-

[vxmpslibrary [hiatus exams] · Rating 4 out of 5]

.3.95 stars.

She is the world to me, and I cannot pretend that she is anything else.

.my thoughts.
Hannah and Toby's story is famous (atleast for me) since I have been practically spoiled by the whole story of inheritance games like haha what the heck.

When author first announced this book, I thought, what better to start the book with the parents? but I guess I just don't know if I should have read the TIG first or this.

Following two perspectives seperately, Toby and Hannah go through hardships together, yet at the same time seperately, Toby a lost soul, and Hannah the sun whom he keeps coming back to.

I believe I actually did not connect them to a lot than I hoped for, there was a strange grasp in this book that kept slipping, so I didn't connect to Hannah and Toby as much I was bringing myself to believe. The grief hit me hard enough, yet it was nothing for me to feel afterwards, it was all plain, black and white, and mind you after I came back from preboards I started reading this and got a terrible headache.

of course the puzzles my head ached so bad for a relief but I'm of course I'm impressed by authors creativity like of course I expected it but it just seemed more like a puzzle book story as well, Toby gave puzzles and Hannah solved it. i know Hannah is so much smarter than I am but you can't blame a girl for banging her head against the wall after coming from a brainstorming exam and have to face this thing again.

The ending made me shed a few tears soon enough, yet I hoped for an everlasting pain my heart that I did not get (bahaha im so sadistic) but yes I wasn't connected so much as I'm mentioning it in the last few sentences EVERY TIME.

I would definitely recommend you to read this after TIG? I think many would prefer that way but then I don't think it changes anything because I had bunch of spoilers and I knew how they are gonna end. And then even a few tears are enough to rate it 5 stars but oof, I expected so much more pain and heartbreak.

6/11/25
did this book made me cry? yes. did this book exceed my expectations? no. rtc soon

[mia ౨ৎ [semi ia]]

pre release:
omg omg omgggg i BAWLED when i read this 😭😭 im so exciteddddd. i swear jlb never sleeps

[maria ₊˚ෆ]

THE COVER REVEAL I AM SHAKING, I NEED IT IN MY HANDS JUST FOR THE COVER 😭

if the uk cover isn't as gorgeous as the us one, I will COMBUST!!

[❋Rushna❋ · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I loved you,” he whispered, “when the world was pain and the only thing that made sense was your eyes. I loved you before I knew to hate myself, and I have loved you every day since.”

Getting hit in the head with a brick would have hurt less than this. HannahToby had me in a chokehold ever since The Hawthorne Legacy and I’ll never get tired of their tragic love story. I’ve been obsessed with them and they will always be on my mind. When I first read their novella in Games Untold, it was devastating and exactly what I wanted. And now, their same story is a separate book. Reading it again from Toby’s POV gave more insight and hurt twice as much, knowing how the story will end anyway. I savored every word again, even though I was utterly destroyed and left an emotional sobbing mess by the end. Their story is so sad and they both sacrificed so much in the name of love. They deserved so much more because their outcome would have been very different under other circumstances. This book actually made me hate Tobias Hawthorne A LOT.

I also loved how creative this hardcover was set up with Hannah’s story on one side and Toby’s story following it once you flip the book. I enjoyed all the of the easter eggs too and seeing a deeper glimpse into secrets I’ve been wondering about ever since the end of the trilogy and Grandest Game👀 It made me miss the original series and characters. I’m tempted to do a reread, after having read some of the new revelations from this book. JLB can write as many books as she wants about this universe because I will read every single one.

[Livvy 𝜗𝜚]

🩵🌊 pre read:

Was going to wait to read this but who cares atp 🥲 SO HERE WE GO! Going back into my fantasy world 🥹

[shiloh]

as soon as this was announced on instagram I was squealinggg 🤭 I hadn’t even read their novella in games untold—but now I have and it was so. good. I rated it 6 stars 🫠 so needless to say I’m esctatic for this!!

I understand why people are saying JLB is “milking” this series but I don’t agree 😭 like guys she’s the author they’re HER books, so she can write as many as she wants. why do you care?

but yeah. this will be preordered. 😌

[ℰrin ⋆]

jlb, i love this series, but…do we really need another one? even if it is supposedly about tobyhannah

[Gloria (Ms. G's Bookshelf) · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️4 Stars⭐️
A tragic enemies to lovers tale. The Same Backward as Forward by Jennifer Lynn Barnes is the prequel to the bestseller Inheritance Games series and is the story of Avery’s mum Hannah and Toby Hawthorne. This story is set twenty years before the original series.

At twenty Hannah keeps herself as invisible as she can and has managed to escape from the dealings of her violent, criminal family, she busies herself attending nursing school and living apart from them. Once her sister Kaylie turns eighteen she intends to take her far away from the family to start a new life together.

Hannah and Toby’s lives collide when tragedy hits and leaves her sister Kaylie dead. Driven by hatred she has every reason to despise Toby but Hannah finds herself in a situation where she is called upon to nurse Toby to keep him alive. Theirs is a tragic love story and it will break your heart.

Puzzle loving Tobiy Hawthorne II is entitled and is angry, he’s hiding secrets. Toby finds himself with no memory after almost losing his life after an explosion.

This book has two covers, flip the book to read Toby’s perspective ….

I loved the main characters and watching them grow closer together, I found the story really entertaining and enjoyed the suspense but I’m sad to say I didn’t feel so invested in Toby’s POV as I felt some of it was a tad repetitive as we already heard snippets of it in Hannah’s story. I would have preferred alternating their chapters side by side.

However I still absolutely recommend reading!

Publication Date 04 November 2025
Publisher Imprint Penguin

Thank you so much Penguin Books Australia for a copy of the book.

[Violet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing! I loved seeing Toby’s point of view, and truly seeing his feelings for Hannah. His love for Avery is so sweet, and I also loved learning about his life after leaving Hannah and Avery. I also did not expect Jackson and Eden Rooney to have been together, and it’s so sad that Jackson lost his son. All in all, this was an amazing book, and it made me cry when Toby learned that Hannah was dead. The stuff about Alice is wild too, and I really hope we learn more about her in the Gilded Blade. Really great book, and beautiful cover too.

[Nicole Walls · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The first thing I remember, Hannah the Same Backward as Forward, is you.” 🔥♟️🩺

it doesn’t matter whose pov i read this story in, this story will always break my heart.

i am so grateful to have now read this beautiful, heartbreaking story in toby’s pov. hannah’s pov definitely was not enough.

i will forever wish that they ended up together. these two characters will forever break me. that is all i have to say. 6 stars forever and always, in any pov!

[amelie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well thanks a lot, Jennifer. Now I’m sobbing while reciting palindromes.

refied
at lover
revolt
a deifier

[𑣲 ezra ೀ · Rating 2 out of 5]

listen guys I TRIED..

I love jlb but dude this felt so instalovish in a BAD WAY that I wanted to just quit it

the writting is addicting but the plot just isn’t

read all of Toby’s part but didn’t read Hannah’s

maybe I’ll pick it up later

[jo ୨୧]

the rent was due ig..