I think that this will be my last attempt to get into Gong’s work. I really wanted to get onto the hype train for this, but unfortunately I was once again unable to connect with the characters or the prose!

This was my first dip into Chloe Gong's work and instantly I can't wait for more. I was apprehensive about this, partly due to my unfamiliarity with the author, however that dissipated immediately as I started reading, The book itself gives hunger games vibes, which instantly drew me in, it is compelling, with easy to follow world building and complex but lovable characters. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the characters develop, and was consistently surprised by the plot twists, especially towards the ending. I can't wait for more.

I always enjoy Chloe Gong's writing style and, although she is now entering the NA genre, that remains true with Immortal Longings. Chloe Gong also continues her theme of East Asian inspired settings, except in this book she takes it further with immersive and descriptive world building to create an enjoyable fantasy world.

This book does have more dark themes than her previous books, but the characters lacked depth and the info dumping (which I've seen that some other people also have problems with) made it hard to get into the story so I do prefer These Violent Delights to Immortal Longings.

Overall it was enjoyable, but I struggled to stay immersed in the plot and engaged with the characters.

At first I was liking this a lot. Even as my enjoyment declined, the aesthetics of the setting kept me reading because it felt quite unique and interesting, and I really wanted to love it.

My main reason for stopping was that I was getting increasingly uncomfortable with the concept of body jumping without any discussion or even acknowledgment of consent - something I'd expect from an adult novel. Reading other reviews, it looks like this gets worse and is continually not addressed. Including - (view spoiler). I'm not saying the text has to sanitise this aspect as it's clearly meant to be an edgy and gritty novel, but I would expect SOME discussion of consent. It made me feel yucky.

Other than that, the continuous info dumping became too much for me. At first I could cope with it, but it became so much I just got bored. It needed another round of edits so bad, because despite things happening and getting nearly half way through, it felt like nothing happened. And despite the info-dumping, I still had so many unanswered questions about the worldbuilding that it distracted me nearly every page.

I also heard about a huge plothole from @sophiareads_ on TikTok and I can't go on whilst knowing about it.

Oh also - it's a choice to make all of your protagonists rich/royal/privileged when it seems like the major theme of this poverty? In fact, the way Gong wrote the whole poverty thing really screamed of privilege, it was mostly 'these people are poor. that means they are hungry'. It was like reading about poverty from someone rich who hasn't even taken a cursory glance at what it's like to live in poverty. They took it as a backdrop but didn't explore what it's actually like, which made it all seem very two-dimensional.

This book is one of those books that if you look too closely things start falling apart. Once you question one thing it leads you to 15 more things and then suddenly you're confused and lost and not enjoying yourself anymore

I saw someone else describe this book as dark and twisty and I have to agree!

Chloe Gong’s writing is immersive - the characters’ motivations make sense and the world building is easy to follow.

And that twist at the end!!!! I need a squeal immediately.

It's the first grim-dark set in a far-eastern-like world I read and it was very good.
Dark, twisty, fast paced and action packed,
Great characters and excellent storytelling.
I can't wait to read the next in this series
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

When I first found out that Chloe Gong was releasing a NA fantasy with a competition element at the heart of the plot, I instantly put it on my TBR. From the books I’ve read, I’ve always enjoyed Chloe Gong’s writing style and that continued in Immortal Longings.

The worldbuilding was immersive and visceral, but probably could have been woven in more to avoid large chunks of info-dumping. The mix of urban fantasy and noir in this dark and gritty world was absorbing, and the magically genetic ability to jump bodies was a fascinating concept in theory, although there were ethical issues that probably required deeper discourse. I found the game not as interesting as hoped because the tension I was expecting from this sort of setup was tepid.

Although the motivations and wants of the characters were clear, they’re also lacked substance within the grand scheme of the story, as there wasn’t much insight into why the King was terrible and to blame for the systemic issues in Sar-Er, so their motivations for killing him to solve the issues lacked power, especially at times when it felt as if the characters seemed disinterested in the people they professed to wanting to save (for example, Calla who thought killing the king would instantly fix things and August didn’t exactly seem to be a better alternative to the king). With Anton, the relationship with his childhood friend/lover was also lacking that his motivations felt thin, and seemed to wane relatively quickly after meeting Calla. As time went on, I unfortunately wasn’t invested enough in the characters to be engaged with the story as they never really seemed to develop past what we learnt about them in the first few chapters. Some of the descriptions were also superficial, such as people of lower economic or social status to the main characters being described by their physical features rather than addressing the systems that have affected them in order to provide more complexity to the story..

Even though there were fun and intriguing elements, overall, I felt as if I was constantly waiting for more depth and so I was never fully drawn into the story.

Every year people in the kingdom of Talin will flock to the capital gain cities San-Er where the palace hosts a set of games where competitors right to the death to win unimaginable riches in a world of poverty and disease some have no alternative than to risk their lives for the chance to survive.
Ok, this book has a very slow start with confusing world building that is brilliantly explained. I almost DNF this one, but I am so glad I kept going. The first 1/3 is a bit of a slog, but after that, I just flew through it and stayed up till 1 am to finish. It is very Hunger games gives but with magic. This had potential to be 5 stars, but the first 1/3 just let's it down. It's definitely worth getting through that, though it pays off in the end.
Thank you to Netgalley, Hodder and Stoughton Chloe Gong for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Well, this was quite a ride. We have body jumping, a fight to the death and plots to end the monarchy.

- Meet Calla, the former princess of Er. In hiding after a crime and entering the games to kill her uncle, the King of the United San-Er.
- August, the King's adopted son and Calla's inside man. He has form for plotting to end the monarchy.
-And we have Anton, a former friend to the Palace and entrant in the games to win the prize money and pay off his debts caused by keeping his love alive in the hospital.

Let me just say the last 20% of this book had some great plot twists. It really got me excited to continue the series.

The idea with the games gives hunger games if the arena was a city with an entire civilian population in it. I enjoyed this aspect of the book. It gave me some good action moments. There is also a rebellion (or I guess several) going on, but it's not hugely touched on.

I also enjoyed the interactions between Calla and Anton, but I do think the romance could have done with a bit more development. They were friends, and there was slight chemistry, and then suddenly they're in love despite antons' entire motivation being paying to keep his girlfriend alive.

I do think that the book could have done with developing things a bit more. It took a while to fully understand the characters' motivations (except anton his was pretty clear), and the POVs outside of the main 3 didn't add much to the story for me. We have the crescent society, but I'm still unclear on what they're doing. Are they trying to take down the throne, or are they experimenting on people?

Also, it's mentioned several times that jumping is illegal outside of the games, but it doesn't seem to be enforced at all. It took me a while to grasp the whole jumping thing and the idea that you can take someone's body and them still be in there, but also there can be bodies that are just empty vessels. What was cool, though, is that if you jump before your body dies, it will heal itself, and you can jump back in later.

Overall, I've decided to give it 4 stars because the last 20% pulled it back for me since questions started to be answered. I'm excited for the next book and hopefully a bit more development for the romance and motivations.

I received an advance review copy of this book, and this review represents my honest opinion. Thank you to netgalley, Chloe Gong, and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

Same author, same inspiration (although a different play!), same ridiculously brilliant writing! Chloe Going has done it again - sheet brilliance!!

So I hadn’t read any of C. Gong’s previous books so went into this one without any preconceptions other than how popular they are!
It was there latter half of the book that really kept me gripped, prior to this I found myself reading it in short bursts.
If you love enemies to lovers, fantasy, and EXQUISITE world building then you’ll love this!

Chloe gong has done it again!! Her boooks are always amazingly written and really captivate the reader 5*

I haven’t read anything by Chloe Gong yet, but this one was a great first book!
The angst level was so good, and I really did like our two main characters. The ending was crazy and I’m so excited for the next one!
I haven’t read Anthony and Cleopatra so I can’t say how good of a retelling it is but I really did like this one!

4/5⭐️

I am a bit of a newbie when it comes to the fantasy and mythology genre, but, I am widening my perspectives and so far loving it. The author has done this brilliantly. The story is beautifully written, the characters come alive on the page, the settings pop and all characters have believable voices. One of the key elements of this book is world-building, the author has created an intricate and detailed world, complete with its own histories, cultures, and languages. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

3.5/5.

[ Spoiler-free review ]

I enjoyed this a lot! Though I must inevitably agree that the first few pages did not, in any way, interest me. I found the first few chapters quite dull and boring because of the unnecessary info-dumping about San-Er and the characters. San-Er is a cool world crafted by Chloe Gong, but she’s told so much about the world without actually making a point that will somehow grab my attention, and that was kind of disappointing.

But this book had its good parts ok, and that’s when the main characters, Anton and Calla, finally met. Tbh I detected zero chemistry from them at first, but when it finally got interesting to me, they too started to get good. 🤭 Their banters reminded me so much of Roma and Juliette (These Violent Delights duology) and I thought that Calla was a mixture of Juliet and Rosalind (Foul Lady Fortune)! And Anton was giving me Orion Hong vibes so I wasn’t really deep into the characters knowing Chloe Gong has written these kind of characters (imo) before. 🤧

The plot was really interesting and I would be lying if I said I did not audibly gasp at that ending !!! Need the second book in my hands rn to know what happens next IMMEDIATELY.

Solid 3 stars.

**Thank you to Netgalley for the e-copy in exchange for an honest review**

3,75 ⭐️

If you know me, you know I'm a big fan of Chloe Gong, so I was obviously waiting on this book a lot. Actually, my most anticipated releases of the year were all of Gong's books, so do with that what you will.

I don't read adult books a lot, but I liked this one a lot tbh. As with <i>These Violent Delights</i>, i haven't read the play that inspired this book, but I don't think that'd be an issue if that's your case as well.

I honestly don't know what to say to review this book. The first 150 pages were maybe kinda slow for me, it took me a long time to get into the book, but I'm happy i kept going because the last 200 pages were absolutely amazing for me, I could hardly put the book down.

The characters, though cold-blooded killers, if we're being honest, are so touching it hurts. Gong really has a way of making her characters loveable in spite of their flaws. Around characters are also their dynamics, which I enjoyed seeing them unfold throughout the book.

The world in this book is very interesting as well, I'd like to know more about the jumping and qi, but it's understandable everything can not be revealed in the first book.

I would have said that one minor thing I didn't enjoy was guessing most of the plottwists, but that also means they make sense in the story and don't come up out of nowhere, which is pretty reassuring if you ask me.

Really recommend this if you like a true enemies to lovers story, as well as complex characters that keep you on your toes.

"What are memories if not stories told repeatedly to oneself? Her whole body is the very narrative of her existence."

Not going to lie, I quite liked this book. There are some... interesting plot holes that really should have been addressed such as the lack of consent and I would have loved to know more about the entire class system and it's politics. Despite that, the entire premise is engaging and I am excited to read more about the world and magic system.

Was it easy to guess the plot twists? yes but I don't view that as a bad thing. I enjoyed the book either way. The characters are not perfect and nor do they claim to be. In fact the majority are quite ruthless and bask in it

To me it's very YA with added ruthlessness and gore. There is a minor intimate scene but nothing crazy. All in all it's a fun read if you don't look into it too much. It definitely needs some things ironing out and I hope that the author can do that in the next instalments

Amazon Summary

The only way to win, is to survive.

Every year, thousands flock to San-Er, the dangerously dense capital twin cities of the kingdom of Talin, where the palace hosts a set of deadly games. Those confident in their ability to jump between bodies can enter a fight to the death - for the chance to win unimaginable riches.

Princess Calla Tuoleimi has been in hiding for five years, ever since she murdered her parents to free the people of Talin from her tyrannical family. Only one person stands in her way of finishing the job: her reclusive uncle King Kasa. However, she knows he always greets the victor of the games. If she wins, she will finally get the chance to kill him.

Enter Anton Makusa, whose childhood love has lain in a coma since they were both ousted from the palace. He's deep in debt trying to keep her alive. Which means his last chance at saving her is entering the games and winning.

When Anton proposes an unexpected alliance with Calla, they quickly find their partnership spiraling into something all-consuming. But before the games close, Calla must decide what she's playing for - her lover or her kingdom. For no matter what, only one of them can walk out alive...

My Review
I really loved the sound of this book and it didn't disappoint!

The World building is really interesting and has a fantastic but slightly brutal magic system. I like the characters and all the action through out the story. I would recommend to any hunger games fans out there.

An Antony and Cleopatra retelling meets fantasy setting inspired by historic Hong Kong, then throw in some Hunger Games style killing games, and I called myself intrigued. Definitely enough to request an ARC, and despite some rocky aspects, I’m glad I did!

Immortal Longings follows the murderous Princess in hiding, Calla, who five years ago massacred her parents and brought down one half of the reigning monarchy. Now she plans to finish the job and to do that she needs to win the palace games. August, a manipulative royal heir, has the same goal and a fragile alliance is formed. What no one planned on was the exiled aristocrat, Anton, desperate to save his childhood sweetheart lying in a coma. To do that he needs money, which means, he needs to win the palace games.

There is a lot of info dumping to start off with and I often found myself, putting the book down and struggling to pick it up. Theres tons of political layers, rules about body jumping and previous character history you need to wade through from the start. Additionally, the emphasis on the setting and the morally grey climate of it all was overdone. I actually enjoyed exploring San-Er and having grown up in Hong Kong, hearing about the inspiration behind it, is interesting. But you do not need to continuously emphasis how common murder is, how no one can pay their bills and the fight for survival. It comes across as it is as we follow the characters through various situations.

I really enjoyed the characters and started to root for certain favourites (mainly Calla) and became interested in how each of their actions impacted each other and how the story unfolded, there were conspiracies to unfold and a few plot twists I didn’t see coming! Fair warning this is a series, and this first book does end on a cliff hanger you’ll be dying to pick up immediately. This book isn’t necessarily fast paced because of all the political tangles which take centre stage instead of the Hunger Games style palace games (and previously mentioned early on info dumping) but I still found myself reading speedily through the last thirty percent.

After finishing the book, I read that the inspiration from Antony and Cleopatra was intended to focus on an exploration of obsession, rather than a plot focused retelling. It made sense. I struggled while reading to see many original links apart from some vague romantic aspects and, of course, the concept of obsession. I think Chloe could have taken this further, especially romance wise, I loved Anton and Calla, but their romance/obsession intersection was a bit rushed at the end. However, I still really enjoyed their character/relationship ARC. Plus, the idea of power, and it’s overlap with obsession for August and Call in particular, was well integrated and thought out.

I went in having not read any of Gong’s previous books, so I was interested in seeing of Immortal Longings lived up to the hype and in many ways it did!

What to expect from Immortal Longings: Action, spicy romance, morally grey characters, so much blood, superhuman abilities, Hunger Games-type plot
No doubt, Chloe Gong is a talented author, and she writes the most interesting character dynamics. Readers who loved These Violent Delights will love this book, as it has the same sassy and fresh vibe that leaps off the page.
Unfortunately, for me, despite really wanting to like Chloe Gong’s writing, I felt Immortal Longing suffered the same shortcomings as her previous books and was bogged down by too much description, info dumping and purple prose. I took days to get through the chapters, pausing to take breaks in between to digest the vast amount of information.
Immortal Longing is a retelling of the Shakespeare classic, Anthony and Cleopatra. But, only the names were more or less adopted from the latter; the rest, such as the setting, plot and characters, are almost entirely their own. I wouldn't have known it was a retelling if it didn’t say so on the blurb.
Most of the plot reminds me of Hunger Games, there is a city-wide competition where players kill each other, and the sole victor will claim a massive pot of money for a lifetime of luxury. Of course, there is a broken monarchy and rebellious princes and princesses with the dream to ‘save the city’.
For me, the highlights are the characters. Chloe Gong really has a knack for creating these sassy, angsty and vibrant characters that are quite fresh in the YA genre. The dialogues between the characters are snappy and natural, and she creates these characters that are so wonderfully complicated. Though the main characters (Anton and Calla) did feel like copies of Roma and Juliette, it was still wildly fun to see the characters interact with each other.

CW: Sexual consent (also spoiler)

But with all that said, there was a part on sexual consent that was really disturbing and should be addressed by Chloe. Unsurprisingly, Calla and Anton fall in love and make it to the bedroom. But it was concerning that Anton was inhabiting another body while he was 'doing' Calla, and how is that right? There was no consent whatsoever from the person whose body was being invaded, and it is a rape of that person. What happens to this person whom Anton inhabited after Anton's qi has left? Will they get STIs? And what a gruesome invasion of bodily consent! Honestly, I was shocked to read that and in no way did Chloe address the severity of the lack of consent in the book.

Thank you Netgalley for an e-ARC of the book!