Customer Reviews

Forbidden Game, Collector's Omnibus Edition

5 star:		(79)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Forbidden Game is the best set of books I have ever read. (And the Night World rulz too! Please read my review of Daughter of Darkness and e-mail me if u like it) It is wonderfully written and draws you straight into it so you can feel the emotions of all the charcters. I had always loved the Night World. I remember one day looking at the back page and thinking about all the times I had seen an advertisment for the books. Since my bookstore didn't carry it, I had to order it. I recieved the large book complete w/ all 3 stories. From the opening page I was unable to put it down untill the end. Throughout the book I found myself falling in love w/ Julian. (Just like Ash in Daughters of Darkness) Julian was a cocky, smart mouthed trouble maker, but like a hurt child underneath it all. A hurt child that could strike out w/ lethal accuracy. Handsome and slick as a cobra, he lived a life full of excitment, and sadly, etched w/ pain. He was amazing and loveable despite his hard exterior through most of the book. The chacacters were great and well formed. Jenny is a strong herione and that makes the book great. Dee was a great charatcter w/ her goddess looks and strong mind. In real life she would go far. Audrey was of course was the fashion diva, but it went deeper that that. She was a young lost women w/ a heart of gold. Micheal was a wonderful character. Cuddly like a teddy bear and completly lovable. Audrey has good taste. Zach sounded like a wonderful artist and a terrific abstract thinker. A brain as fast as a whip and a heart that was warm underneath all his protective ice. Summer was the sweet flower, and the poor child was small but had a heart w/ the determintaion of a little lion just learning to be brave. And of course how could we forget Tom. The arrogant Tom Locke who was taught a very important lesson. You never no what you have untill you lose it. I have to say my favorite part is in the last book, in the cavern after Jenny almost drowns. How she resisted Julian then, I will never know. It was the most amazing transformation of Julian throughout the entire book. I could see his haunted eyes in the firelight as I read that part over and over again. This was also the first AND ONLY book to ever make me cry. The end was very sad, and as I look back, I see it was enevitable. Like Jenny said, Julian was too dangerous to live. But he was a spirit of fire that would live on forever, even after death. I laughed, I cried, I was amazed. The Forbidden Game are the best series I have ever read. Each time I read it, it's like the first time. An emotional rollercoaster all over again. A true masterpeice. My best regards and wishes to L.J. Smith for the excellent series.

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...

First of all this is probably one of L J Smith's better trilogies. It's well thought out and all of the characters have full roles to play and real personalities to match (something the writer is sometimes guilty of leaving out-see Secret Circle.) The beautiful unearthly Julian is an immortal being, a shadow man who inspires nightmares and doesn't have feelings, until he sees Jenny Thornton and falls in love with her. Jenny and her friends are kidnapped by Julian and taken to the Shadow world, if she won't love Julian he will make her love him through a series of games using her friends as bargainning chips against her.

The books are well plotted above average Young Adult fare that I still read at the age of 20. Smith draws on Norse mythology and the psychology of nightmares to make the books as real as possible. You can't help but feel for the characters as they face their worst nightmares:the loss of a friend, and the tangles of love to grow stronger. Typically of Smith's books Jenny must choose between the good Tom,the love of her life since kindergarten, or the exotic Julian a devil who has watched and loved her since she was 5, who desires her light for his darkness. I won't give the ending away, but six years after reading it for the first time I still grieve over the ending and the choice Jenny must make, now that's the sign of a damn good book. This is quirkier and less formulaic than some of L.J Smith's newer series but if you enjoy it check out Dark Visions, it's also a keeper!!

Okay, this is the weirdest review I have ever done, so don't give me a hundred "not helpful votes". I am just trying to be honest.

Okay here is the gist of the book from the author * "Julian--a visitor from a dark world--draws Jenny and her friends into forbidden games. If Julian wins, he gets Jenny - if Jenny and her friends win, they go free."

This was a great trilogy with a unique story line. 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.

I first read this book when I was 13,and read it again when I was 16,again when I was 19,and now I'm 20 I want to read it again even though it hasnt even been a year since I last read it!Im glad that I got these books when they were released under point horror and only had eyes on the front cover,because the munter on the front cover of this book looks nothing like the lush julian I imagined!Considering that this is a book aimed at teens,and that it is a point horror,this book has had a stunning amount of research done.The only slightly disapointing thing about the book is the slightly childish way that the characters are portrayed,but as this book is aimed at teens,and is about teens,I think that we can let this minor discerpency slip.this book is still one of my all time favourites,buy it,read it and read it agian.without giving the end away(as if the other reviews havent already!)get the tissues out.

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 =).)

These books are totally out of this world, I just can't put it into words, I didn't know there was anyone else who felt this way about the books! They're spellbinding, you find yourself being totally wrapt up in Jenny's struggles, and you can't stop wishing it was you! I would SO have stayed with Julian, he's one of the only characters in a books like these that I've fallen for completely!The other characters are totally three dimentional too. My favorite is Dee. She's a real roll model, model beautiful, strong and confident, Michel is seriously, loveble like a nicer version of Tom, and Audrie is perfect for him. I wish Lisa had said more about Zach, he was really puzzling, and Summer made things interesting, being so innosent and sweet but ending up the way she did. But I have to say Julian is a real heartbreaker, if you read these books, you WILL fall in love with him, and you will want to read this book again and again. Julian's a bit like Ash, from the Night world books, only a thousand times more impossibly gorgeous! Lisa, this is an amazing trilogy, I won,t say it changed my life, but I find myself modelling the guys I go out with on Julian! I think I probably read this book-well 13 or 14 times a year and have done ever since I was 12 (NOW 16). I never get bored of it, and never will! Lisa it would probably make me and a lot of other people really happy, if you could find time to write another one about these guys, I promise you EVERYONE would buy it!!!

I came across L.J. Smith's name on one of the Twilight forums. Her books were regarded very highly, so I decided to give one of her series a try. My first available book happened to be The Forbidden Game trilogy. A little bit about each of three books.

The Hunter
In a few words, this is a story about Jenny, an ordinary good girl, and Julian, a "Dark Prince" who is in love with her. To lure Jenny in his world, Julian tricks her and 6 of her friends to play The Game, where all of them have to face their most horrific nightmares. If they win, they are free to go. If they lose, Jenny has to stay with Julian forever.

This is a very well written book, characters are very real and relatable. Like many other reviewers, I found Julian extremely attractive in a dangerous way.

The Chase
Julian is out and lures Jenny into another Game - "Lambs and Monsters," in which her friends are caught one by one by the Snake and the Wolf. Jenny has to find the Shadow Man's base in order to free her friends and to be released from the promise she has given Julian in the previous game.

I found this book less entertaining than "The Hunter." It took almost half of the book for Julian to appear, the game itself was much weaker, we didn't learn anything new about the Shadow World, and there was too little interaction between Jenny and Julian.

The Kill
Seriously, what a comeback after a snoozer the second book was!

Jenny, Dee, Michael and Audrey are playing the final game to save their friends. Only this time they have to find an entrance to the Shadow World to be able to play.

This book is everything I expected and more. We find out more about the Shadow World, about Julian and experience emotional growth of all characters.

The book is scary, intense, and romantic at the same time. The ending is sad but you know it couldn't have ended any other way...

Overall, a great YA fantasy series which I would highly recommend.

I would be hard pressed to pick one of L.J. Smith's leading guys as my favorite, but Julien was and still is one of the most intriguing leads in all the books I have ever read. This book has it all, romance and intrigue, drama and suspense. But best of all, unlike a lot of the YA fiction that is out there it actually will keep you up at night wondering about who might be standing over your bed. The antagonist/protagonist(because by the end of the book, your rooting for our boy)is a wonderful mix of persuasion and force, and the Shadow race is enough to send chills and goosbumps over every inch of your back. And though the ending is sad and not what you might expect, it is not your same cut-and-dried happily ever after. This book leaves you with that question you always thought after you read a book that really strikes a cord in you "What happens next?"
And I don't know about you, but that is what makes a great book for me. Lets put it this way...the first time I read this book I was fifteen, and I am now 25 and buying it here on amazon. Ten years is a good reference for a book I'd think!