The only way to win, is to survive

This book was utterly delectable, throughly feral, and a complete thrill from start to finish.

The Hunger Games x 90s Asian Noir x Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra. RUN DON'T WALK to pre-order this bad boy, trust me you need it in your life.

I am going to wait to post a full in-depth review until the book is out, but in the meantime if you hear rabid screeching from the direction of New Zealand, it's me thinking about this book.

Chloe Gong, as always does no wrong. I loved this story and the plot twists. I wasnt a big fan of the amount of info dumping throughout, and the characters reminded me of the characters in the Shanghai story a little too much. However I did really enjoy!

It pains me to give this book such a low rating.

After loving the Shangai series, I was sure I was going to love this one as well. Alas, I was wrong.
Immortal Longings was very confusing, with a lot of info-dumping and concepts not sufficiently explained. The worldbuilding was heavy, and sometimes beyond my comprehension. More than once I skimmed through the pages because I was bored to death. Even the characters couldn't hold my attention nor I could connect with them. I'm so sad because I love TVD and its characters with all my heart.

4.7/5

Chloe has done it again! I adore her Secret Shanghai universe, so I had high hopes for her adult debut. Let me tell you, it was absolutely incredible.

But first, I want to thank Holder and Stoughton for providing me with an early e-copy!

Immortal Longings is a retelling of Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, but with a sprinkle of The Hunger Games. It follows Calla, a princess who went into hiding after killing her parents and now trying to end her uncle's life (who's the King), and Anton who's trying to get enough money to repay his debts, as they compete in the yearly games and eventually become allies. The problem is, there can only be one winner.

The world was very well crafted, with characters having powers unlike those in any books I've read before - they can jump from body to body (though it isn't as simple as that, of course). I really enjoyed the political aspect of this book as well, since I am a HUGE fan of fantasy politics. You couldn't always know which side a character is on, and yet you saw why they have done what they did, even if you know that they weren't right. Though to be fair everyone is so morally ambiguous that nothing can be seen as "right", just the lesser of evils.

Speaking of, I absolutely loved all the characters. They were very well written and had incredibly complex backstories and motivations. Chloe managed to make me care about them from the first few chapters, which almost never happens. This is also the first time I see my gender reflected accurately in a character, no less the main character. It feels like the author just reached into my head, took the feeling, and put into words. ahhhhh THANK YOU SO MUCH MISS CHLOE<33333

There were so many plot twists! Whenever you think you know where the story is going, you either get proven wrong immediately, or you are lead to think that you got it right only for the story to take a 180 degree turn. I can guarantee that some of the plot twists you will never see coming. And the ending- let's just say I will not know peace until I have book 2. Actually, no, scratch that. I will not know peace with this series, periodt, since I know some of the things happening in Antony and Cleopatra.

The only thing I didn't enjoy as. much was the romance. It happened waaaay too quickly for my liking. The characters definitely do have chemistry, but their "love"/obsession needed more than a few weeks (with only a handful of meetings) to develop, as it felt they knew almost nothing about each other. I understand how it makes sense plot-wise, just wish that they spent more time together. I also want to mention that this book is adult, and that there is a NSFW scene, as well as quite a lot of violence and gore.

Overall, I really enjoyed Immortal Longings and would definitely recommend it to urban fantasy/sci-fi lovers! just make sure to check content warnings:)

It seems an odd comment to make about such a bloodthirsty author, but Chloe Gong's writing makes me feel so calm. I'm a fire sign, though, maybe that's just the insanity jumping out...Some authors you just vibe with across all their books/genres, etc, and Chloe Gong is absolutely one of my most recent favourites. She always has a flair for drama, blood and the ability to make you REALLY angry about a good cliffhanger.

Marketed as an Antony and Cleopatra-style Hunger Games, Immortal Longings certainly takes root in betrayal, deadly games as entertainment, and the goal to topple a corrupt ruler. It made me want to also compare it to Mad Max: Fury Road, Marie Lu's books, and those parts of Shakespeare's works where everyone is screaming dramatically and covered in blood. It was fast-paced, full of tension, and had some great dialogue moments that make you pause and glance around to check no one saw or heard you react to a fictional ship fighting each other.

Throughout, I had a few minor criticisms but these were VERY PICKY because I'm obsessed with the author's works. For example, some lines felt a bit too on the nose, or clearly written to be included in ship fanart and black-and-white Tumblr edits. I also didn't fall completely in love with any character, though I liked them all a great deal; I objectively think this is because of the sheer nature of the plot's fast pace not allowing time for you to dive deep into any character. So I look forwards to seeing more depth of everyone in the sequel, of which I am already DYING FOR.

~thank you hodder and stoughton and netgalley for a review copy of this book
5 ⭐️
~i have loved all of chloe gongs books so i knew i would love this one as well but it was so much better than I could have ever expected!! I didn’t really know how the plot would play out or what would happen but the plot was so amazing!! This book follows a deadly game where 88 players fight across the city of San-Er until only one remains. The plot twist at the end of this book had me GASPING I am now desperate to read the next book. I loved the world this book is set in, the whole city has been setup so brilliantly that the whole place seems so vivid!! This is one of my favourite books I have read so far this year!! (a must read for any chloe gong or any fantasy lovers!!)

Chloe Gong has only gone and done it again! This book was everything, I wanted and from more! Whilst it’s definitely not similar to the world of These Violent Delights and Foul Lady Fortune, this still kept the classic Chloe Gong writing style which I adore as well as the twist an turns that become more gut wrenching as you go along - my jaw literally dropped a few times.

The romance is peak enemies to lovers with a lil bit of slow burn in there and a massive helping of betrayal ✨ultimate chefs kisses✨. At this point Chloe Gong might as well be crowded queen of enemies to lovers cause it is spectacular! Note that with it being 1/3 there is obviously alot more going to happen between the two!

Whilst the story very much is centred around Calla we also get the POVs of August and Anton, all of which grew up in the palace but with very different experiences which created some interesting dynamics between the three characters and leaves you never really knowing who to trust.

The world of Talin and city of San-Er was such an interesting concept that I can’t wait to see more of in the coming books! It’s pretty hard to go into any of the details without any spoilers but the politics are super interesting and I’m sure we’ll see a lot more of this in the future! The main competition also took a really refreshing twist on what most people (including myself before reading) would assume is a Hunger Games-esque style plot but turned out to be really different!

I literally can’t wait for this book to publish.. also when get an I get the sequel?

Thank you Hodderscape, and Netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review

Imagine the Hunger Games set in a sci-fi technological dystopia

In the dystopian capital of San-Er, King Kasa holds an annual games to the death for the chance to win riches.

Princess Calla Tuoleimi has been considered dead for years, and only Prince August lifts a brow when she enters into the lottery for the games. Together, they use their skill of jumping bodies to ensure Calla’s succession in the games so that she can get closer to King Kasa.

Enter Anton Makusa, another talented jumper also set on winning the games to save his childhood love.

This story is an interesting spin on a world that relies on technology almost as much as food and water. There’s such a wide array of characters; but Calla, Anton and August truly steal the show here.

The tension between Calla and Anton was deliciously dangerous. I loved all the twists and reveals in the story. I will in fact be needing time off to recover from this book because it has emotionally wrecked me.

I have unfortunately decided to dnf this book despite my adoration for this author, because the overwhelming info-dumping in this book is alarming and unbearable to read.

It seriously took me weeks to get into it, and even then it wasn’t out of my own free will and enjoyment, more so the fact I was just kinda sick of it looming over my head and wanted to be done with it.

I’m really disappointed that I didn’t enjoy this but the lack of elegance when it came to providing information for the readers to understand the world building was insufferable. I literally didn’t have a clue what was going on nor could I keep up with anything. I wanted to love this so badly since Chloe’s YA books are some of my favourites but this didn’t work for me at all!

"They trained her for war. And she rose up to wage it on them"

Inmortal Longings is the first book in an adult epic fantasy trilogy (The Flesh and False Gods) inspired by Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, told from multiple povs and packed with action, a deadly game setting and an enemies-to-lovers romance between a princess murderer seeking revenge and an exiled noble.

When I found out I was given an e-arc of this book I almost fainted (yes, I'm not kidding). This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. I love The Secret Shanghai series with all my heart and I was very excited to pick up this book, because the premise sounded very good and Chloe Gong writes the best enemies-to-lovers relationships.

I'm going to start with what I enjoyed the most about the book:
- The worldbuilding: I loved how complex and well-defined it was. The concept of body-jumping interested me from the beginning and, even though I was very confused and overwhelmed until I hit the first 20% of the book, I think it was very clever.
- The writing: I'm such a fan of the writing, it was beautiful, vivid and immersive.
- The different perspectives: sometimes, when a book has multiple povs it gets hard for me to follow the story or to be interested enough in each of the characters. This was not the case here. I liked every pov and thought each one was interesting and necessary for the plot.
- The plot twists: there's one in particular that I didn't see coming and had me screaming !!! Can't say more, because of spoilers, but it has to do with a certain main character and their backstory.
- The grayness of the main characters: look, I love people who are good and do everything out of kindness, but give me morally gray characters plus a tragic backstory and I'm yours for the rest of my existence.

Now, the things that weren't my cup of tea:
- The romance: although I liked Calla and Anton, I'm not a big fan of how their relationship developed. It felt a bit flat. The enemies-to-lovers bit was there and I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I wasn't really invested. However, I enjoyed the banter and the involvement of knives.
- The pace: it took me a while to get into the story mainly because the pace was a bit off in my opinion.
- The games: this was what annoyed me the most. I expected to be very engaged in the competition, because it had a lot of potential but, in the end, I didn't really care. I didn't feel like the characters were at real risk most of the time and this was supposed to be deadly. There were deaths, of course, and lots of blood and very graphic scenes, but, I don't know, something was lacking. I wasn't suffering for Anton and Calla and they weren't afraid either, or at least I didn't feel they were.
- Calla: don't get me wrong, I adored this murderous princess, she could step on me for all I care. However, I found myself thinking of Juliette from These Violent Delights more than once during the reading, I think these two characters have very similar personalities.

Overall, the book didn't meet my high expectations, it had its ups and downs, but was enjoyable. I'll be picking up the next book, mostly because I liked the ending and am curious about where the story is going.

TW: blood, violence (very graphic)

*Thank you NetGalley for sending me a digital copy of Immortal Longings in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to Hodder and Stoughton for providing an arc in exchange for a review.

According to the palace, the traitor Princess Calla is dead. She was caught and killed in her attempted to escape, and San-Er can rest easy knowing no murderer princess hides in its streets.
But Calla is very much alive and has bided her time, driven to dispense her justice and kill King Kasa.

Strength is a conscious effort. First, you will be braver, and then you will be stronger.
They trained her for war. And she rose up to wage it on them.

She can put her plan in action in a Hunger Games-esque killing tournament where 88 participants are unleashed in the city to kill each other before the victor is left and can meet the King.

Put your name in the lottery, slaughter only eighty-seven of your fellow citizens, and be awarded with riches beyond your wildest dreams.

As proved by her previous books, Chloe Gong is the master of enemies-to-lovers and slow burn. Normally, I don’t get on with the overdone, unrealistic enemies-to-lovers, but I will devour whatever Chloe Gong writes apparently. She’s that good.

Maybe if couples these days went for matching bloodstains instead of wedding rings.

Finally, the amazing magic system? I don’t even know how to describe it simply for a review, but basically think Freaky Friday - some people owning a gene that allows them to jump from body to body if they have sufficient qi. It makes for a heck of an advantage in a killing tournament.
It also allows Gong to explore issues of identity, gender, and how people see themselves. She writes to impress.

I have one complaint - CHLOE GONG, WHAT WAS THAT END?! I now have to wait for the next release after that? My heart is ripped in two and then shredded into a thousand pieces, thanks.

If you liked The Hunger Games, Red Rising, or All of Us Villains, I promise you will love this!

Absolutely loved this hunger games esque story, I was hooked from start to finish. The story centres around 3 main characters, prince August, princess Calla and Anton.
Anton and Calla enter the games both intent on fighting to the death to win the prize, giving Calla access to the King in order to kill him and free the City, all with the help from her cousin August.
She teams up with Anton to eliminate players quicker. I enjoyed the enemy to lovers narrative, Calla is a very strong and determined character, right to the end!
Loved the ending and already dying to read book 2 in this series!

Immortal Longings is an absolute ambitious story to write, but sadly, CG failed to
deliver it. Disclaimer, l enjoyed her Secret Shanghai Series--not my fav series ever but enough to make anticipate her upcoming works. I really tried to enjoy IL but it’s just not appealing whatsoever.

This is CG’s adult debut about Antony & Cleopatra retelling in a setting inspired by Kowloon Walled City. It also mainly involving a deadly game inspired by The Hunger Games. Up to this point, it sounds amazing, right? But the thing is, the execution was terrible and made zero sense.

Let's talk about one thing at a time. Calla, the female main character, is the more feral & violent version of Juliette Cai. Anton, on the other hand, doesn't even have a solid personality. It’s giving “Barbie is everything, he’s just Ken”🙃 There's a LOT of side characters that instead of adding more layers to the story, they simply just make it more confusing. Also their names were so unmemorable, which is annoying for a complicated fantasy like this.

The concept of the magic system was actually cool but has a lot of flaws. There’s a “jumping” gene that allows the owner to invade and possess other person's body. The abandoned body would become "empty vessel" until someone inhabitate it again. And the possessed person would have no recollections of when their body was possessed. AND THE PALACE HAS NO STRICT RULE ABOUT THIS. I MEAN, ITS CLEARLY DANGEROUS. IMAGINE IF BAD GUYS HAS THIS GENE AND EXPLOIT IT???

Next, the "deadly game". It's straight The Hunger Games ripoff in a badly organized way. There's no rule, without specific arena (the arena is the whole city), the participants could still interact with non-participants, allowed to go anywhere, doing whatever they want. They could take a break from the game or quit if they don’t want to continue anymore. The only thing that important is that there will be only 1 victor who will instantly showered with wealth and that’s it. The whole concept is SO flimsy and messy😭

The info & descriptions were overwhelming, the plot was all over the place. The romance was bland and lacking in chemistry. On top of that, the ending wasn’t satisfying. You probably know that CG loves to write cliffhangers. But instead of giving me suspense and anticipation, it just annoyed me. A lot of things remain unclear. I guess thats for the next book’s problem to solve but at this point IDC about this series anymore😭

I wish I could give this more stars but I just didn’t find even a single thing that felt enjoyable. I practically dragged myself throughout the book bc of my stubbornness that prevented me to DNF. If you like complex and mysterious story like in the The Atlas Six but make it dystopian and bloody, you’d probably like this book!

Chloe Gong’s debut adult fantasy is an Anthony and Cleopatra retelling, set in the background of the games of the King as individuals compete in a fight to the death, hunger games style battle for the honour of being crowned victor. The only tricky part is… body jumping is possible, meaning kills have to be quick less you risk your opponent simply switching body. Each competitor has their reason for competing, none moreso than our two titular characters - Cella and Anton.

Cella, the former princess runaway long assumed dead, and Anton, a palace-born exile, are thrown into the games as a matter of circumstance; begin an intense, all consuming romance. Their relationship is a marvel to read - Chloe nails time and time again the angst-driven desire of two scorned people who, by no circumstances, should be together. The relationship was a joy to watch unfold, but the characterisation of both stood out without a doubt - you have a firm understanding of exactly who they are and what they wish to achieve.

I’ve read, and adored, everything Gong has published to date and yet I cannot help but feel this is her best work yet. The worldbuilding is exquisite, with a fast-paced, multifaceted plot and an entire ensemble of characters. She balances characterisation + plot development perfectly, the end had me experiencing almost every emotion possible for a human to experience. Absolutely ecstatic to continue reading this trilogy.

Immortal Longings is the exciting first book in Chloe Gongs debut adult fantasy series. I haven't read any other books by this author but I've heard great things so I had high expectations. I've always loved Antony and Cleopatra and thought this book was definitely a unique take on the classic. The writing style was lovely and flowed seamlessly.

I really like the characters, however I felt rather disconnected from the setting. The world building felt rushed and I found myself extremely confused at times.

Nevertheless, I think that Immortal Longings was a solid adult debut and I look forward to reading more by Chloe Gong.

I have questions.

About hues.

Immortal Longings is the first foray by Chloe Gong into Adult and it's a good one. In the twin cities of San-Er, body swapping and murder are the game.

It's a game I enjoyed because stabby implications.

And with all games, certain moves come out of left field. Twisty trickery afoot here.

I like Calla. And I like Antony. I liked their voices. How sharp Calla was to her own detriment. How determinedly ambitious Antony was to the point that he'll break his foundations to keep climbing higher.

I liked the allusion to a romantic thread in Anthony's life.

Calla, not so much. It didn't hit where it should have and that disappointing.

The city itself, I felt like it could have had more character. I didn't feel the claustrophobia that I wanted to experience. I get, that it was grim and way over cramped and that life and light are hard to find. But I didn't feel it.

WHAT I DID FEEL, HOWVER, WAS PUFE WHAT THE FUCKERY AT THE ENDING.

How actually dare you Ms. Gong. And, also, how??????

big thank you to netgalley, the author and publisher for this arc.

5. big. shiny. stars.

good fucking god dude she has done it AGAIN. NO MISSES. BANGER AFTER BANGER. it is no secret that i am actual trash for miss chloe gong's work, but TRULY. this was so good, again.

i've described this before as being a voluntary hunger games set within a big city that's way too overcrowded – eighty-eight players having to battle to the death to get to the finals. they all play for the large sum of money to be won, except for miss calla. she just wants to fix their kingdom. and dude i love her so much. AND ANTON. i love both of them.

the story, the characters, i might be biased but i don't care. i will be impatiently waiting for the next book.

AND I WILL ALSO BE SENDING MISS GONG MY THERAPY BILL. thank you very much. WHAT was that ending??? screaming crying throwing up.

anyways. i can't wait to see more of this world in the next book.

Immortal Longings took place in a kingdom called Talin with twin cities as its capitol, San-Er, and King Kasa at its head. The story began with the crown prince, August, conspiring with the long-believed-to-be-dead Princess Calla, after her bloodbath and petricide 5 years ago. The motive was none other than toppling down the king by becoming the winner of the survival 'game'. Yes, very much like what's happening in The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, but make it less make sense, chaotic, and rule wise questionable.

Everyone with the gene, have the ability to 'jump' from one body to another. It's their Qi that's jumping, a body is a mere vessel. How about the target body? The ones being jumped to? Defeated. Unconscious until the one invading their bodies left. (I also found this very very concerning)

Confused yet? SAME.
DO YOURSELF A FAVOUR AND READ THE BOOK DESCRIPTION VERY CAREFULLY, Please.

It's actually sadden me that I didn't love this book the way I expected it to be:"(

It was overwhelming from the start. The world building was not one to be absorbed easily, at least by my brain capacity. One of the thing I regard highly from Gong's writing is how she made the setting alive. How the city breaths and strive. Sadly I didn't find it here in Immortal Longings.

Advertise as enemy to lovers, it may be there on page, but I couldn't really feel it. Their dynamic was good, but not that deep and devastating where it hurts you when they have to kill each other iykwim. They didn't burn and the feelings were surface level.

None of the characters are appealing enough to be rooted for. There are so many of them appeared at the first half, and gone in the second half without much effect to the reader and to the plot. Some of them started as a promising character but ended up quite disappointing.

Idek what to say about the plot. It scatters all around with no closure. I left with lots of guesses and much to clarify in the later book.

The premise was good, but it didn't well executed in the end.

I felt more irritation than suspense toward the cliffhangers.

Things I love: The FMC live up to the expectation as the skillful fighter. I love the bloody fighting scene.

It was quite engaging to follow only to find the answers.

If you're into dystopian retro setting, survival bloody game, political intricts dealing with toppling down kingdom, laced with betrayal and PLOT TWISTS give this book a go.

And if you're wondering whether it has the same vibe with Secret Shanghai series NO IT WAS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT 🤣👌👌

Thanks Netgalley and Hodderscape for the arc 💕

Summary:

Every year the kingdom of Talin host a competition where competitors can win untold riches - if they survive.

This year Princess Calla who has been disgraced by the kingdom and Anton Makusa an exiled aristocrat enter the competition secretly forming an unexpected alliance.

Their developing relationship causes Calla to question which is more important - love or her kingdom?

Review

The concept of this book is great, the magic is imaginative and unique. The description of the competition brings to light the scenes between the characters and the ruthlessness of the games.

But…I found it hard to feel any attachment to the main characters and ended up not really caring about what happened to them.

I found the characters and storyline confusing at times and felt the book would have benefited from more of a backstory being set out about them and the competition.

The pace was a bit slow and although the cliffhanger ending was good, I’m probably not going to continue the series.

An exhilarating start to a new series!

It’s hard not to liken this book to the Hunger Games, from the battle to death to the starving providences, but it’s also like a real life game of deadly assassin.

There’s lot of characters to get your head round in this book, but the key character is Calla, the Princess of Er, who is on a mission win the games and kill the king. The rest of the characters are those who want to help her, or hurt her.

As with any fantasy story, there’s a lot to get your head round in the first half of the book. From the world building to the magic system, you can feel a bit boggled. BUT, I can confirm you will finish this book with a mighty does of WTAF and a desire to get cracking on the next.

Thank you NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC.