The Forbidden Game: The Hunter; The Chase; The Kill

The book starts off with Jenny wanting a game for her boyfriend tom's birthday party. So she goes to this shop and this blue eyed boy named Julian pursuades her into getting the game. She gets it but little does she know it's a real life game when they get sucked into it. There they meet Julian again he is a shadow man who's in love with Jenny and has been watching over her. Some might consider Julian a "bad guy" but I found him very apealing I was drawn to him like Gabriel in Dark visions. Well the book take on a roller coaster when they enter the shadow world. I don't wan't to spoil anything but Jenny did grow up from beggining to end I was shocked at her choice. Then I was shocked toward the end. Sometimes L.J smith doesn't choose the man I want her too and it actually leaves me in tears. Like another customer said she cried. I cried too because it was not what I was expecting. But anybody who's an L.J smith should read this book it is by far one of her best.

Okay, this is the weirdest review I have ever done, so don't give me a hundred "not helpful votes" please. I am just trying to be honest. The first part of the book Jenny is looking to buy a game (at a game store) because she is having a group of friends coming over to her house to hang out. At the game store she chooses the most "unusual" game to buy because the "guy" at the game store talks her into buying this particular game. Fast forward a little - Julian (the guy at the store) is actually from the dark world. He has been watching Jenny for years, from a far and is totally in love with her. He wants her with him in his world. Jenny's boyfriend thinks differently. Any hoo...Jenny's friends start the game not knowing that it is a "forbidden game". It turns out that the game is magical... and here are the rules - if Julian wins, he gets Jenny - if Jenny and her friends win, they go free. Simple right? - Wrong - because Julian is in charge of the game. The characters are all likeable. Julian (the villain), you have a love/hate kind of thing going on. This book takes you thru 3 books. This book is the most unique book I have ever read! Smith did an excellent job of making this a book so that you are so far drawn in, you will stay up till 4 in the morning to see how it ends. I think it is a possibility that it is one of the best books I have ever read. ** *Possible Spoiler***- However, to do it all over - I would not have read the book!!! The ending broke my heart, literally. I cried so much at the ending that I was dripping tears on the pages. I have never reacted to a book this strongly. I finished reading it at 4am and cried in bed until 6am. The next morning my husband asked me what was wrong and I just started crying all over again and then I had to explain to him I was crying over a "fiction book". He hugged me and asked me to tell him the story and then he let me cry some more. (I have the best husband in the world!!) So...............I know this is a weird review. I wish I had never opened the book because it haunts me. **Update to Spoiler** I read this book back in July of 2009 - nearly a year ago when I first wrote my review. I feel differently now. I am so glad I read the book. Since then I have learned sometimes to make a great book, you don't necessarily have to have a perfect "Happily Ever After". Actually - not having a perfect "Happily ever After" is what sometimes makes the most excellent and memorable books!!! So - looking back - I am very glad I did read it!!!!

I must admit, I did not pick out this book myself. My friend, a great fan of L.J. Smith, had bought it, and she told me to read it. I don't usually go for fantasy tending towards horror, which was the genre I gathered this book to be in. However, I started reading it, figuring that if I didn't like it, I could always put it down. Well, as it turned out, I could barely bring myself to put it down to go to sleep. From the first page, I was enticed into the lives of Jenny Thornton, beautiful and innocent, though with something about her that attracts darkness; Dee, a lot of brawn but with a brain, though she doesn't want to admit it; Audrey, smart, chic and cosmoplolitan, grounded in reality; Summer, somewhat confused but with a great heart; Zach, artistic and cynical, who prefers to live in the worlds he creates; Michael, sarcastic and practical, outwardly a coward; and Jenny's boyfriend, Tom, handsome but somewhat arrogant, who takes Jenny for granted. The darkness Jenny has attracted is Julian, eerily and devistatingly handsome, with no gentle emotions to speak of...at least, on the surface. Cruel, but in love with Jenny. He leads her and her friends into a game where the price is their lives, in the hopes of winning Jenny. However, the end of that game is just the beginning of Julian's pursuit of Jenny. I found myself falling in love with Julian, the bad boy, but with a soft side to him, though it's hard to find. Reminiscent of the Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera, he simply wants a little beauty in his world of ugliness. L. J. Smith's writing is, in my opinion, flawless, and though I didn't like her ending in an emotional sense, that as well as the rest of the book had me spellbound, wishing for more. This book is a great read, whether or not you're already into fantasy.

I have to say, this is one of the best books I've read so far...L.J. Smith is a great writer and this is one of the best examples of her talent. This wonderful trilogy is both scary and romantic-a definite must-read for all who love danger and romance. You'll definitely fall in love with Julian, the nicest of the Shadow Men, straight from beginning to end. Sweet but tragic ending(hopefully Ms. Smith will realize the mistake she made with it and write a 4th book with Julian's return =).)

It is truly amazing... this series blew me away when I first read it. I had heard fabulous things about it, but never expected them to be more then true! It is a darker side of the fantastical realm, but it is sheer genius in concept. Who hasn't had that tingly feeling they are being watched or feared that some day their worst nightmares may come true. Julian is an flawless demonstration of an unforgettable villain who is desperately struggling between his natural corruption and his love for Jenny. Jenny, the innocent heroine, who is pulled in two between her morality and Julian's ruthless attraction. Both trapped in a deadly game of dreams and nightmares. You cannot read this and not be challenged, rethinking your standards and questioning your strongest beliefs. So who made the right choice? Only you can decide. So take time out to read this book and just let your imagination soar and your fears come alive. The World of Shadows and all it's wonders await...