The Forbidden Game (The Forbidden Game #1-3) by L.J. Smith

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Source: Publisher

Edition: Paperback

Pages: 768

Rating:

To lose the game is to lose your life in bestselling author L.J. Smith's
THE FORBIDDEN GAME.

To capture the love of Jenny Thorton, Julian--a visitor from a dark world--draws Jenny and her friends into forbidden games; the contest for a human soul. The prize is Jenny's freedom. The stakes are all of their lives. Jenny's friends are determined to help her win. But Julian is the master of the Game. Jenny's most desperate fight will be with him, this eerily handsome boy with electric blue eyes. He knows her deepest secrets, her darkest fears. He has almost infinite power. And the only thing he wants is for Jenny to surrender to him--body and soul.

L.J. Smith is one of my favorite authors. I find most people enjoy her books but not a lot of people find them amazing, aside from myself. Her books are always really good, in my opinion, and The Forbidden Game is certainly no exception! This book is really cool, somewhat scary and different but I love the originality and the concept of the "forbidden game" in the novel.

The book is very fast paced and compelling. The beginning is intruiging and I was already engrossed in the story by the second chapter. For me, The Forbidden Game is an excellent book, maybe not because of the way it's written but because it took me on a rollercoaster ride of obssesion, love, nightmares and much more. Several chapters in the novel or in other words, several of the characters' nightmares were definitely scaring me as I read and I'm not one to get scared by books or movies easily. That was one of the reasons why I couldn't put the book down. It made my heart race and my blood pump in anticipation. There's also several plot twists that I really didn't see coming and although all three books are excellent in this omnibus, the first book of the three is by far the best. As for the conclusion of the trilogy, I find it to be kind of a cliffhanger ending with which L.J. Smith could definitely get right back into in a spinoff series of sorts.

As for the characters, I love all of them especially, of course, Julian! He's one of the most complex and mysterious characters of all I've read about. I believe that he in fact did love Jenny but his view of love is quite different from the average person's view of love. All of the characters are likeable and endearing in their own way which is also another reason why I love this book!

I recommend this book to those who like a good thrill and those who are fans of Jumanji and the Saw movies! Obviously the book is not half as gory as the Saw movies but there some definite similarities :)