Thank you so much to the folks at Gallery/Saga for sending me an eARC and a gorgeous finished copy of Immortal Longings! I first heard about this book in 2021 (I think) at a panel at Yallfest where Chloe Gong was talking about what she was working on now and from the beginning, I was so hooked/excited to read this one.

Immortal Longings 5/5 Stars

Summary from Goodreads:

#1 New York Times bestselling author Chloe Gong’s adult epic fantasy debut.

Inspired by Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra , Immortal Longings is a fiery collision of power plays, spilled blood, and romance amidst a set of deadly games.

Every year, thousands in the kingdom of Talin will flock to its capital twin cities, San-Er, where the palace hosts a set of games. For those confident enough in their ability to jump between bodies, competitors across San-Er fight to the death to win unimaginable riches.

Princess Calla Tuoleimi lurks in hiding. Five years ago, a massacre killed her parents and left the palace of Er empty…and she was the one who did it. Before King Kasa’s forces in San can catch her, she plans to finish the job and bring down the monarchy. Her reclusive uncle always greets the victor of the games, so if she wins, she gets her opportunity at last to kill him.

Enter Anton Makusa, an exiled aristocrat. His childhood love has lain in a coma since they were both ousted from the palace, and he’s deep in debt trying to keep her alive. Thankfully, he’s one of the best jumpers in the kingdom, flitting from body to body at will. His last chance at saving her is entering the games and winning.

Calla finds both an unexpected alliance with Anton and help from King Kasa’s adopted son, August, who wants to mend Talin’s ills. But the three of them have very different goals, even as Calla and Anton’s partnership spirals into something all-consuming. Before the games close, Calla must decide what she’s playing for—her lover or her kingdom.

I really enjoyed this book! The games, August’s scheming, the underground society, the jumping from body to body, Calla and her secrets, and Anton and his secrets really made me keep wanting to read (even when I probably really should not have been reading). Not giving spoilers, but so many things that ended up happening at the end of the book made me so angry that the book was over, because I wouldn’t be able to know what was about to happen next! As a character, I feel like we didn’t really get to know King Kasa and his “tyrannical ways” didn’t really feel like enough to really understand why the heir to his throne was looking to have him killed- like, yes, he wasn’t helping any of the poor people in San-Er, but when do monarchs actually help the poor people? I could understand why Calla wanted to kill him and I understood Anton’s dislike of him/the monarchy in general as well, but not August’s. In terms of August, Calla, and Anton as characters though, I really liked them and everything they did to move the story along. Watching Anton and Calla together and their banter and everything about them was so fun to read. The game itself didn’t seem super orchestrated/thought out, but at the same time, I feel like that kind of worked? Overall, I really loved Immortal Longings and I cannot wait to read the next book when it comes out! Make sure you grab yourself a copy today!

Read if you like:
🎭 Shakespeare Retellings
📚 Antony and Cleopatras Story
🔭 Sci-Fi
❤️ Romance
⚔️ War

This book absolutely sucked me in and was so action packed!!!!

This one has a double plot that bouncing between absolutely made it so hard to want to put down because of wanting to get back to each pov simultaneously you are wanting to stay where you were and get all the answers!

I feel like the world building was also so well done to the point that it wasn’t overwhelming or boring but gave enough in detail that I felt like I could picture everything as I read .

The Enemies to lovers romance plot was also so well done and as my favorite trope this one definitely knocked it out of the park how it was written!

I truly can’t wait for the next book and hope everyone that reads this review goes and grabs a copy and enjoys it as much as I do!

Thanks so much to Gallery for my ARC of this one! Also, this one is a botm pick so there are so many ways to snag your copy today!

Chloe Gong's Immortal Longings is her adult debut and takes readers into a high-stakes competition where players must kill each other until a sole winner remains. Calla Tuoleimi has been in hiding ever since she murdered her parents in an attempt to start a revolution five years ago. Entering King Kasa's games is her only way to get close enough to the reclusive monarch in order to finish what she started and bring about the change the kingdom of Talin.

Set in a 90's inspired world, the capital city of San-Er used to be ruled by two families before Calla Tuoleimi committed parricide. Now ruled by King Kasa, the city is becoming overly crowded with poverty and crime running rampant in the streets while the nobility live their lives of luxury on the sky-rise floors. The yearly games invite the citizens of San-Er to enter into weeks of ruthless killing until one remains standing and this year, Calla finds herself as one of the chosen players. While the games start off in her favor, things become complicated when she learns of another outcasted noble, Anton Makusa, who is also playing to win.

Chloe Gong is incredibly talented in creating worlds that include complex politics and unlikely allies that strike up a tension-filled temporary truce. Calla enters the game with the plan to win on her own skills but finds herself aided by King Kasa's adopted son, Prince August, providing her with inside intel while she and Anton try not to kill each other. The stakes of the game are raised with the inclusion of jumping, a skill that allows an individual to "jump" into another person's body temporarily as a host. Anton is one of the best jumpers and utilizes this to his advantage as do many of the other players.

Throughout the novel, the recurring theme of revolution and what it means to overthrow a tyrant on the throne is explored as the characters grapple with their own moral compasses. Calla and Anton soon find companionship in each other that expands beyond their initial alliance agreements. As the number of players dwindles, they have to come to terms with where exactly their relationship with each stands in the grand scheme of their original goals. I loved seeing their relationship develop especially with how resistant they are to each other initially. The slow build and tension created a captivating dynamic that kept me hooked, I honestly could not stop reading.

Chlog Gong's first adult novel is immersive in its world-building and storytelling with characters that challenge and question what it means to bring about lasting change for the good of the people. With a cutthroat competition and stakes that seem to climb higher with each chapter, Immortal Longings is a fantastic start to a trilogy that I have no doubt will absolutely crush my heart in the best way possible!

I gave this book a solid try. The world building and character development ultimately fell flat for me. The plot felt very similar to hunger games. I usually like multi POVs but I found the jumping around to be confusing. Not spicy and the romance was not very believable. Not sure why this was classified as an adult book.

This one just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first book I have read of Chole Gong and I went into it thinking it was fantasy and then realizing it was a dystopian. I don’t hate it but I do wish that books that were dystopian would be advertised as dystopians instead of fantasy’s. Since I went in thinking it was fantasy I was confused at first when reading it and they were talking about all the technology that they had and slowly I realized that this book is a dystopian. Besides that I have enjoyed what I read so far and am excited to see where it goes. I am a little worried to be honest to see how much I enjoy this story but I’m really hoping that the more I get into it the more I enjoy it. Also the magic in this is kinda confusing and while I like it I don’t feel like it was flushed out enough but again that might change when I read more.

“When morning comes, she’ll find Anton Makusa, and they’ll turn the games into a frenzy.”

2.5 stars

It's disappointing and sad when an author whose previous works I loved makes one I don’t. Immortal Longings just wasn’t as engaging for me as the These Violent Delights duology and Foul Lady Fortune were.

The world building was pretty meh. The game itself was underwhelming for a battle royale. I didn't feel the romance between Calla and Anton; it felt forced and rushed. The whole jumping thing gave me an ick. Consent is basically nonexistent in this world and that does not sit well with me. Anyone who has the ability to jump can enter anyone’s body and do whatever they want while inhabiting it. I didn’t feel any attachment to any of the characters. I think the extra POVs were unnecessary and their stories should have just gotten incorporated into the main three characters’ POVs.

Despite my disappointment, I would still read the next one because of the ending but I’m coming in with low expectations. Hopefully, it gets better then.

Thank you Netgalley and Saga Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m learning that Chloe Gong’s writing style is sometimes a hit or miss with me. I adored her Violent Delights duology. I’ve struggled with Foul Lady Fortune but was ecstatic for Immortal Longings, her adult debut. Although I still struggled with some writing issues, I did end up enjoying this one. One of the cool things about Gong’s stories is her ability to draw from Shakespeare in a new and exciting way!

One of the things that I loved about this story was the characters. We have a great set of characters that have so many backgrounds and all have different agendas. You never really know who you can trust or what someone is going to do. I loved that aspect because it kept me on my toes. Anton and Calla were characters that I cannot wait to read more about. They both had some crazy surprises and I am dying for the next book, just because of these two! There are some really morally grey characters, which I also enjoy.

The pacing of this book was really slow to start. It took me a good 35% to actually get into the book. There are some info dumps too. The last 30% of the book was like whiplash and was really quick. I wanted a little more explored there but I think that’s what book two will do for us. I didn’t think this was really an adult read. I think more New Adult than true Adult. There are a lot of things that just read a lot younger and this could just be the writing style. There were a few things that reminded me of The Hunger Games and it got hard to separate at times.

Overall, I really enjoyed the world and characters that Gong created in this one. Just keep in mind that the pacing is a bit off but keep going because the ending is worth it. It is also a very character-driven book and the plot can lag at times because of this. The characters are absolutely amazing and the setup for book two makes you crave it asap!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Gallery/Saga Press for the e-arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own!

If you ask me the biggest drawback of science fiction and fantasy novels, I would have to say that it is the world building. Many SFF stories rely on info dumps to get a reader up to speed when they are starting a series. This really bogs things down and I have quit several books because of this.

Immortal Longings has beautiful world building. It is some of the best I have read in a long time. Not only are there no info dumps, but suspense is built into the story as the layers of San-Er society are peeled back. I enjoyed the slow introduction to the “magic” of body jumping and the limitations that came with it. Characters were introduced as they became important to the story and their stories were weaved into the MCs stories adding to this ever-expanding world. Even before the big reveal at the end of this book, I was sure that I have to return to read the rest of this trilogy.

Why only 4 stars if I loved the world building and the story? Because I couldn’t unsee all the parallels to another very popular trilogy about murder games known as The Hunger Games. Did anyone else see it? I won’t list all the similar ideas to avoid coloring your reading experience, but once I saw it, I couldn’t get it out of my head. I did love the twist at the end and I look forward to moving past the games. Hopefully The Hunger Games vibes will be left behind in the next books.

Recommended for: urban fantasy readers; fans of The Hunger Games

Content warning: blood and gore; ultra-violent death; sexual content

I received a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My problems with this book were twofold. First, it didn't turn out to be either of the two things I was expecting--specifically, either an adult version of an epic YA blockbuster a la Fourth Wing, with great action, worldbuilding, and romance (including some explicit sex), OR an inspired and well-researched Antony and Cleopatra retelling demonstrating deep knowledge and love for the classical history and Shakespeare's play, like The Stars Undying. And while that would have been fine if it had been compelling on its own terms, there was nothing about the writing or the story here that pulled me in and kept my attention. So I'm sorry to say I would not recommend this particular title to new readers as an introduction to Chloe Gong, who I think can write a better book than this, even with readers who would normally prefer adult over YA. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC in return for my honest review!

This is a clever novel and very appealing to a young adult mindset. As a college librarian I have ordered this novel to place on our fiction shelf.

Cover: Gorgeous
Premise: A retelling of Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra

I wasn’t sure how I felt about this until the last 100 pages or so when the story SHOWED UP. For most of the book, it felt very technical. I had a hard time connecting to the characters because there was so much information and action and in my opinion not a ton of emotional or visual connection. HOWEVER, all the romance, drama, and emotion FINALLY boiled over in the third act and I can truly say I cannot wait for the next book!

I think I left my heart in the crowded alleys and mashed up buildings of San-Er. Phew, what an ending! But let me start from the beginning.

Immortal Longings is Chloe Gong’s adult debut based on Anthony and Cleopatra. In her style of writing I’ve come to know from her YA historical fantasies, her world building doesn’t disappoint. I loved how she places you in San-Er like it’s in front of you. The constant gloom from lack of sun among the buildings, the hopelessness permeating the air of the citizens who are “safe” (trapped?) inside the giant walls that circle the twin cities, and the ever watchful eye of the palace looming over everything and everyone.

The pacing worked out okay, though at times it could’ve moved faster. With Calla, the lost princess of Er who holds more secrets in her than meets the eye, there is always someone to root for. Entered into the games that leaves only one victor alive, the goal is the end of the current reign. But when an alliance is made with Anton Makusa, oh boy do things get messy.

I loved getting to know both Anton and Calla, but one reason this isn’t a 5 star read is the romance between them. It may be just me but I didn’t really feel drawn to their “strong” feelings for each other. They had great banter, and over time proved that trust does form even in a places it doesn’t belong. However, the two of them falling for each other romantically felt like something that happened only because they don’t have anyone else in the world. They’re both lonely souls, exiled or thought dead, and perhaps each other’s company was the first they’ve had in years. It felt like they settled for one another because they’re there, not because there’s anything special about each other. Plus, Anton has a special girl that threw him into the games in the first place. Are we just forgetting that? Where does Calla lie in his heart if so much of it seems to be taken up by another already? How much is genuine? I suppose only time (and the next book) will tell.

The magic system was also an interesting element. It took me a while to more fully comprehend this idea of jumping bodies, the maximum quota of souls/qi one body can handle simultaneously and what happens to empty bodies or overused ones. Oh, and how does one recognize if someone’s been invaded? Our friend Anton is an expert jumper, but the fact he never wears his birth body is strange.

Where the romance was lacking, the action and mysterious deaths of some of the players in the games definitely kept me going. Everyone’s motives are questioned and I was surprised by some of those twists I didn’t see coming. This book is definitely in the adult category with its sometimes graphic descriptions of death and added spice for those romance lovers. If you’re someone looking for a good fantasy with solid worldbuilding and political intrigue, this one is for you, especially if it introduces you to Chloe Gong. For fans of her YA novels, this transition was as I’ve come to expect from her – a seamless jump to adult fantasy. I look forward to book 2.

Overall Recommendation:

Immortal Longings takes us on a journey into the crowded twin cities of San-Er where mysterious magic underlies perhaps more nefarious motives and no one can be trusted. In a Hunger Games x gladiator style competition to the death, only one victor will be crowned and the lost princess Calla wants it more than anything. I thought the setting drew you in while the bloodthirsty backdrop definitely sets the tone for adult-rated violence. Chloe’s writing continues to paint her stories vividly, but this time in more blood with higher stakes.

Five years ago Princess Calla Tuoleimi killed her parents, the leaders of Er, leaving King Kasa to rule over San-Er the twin capitals of the kingdom of Talin. She is believed to be dead, however, has been living in the city waiting for her opportunity to bring down King Kasa. She has been chosen as one of the 88 citizens to participate in the yearly palace games to win a monetary prize that will leave the winner set for life and more importantly to Calla the victor receives face time with King Kasa. In a fight where only one can be left standing, she finds unexpected allies with Anton Makusa who was exiled from the palace years ago and August who is King Kasa’s adopted son.

I enjoyed the overall story, but had a difficult time getting into it and found myself struggling to get the feeling of not wanting to stop reading. The book has a lot of background that is being built up and I found it to sometimes be confusing and it caused me to lose interest a few times. Overall, I thought the concept was very interesting and the ending left me wanting to know where the next book will go.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Immortal Longings is Gong’s first adult book and my first book I’ve read by her, and I freaking LOVED it! Everyone I described this book to, I said it reminded me of the Hunger Games. There’s a competition that is held to entertain the rich and is a way for the lower class to earn a huge sum of money and recognition.

Then in comes Calla and Anton, two players of the game, each trying to become the winner enable to reach their end goal but then decide to team up to become the last two players and just face off with each other at the end.

Of course though, different events and feelings get in the way. I loved the banter and relationship between Calla and Anton so much! The different POVs of the main and some side characters really helped to set the scene for this action packed book. The twists in this book were awesome and I can't wait for the next book in this series!!!

*Thank you to @netgalley and @gallerybooks for my advanced copy. All opinions are my own.*

"Calla can handle pain. She can handle blood. But this - this is somehow all and none of that at once, a wrenching in her very soul.
This is tenderness. And she is more afraid of it than anything else in their forsaken kingdom."

Immortal Longings is the adult debut of Chloe Gong, filled with death and violence and unsuspecting allies. Our protagonist keeps many secrets - like, BIG secrets, literally city-changing secrets - and she is as morally grey as it gets, having butchered her royal family before living her life in hiding. She is partial to power, excitement, and anything that presents as a challenge. Enter Anton Makusa, a body jumping player in the games, who meets her swing for swing and blade to blade. Immediately there is a spark, and the conflagration grows into something deeper than desired on both ends. They have friends in both high and low places, and they do not hesitate to manipulate or exploit them.

Together these two riot across San-Er, a grunge-esque imitation of the real life Kowloon City in Hong Kong, and wreak havoc and mayhem wherever they step foot. With royal intrigue, problematic societies, qi, gods, and a lust for power and righteousness, Immortal Longings is a fantastic debut. Chapter 23 - dare I say more? If you love cliffhangers and self-sought fury, Immortal Longings is sure to deliver for you.

Fans of The Hunger Games, this is perfect for you - a fight to the death, but where civilian and city life are thrown into the mix and its perfectly normal .

I am so torn on how to rate this. The things I enjoyed were enough to keep turning the pages, but the things I didn’t like, I really didn’t like.

Like Gong’s previous published works, Immortal Longings is a Shakespeare retelling. This time Antony and Cleopatra. This was a fun dynamic to play with and when it worked, it really worked. This is Gong’s first adult novel and I’m not sure that really came through. It was violent but nothing worse than here previous books and the sex in the book was pretty perfunctory.

There is a hunger games like event at the center of this book although the participants get to choose it- although it isn’t much choice at all due to the poverty and grime that coats the city. A lot of this felt surface level to me especially when compared to HG.

Gong writes extremely long information dump paragraphs that are extremely hard to read or at least for me and at times my eyes kind of glazed over. I wish some of the page space for those repetitive clumps of information had been given to more room for feelings and character development.

I was both horrified and intrigued by the magic system here which involves basically jumping into other bodies. Gong hand waves this as just something that happens in this world and that physical bodies aren’t actually important but that didn’t make me feel any less grossed out when someone would have their body die because of a jump or when a body would be used for sex? There seems to be iffy consent issues even if in this world it is “ok” because we get one sentence about it.

There’s also sort of a glaring plot hole and I read an ARC so maybe this will be changed in the final version but it sort of ruins the big twist in the middle and also makes no sense?

The very end realllllly worked for me and I will definitely pick up the next book.

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was one of my most anticipated summer releases. It is such a sweeping, immersive world and such an intriguing premise. I struggled a bit with the somewhat rambling execution and the amount of info dumping, but overall it was a fascinating, really creative retelling of Anthony and Cleopatra. And while I’m not ravenous for the sequel I will pick it up when it comes out.

4.75 stars
This is Chloe Gong's first foray into adult fantasy. I have not read any of her YA books, so I'm not sure if it reads the same. However, parts of this book do have a slight YA feel while most of it is more adult. I didn't know going in that this was supposed to be inspired by Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra. For never having read that work I was still really impressed by this book.

Immortal Longings follows Princess Calla Tuoleimi, noble-born Anton Makusa, and Prince August. Interestingly there are chapters that are also from side character perspectives every now and then as well. There is one particular secondary character that you will see several times, this person's connection to the story is a big thing for the background of the world.

Calla is an interesting character. In the same chapter, she can be self-assured in her place and abilities to later be disturbed by her own actions. Everything she has done in the past five years is working towards taking down the monarchy to save the country of Talin. Since she wasn't able to get her uncle she went into hiding while also trying every year to get into the games for another chance at him.

Anton is more straight forward I believe. His goal is money, specifically the prize money that he will get when he wins the games. Like Calla, he has been entering the games under false names for years for his chance. Though his reasoning is also for someone other than himself. He needs the money for the girl he loved who has laid in a hospital bed for seven years. All these years Anton has jumped from body to body to survive the streets of San-Er. Early in the games he seems to try to eliminate contestants of the games by trickery more than killing them. Later though you see that this is not from lack of skill in combat.

Prince August was possibly the most back-and-forth character we saw. He seemed to clear cut, he wants to do this specific thing to save Talin. As the book moves on though you see different aspects of him, his past and the pieces almost align but there are gaps. His plan to move forward sounds reasonably ideal but only a general outline no actual how to make things better. August unlike the others does not seems to care about the individuals if the whole will be better off. This makes him a very dangerous person.

Enough about the characters now some magic. The system in place here is very cool, especially in the way that the people of the book don't think of it as magic just an inherited gene. Jumping between bodies is an ability that most of the population of San-Er has. They see it as your body is just the vessel for a person's qi. If you have stronger qi you can jump more skillfully and have a higher success rate of keeping your own body from being invaded. What the people of San-Er see as magic is things done by the Hollow Temple. One of the characters even mentions this as if that is magic then probably we should consider jumping to be magic as well. The aspects surrounding qi and the body is very interesting though. When your qi is outside of your body it stays in a stasis, unchanging, and if you are wounded it will mend itself if you are not in it.

From the description, we knew there was going to be a grand game. Calla and Anton don't really know each other at the beginning of the games but are drawn together through the competition. It starts with over 80 players and by the end of the games, the final two are always pitted together in the arena. So from the start you know this has to have a tragic end. It draws you in watching as Calla goes from finding Anton annoying to distrusting him to allies to more distrust to love. You see their motivations but several times changing perspectives would show secrets that weren't explained to give the reader a sense of confusion as well.

I'm going to be thinking about this book for a while. There are just so many questions that popped up in my head by the end. Restarted the beginning and then jumped to the last five chapters again. Still didn't come up with my answers. This is intentional for some of the aspects as in the author interview Gong talks about wanting to expand the magic and world building in the next books. I really liked the foundation she laid out. This world has a lot to grow on and magic to discover. So I will be impatiently waiting for the announcements of when the sequel is releasing.

5⭐️ Pub Day Review ⚔️

What an absolute fast paced, violent delight. This book gave me serious Hunger Games, Squid Games, Throne of Glass vibes and I loved it so much!

Set in a fictionalized version of a historical section of Hong Kong, I found the world building to be intricate but easy to follow. I also absolutely LOVED the Chinese philosophical elements (qi) to this book, I thought that made it very unique to other books I’ve read.

There was even a little 🌶️ that caught me off guard and I. LOVED. IT.

And the ENDING! It actually shocked me and I couldn’t sleep after reading 😂 I’m still spiraling and can’t wait until the next book is released!

I’m so glad I ended up snagging this as my BOTM. I was so excited to be able to read it on NetGalley but I’ll want a copy for my shelves 🫶🏻

This was my first book by Chloe Gong but WILL NOT be my last!

Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong
Narrator: Jeena Yi
Rating: 4 stars
Pub Date: 7/18

This is Chloe Gong’s first Adult Fantasy and a retelling of Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra. It’s also my first book by this author and won’t be my last.

Princess Calla has been in hiding for the past five years after killing her parents and has spent her time plotting to kill the current king. She will get her chance when she enters and wins the games, which is a Hunger-Games-style fight to the death throughout the streets of San-Er. The winner of the games gets a big cash prize, and the opportunity to shake the hand of the king. That is when Calla will strike.

Anton Makusa has also been in hiding for most of his life. He is an exiled aristocrat who is deep in debt from trying to keep his dying childhood love alive. Winning the games is his best chance to save her.

This book is a whirlwind and it was overwhelming at first. I loved the magic system and the idea of jumping (when a person’s soul can temporarily inhabit another person’s body). This felt like a fresh new idea that really gave the story unlimited possibilities. The book is full of exciting fight scenes, court intrigue, and a slow burn love story between Calla and Anton. The games are fought throughout the city so we get a tour San-Er, and we get to know each of the characters through the multiple POV format.

The audio, read by Jeena Yi, was done really well. The fast action and different POVs made it a quick and exciting listen.

Things got a bit muddled for me in the middle when new magic and characters were introduced. I started to get a little confused with the side plots, but I was able to follow the main story of Calla and Anton and the games with no issue. The romance felt almost like an afterthought to me. There was no chemistry between Calla and Anton at first, and the slow burn was almost too slow.

The story ends on a spectacular cliffhanger that I didn't see coming, and it’s honestly what bumped my rating up from 3.5 to 4 stars. I am now very excited to read the next book.

Thank you so much to Simon Audio for my gifted ALC and to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for my finished copy.

Read if you like:
*fantasy
*fresh new magic systems
*court drama
*revenge plots
*fight scenes

Immortal Longings is available today!