The Forbidden Game by L.J. Smith

The Forbidden Game (The Forbidden Game #1-3), by L.J. Smith
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Paranormal Romance, Supernatural, Thriller
Other L.J. Smith Books
Rating: 4/5 stars
First Line: "Jenny glanced back over her shoulder."

When Jenny buys a game for her boyfriend, Tom, she finds herself inexplicably drawn to the guy behind the counter. There is something mysteriously alluring about Julian's pale eyes and bleached-blond hair. And when he places the Game into her hands, she knows their connection is something deeper.
But as Jenny and her six friends begin to play the Game at Tom's birthday celebration, a night of friends and fun quickly turns into a night of terror and obsessive love. Because the Game isn't just a game - it's the seven friends' new reality, where Julian reigns as the Prince of the Shadows.
One by one the friends must confront their phobias to win the Game. To lose the Game is to lose their lives. And that is only the beginning...

Review:

• Just like The Year I Turned Sixteen, this one has been in my bookshelf forever. I had mixed feelings about it, I was scared that it would be bad, but then I knew that The Vampire Diaries is really good, so this would be good too. I didn't want a vampire book, I wanted a paranormal thriller.
• The first few pages captivated me from the start. Buying an absurd game is weird, but the story unfolded so perfectly, and it ended up being really good by the end.
• The first book was the best. We got to know the characters easily and the whole nightmares in the weird dollhouse was gorgeous, even though I would never want to be in that situation. This book caused us to think, because some of us don't even have our phobias and we have to think about what we would do if we were in their situation.
• The second book was the worst out of the three. It became too slow-paced and I got bored. I think that the author over-exaggerated a little with the whole trilogy. Maybe two books should've stayed as the limit. 
• The third was the second best, I liked the whole amusement park thing and the mysteries that they had to solve. The whole trilogy was thrilling, and gave me a lot to think about.