I've enjoyed all of Chloe Gong's works so far, and Immortal Longings was just as amazing. I always enjoy Gong's writing style and how she crafts character relationships; Calla and Anton had such an interesting dynamic and I loved reading about them. Initially, I did struggle to get past the info-dumping about the world in the beginning of this book, but once the story picked up, I flew through it. I'm really looking forward to Book 2.

This is probably one of the more hyped books I've read this year. This is Chloe Gongs debut adult fantasy. That’s right the author mostly known for her hit YA series has blessed us with a new epic adult fantasy. Definitely my kind of book for sure, at least so I thought. It’s loosely inspired by Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra. Every year, these 2 twin cities host a set of games in which the main prize is riches beyond any competitor’s wildest dreams but for Calla, winning means getting close to the king, AKA HER UNCLE.
I just couldn't get connected with this one. I wasn't interested in the competitive games, I found myself bored. The characters weren't anyone to root for. I wish this was a different case but unfortunately it didn't work for me.
Full review to come on YouTube.

let it be known that i take no pleasure in disliking books. and that writing up longer thoughts for books is a new thing for me, encouraged by much beloved friends. mwah. you know who you are.

so. immortal longings. where to begin. i’ve read both these violent delights and our violent ends, i found the second to be a notable improvement from the first, pleasantly surprising me. never got to foul lady fortune, and after this one, i’m not sure i ever will

gonna be bitchy and nitpicky first. the transliterated names from shakespeare’s antony and cleopatra (but also actual history) are super clumsy and distracting Tew Me. mark antony is anton makusa. sextus pompey is named pampi (like bambi if you flipped the B’s). octavia is otta avia. there’s the rubi waterway instead of the rubicon river. trite lame boring etc etc. idk why it bothered me so much, it’s probably a personal thing.

going to rag on the prose now. i found it strained in many places. the book’s setting doesn’t feel historical, just anachronistic, a place where cyber cafes and gladiator bloodsport exist in the same world. so the prose is similarly janky. modern idioms mashed with the archaic, stereotypical refusal to use contractions where they would really benefit the flow. distracting. strange. not for me

i don’t remember if gong’s previous characterization was so thin on the ground, but it was here. i didn’t feel there was much substance or personality to calla, anton or august. and all three are such solitary loners, they don’t reveal anything endearing or interesting about themselves as you read their perspectives. you don’t even learn anything about them indirectly given the dearth of meaningful interactions they have with the supporting cast.

all three of their motivations are incredibly shallow and underbaked, lots of telling without showing. calla and august are upset with the systemic problems facing people all across their country, but it’s not rooted in any empathy. anton is at least aware of his own indifference to injustice, but as a character he reveals so little about his interior life in the short amount of time we spend in his pov. he ended as such a broadly drawn and indistinct man.

ok. so. why are we exploring systemic disenfranchisement exclusively from the perspective of the nobility. what’s that about. i know it’s a trilogy and maybe this will be developed more but there’s not even a tangible force behind the poverty and neglect. august and calla think it’s the king and that his death will solve all of the problems plaguing society when there’s hardly a sense of what this king actually does. he doesn’t even feel like a looming, shadowy, big brother type of despot, he’s presented as a cowardly tyrant more than anything else. and he’s barely in the book at all

there are a few very minor characters who are struggling with money or housing or healthcare but there’s never any time devoted to learning about how they live. it’s the utter disinterest that gong and her characters seem to have in actual individuals being crushed by the rotten system for me babes

the thin characterization also harms the central romantic relationship. i didn’t feel any chemistry between calla and anton, i couldn’t really understand what attracted them to each other, i wasn’t interested in how they would resolve their problems. and it’s because i couldn’t really tell who they were as separate people. the intense codependency that gong was going for did Nawt land for me

the exposition dumping as noted by other reviews doesn’t even enhance the story in my opinion. the cross-nation politics could have been pared way down, replaced with internal, province based dissent or conflict and nothing would have been lost. the qi jumping almost worked to me if not for inconsistencies that will hopefully be addressed in a future installment. because if i think about it too hard it’ll become like cotton candy dunked in water, dissolving away before my very eyes

but i think the biggest sin here is that it’s boring. it didn’t feel like anything was happening, there was no momentum or escalating stakes. there was nothing in the story or characters that kept me reading. the games seem completely irrelevant to me, especially in the grand scheme of it as a series. whatever. god. everything is so superficial and shallow and in service of the aesthetic. where’s the depth!!!

i want to reiterate that this review is in good faith and is not meant to upset anyone. i take no vicarious glee in saying i disliked the book (and believe me, i often take vicarious glee in things). a slow and frustrating book. god bless anyone who loves it. wish that were me

I'm actually a wreck. I'm obsessed with this book. I want to write a whole thing about it, but it's all spoiler-y, so I'll just say that I find the storytelling brilliant; the character sing off the page and have jumped to life and are flitting around, entrenching themselves in the various corners of my brain. Calla Tuoleimi, you will always have a fan in me.

2.5/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I was… dare I say… a little disappointed by this, which is really unfortunate as I’ve really liked Chloe’s other books.

The good was that I did like the characters and I thought that they all had their motivations and acted accordingly to them. I also thought the magic (sorta) system was interesting, the body-jumping was a really unique idea.

There was some heavy info-dumping on this one, with paragraphs dedicated to it. I thought this was entirely too much like the Hunger Games with no originality. It’s literally the exact same - people are picked to kill each other, there’s one winner, etc. Most unfortunately, the romance fell flat for me. Calla and Anton barely knew anything about each other before falling in love. Also, I didn’t buy for a second that Anton actually died, but that’s mostly because I lost all faith in Chloe’s ability to actually kill off important characters after Roma and Juliette came back. Since that isn’t something attributed to this book, I tried not to factor that into my rating. Lastly, I didn’t like how there were POVs from random characters besides the three main ones. It felt like a cheap way to give the reader important information.

I did like this book, I just wish it was better. Since I still am interested in finishing the series, I rounded my rating up to a 3.

This book was enjoyable, but one major thing kept it from being a four- or five-star review. So much of the action happens OFF the page. We read that our MC has done these things, but always after the fact they've been done. As a reader, I want to be thrown into the action. This kept me from being fully in the story, especially regarding the romance between the characters. Because we didn't see many of their interactions and were briefly told about them, the romance felt abrupt and out of left field.

In addition to that, the first 50% of the book is heavy on worldbuilding, which made it difficult to get into. I understand constructing a new world is a lot of work, but the info-dumping paired with the lack of action happening on-page in the first half of the book made it incredibly difficult to get into.

That said, the second half of the book was stellar. The action and twists had me glued to the page and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. This part of the book is what will keep me coming back for the rest of the series.

This was an interesting move for Gong's, if not my personal favourite of her work.
While I found it a little bit difficult to get my bearings into the world, once I was in, I was "IN" and found myself turning the pages with frantic ease. While a lot of her previous work relied heavily on character work and their intetrior lives, this is much more action-packed and easy going in many ways (although I did long for a deeper look into our protagonists' psyches at times and find it harder to fall in love with them in the same way I did the crew of the SECRET SHANGHAI series). Once I got a sense of who these characters were, however, I was *in it* with them and felt the tension underlining the way they navigated this world.
I admire the way a detailed, life-like setting that you feel as though you yourself can inhabit remains such a stable of Gong's work. While it made sense that her Shanghai came alive from rich historical material, the same level of thoughtfulness and care is offered to San-Er, a place she has built from the gorund up. You can easily visualise the city - can see its towering buildings tearing at the seams, can picture its layout, can feel the suffocating humidity in your lungs and on your skin, can taste the desperation of its citizens.
Still a banger, but not quite what I'd pictured. I look forward to seeing Gong expand this world in the future, and she retains her status of auto-buy author for me.

Content Warning: violence, death

I almost DNF’ed this book but I pushed through because it’s Chloe Gong and once our two main characters met, I became invested. But let me tell you that the first 20% of this book was a struggle for me to get into. I couldn’t quite get my bearings on this world the author created. It’s two cities San-Er in the kingdom of Talin, and there is a power imbalance with lots poverty among the people and the king flourishing and turning a blind eye. So August, the prince wants to take the throne but he needs someone to kill the king. The plan is to get a player into the annual games, the winner can get close to the king at the end and kill him. But there are other players in these ruthless games who want to win for their own agendas.

The power play is intriguing. Do we really know August? He says he will be a different king from his father but others say he will be just the same. He does everything in his power though to make sure his plan comes to fruition.

Then there is Calla, my favorite morally grey, ass-kicking character who is fearsome and fierce. She has history with August, but so does Anton Makusa, the fastest body jumper around. And yes this society of people can jump bodies, which makes the action quite exhilarating and fast-paced.

I was hooked on Calla and Anton. I love them fighting, even if it meant drawing blood. I liked their chemistry and obsession with one another – I am now obsessed with them! This was my favorite part of the book and probably the only reason it’s getting 4 stars and that I want to read the next book. Oh yeah, it ends on a cliffhanger.

Speaking of blood, there is a lot of it. Calla and Anton are fighting to the death in these games and it is bloody with lots of rolling heads and slit throats. It’s violent but I enjoyed it. I do think the games could have been explained more -it’s sort of like the Hunger Games but those games were the focus. The games here isn’t quite the focus. There are a few things going with August needing his plan to take place, talks of rebels coming into the city, and issues with a religious sect. My struggle in the beginning was the info dumping and trying to figure out this world of San-Er. It’s kind of dystopian? It’s inspired by historical Hong Kong. But the beginning of this book did not hook me, maybe because we are thrown in with many characters being introduced. Also, I wasn’t into the body jumping. Once I got my bearings, and Calla meets Anton, I was intrigued. Also I can’t comment on it being a retelling of Antony & Cleopatra because I don’t remember reading it.

From their meeting to the end it’s a wild ride. Calla and Anton is what saves this book for me. I can’t wait to read book two but I hope for more character development and less info-dumping.

Tropes: enemies to allies to lovers

Why you should read it:
*Calla and Anton
*political intrigue

Why you might not want to read it:
*the beginning of this story is a lot of info-dumping and I almost dnf’ed this book

My Thoughts:

I’m so happy I pushed through with this one and didn’t give up! The beginning was really a struggle for me and I wish there wasn’t so much info dumping. It’s a fascinating world the author has created with people who can jump bodies which I’m still not sure how I feel about because it’s not regulated and just seems so violating and cheating almost. It makes for an interesting story though! I fell in love with Calla and Anton and I’ll be looking forward to reading book two after that cliffhanger ending.

This and Foul Lady Fortune definitely rank higher to me than these violent delights. I don't know why but I never meshed with that book no matter how many times I tried. Immortal Longings definitely has that Chloe Gong feel but perhaps the lack of immaturity is what pushes me towards it rather than her previous books. The whole sichuan subplot wasn't something I liked, the way it was glossed over and then half finished. How did it even work yet broke the laws of qi? Will it be brought back later? If it isn't, then it should have honestly been omitted entirely, I don't think it added to the plot other than a bit more fighting. The twist was definitely not something I was expecting at the end and does have me excited for the next book!

Immortal Longings is Chloe Gong’s adult debut, loosely inspired by Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra. Every year, the twin cities of San-Er host a set of games in which the main prize is riches beyond any competitor’s wildest dreams but for Calla, winning means a getting the opportunity to get close to her reclusive uncle, the king, and bring down the monarchy. But when she meets Anton, her priorities begin to shift as feelings start to develop. Calla will be faced with a choice: her love or her kingdom?

This was one of my most highly anticipated books of the year. The plot sounded amazing. The Hunger Games vibes with body jumping? I was so excited. But after finishing this, I found it painfully underwhelming. I think if you know going into it that it was inspired loosely by Antony and Cleopatra, you can see so much of that in the book and it really took me out of the story. There were pages and pages of world building but I feel like nothing was gained. The games that seemed like they would be a huge plot point felt like they were put on the back burner. I didn’t believe the romance at all. With a title with the word “Longings” in it, I just wanted some tension between Anton and Calla and I didn’t feel it. Pretty much every character felt like a cardboard cutout and I didn’t feel much personality from anyone.

The magic system felt very underdeveloped and only used when it was needed to move the plot forward. There are so many interesting things that could have been done with the body jumping but they weren’t utilized. Every twist was very predictable. Overall this was a very fast paced book, I just never wanted to pick it up. The one good thing about this experience is I know this is a series I won’t be continuing in.

I hope that whatever Gong comes out with next, it moves away from the Shakespeare inspiration. I feel like that creates a box that she feels the need to stay in but I would love to see what she would do with a more original plot.

This was disappointing. The characters were flat and the worlbuilding was almost nonexistent. The games had the most potential to be interesting, but they didn't make any sense or seem to have any rules. This is the first book I've read by this author and I'm not sure I want to read more.

I loved this brand-new, intriguing, immersive world from one of my favorite authors!

In this Antony and Cleopatra fantasy retelling, some people are born with the ability to jump bodies. Two of the best are August, who fought his way up to become the adopted crown prince and Anton, who grew up at the palace but was kicked out in disgrace after an attempt to run away ended with Otta Avia, August's half-sister and Anton's first love, in a coma. Then there's Calla, the disgraced princess who murdered her parents and fled into the city, living in secret with the help of two of her former handmaidens.

Both Anton and Calla enter the games, a deadly contest where eighty-eight players compete to the death for the final prize - so much money that they can retire in comfort. Most enter the games out of desperation. Anton wants money to pay the hospital to keep Otta alive, while Calla only wants the chance to get close to the reclusive king and kill him, too.

This author does a great job of writing morally grey characters that readers can love. Calla wants to build a better world, and for her, that means killing a lot of royalty. She accepts help from August to stay in the games, because he has the same goal: having someone end the king's life so his reign can begin.

Anton's immediately intriguing, as he doesn't kill Calla when he has a chance early on in the games. His love for Otta and his willingness to do almost anything - including killing a lot of people - to have a chance to save her make him a complicated character. When he begins falling for Calla, that adds a whole new layer to his character.

When Calla and Anton agree to an alliance, that means that in the end, they'll be facing each other in a final showdown for the prize.

Chloe Gong is great at writing complex worlds with so many layers and different groups of people working with different motivations. The twin cities of San and Er provide a bleakness that makes you understand the desperation of all the characters. As agendas clash and alliances waver, this book will wrench your heart. It also has some great, jaw-dropping twists at the end.

This book is the first in a trilogy, and I cannot wait for the next two!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Review Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The first in a new trilogy inspired by Antony and Cleopatra follows Calla and Anton (and August a little). Calla was the princess of Er, one of the twin cities of San-Er. Five years ago, she killed her parents and has been plotting on how to kill King Kasa, the king of San. She believes her way to do this is through a competition held each year where the winner gets to meet the king. She gets help from her cousin August, who also wants the king gone, as he is set to inherit the throne. Another competitor, though is Anton Makusa, who is trying to keep someone dear to him alive by winning. When Calla and Anton agree to an alliance in the games, they can never predict that they will fall in love. There is also magical elements here as people can jump between bodies using the forces of their qi.

This new series debut did not disappoint for me. I've loved all of Chloe Gong's books so far, so I was looking forward to this one from the get. I did initially miss the setting of 1920s Shanghai, as this one was much more modern (although as a history person, it was hard not to imagine them in Roman ruins!). However, Gong is so good at world building that soon I was in it. It did help once I finished and read the Q&A with the author to see it was almost more like 90s Hong-Kong. For future books, I will be able to apply this. This one was also different in that it had more magical elements. There are some aspects of that in the Violent Delights series, especially with Foul Lady Fortune, but this one was pretty central to the plot, with the qi jumping. I'm definitely intrigued to see where the next books take us. I'm only sad I have to wait to find out!! If you've loved Chloe Gong's previous books, you will surely love this one too. Even though it is a new setting and there are completely new characters, her writing is still amazing as always!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my copy in exchange for an honest review!!

DNF @ 35%

I did not enjoy These Violent Delights, so I haven't picked up any of her other books until this adult debut was announced. I was very excited for this release because it involves Cleopatra and Antony, who are two of my favorite historical figures/couples. But as you can see above, I DNF-ed this book because it was like pulling teeth trying to continue reading through this book.

The level of info-dumping throughout this book is honestly criminal—not only for world building but also by telling us the characters emotions/characteristics. I don't need to be told Calla is a badass and an independent woman. I want to learn about the characters' depths through their actions, but that did not happen here. Calla's motivations for the games didn't even feel deep, only surface-level. Yes, it is vengeance, but WHAT ELSE? Cleopatra has so much depth as a historical woman and Ancient leader, and comparing Calla to her with the marketing made this read through near unbearable because Calla did not reach those exepctations.

Moreover. the plot of this book is essentially a rip-off to The Hunger Games. Most of the citizens live in squalor, the monarchy views these games as entertainment, murder galore—it did not feel unique at all. There needed to be more time with characters and not three POVs muddling that down. I couldn't connect with the characters because I was tossed to another POV right when it was getting good.

My last big critique is that Chloe was trying too hard to be edgy and mysterious. She would give us crumbs of information or obvious foreshadowing, and then refused to give us anything else. She was trying so hard to make me interested, but then, by not giving me anything else to hold onto, I would lose interest and ultimately not care. It felt like she didn't trust me as a reader to figure things out and wait out the reveal. It was mind games.

Overall, I'm leaving this review as a three for neutrality sake since I DNF-ed.

Thank you to Saga Press and NetGalley for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

"This is tenderness. And she is more afraid of it than anything else in their forsaken kingdom.”

Chloe's transition from YA to Adult writing has been on my mind for a while - and this book was the perfect transition. Immortal Longings has my whole heart and I'm a huge sucker for another tragedy of lovers - and this one is set to the backdrop of a battle royale, hunger games esque vibes.

Let's back up. Calla is a princess in hiding after she killed her parents. August is the adopted son who's running this year's murder games, set in a world where people can jump bodies and the sole survivor gets riches beyond reason. He recruits Calla for one reason, if she wins she can get an audience with the king, murder him and put August on the throne - where he hopes to make a better world for the poverty stricken citizens.

The only hang up? Anton - a childhood friend of August's has also entered the games, and he needs the money to keep paying for his childhood's love ongoing treatment while in a coma. He's also one of the BEST jumpers in the kingdom, with nearly nothing to lose making him a deadly threat when these two meet and form an extremely shaking alliance.

There are so many good things in this book - but one of my favorite things was the jumping ability. In a world where bodies are dumped and picked like earrings, what is identity? When gender, height, weight and appearance are so easily changed - what really makes up a person?

Chloe is great at writing people that are a little obsessed with each other. I love it. Anton and Calla are in a setting without trust and YET despite it ALL, we see them fall for each other, not in love or lust but obsession. To do all this while writing a battle royale and 2nd plot line about an invasion? I cannot wait to see how this plays out for book 2.

rep// Chinese-coded protagonists and cast, side wlw

cw// violence, blood, death & murder, poverty, kidnapping, consent issues

Thank you to the publisher for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am sorry but this just wasn’t my favorite read. I didn’t dislike it but also didn’t love it. The writing was okay. The cover was cute at least. Literally no other thoughts.

I quite enjoyed the system of magic/ powers and viewpoints of all of the characters. The world building can be overwhelming at times, but the plot makes up for it. I will recommend for the NYPL's Best Books Committee.

I hated this book and I loved this book. The first sixty percent was so boring and drawn out. The story is told from multiple points of view, but you could honestly delete all but the main three and have a better story. The book gets really interesting and plows forward for the last forty percent, up until the annoying cliff hanger. I don't know if it took the author that long to get warmed up or what, but if the entire book had been as plot driven, emotional and action packed as the last section, it would have been a five star love fest.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for access to this arc.

Rating: 2.5 of 5

I feel bad. I wanted to love this one so desperately but I… I just don’t.

I can’t say exactly what went wrong but I felt so detached while reading Immortal Longings. I was so excited when I got the ARC, and the beginning had me in awe. But the more I read, the more I (slowly) lost interest. It took me more than a month to finish this. (But maybe that has less to do with the book and more to do with my newfound addiction to Webtoons.)

The romance was a bit so-so for me. It didn’t feel believable with how fast the romance went from zero to I-love-you. There was barely any chemistry between Calla and Anton. (Just a random thought… did Chloe Gong named August and Anton a bit similarly on purpose?! Because that’s genius now that I think about it.)

I’m not a fan of the short, swift action scenes. I get that Calla trained for almost all her life and had the best teachers or whatever but come on, the action scenes last for about two to three sentences. A flick of a hand here, a strategic dodge there and voila, we have a beheaded opponent. (Even John Wick wasn’t that good.)

I’m not usually good at predicting twists and/or big reveals but I was spot-on with this one. A bit of a disappointment; I wanted some gasp-worthy reveals.

Giving this one an average rating because although I didn’t love a lot about it, it felt so easy- so effortless- to read when I actually did commit to finish reading it one weekend. And I really like the cover.

I received an ARC from the publisher to read and review. Quoted excerpt/s may change in the final print.

What a damn ride.

I've read and enjoyed the author's debut in YA, These Violent Delights, so I was really excited to be offered a chance to read her Adult debut! I think this book will fit nicely in the Emerging Adult/New Adult category of books, a very real demographic of 18-23 that needs more books suited for them.

In general I prefer to have a close third person POV, so I admittedly struggled with having perspectives that were outside who would be considered the essential 2-3 characters. That said, I do see how they were helping build the underside of the story, including aspects that were developing outside of the key characters' knowledge. For me by personal preference, however, it slowed the story down some because without context I wasn't entirely invested in those sections.

I really enjoyed the discussion/interview with the author at the end because it was really clarifying. Looking at Calla and Anton's characters as inspired by the dynamic and relationship of Cleopatra and Antony in Shakespeare's play, rather than the play itself, helped reshape how I looked at their development. It emphasizes the power dynamics and obsession that played out, instead of the seemingly insta-love that it could be seen as. Nothing about the dynamic is healthy (or will be moving forward in the series) and knowing that's the intention with the analysis and commentary of these character archetypes has me very interested in a different way now.

Also: THE ENDING! Without spoiling, I had been waiting for certain things to elements to come back and bite character's in the butt, so the final lines were perfection and have me absolutely stoked for the next installment in this series. The ending of the book really nailed it and elevated the whole book, in my opinion.

Summary: very fascinating read and I look forward to the next one!