L.J. Smith's The Forbidden Game Book 1: The Hunter

Episode blurb:"Kelly and Katai talk LJ Smith’s THE FORBIDDEN GAME BOOK ONE: THE HUNTER! They chat sexy cat-haired men, sexy cousins, and sexy runes!"

Episode Happenings
L.J. Smith's Forbidden Game series was an early fan favorite series which Kelly and Katai had not at all heard of. When they finally read it to solve riots in the streets (read: lots of people tweeting "WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO READ FORBIDDEN GAME???" (which is basically rioting in the streets for this fandom) they realized that they LOVED THIS BOOK.

Kelly and Katai discuss the strong af Labyrinth vibes here, and how simultaneously problematic and super, duper appealing the fantasy of an otherworldly figure being completely obsessed with you. One other aspect that is not great is how Dee, the black character is described: she is constantly described as incredibly beautiful, but in a way that exoticizes her dark skin and obsesses with how her amazing skin amazes people. They enjoy how L.J. Smith writes characters in general, especially how female characters are down to fight instead of give in to the super sexy master of the Shadow Game - which they compare to the motivation in many male-written novels where the assumption of female characters are often just motivated by attraction and spunk. They also appreciate that the characters don't remain confused for too long for the sake if creating conflict that isn't there.

Speaking of things they appreciate, THERE'S HOT COUSIN STUFF HERE. At this point in the podcast Kelly and Katai had not read as much VC Andrews and therefore not as much exposure to incest ships in the books they read, and are uncomfortable with how into it they are. They read the Cousin Stuff scene in full, and it's pretty hot. They both couldn't wait to read the next book.

Description
From Goodreads:"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 . .."

Notable Bits
Lindsay talks at one point about what she claims is her all-time most embarrassing moment: One time when she went on Disney's Tower of Terror, she had a full freakout because the host of the ride made her feel like he was going to steal her soul. She was yelling to be let off the ride, screaming for her mom and everything. She was 14. With a group of three other fourteen year olds. And immediately after the ride she was like "That was so fun! Let's go again! Right now! (So you won't remember what happened ha ha ha ha ha!)"

Kelly describes a childhood moment that sounds a lot like slep paralysis.