Immortal Longings was the first book I’ve read by Chloe Gong, and it was AMAZING. I’m a Canadian bookseller and I will definitely be staff picking this title!! The premise of jumping and qi was exciting and I love the Antony and Cleopatra retelling aspect to the story with the fantastical twist. I don’t know the story very well, but the obsessive and all consuming aspect of their romance was very well conveyed. The twists of the book kept me constantly engaged and the ending WRECKED ME. I cried hours after finishing the book. I cannot wait for the next title!!!

Immortal Longings is Chloe Gong’s debut adult epic fantasy novel. The story follows Princess Calla who is accused of brutally murdering her parents, the enigmatic Anton Makusa who is exiled from aristocracy, and the mysterious adopted son of the King, August, who has plans of his own.

The worldbuilding in Immortal Longings is captivating, especially the idea of jumping into bodies that you were not born into and having these vessels play host as each character carries on about their day. I felt this aspect to be reminiscent of Stephanie Meyer’s The Host. The story centres around an annual competition to the death with the intention of winning unimaginable riches and a chance to meet the King. This competition is entirely voluntary but written in the same vein as Suzanne Collin’s The Hunger Games down to the brutal gore, adrenaline inducing action and unlikely partnerships.

Each character, Calla, Anton and August aim to gain something from this competition. Each of them has their own motivation and destination. There are tedious plans at play and secret societies, there is war and famine and all the makings of an epic sci-fi/fantasy. There are unexpected twists and cliff-hangers making for a mostly entertaining novel.

However, there isn’t originality here. It feels like a story that’s been done before and while this is inspired by Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, I couldn’t get past the imitation of The Hunger Games and The Host mixed into the story. I find the best retellings are ones where the reader can see the hints from the original story but the new tale feels authentic. Gong is successful in capturing the essence of Antony and Cleopatra and making the story her own but it is the emulation of everything else that as a reader, I just couldn’t appreciate.

Thank you #SimonSchusterCa, #SagaPress, #ChloeGong & #Netgalley for this e-ARC of #ImmortalLongings. The book is available now!

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When I try to gather my thoughts to speak about this book, I find myself conflicted. For starters, I should have finished this over a week ago, but had to force myself to keep reading through the middle section, really only making progress on a few pages at a time. Then, when I finally did sit down and say enough it enough, I flew through the last 30%. When this book misses, it really misses. However when it hits, it hits it out of the park.

I think a lot of my struggle comes down to the world-building. San-Er is a rich and vibrant city (well, two cities really) with a long history stretching back hundreds of years. That being said, I often felt like I knew more about its past than I did about its present. The reader is told about the socio-economic struggles of the people, but never really gets to see what that is like beyond a few snippets. So much time is spent laying the contextual groundwork for the present that the present itself feels hazy. Because the POV characters are all connected to the royal palace in some way or another, they always felt separate from and above the common people, even if they spent time living and mingling with them.

Then there's the game itself. Many comparisons have been made to The Hunger Games, and not without warrant. It features the standard Battle Royale tropes that one might expect -- a limited pool of contestants who, seeking a chance at a better life, are made to kill each other off in a public and televised manner until only one victor remains. That being said, the rules of the game never really felt clear, and the impact on the average person was also contradictory. Characters spoke about changing the system to make the lives of average people different, but then felt no capitulations about killing innocent bystanders whose bodies they may or may not have temporarily jumped in to.

And that's another thing! The concept of body jumping (or qi jumping), and the ethical questions regarding one's association with (or disdain for) their birth body is a really interesting concept! I recently finished The Blighted Stars, which played with loosely similar ideas. However, the rules and ethics of qi jumping mostly just felt vague and unclear, and sometimes even unnecessary.

Reading Immortal Longings often felt like reading a book that was trying to be two or three separate books at once. There's the death-match focus, the political intrigue lens, the doomed love story angle, and also philosophical examination of identity all rolled into one package. Unfortunately, in trying to do all of the above it often missed doing true justice to any of those concepts.

Again, once I finally forced myself to keep reading, the last 30% grabbed me with both hands and took me on a journey. Intense character revelations and a banger of a cliffhanger helped turn my impression around quite a bit. I had considered not finishing this book a few times, and I'm glad that I did. Regarding the cliffhanger, I'm now interested in reading the next installment in a way that I genuinely wasn't 100 pages previous. That being said, I really hope it chooses to focus one (or two at most) of those concepts rather than trying to balance them all again.

I believe Immortal Longings will appeal to a number of readers who are willing to meet this book where it is at, and wait for the full story to unfold over the course of the series. However, I also believe that it might lose a number of readers along the way for some of those very same reasons.

So originally I was VERY skeptical of this book. It sounded kind of weird, I was seeing some not great reviews, and I'll be honest, my last foray into Chloe Gong's Violent Delights/Violent Ends did not wow me as I'd hoped it would (still good! Just not "great" for me).
I could not have been MORE WRONG about this book!!! I loved it so much I accidentally bought two copies of it!! I will say there is a LOT of info dumping, and yes sometimes it's overwhelming, but truly this book is a lot of set up for what comes next, you just have to trust the journey and eventually you get comfortable with a lot of the in-book history that is explained. I think the characters were just delightful, the twists were surprising, the stakes were so high and will only be higher in the next books. I took a bit of time to get invested and then when I was BOY WAS I INVESTED. It just kind of smacked me out of nowhere. Really suggest giving this a shot even if you're a bit uncertain about it, it might surprise you!

I was very excited for this one but I struggled a little bit with it. I liked it, I love Chloe Gong’s style. I did not connect to the characters the way I like to, and the way I need to in a fantasy. I did not feel fully invested. Everything felt a bit rushed (the games, the romance). I did love the ending.

The premise of the book was phenomenal and I really did enjoy her other work, this was a bit too political for my taste.
While it is important to talk about these sort of things, I read to escape the world and its problems. Her characters are always incredible, as are her twists and turns but I’m not sure if I was interested enough to keep reading future books in this series

Thank you so much to Simon & Schuester and Netgalley for the e-Arc!

Description from the publisher: 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 liked the premises of this novel - it had adult hunger games in a cyberpunk city vibe. Mix that with Shakespeare and it is such a fantastic concept. The setting of San-Er was great - a super metropolis that is two cities in one. I definitely drew parallels with cities like Hong Kong and Tokyo with how San-Er was described - both a place of great wealth and opportunity but also a place with so many people it is easy to disappear or be lost.

The main magic in the novel is unique - certain individuals in this world have the ability to “jump” into other peoples bodies and use them as they need. This meant that characters never know if the body they are talking to is the original person or a person who has “jumped” and is using the body temporarily which created great suspense. I will admit that it was a bit confusing at times, and there were certain moral implications of jumping that made me pause (especially in some of the romance scenes).

If I have any complaints it’s that this story should’ve been longer. This was a fairly quick read for a fantasy book and the length definitely left certain elements feeling rushed. While jumping was a cool concept, there wasn’t enough pages to really deal well with the intricacies of it. The most rushed point was the romance - an Anthony and Cleopatra retelling needs to have all consuming passion, and I really did not feel that here because the romance was so rushed. Calla went from hating Anton to loving him in about 100 pages. I would’ve preferred a longer book or a more slow-burn romance over several novels.

My issues with pacing aside, this books ending got me HOOKED. Its a cliffhanger (be warned) and Chloe Gong definitely got me throughout the story with her twists! I will definitely be picking up the sequel if only to see how it all ends!

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Calla is a princess who committed a massacre 5 years ago, including her parents. Everyone thinks she's dead, but she's just plotting a way to take down the rest of the monarchy. Every year in San-Er, the "games" are held, with 88 participants chosen from hundreds of volunteers - with only one winner. The games continue until only one remains, and life continues as normal. Everyone has something at stake: Calla, of course; her cousin August, who wants to be the new king; Crescent Societies; Anton Masuka, who was exiled from his birth body years ago... oh yeah, and people can "jump" from one body to another, using their qi, taking over the vessel if they have the more powerful qi. With so much at stake, everyone is fighting for something...

Chloe Gong is an incredible author, and given the opportunity to read her newest book, I absolutely jumped at the chance. The concept of jumping was interesting as a plot device. I could probably spend a ridiculous amount of time talking about the jumping, but there's more to the story than that. The author mentioned in notes after the acknowledgements that this will be explored more in the next book, and I'm really looking forward to that.

The ending was a fun twist, and though I can see how some were shocked, is it really that surprising if you're paying attention? It sets up so much for the rest of the trilogy!

CW: blood, violence, murder, death

Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong

This one came out yesterday! I’ve seen amazing reviews for this author so was excited to get this one on @netgalley, thanks @simonschusterca! I have some mixed feelings about it, I did enjoy it, but not sure I’ll read the next one.

Loved - characters, plot twists, quick pace, and setting.

Didn’t love - politics, conversations that went in circles, confusing world building.

I really appreciated how quick the story started to be engaging, but it definitely lost its way a couple of times. Extra points for plot twists I did not see coming that kept me reading!

I have read and enjoyed most (all?) of Gong’s books and she is an instant read for me. This book probably tops all of her other ones for me, which is saying a lot because I LOVED These Violent Delights!

I was immediately fascinated by our main characters, especially our main gal Calla and the character development is wild. The tension between Calla and Anton is intense and the will-they-won’t-they enemies to lovers to enemies to lovers to enemies… is out of this world. Both their motivations are so complex and watching this first instalment in the trilogy unfold was addicting- I could not stop reading!

This is inspired by Antony and Cleopatra, but with elements of The Host, Hunger Games, and Nerve all mixed in!

There is a deadly game going on, made even more challenging due to the fact that people can jump their qi into other bodies, so you never know whose face will appear around the corner trying to kill you.

The body jumping led to some super interesting discussions about gender and identity, which I found super cool to read. What is personhood if every day you become a new person?

The setting of this book was fictional, however was inspired by a city in Hong Kong, which is different than Gong’s previous books that do take place in a recognizable city. The city in this book is just wild, I for sure do not want to go there based on the dark and dirty, not to mention dangerous, descriptions. You can feel the overwhelming doom and gloom through the page!

The ending of this book is… WOW! Throughout the story there are so many twists and turns, and the ending is not an exception. I will be needing the second book asap.

Overall, I loved this book and found it to be a very quick and intense read. I haven’t gobbled up a book this fast in a while! I highly recommend it to any fantasy sci-fi adult fiction readers. There is a spicy scene and lots of romantic tension, but not crazy smutty. It’s a great book!

I loved the premise of this book. It gave me Hunger Games vibes without being completely the same and I thought the jumping aspect really added to the story. I liked the flow of the story and we got twists and turns I was not expecting. They were strategically place throughout the book and kept you going for more. The pace was a bit slower which for me was a bit harder to keep my attention for long but I pushed through and am happy I did because those last 25% of the book were so worth it. I was expecting a little bit more character depth and development but this is only book 1 in the series so I presume we will get more in the upcoming installment(s). I felt there was a lack of chemistry between the MCs and it sometimes felt forced. Did they felt like good friends? Yes. Lovers? Not to me, I was missing a bit on that front. Overall I really liked this book and I cannot wait for the next one because with that ending, wow I need to know what happen.

This retelling of Antony & Cleopatra is absolutely thrilling and terrifying, with a bit of the hunger games feeling to it . The twin cities of San-Er are the most complicated and intriguing setting for a book -loosely based off the The Walled City of Kowloon in Hong Kong which is a really cool rabbit hole of research to fall into.

Calla didn't always live in the overly dense streets of San-Er. She was trained to fight and lead armies, but now she finds herself entering into a game of life and death to take the next step in her plans.

Anton was exiled and lives jumping from spot to spot to survive another day and keep the hospital bills paid for a loved one. The games are his las chance to keep a promise he made many years ago.

Will they destroy each other or find a way to fight alongside one another in these gory, blood soaked battles to the death?

This book will pull you in and make you want to find more clues and understand the mystery, right up until the ending when you gasp and desperately search for more pages.

Immortal Longings

Best known for her ya blowout series, These Violent Delights, Immortal Longings is Chloe Gong’s first foray into adult fantasy.

In this dystopian tale, 88 players are selected to battle against each other until only one is left. Much like The Running Man the movie, this is a broadcasted event that takes place in a city pitting players against each other and causing bystander injuries and casualties along the way.

An interesting twist here is that most of the population can jump from one body to another. Too many jumps can lead to sickness or death.

The main players, Anton and Calla, are inspired by Shakespeare’s Anthony and Cleopatra and the city is modeled after Kowloon’s Walled City.

Why fight? For most players it is a chance at financial freedom, for Calla she longs to depose King Kasa from his thrown, exiled aristocrat Anton only wants to be able to afford the lifesaving care for his friend. Stirring up trouble and waiting on the sidelines is Prince August.

There is a residual ya feel to this book, maybe it’s a crossover instead. Aside from one fairly steamy scene I wasn’t sure about the intended audience.

My thoughts, there was a very slow and deliberate world building that took up a good part of the first half of the book. I really didn’t start getting into it until there was more character and relationship development.

By the end I was absolutely hooked. It ends on a cliffhanger that I loved! I’m not going to read the next in the series because I really found that it was a perfect ending.

If you plan to read this book, take the time to read the authors comments at the end of the book absolutely worth it.

Thanks to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster Canada, SagaPress and the author for an opportunity to read this Arc.

IG post to come.

For a first foray into writing adult, Immortal Longings is probably not the start Gong was hoping for, but I dont think it deserves abysmal reviews that it has been getting lately. If you read the synopsis and understand the plot is an impoverished nation ran by a corrupt dictator where citizens can enter a competition to win life changing riches and you're hoping for a story rich in political commentary like the Hunger Games, you will be disappointed. While there are plenty of details about the city it's self, and mentions of the poverty that exists, there is very little provided about the actual political structure or the daily lives of an average citizen. This is due to the extremely odd choice to provide us three main characters, all of whom come from the very upper wealthiest part of the society (a prince, princess, and aristocrat). To choose to base the set up for the plot around a broken nation, with the goal to repair the country, but then not give us a single character who is at all in touch with the realities of living as a citizen in that country feels very out of touch and highlights how poor Calla's plan is. It is HARD WORK trying to root for Calla and August. It's a real toxic love triangle situation where no one has considered there is a third better option the story is not presenting to us; there is an option besides current the current king and August that Calla doesn't consider, likely due to herself being a princess.

I think this would have worked better had it not been for Gong trying to foray into adult fiction. Very little made this an adult story other than an unnecessary amount of description about the city which added nothing to the story. Had she stuck in the YA genre where she excelled previously would have left room for the author to lean more on this being a retelling of a classic and developing the characters. Instead by trying to make it adult, add in supernatural elements, add in a competition, and try to build a society from the ground up just leaves with the story trying to do too much it's not capable of delivery.

"The gods let us jump so that we could be free.
August shakes his head. “There are no gods in this world.” He reaches out to close her eyes. “Only kings and tyrants.”"

4.5 stars

Man, this book was good. It had the brutality of The Hunger Games on a backdrop of a Hong Kong-inspired fantasy. The concept was one I’ve never read before: where bodies are mere vessels and the only thing that matters is qi, a person's life force, soul, I guess? They call it jumping, where you can send your qi into another body if they’re within range and are weaker than you. Your eye colour seems to be the only thing that stays the same though. Anyway, it was a very interesting concept and I hope we hear more about it, and the other ways qi works, in the next books!

"Calla Tuoleimi, princess of Er. She could do nothing on a throne, but she can do everything with a sword in her hand."

I really enjoyed Calla as a main character. I thought she was tough, ruthless (like…extremely ruthless), and motivated. She wanted to kill the king and nothing, not even love, would get in her way.

Anton. I liked Anton, for the most part. Even though we had his POV sometimes, I feel like I don’t know him enough yet. I want more backstory, more of Otta, what made him tick, that sort of thing.

"“That she was a sociopath”—his fists have clenched—“and a lying, manipulative bitch of a half sister.” Anton cannot contain his glower. A rush like no other floods Calla’s veins.
“He wouldn’t dare—”
“No, you’re right,” Calla cuts in, examining her nails. “Those aren’t his words at all. Those are mine.”"

I’m definitely interested in seeing more of Otta, whose side is she going to help?

"She knows she’s leaving marks on him, her nails digging deep, and by the intensity of his fingers on her hips, he will have left a canvas of damage too. Let it bruise. Let him mark her skin permanently as a memory of what divine agony is."

But I did like Calla and Anton together, it was very:

🗡back-and-forth
🗡enemies-to-lovers
🗡I-tried-to-kill-you-a-few-times-and-may-try-again
🗡Do-I-want-to-have-sex-with-you-or-kill-you-I-don’t-know.

"“You’re beautiful.” Calla snorts behind her mask.
“You can’t see me.”
“Who says I have to?”
“Do you flirt with every person you’re trying to kill?”
“Only you, Fifty-Seven.”"

I thought their relationship progressed naturally enough to not be insta-love, which is the bane of any romance's existence, and it flowed nicely.

"But Anton does not tighten his grip on her throat. What should be a deathly squeeze becomes merely a caress, and he leans in to kiss her, more softly than any of the times previous. “I know,” Calla replies, matching his volume. She closes her eyes, her hands tracing down his back, nails running along the muscle. There’s some feral feeling humming in her chest, and she has to resist the urge not to attack him when her hands sink low, feeling how hard he is. She’s going to lose her mind. His hand runs another caress at her jaw. She can hear the teasing in his voice.
“Is something the matter?”
“You are wicked,” she breathes. “Take your pants off and fuck me.”"

August. Eh. I wasn’t a fan. He seems to think he could be a better king than Kasa, but his personality, the way he gets what he wants, makes me think he’d just grow power hungry like any tyrant would.

There were 3 reveals/ahh moments, but they have huge spoilers, so I only included them on Goodreads so I could bury them under a spoiler warning.

"No matter what, everything in Talin flows back to him. There is nothing that can compete with his wealth, but stay in line, and he might just break off a piece and offer it generously. A gift; a consolation prize."

This book is rife with politics, oppression, and poverty. The wealthy can do no harm and the poor are left to die in the streets, sometimes literally if they can’t afford the hospital bed. At the center of it all? A delusional King. One who believes he was chosen by the gods and is a blessing to the city.

"Casual travel in and out of San-Er is, after all, forbidden. Once someone becomes a citizen of the twin cities by birth or by lottery, there they remain, unless they are granted a formal departure permit. King Kasa is too afraid of what might happen if people are allowed free travel."

AND THE FUDGING CLIFFHANGER HOW DARE YOU

"“It will be remembered,” he goes on, like he doesn’t hear her. “And what fine daylight we have today to ensure its longevity in their memory.”"

Some quotes:

"Now, the games are a thrill that anyone can participate in, a solution to a kingdom simmering with complaints. Don’t worry if your babies drop dead because they have hollowed into starved husks, King Kasa declares. Don’t worry that your elderly must sleep in cages because there is no more apartment space, nor that the neon light from the strip club across the alleyway keeps you awake night after night. Put your name in the lottery, slaughter only eighty-seven of your fellow citizens, and be awarded with riches beyond your wildest dreams."

"Maybe it would be better if San-Er simply killed its people faster. Instead, it lets them rot. The elderly with nowhere else to go live stacked atop one another like animals inside enclosures. The children breathe asbestos in their schools and store poison in their lungs. Sometimes the sick and injured intentionally wander the streets during the games, hoping to be invaded. The games make jumping legal for the players, after all—they must answer for it by providing some sort of care. Collateral casualties who are gravely injured must be taken to the hospital free of cost; collateral casualties whose bodies are destroyed must be paid handsomely, and if their qi is killed alongside it, then their family members get the money. Plenty throw themselves in front of players on purpose, making a sacrifice so that their loved ones can eat."

"Do not mistake my tolerance for weakness, August,” she says quietly. “Do not forget who you’re talking to. You’ve gotten used to ordering people around, I know. Day in and day out, they must heed what you say, because you are the crown prince, and they cannot offend such a man.” Her eyes flicker back to him. “But I am Calla Tuoleimi.” The lie no longer feels like a lie. “I am a princess who sacrificed my own throne for this kingdom. You do not order me around.”"

Buckle up, things are about to get crazy.

Every year, citizens of San-Er (two previously separate cities that are now referred to as one) prepare themselves for ‘The Games’- a multiple month (I think) long event where 80+ participants are given wristband trackers and weapons, and fight to the death to be the last-person-standing. The winner receives more riches than they can imagine, and a life outside of San-Er, which is overcrowded, poverty stricken and depleted of resources. The disparity between rich and poor is staggering, and the current king- King Kasa- intends to keep it that way.

There are quite a few ‘lead characters’ in this one: Calla Tuoleimi (a former princess, believed to be dead but hiding out in San-Er), Anton Makusa (an exiled citizen; fighting to win money to pay for medical expenses for his childhood love) and Prince August (the ‘adopted son’ of King Kasa and next in line to the throne). These characters all have their own motives and motivations to be involved in the games- directly and indirectly (trying not to give spoilers).

This book took me a while to get into- like at least the first 50% I often didn’t know what was going on; and then I found a good grip on the storyline and it took off. There are a lot of new ideas introduced that I had a hard time following. The main one, is jumping. In San-Er, anyone can ‘jump’ from their physical body and into another- bodies are vessels. There are rules surrounding jumping, and consequences to it as well. I found it a bit confusing to wrap my mind around, but also found it really interesting. Anton is the most notorious jumper in the kingdom, and rarely ever is seen in the same physical body- which had me wondering how anyone would ever know him? Calla and Anton come up with a secret phase at one point in the story so that when he approaches her in a new body, she can trust that it’s actually him.

I didn’t love their love story- I really didn’t buy it. They went from enemies- opponents in the game- to lovers very quickly, and it wasn’t a slow burn. They just suddenly were enraptured with one another. I think the love story comes secondary to the games- which was very Hunger Games inspired, but also had me thinking a bit about ‘under the Mountain’ from ACOTAR.

As I said, there was a lot happening in this one.

Overall, the story was a good read, and I enjoyed it. It was a bit confusing for me and I didn’t connect with the characters, so that impacted my rating a bit.

Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong was a dark look at a dystopian world where people’s lives are expendable as they often starve or otherwise die of lack of money, in a city that is vastly overcrowded. With the demand to be able to move into the city, people dying is merely seen as making room for others, and nothing is ever done for these people that can’t afford to survive. As a result of this mistreatment and severe lack of caring from the royalty of San-Er, there are many dissatisfied people/factions looking to overthrow the people in charge. We see a number of these people through different points of view, which really hits home how many people are fighting for some kind of change.

Enter the games. A chance for 88 people to make a name for themselves and earn untold riches. The only catch, they must fight to the death and only one can claim the prize and survive. Regardless, there are so many people that this is the only option for if they want to keep surviving, as the money is the only thing that will dig them out of the deep holes they have been subjected to in order to simply scrape by. For the rest, this is a source of entertainment put on by the King, and a way for the King to appear as if he is doing something for the people.

I really, really enjoyed this part of the story. An event to the death with contestants hunting each other down and trying to take the other out during the normal every day of the rest of the city. Everyone else goes about their days as normal, and the contestants are within the city amongst the people, hiding and trying to take one another out and be one of the last survivors. The whole concept was very intriguing and played out very well on paper, keeping the story interesting and tense all at once. I very much enjoyed watching it play out, as well as the bonds that grew throughout amongst the POV characters especially (and others along the way) despite the fact that they were meant to be fighting it out to the death.

There were a number of point of views throughout this book, the main ones being Call, Anton, and August, with others scattered throughout meant to give insight into other areas of the plot. Each of these three have their own motivations for the wanting to bring the King down, and both Call and Anton join the games, Calla to attempt to put an end to King Kasa who she sees as a tyrant, Anton for money he desperately needs to pay off medical bills. August is the heir to the throne and is helping Calla get to the end of the games to assassinate the King, as he feels he can do better as a ruler than his adopted father.

I loved Anton. At first I was pretty neutral about most of the characters, which I’ll say is probably the biggest complaint I would have about Immortal Longings, but Anton is one that really snuck up on my until I realized just how fond of him I was. Until I noticed how attached I had grown of Anton, I would say I kind of struggled to hold any kind of connections with the characters, which threw me off the book a bit, but didn’t stop my enjoyment of the plot. Calla is more difficult. There were moments I liked her, even sympathized with her quest, but I felt in the end she kind of lost any redeem-ability she might have had, at least in my eyes. She made a choice that I didn’t like, though I can’t argue necessarily that it makes sense for her character, I just felt there was another choice involving some self-sacrifice on her part that could have worked equally as well and would have really solidified her character for me. Instead the book left me with a strong dislike for her, something that is hard to get passed when she’s arguably the main character.

All together I really did enjoy the plot of this book, and frankly I really want to see where the sequel will go especially with the way things ended and the many reveals towards the latter end of the book that could play such a huge role later on in the story. As a result I am very eagerly anticipating the sequel and very much hope to get my hands on it early.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Overall, this book was unfortunately a forgettable and underwhelming read.

So while I was initially excited for Gong’s adult debut and the premise, this book fell flat on providing an adult read. While there was adult content, these themes were not really critically engaged with, and were only included to define the book as "adult" (literally ffl feels more adult than this). For instance, the games themselves and their political implications (though illogically constructed) seems to have little apparent impact on the rest of the citizens and their lives in terms of it interfering with their day-to-day (also why are they cool with them potentially being collateral?). I was expecting a more intricate weaving of political intrigue but this was pretty surface level and disappointing. There was also so much that could be engaged with in terms of how the plot takes inspiration from real historical events, but the writing and plot fell flat at every turn.

The characters themselves didn’t have much dimension to them and Calla in particular seems like a copy of Juliette — this was also something I felt with Rosalind's character in FFL which was disappointing because it feels like Gong doesn't know how to branch out of these character archetypes for her MC's.

I also felt that the prose leaned too heavily into info-dumping and didn’t really give the reader any credit in being able to keep up with the world-building. This further soured my enjoyment and made it seem further like a YA read with all the hand-holding.

I was also not keen on the body-jumping gene thing initially and upon reading the book, it really killed what little enjoyment I had. Besides how illogical it is, there are some critical ethical implications of forcefully taking possession of someone else's body that we NEVER get into!! Like engaging with the morals of this would add such an interesting element to the book's concept but this is pretty much brushed off.

I also feel like this book is trying to accomplish way too much and is failing at every angle. It wants to be both a hunger games facsimile while reimagining Antony & Cleopatra (or Cato & Clove reimagining which I have problems as well with...), all within a sci-fi-based setting that's simultaneously inspired by a 90s Wong Kar-wai film. That's not to say this can't be accomplished but Gong doesn't lay enough groundwork that bridges all of these different ideas. I'm also just gonna say that I'm sick of authors pitching their books as a hunger games version of it without recognizing the horrifying circumstances and the authoritarian regimes that the actual og games are based on. There's also something to be said about exploring systemic disenfranchisement solely from the perspectives of the privileged, in a THG-inspired plot.

Also, I'm sick of Gong killing characters off and bringing them back. This is something she did in her previous novels and it seriously undermines her story and the consequences of a character's actions. Plz. It's okay to let them die.

For fans of Chloe Gong, this book is an exciting new edition filled with drama and a cutthroat game with high stakes.

Unfortunately, this book wasn't for me. The characters and plot got lost in the descriptions and world building of the story which quickly made it boring and repetitive to read. Because there was a huge focus on the world rather than the characters, I found it very hard to follow the story and remember who was who and what their relationship to each other and roles were.

For those that love in depth worldbuilding and less focus on characters, I'm sure they'll love this story but for me it has to be a pass.

IMMORTAL LONGINGS marks my first experience with Chloe Gong's writing and I am thoroughly impressed. I was quickly hooked into the fantasy world she has created within the first few chapters and entirely enamoured with the concept of qi and body jumping as magical aspects.

This is an adult fantasy debut for Chloe inspired by Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra. San-Er, the capital city of the kingdom of Talin, is the the annual host of a set of deadly games where 88 players are chosen to battle each other to the death in hopes of becoming the victor and winner of unimaginable riches. Five years ago, Princess Calla slaughtered her family and has been in hiding since. Her goal is to kill King Kasa in order to bring down the monarchy and the only way to achieve this is to enter in the games. Anton Makusa is an exiled aristocrat, entering the games in hopes of winning in order to pay hospital bills for his childhood love, whom has been in a coma for the last seven years. Calla and Anton form an unexpected alliance, each with their own goals but both vying for victory.

IMMORTAL LONGINGS is told in multiple POVS using the third person, mostly in Calla's perspective which I truly loved. She is a strong, cunning, and feisty FMC. She's got loads of history and I loved learning more about her as the story progressed. I enjoyed the views into some of the other central characters (Anton and Prince August) while learning a small bit about their pasts and current motivations.

The alliance that forms between Anton and Calla is tense and full of angst as they transition from enemies to lovers and back again. I never knew what to expect in respect to their alliance/relationship and what may come to pass. As an adult debut, there is one spicy scene but is not too graphic/explicit. Loved the spark of chemistry here!

The world-building is a touch on the more simplistic side but I really didn't mind that because it was easy to understand and didn't take too much away from the plot or the characters. I am truly interested in learning more about the main magical/fantasy aspects: qi and body jumping, which Chloe has indicated she will take a deeper dive into (in her interview found at the back of my digital ARC) in the next two books in the trilogy.

The plot starts off slow as we are introduced into this world. By the 50-60% mark, the pacing picks up as the action intensifies, keeping me interested and wanting more.

I was simultaneously heartbroken and vindicated by the ending. I was shocked and pleasantly surprised by the outcome. Very excited to read book 2 when it publishes in 2024!

<i>I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher, Simon and Schuster Canada, of this advanced digital copy for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for an honest review! All opinions shared are my own.</i>