2.5 stars, rounded down to 2.0 starsWith the mazes and games that have deadly consequences, to compare this book to movies ... it felt very "Saw"-light ... or maybe "Jumangi"-dark. The writing started mediocre at best, but got a little (just a little) stronger throughout the three books. I found most of the characters very cliche and predictable, although I will admit that Julian's character was written with a touch of smolder and danger that I liked (but, alas, there were MANY issues with his character as well).
Here's what I will say. Just like with a TV series, a book series is best done in marathon form one right after the other. Had I purchased the first book [b:The Hunter|88495|The Hunter (The Forbidden Game, #1)|L.J. Smith|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1222651597s/88495.jpg|85398] and read it independently, I almost certainly would not have moved on to books two ([b:The Chase|88496|The Chase (The Forbidden Game, #2)|L.J. Smith|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1222651862s/88496.jpg|85399]) and three ([b:The Kill|333670|The Kill (The Forbidden Game, #3)|L.J. Smith|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1222652102s/333670.jpg|324194]). In the end, I'm glad I had all three in one book because I do like to wrap up a storyline/series (even though I saw that ending coming a mile away).
