Immortal Longings is a slick, smart, and sharp adult debut that pulls you into its dark and tangled web. Whether you escape or not, it will stay with you.

Something I have always loved about Chloe Gong’s work is how she draws inspiration from classic Shakespearean tales. You can identify the fingerprints of Shakespeare in the characters and overarching plotlines, but these are definitely Gong’s creations. There is always a twist, subversion, or challenge to these well-known narratives. Immortal Longings takes some inspiration from Antony and Cleopatra and for me, this was most evident in the sizzling passion and changing dynamics between Calla and Anton. These two could set the world on fire and would probably happily watch everything around them burn. This is a dynamic that you can never really pin down. Everything is a manipulation, a power play but there are also some feelings in there that catch sparks.

Juliette Cai officially has competition for my favourite Gong characters here in the complex Calla Tuoleimi. She is often cruel, but there are shimemrs of vulnerability and Gong ensures there is depth and layers to her character. She is driven by rage and revenge, going to any means necessary to achieve her goals. However, she is also driven by a deep desire to survive and some of the moments around that are genuinely heart-wrenching. Gong never lets you forget that this is a character whose hands are stained by blood though. She is a badass fighter, branded by her reputation. I also have to shout out Mr Mao Mao for being the only pure character in the entire book (as far as we currently know).

Gong has taken the beating heart of her YA series, tore it out and ramped everything up to eleven. This is a violent book, drenched in blood and death. The stakes are always rising higher, with new and intriguing players stepping onto the board at unexpected moments. She unleashes her trademark, cut-throat twists with some moments that made me want to throw the book across the room. If you thought her previous twists were awful, we have reached new levels of evil genius.

The entire concept of body switching is fascinating and connects to deeper ethical questions around identity and personhood. In this world, it is easy to lose sight of who you truly are and to keep running from the heinous actions you have taken. Also, as a literary device, it works as an excellent way to keep your readers on their toes and creates such a tense and paranoid atmosphere. When literally everyone around you could be an enemy in disguise, who can you truly trust?

As always, Gong’s writing is incredibly evocative. Her worldbuilding is incredibly vivid and rich. San-Er springs to life around you, until you can practically see the smoke and smell the scent of blood in the air. The balance of narrative perspectives is excellent, bringing together a variety of intriguing characters and giving us new insights into both past and present. As with Calla, Anton is given so much depth and complexity in his character. His perspective is one that I adored, filled with devious manipulation and desires. He almost callously ‘jumps’ from body to body with very little regard for those he has invaded.

Immortal Longings is a twisty, intense and vicious stab to the heart that you will absolutely adore.

Immortal Longings is a cool mashup of Antony and Cleopatra, The Hunger Games, and Squid Game. Having never read Antony and Cleopatra, I was worried I wouldn’t be able to get into the plot, but I had no issues! I like Chloe Gong’s style of taking classics and putting her own twist on them.
That being said, I liked the melding of the classic story with sci-fi. It felt a little slow at the beginning but picked up pretty quickly once the “game” started. Can’t wait for the next books!

Right from the first page, it becomes clear that this story is a sweeping epic clash between powerful forces. The tense struggle for power between the main characters kept me on the edge of my seat through the whole book. I also enjoyed being immersed in a new, intricate world and the “magic” system of swapping bodies is so interesting and unique. The gritty world that Gong has built with this story is so full of life and vibrancy. I often found myself imagining scenes playing out in my head, fueled by Gong’s descriptive writing.

As with Gong’s other series, this book is full of morally complex characters. Calla is violent, vengeful, and full of meanness, but even still she is colored by moments of kindness, of her struggles to bring justice to the people in her kingdom, and her care for the people she is close to.

Likewise, Anton is not straightforward, either. He, too has his own complicated past, his desire to win a bloody competition in order to pay off the medical debts he has accrued trying to keep a loved one alive. Both he and Calla butt heads throughout the book, and yet Gong fills each scene between them with such tension and electricity.

Even the side characters are interesting. August seems so sly – you want to trust him but don’t know if you would. There are plenty of smaller characters that poop up, but they remain memorable, either in their actions or in the way they change the main characters.

This book is so gripping, I felt like I couldn’t put it down. I was drawn to the characters and their struggles, but also to the world itself. It’s so full of color and intrigue. I’m fond of the mix between historical feels and futuristic tech. I am highly anticipating the next book in this series.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book. It’s full of action, tense fight scenes, and character drama. If you’re a fan of sci-if/fantasy and high-stakes competitions, this book will capture your attention from the start.

3.5 ⭐️.

This book felt like a setup for a larger series than anything else. It has quite a slow beginning, partially understandable due to world building and the need to know the conditions that surround this nation. However I found myself losing interest off and on until the last 40%. With that being said, the plot twists were crazy! I did not expect any of them. The ending has me shocked, and I am excited and heavily anticipating the next book in this series.

3/5 stars

I've never read one of Chloe Gong's books before, so I was unfamiliar with her writing style. That said, I found this book difficult to get into initially. The worldbuilding was complex enough that I found myself having to remind myself of the rules, while vague enough that I found it difficult to fully immerse myself in the world of the games. Additionally, as a fan of the original Shakespeare play upon which this book is inspired, I found myself constantly comparing this book to the original Shakespeare. Shakespeare adaptations are always a tall order, and I'm afraid this didn't live up when compared to the source text.

However - once I began to ignore the influence of the original play, I found myself liking this book much more. The characters are strong, and the world building and plot are much stronger in the later sections of the book. Again, having not read Chloe Gong's other works, I can't speak to the influence of Shakespeare on her writing, but I found myself wondering if this was a marketing gimmick rather than a fully integrated part of the book. Additionally, I am a bit confused why this is marketed as adult - aside from the characters' ages and a few instances of adult themes, it read like any other YA fantasy to me. I'm not sure whether adult fantasy fans will be the target audience, especially given Chloe Gong's popularity on TikTok.

I have to dnf this for my own sanity, and I am SO disappointed. I have tried for over 2 weeks to get into this an it just isn't happening. The plot is just not gripping and the way my eyes glaze over almost immediately each time I pick this up is so def not motivating. Bummed about this one.

**Review will be published on my site and socials release day!**

3.5 stars

A LITTLE LET DOWN.

I am OBSESSED, obsessed, with Gong’s YA series (go read it now please). And when I had the chance to get my hands on this I jumped so fast. And now I’m writing a review I don’t want to because I’m a little let down by the whole thing.

The idea of an epic fantasy was there, but the execution was not. Bogged down by heavy, complicated world building in the initial chapters had my mind clouded and it took way too long to figure things out. The magic system is unique, jumping bodies and qi and how that all flows together. Loved that, and I loved it more when it finally made sense against the back drop of the world building.

Romance wise, also a super mixed bag. It was tossed haphazardly in and all of a sudden I was getting I love you‘s without having that connection. I didn’t mind the characters or the fact there was a romance (of course, y’all know me), buuut once again, lacking in general execution. I liked the multiple points of view and seeing different angles of the competitors and pro/antagonists. It did allow for a wider view of the story at large.

I’ll read the second book because the ending was intriguing enough to give it a go. And now that I feel like I have a hold on everything I think the plot will flow better too.

Overall audience notes:

Fantasy
Language: some strong
Romance: 1 open; low explicit
Violence: high
Trigger/Content Warnings: moderate blood/gore depiction, loss of life, physical and weapons altercations

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5, rounded up.

I was really looking forward to this book: Chloe Gong's adult debut, inspired by Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, set in a world where people can switch bodies and there's a Hunger Games-esque contest? Checked all my boxes. However, I don't know if I just wasn't in the mood for it, or what it was, but I was slow to get into this book. It did pick up for me somewhere towards the end, but there were parts where it was a bit of a slog. A lot of complex political intrigue (which makes sense, because of the Antony and Cleopatra roots), and complicated worldbuilding, and murky motivations.

The ending, however, intrigued me, and I will absolutely be reading the next book in the series. I do so hate leaving a cliffhanger unresolved.

Every time I read a book by Chloe Gong, I need to remember to breathe.

Immortal Longings, Chloe Gong's debut epic fantasy adult novel, is a fast-paced, thrilling story inspired by Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra. We are thrown into the distorted twin cities of San-Er (two kingdoms that merged into one) right before their annual games. 88 competitors are chosen to fight to the death until one remains to win an unimaginable amount of wealth, but one of these competitors is playing for revenge. The presumed dead Princess Calla Tuoleimi enters the games with the singular goal to win the games and kill King Kasa. Her cousin, Prince August, who presides over the games, helps tear down her competitors. Along the way, Calla meets Anton Makusa, former friend of August and fellow competitor. In enemies-to-lovers fashion, Anton and Calla team up to ensure they're the last two remaining competitors so they both get what they want - money and revenge. But how do the citizens of San-Er differ from any other competition novel? They have the special gift of being able to jump between bodies. How and who uses this ability to their advantage makes this book so much more interesting to read and will have you second-guessing yourself until the end.

Besides the plot being a masterpiece, Gong's ability to create vivid and immersive worlds is my favorite part of reading her novels. Having read The Secret Shanghai series, I initially did not favor her writing style for this book; I actually hated it. There were some information dumps that were telling and not showing, but I think they worked well. It wasn't until towards the end that I understood her choice for her clipped sentences and explanations: it was perfectly San-Er. Although the games are long, the patience and lifestyle of the citizens running through the city are short and clipped. They could be there one minute and gone the next, whether through jumping or being killed. Gong's cliffhangers and resolutions throughout all her books, especially for this debut, are wildly unfair and completely gasp-worthy. Without spoiling the book, although I did anticipate and guess the ending correctly, I was still shocked. I did not cry like I did for Our Violent Ends, but the range and intensity of emotions I went through were about the same. While this is her adult debut, there is romance, but this is not a romance book. I think Chloe set this debut up perfectly for the continuation of this series.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Chloe Gong for letting me read this epic masterpiece in exchange for an honest review. I am excited to read and support the Flesh and False Gods series!

Chloe Gong once again proving she’s THAT girl. She’s one of my favorite authors so I was ecstatic when I got approved for this arc. This is her debut adult fantasy and I loved it! The characters were as always wonderful and the pacing was perfect. I love Chloe Gong's writing style. Overall I enjoyed this book immensely and I would definitely recommend it to fantasy readers and fans of Chloe Gong!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Wanted to like this but could not get into the writing. There was something about the pacing and tone that was stunted, cold, clinical? There was so much world building and not a lot of character development. Since this is a trilogy, that may be intentional.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
Immortal Longings is Chloe Gong’s adult fantasy debut, and while it’s not perfect, there’s a lot of potential here for a new series. For returning readers, there are many familiar hallmarks of Gong’s style, like star-crossed romance and inspiration from Shakespeare, but it also stands out well in its own right. There are some elements across the board that could be developed and further fleshed out, but overall this is a promising transitional novel from YA to adult.
The most well-realized aspect here is the world building. Geographically and historically, it pulls from Hong Kong’s Kowloon Walled City in the 1990s, and I love that Gong continues to pull from distinct periods of Chinese history for inspiration. The resulting lore does sometimes overwhelm the narrative, but Gong’s enthusiasm radiates through the pages, so I’m not too upset.
That’s not to say that there isn’t room for plot and “stuff” going on, as the atmosphere is also thick with intrigue that keeps me engaged.
As for the characters, some stood out more than others, but each POV character felt like they had a purpose for being so. Given the inspiration is Antony and Cleopatra, the leads of Calla and Anton are well-drawn, subtly evoking their historical/literary counterparts in intriguing ways. Calla is very much the standout, being strong and savvy and Anton matches her perfectly, both of them being hot messes who find the other irresistible. The chemistry between them is absolutely electrifying.
I enjoyed this book, and I can’t wait to see what’s next. I’d recommend it to both Chloe Gong’s established reader base, YA readers looking to try an adult fantasy, and to readers of romantic fantasy.

Super enjoyed getting swept away in this world by Chloe Gong. I’m eager for a Special Edition of this one because I know it’s going to be gorgeous and fun just like this book :)

Stunning adult debut from Chloe Gong - I loved everything about this, from the fully fleshed out characters of Calla and Anton, to the unique magic system and high octane plot. Definite read.

Set in a dystopian city that is cramped and overpopulated, the timeframe feels like it is around the '90s. There are pagers and some cell phones, computers exist but are not widely available. The book follows three characters, Prince August, Princess Calla, and Anton Makusa as they are involved in the King's Games, a deadly tournament that guarantees its victors riches beyond their wildest dreams. The tournament is set in the cities streets, and with the ability for people to jump their souls, or Qi, into bodies, anyone can be a player. August and Calla team up to manipulate the games so she can win and kill King Kasa and August can take the throne. Anton and Calla team up to give themselves an advantage, and it is through their eyes that we watch the narrative unfold.

I absolutely loved this book. I thought the concept was fresh and served as unique takes on classic types of stories. I am a sucker for a tournament, and I have never read a tournament story without an arena. Taking the bloody games onto the city street gave things a really different, gritty, feeling that I really enjoyed. With the city being the arena, the body hopping became such an interesting element of strategy and behavior. The scheming and plotting was dynamic, and the character interactions were really well done. I was often surprised by the direction that was taken and did not see twists coming. I also felt that the world building was done the right amount. The world was established and important questions answered, but not so over developed as to be boring, there was still room for imagination to fill in the gaps.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was fun and engaging, and serious without being heavy. It hit all of the things I want from a book. I would absolutely recommend this book to everyone and I cannot wait for the next books in the series.

A few chapters into it I realized that the writing wasn’t working for me, the exposition felt like too much info dumping at once and the characters were quite uninteresting. I’m sad that this didn’t work because I really loved the author’s previous books a lot and the world she created before, but it didn’t feel the same this time.

Chloe Gong's writing has a way of taking stories that are familiar and giving them such an original twist! I love the way she handles Shakespeare. It is reminiscent of Hunger Games, but in the way that the Hunger Games was reminiscent of arena battling.

2.5 stars

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

I was disappointed in this as I loved her other series These Violent Delights. It took me forever to get through the first half. I got hunger games vibes which kind of turned me off for this book. I was hoping for something more original.

Did not finish book. Stopped at 83%.
I love sci fi and Antony and Cleopatra is my favorite Shakes play so I was pretty excited about this but…
The best parts of Antony and Cleopatra (in my opinion) are:
- they’re middle aged (these characters are early 20s)
- they’re in Cool Interesting Place Egypt for a lot of the play, on Cleo’s turf (in this, we remain in the city both characters are (kinda) from for p much the whole time- neither has an advantage as a ruler of the place or is an outsider in somewhere foreign to them)
- these 2 powerful, capable ppl make awful decisions bc they’re so in love with eachother from the jump (it takes a long time for this romance to kick in and then they still are pretty like, capable and driven characters. also no chemistry????)

On top of all of this, this somehow feels like a horrifically slow paced hunger games adaptation that also, despite being a book for adults and not children, has like way less politically to say than the actual hunger games did. Very little nuance or actual thoughtful insight comes out of this book’s politics.
Anyway- DNFed 83% through bc I was holding out hope that the romance would make me invested but it deeply, deeply did not.
I’m not angry, I’m just disappointed.

where to begin? this book had so much going on that it’s hard to summarize. the premise is essentially The Hunger Games, with some magic. lots of political things going on in the background that I truly didn’t understand most of and for me made the book a lot less interesting rather than adding interest. I was so excited for this given how much I LOVED Gong’s debut series (These Violent Delights/Ends). it just didn’t do it for me. it definitely picked up around the halfway point and kept me more engaged from there. there were some really solid twists that I enjoyed. overall, this was fine. I did not love it and I am sad that I did not love it. but I still adore Chloe Gong forever.

enormous thank you to @sagasff for this gifted ARC. this book will be out for the public on 7/25!