throughout the book, i felt so absorbed in this new fantasy world. i really liked august, he's my favorite character. :) i'll be editing this review and adding more later!

1 Star ⭐️

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the e-arc for an honest opinion.

Please take in mind it’s my opinion, and everyone is allowed to have one.

I DNFed this half way through! It just wasn’t it for me, it was quite boring. Too much info dumping and nothing really going on. Don’t think Chloe is it for me, I only liked Foul Lady Fortune of her.

Anyway! This maybe might be your book, it just wasn’t for me!

This is the first time in a while I’ve stayed up late because I simply had to finish a book. The fast pacing, high stakes, and twisty ending of this book kept me gripped right from the start, exactly what I wanted from a retelling of Anthony and Cleopatra with The Hunger Games vibes. Its magic system was so completely unique and unlike anything I had ever read before, which really fed into the worldbuilding and intrigue around the games.

Out of our three narrators, Calla was definitely the most interesting to read about with her murky past and unapologetic ambitions. With all the rampant body swapping, I expected more discussion around themes of gender and identity, but I really loved how this was handled in terms of Calla’s relationship to her sense of self. Case in point:

“Calla is a woman in the same way that the sky is blue. She understands that it’s the easiest identifier to slap on, and she doesn’t mind it, but in actuality, the sky is an incomprehensible void, and Calla, too, feels closer to a nebulous, inexact entity. Before she is anything else, Calla is just… Calla.”

Unfortunately I wasn’t quite as invested in Anton as I was the other narrators, which made it difficult for me to buy into the fast-moving chemistry of the main relationship. This—alongside the somewhat one-note theme of poverty and how this was largely seen through the eyes of the rich—is the only thing that made this book narrowly miss out on a five-star review from me. But overall, I had an absolute blast with this book and I can’t wait to see what the sequel has in store.

If you know me then you know I'm a sucker for Gong's These Violent Delights series, so I was soo hyped to try her first foray into adult fantasy and, while I enjoyed Immortal Longings as a whole, there were parts that fell a little flat for me, namely the romance. Now Gong's romance between Juliette and Roma was one that I adored with my whole heart, she made you feel it, every excruciating detail whether they loved or hated each other, but it made that series what it was. In this book, I just didn't feel it at all. The romance felt rushed and if I'm being honest, had I not already known that there was going to be a romantic aspect between these characters, I would have felt it came way out from left field. The characters felt pushed together in an unnatural way which, with the amount of pages in this book and the amount of page time our MC's get together, simply shouldn't have happened.

The characters themselves I loved. Especially Calla, Princess Calla Tuoleimi who lives a life in hiding after murdering her parents. She believes that the monarchy is causing the downfall of her city, believes life would be better without it, and she enters the competition with the intention to end it once and for all. She's a character surrounded by mystery, while you get a deep dive into her past you feel like she might be hiding something else, something big, something that could change her fate. She's feisty, incredibly capable in a fight and, despite the cold and unforgiving exterior she shows, deep down wants whats best for her city and the people who reside in it.

Anton Makusa is an aristocrat who was exiled from the palace. He, similarly to Calla has no love for the monarchy, though for vastly different reasons, reasons that come to light part way through the story. He also enters the competition with a singular plan in mind, one that wavers when he meets Calla and they form an alliance, well as close to an alliance as you can get with someone who will have to kill you to win. He's strong, not just in his fighting ability, but in his ability to body hop, a power given to certain members of the city, and one that assures his anonymity for as long as possible. And the final MC and POV character is August, the next in line for the throne. He's the character we spend the least time with, but also the one we have the hardest time guessing his motives. Does he want whats best for the city, or does he simply want power?

The twin cities of San-Er themselves almost become like characters in the story. Gong brings these noir like cities to life, making them living, breathing entities with the ability to crown and crush alike. The cities tower over their citizens, bringing relief from the weather, but also bringing their own unique sets of living style and circumstances. Overcrowded and underfunded, only those in positions of powers have the ability to live in any kind of luxury, any one else takes what they can get. It's the perfect mixture of modern and historical and Gong shows how easy it is for modern conveniences to wash over any historical influences there might have been before. But the city is really brought to life through the games. Enter at your own peril, but there are always people desperate enough to risk their lives for the kind of reward granted, and Gong uses this to show, not just the danger from the other competitors, but the danger of the city too.

The magic system was unique and one that seriously creeped me out in parts. The lack of, and acceptance of the lack of body autonomy was something I'm not sure I could cope with. In the cities certain people have the ability to jump between bodies, temporarily, or sometimes permanently taking over a host. Through the games people jump to protect their own bodies from harm, ensuring that an innocent will die instead of them, and the ease with which it was done, the ease with which it was accepted, seen as the norm, the complete lack of morals just added a danger and depth to these already mortally grey characters and the world they inhabit. If you do have any triggers to do with body autonomy in any way I would give this one a miss, the blase way in which it is talked about and used could certainly be triggering, as well as the complete lack of care for those put into harms way through it.

The storyline itself moved at a fairly speedy pace, once the games took off there was plenty of action and intrigue to whet your appetite, and Gong throw's in some well places plot twists that managed to keep my on my toes. But all I could think of when I finished it was that nothing really happened. Obviously at the end, we had our big plot twist and in fact the last portion of the book left me with more questions than answers, but the build up to it just seemed a little pointless other than to introduce us to the characters which are going to become the main players in the next book. I'm not saying it was all like that, there were parts of the story that I'm sure will be pivotal to the plot in the second book, but in general, it seemed like a lot of unnecessary build up for a very quick, but still sizeable pay off.

Despite the issues I had with this one I still enjoyed it, mainly because I'm a sucker for a well written character and world, both of which we get in this book. As well as that the ending, having never read Anthony and Cleopatra, the Shakespeare work this story was based around, definitely left me shook and desperate to get my hands on the next book.

Immortal Longing is Chloe Gong's adult fantasy debut inspired by Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra and the historical Kowloon Walled City.
The palace of the Talin's kingdom hosts deadly games each year within its capital twin cities San-Er. The winner can get unimaginable riches to change their lives. The games are open to anyone, but those who can jump between bodies, have an advantage. Thousands of people watch the games live on the streets or their TVs at home. This year, there are eighty-eight participants, including Calla Tuolemi, the princess of Er, who massacred her family five years ago and is considered dead. Her only goal in the games is to kill the king of San-Er, Kassa. Calla is a badass heroine, who knows how to fight, is confident in her abilities and goes after what she believes in. Another participant is Anton Makusa, an exiled aristocrat in hiding who wants to win the money to save his beloved, who is in a coma. He also happens to be the best jumper in the twin cities. Anton has the ability to switch bodies in a blink of an eye and knows what he's doing and how to get what he wants efficiently. When they realize they can achieve their goals faster by cooperating, they form a strong partnership, and by spending more time together, their feelings for each other grow too. They gain popularity among the viewers because what can be more exciting than star-crossed lovers fighting in the games?

With so many jumpers in the games, it's difficult to keep track of who the enemies are. The only way to identify the participants is through their numbered bracelets. The fights in the games can be brutal, and any small mistake or hesitation can lead to certain death. Adding to the drama is a hidden society targeting the participants...But one thing is for sure. There can be only one winner at the end of the games. The question is: Who will it be?

I have to say, it's an incredible read, no part drags too much, and I felt very invested in the story. The story is fast-paced and action-packed. You never know what will happen next, and the POV changes all the time - we are not only switching between the main characters but also between side characters from time to time. So while it can get a bit confusing, it also adds to the quick narrative of the book, and you feel like you jump between bodies with the characters. Worldbuilding is fascinating as well - this image of two cities merged into one creates the impression of a post-apocalyptic metropolis with a population exceeding the city's capacity; not enough food; limited healthcare (even though bodies can heal themselves); electronic gadgets scattered about; and pervasive surveillance of every citizen. The element of jumping ability heightens the excitement of the story.

The end left me with my mouth hanging open. I haven't seen THAT coming. So when is the second book coming out?

P.S.: If you loved Hunger Games, this has the same vibe!


Thank you Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for granting me access to this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Unfortunately a DNF. The writing style felt too detached for me to gel with the characters, and I couldn’t quite get to grips with the setting or context

I think this book will be popular but it didn't do it for me. There was a lot of information cramped in and I struggled keeping the characters in order. I struggle for infodumping. The body swapping had some pretty dark implications too and well... no. Still a very impressive book to add to Chole Gongs achievements.

Immortal Longings is the first book in the fantasy series Flesh and False Gods, which represents the adult debut of Chloe Gong. A novel that dips its toes into the science fantasy terrain, a loose retelling of the Anthony and Cleopatra story in the context of mortal games, similar to a Battle Royale; a mix of violence with politics and romance.

We are venturing into the twin cities of Sa-er, a metropolis that captures well the essence of urban Asia with a touch of cyberpunk elements; each year a set of deadly games is hosted there by the palace and the winner gets unimaginable riches, an opportunity to climb into a better life.
This year, all is different, as among the participants there is Princess Calla Touleimi, who was in hiding for five years, after performing the massacre that ended with her parents and the palace of Er; she's decided to win the games so she can get access to King Kasa and finish what she started. Things won't be easy, especially when Anton Markusa enters the equation: an exiled aristocrat, in debt to keep alive her childhood love, and one of the best jumpers out of bodies; however, an unexpected alliance is formed between Calla and Anton, which ends becoming a relationship between two of the possible winners of the games.

Adding spice to the situation, there is Prince August, who is helping Calla to win, with the hope she will get rid of King Kasa, using this confusion to put himself on the throne.
But when it is clear that most probably Calla and Anton will become the final pair of survivors, Calla will be between the sword and the wall, having to choose between her love or the kingdom.

With this premise, we have an engaging story, which I found really enjoyable while reading, despite I found Gong had a tendency to overexpose, introducing too much information in places where the pace suffers. And it's a little bit sour, because there are many details I loved about the world she created that I couldn't enjoy more due to this.
Said that, I think the execution of the fight scenes is quite flawless, because instead of long combats with dialogue and forced dramatism, most of them end up becoming a fast and violent act, which ends with the death of one of the combatants.

Romance is a key piece of the plot, and Gong manages to create a parallelism between the story she's loosely retelling and the relationship that appears between Calla and Anton; a little bit spicy, but certainly well crafted and achieving that idea of an obsessive relationship.

Despite it being a book with certain flaws, Immortal Longings was a good read, as it delivered what I expected from the blurb. I have the curiosity to see how the series evolves in the next books.

I support women’s rights but most importantly I support women’s wrongs…
… especially when the woman is Calla Tuoleimi, the woman who massacred her parents and covered the palace in blood. And especially when she enters into a set of games where competitors fight to death.

Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong - ⭐⭐⭐. 💫

I think Gong’s strength lies in her descriptions, the way they differ according to which characters and the way even the most steadfast characters will have a sense of tenderness in their descriptions. This strength is even more apparent in this book where there are more action scenes. These scenes were a gift for a person who usually skims over people fighting but these were also windows into the character’s personality, especially for Calla. However, I think this strength falters a bit in worldbuilding. Though I was first in love with it, it soon became info-dumpy, large seas of information that were difficult to wade through. A similar thing happened with the body-switching part of the book.

I also think the romance was rushed a bit but once established, I found it to be amazing! It’s similar to the romance in The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno - Garcia. Every single moment seems to be stolen time before the relationship’s eventual demise. However, at the same time - Anton’s other love interest (August’s half/step-sister), was just brought into the plot whenever convenient and never really explained well, even though she’s established as this kind of character that’s forever looming over August. This is also why I thought the romance was a bit unbelievable because if Anton loved her so much that he entered the games to pay for her hospital bills, why would he ever like Calla? Gong does try to explain this discrepancy but I never truly buy the explanation.

But I still think this was a good and fun read. Read if you like: The Hunger Games, The Beautiful Ones, any Chloe Gong book, Evermore (the song) and also This Love by Taylor Swift.

Thank you @netgalley and @hodderbooks @hodderscape for providing me with a copy of the book before its release in exchange for an honest review.

An electrifying retelling of Antony and Cleopatra, with hints of The Hunger Games and Battle Royale.

This was my first Chloe Gong book and I will certainly be exploring her back catalog now!

Every year the people of Talin flock to its twin capital cities of San-Er for the palace’s games. Citizens are selected and fight it out to the be last one standing, who then receives riches and an audience with the king.
Calla is a princess of Er who slaughtered her parents and fled. Believed to be dead by the general public, she secretly enters the games for the chance to kill the king of San, who has combined San-Er (and therefore all of Talin) under his rule.
Anton was once the prince’s friend and wished to help him change the way the leaders of San-Er ruled, but when he went rogue with the prince’s half sister and was caught, he was exiled - his qi permanently removed from his birth body. He needs to win the games to escape his ever mounting debts.
Both must win. Both are very skilled. But when they realise who one another are, they decide to team up - temporarily - to get themselves closer to the finish line… only things don’t quite go to plan.

I loved Calla and Anton as main characters. Along with Prince August, they make up our POV characters and give us different insights into the story. I really enjoyed the way that certain facts were revealed to us in a show-don’t-tell way, only when they were discovered by one of the other MCs - after all, how often do you consciously think about things you already know about yourself?

The plot was familiar - deadly contest, only one can win - however I enjoyed the way the magic system put a different spin on it. In this world, people with a particular ability can jump their qi into another person’s body. As long as they are stronger than the other person, they can temporarily (or, rarely, permanently) take over that person’s body and pilot it as their own - this does leave their birth body unprotected and vulnerable to being jumped into, however.
This added an extra excitement to the games, as it was difficult for other competitors to know who was a player and who was an innocent bystander, and meant they could change their appearance at will.

The twists and turns were enjoyable, if somewhat predictable. There is one particular detail which I, and several others I have spoken to, noticed which is either a big clue for something later on or a gaping plot hole. I’m assuming the former considering the editing team I’m sure this book had! So I’m excited to see where that leads.

Overall, I throughly enjoyed Immortal Longings and will definitely continue the series when the next book comes out!

I love retellings and when I read the description of this book I was really excited. When I got this book I was so happy and started reading it straight away, but since life got in the way, I read it for like a week. And omg I really liked it. I have Chloe's other books on my shelf and can't wait to read them. This book was so good and I can't wait for the next one.

I received a free copy from Netgalley all opinions are my own.
3,5 stars.

This book has been one of my most anticipated released this year and I was definitely not disappointed!

The body hopping was icky in my opinion, but it was still pretty cool.
This book is so action packed with all the fights, and I did like how it felt like the Hunger Games but not in an arena. With the killing your opponents, where it gets filmed. But not being completely isolated from everything.

The world building was a little confusing, but I'm not one that cares that much for it, so it was fine with me.

I liked the characters, but did of course have my suspicions as to who was a bad guy, and what the different characters intentions where.
I didn't like the name August and Anton, they literally had me confused for each other at first, silly me haha.
I also didn't care for the romance at all, eventhough rivals to lovers is pretty hot.

The plot twist, I definitely did not see coming!
And the ending literally had me screaming!

I ended up putting this one down half way through :( I’m so sorry! I really thought I would enjoy it but the writing wasn’t for me.

Thank you to Net Galley and Hodder and Stoughton for providing me with an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

If there is one thing Chloe Gong can be depended on for, it is high concept stories. I was immediately intrigued by this Antony and Cleopatra retelling/Hunger Games-esque fantasy novel which promoted itself as a high-stakes, political intrigue story about an assumed dead Princess who finds herself attempting to topple a corrupt empire through a series of death tournaments. It sounded perfect for me, melding urban fantasy with an anti-capitalist, anti-hero narrative concerned with dissecting the structures of empire, monarchy, and extreme wealth.

Unfortunately, however, this book did not work for me. The world-building, for one, was extremely superficial. While a wider world filled with ghost cities, foreign threats, and destitution was hinted at, there was no exploration of the actual world. In the city where the novel takes place, this lack of deep world-building continued and there was no proper explanation of wealth distribution, the housing crisis mentioned repeatedly, the court structure at the heart of the palace in the city’s centre, etc. beyond simple repetitions of the claustrophobia of the city. The characterisation was even worse. While I admire the attempt to produce a compelling and nuanced anti-hero narrative, Gong’s protagonists were extremely unlikeable and had no real concept of the suffering of others. Instead, in the name of saving the city’s population and freeing them from corruption, they repeatedly made illogical decisions about the passing of power, took matters into their own hands regarding the government, didn’t attempt to join with the city’s actual rebellion movement, and repeatedly and brutally murdered innocent people. I had no sympathy or connection to people who made decisions antithetical to their supposed purpose. And don’t get me started on the unnecessary romance, which felt so random and undeveloped. This contributed to an almost list-less story, which couldn’t commit to the topics it attempted to handle.

While I admire Gong’s first foray into the adult fantasy genre, I feel some real time needs to be given to these high concept stories which attempt to tackle such big and nuanced issues. More world-building and a deeper discussion of the political bureaucracy of this world specifically would help with this.

Fans of Chloe Gong's alternate Shanghai universe will not be disappointed, the characters and the core story may be different but the chemistry between them and the high octane battles throughout San-Er are familiar hallmarks of her writing.

As twin cities of San-Er prepare for the annual Hunger-Games style competition which bestows untold wealth to the winners, its two fiercest competitors enter a deadly dance that could end in disaster, or destiny. Seething with poverty, people and magic, San-Er is still reeling from the slaughter of the royal family of Er at the hands of none other than their Princess, Calla, years earlier. Anton, a palace brat from San, was kicked out years ago when his beloved was caught breaking the rules and is in deep debt trying to keep her alive. An alliance between them might keep them in the game, but leads to an explosive ending that will change the fate of San-Er yet again.

I'm no great Shakespeare fan so I can't really comment on how close this aligns with Anthony and Cleopatra, but Anton and Calla were spectacular individually and pure magic together. The chemistry between them was off the charts and mostly you don't know if they're going to kill or kiss each other, because they themselves seem to be struggling with that question.

The political plot and social issues, including the growing threat of the cult, plaguing San-Er were well integrated into the main storyline. Calla and Anton may be chaos personified but it was Prince August who really intriguedme, on one hand willing to betray everything to aid Calla in her quest, but with a ruthlessness that makes you question what he really believes in.

That ending, although I suspected something similar, was absolutely off the walls, but it was so perfectly executed. But it was the will they-won't they dance between Anton and Calla that wins the day. I'm already counting down to the release of part 2 of this trilogy.

This was a book that did give me Hunger Games vibes and I have very much missed the dystopian genre that was once so popular. I also do love an Urban Fantasy so this was a treat.
The characters are morally grey, which I always find interesting as it makes them less predictable and encourages me to read more. I also find this gives the characters more depth as no person is really so black and white as some characters in stories can be.
Immortal Longings is fast paced story for the majority, although sometimes the descriptions did seem a bit long which detracted from the book a little. Although at times I also found some of them very quotable and imaginative, "She stains his mind in vivid color, bright and burning and dangerous.", for example.
This was my first time reading a novel by Chloe Gong, but I think I now need to go through her other books. I'll definitely be picking up the second in the series.

no. just no. this book doesn't even make sense. cleopatra and antony retelling? get my ancestors name out of here! i just felt so disconnected because of how poorly written and not well-thought-out at all this book was. the premise is exciting but it's absolutely butchered by poor execution and little to no research.

so disappointed.

— thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the free digital ARC.

It was on ok read it I’m honest, I can see it becoming a marmite book.,
It was a bit confusing at times and to be honest the ‘hunger games’ style is becoming such the norm for fantasy that it’s putting me off.

Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong is her adult fantasy debut, and this story is inspired by Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra and with a set of deadly games.
 
The concept sounds absolutely amazing and as a Shakespeare fan, I was even more intrigued.
 
The world building was a bit confusing for me and there are two twin cities who didn’t differ enough for me. There was a lot of history and rivalries, and I quickly lost the overview. But somehow, they developed these deadly games that reminded me a lot of The Hunger Games to bring people together and the contestants had a chance for a better life if they were the last person standing. The games were my favorite part about this book.
 
The characters and especially Calla were very interesting. Calla is a princess, and her ultimate goal is the abolishment of the monarchy, and she even went so far to kill her own family and she has no problem entering the deadly games. She is definitely an anti-heroine and that was definitely intriguing, but at the same time morally questionable. Anton is the other protagonist, and he enters the games to better his life and save his childhood love.
 
They both form an alliance, and that dynamic was fascinating to follow. At the same time you can’t trust either of the characters and that made them a bit unlikeable for me. At the same time there were lengths in the plot, and I didn’t devour this story.
 
Overall, Immortal Longings is a fascinating book, but I couldn’t fully connect to the characters. 3,5 stars.
 
(ARC kindly provided in exchange for a review.)