The Hunter, by L.J. Smith

Title: The Hunter (The Forbidden Game, #1) 
Author: L.J. Smith
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release: March 1, 1994
Source: Publisher
Purchase: (RJ Julia | Simon Pulse)

He sold her the game, and Jenny Thornton walked out mesmerized by Julian, the gorgeous cyber-punk with electric blue eyes and frost-white hair. When she and her friends open the plain white box at her boyfriend Tom’s birthday party, she chills to the warning: “Entering the Shadow World can be deadly. Do so at your own risk.” Spellbound, they piece together the rooms with their darkest nightmares. Suddenly the game is real! They’re in the house of horrors, running from The Shadow Man Julian himself, who forces them to confront their worst nightmares or be lost in a private hell. It’s Julian’s game, and Jenny is the prize he’s stalked for years. He’ll do anything to win her as she bargains desperately for her body and soul . . .

Being a huge fan of L.J. Smith, I was eager to discover a series of hers I hadn’t yet read: The Forbidden Game. So, loving L.J. Smith’s writing and ability to create amazing stories, I jumped right into The Hunter. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed.

I can enjoy books with paranormal or fantasy elements. The majority of what I read has paranormal aspects, but I just couldn’t buy The Hunter. The whole idea of the Game seemed too outlandish for me. I couldn’t visualize the Shadow World clearly, and I had a hard time connecting to the story. I was so let down by this, because I’ve never had a problem like this with any of L.J. Smith’s books, and all of them involve fantasy or paranormal.

L.J. Smith’s writing even seemed different in The Hunter. It was a lot choppier than I’m used to with her work, and it was like she didn’t even write it. I am hoping that it was just this one book of hers that I’ll have trouble with, because I sincerely love her other books, and hopefully this was just a fluke.

Jenny, and the rest of the characters in The Hunter were barely relatable to me. They don’t really have their own personalities, and they all sort of blend together. I’m sure if there were less characters all in the spotlight, I would connect to them more. I think a big part of why I didn’t connect to these characters was because The Hunter is very episodic. The characters are introduced one at a time basically, and they only get a little bit of time where they are in the center.

Despite adoring L.J. Smith’s other books, I just didn’t click with The Hunter. I will continue to read the Forbidden Game series, though, because this has been the only letdown for me when it comes to Smith, and I am hoping I just wasn’t in the mood for this one.