DNF 33%

Life is too short to make yourself read a book you're not enjoying. I honestly gave this my best shot but it's been over a week and the last thing I want to do is pick this back up. I kept waiting for things to get interesting or hook me in some way but all I seem to get is an overwhelming amount of info dumping, politics that made little sense to me and charcters I had zero interest in.

Immortal Longings is what happens when you’re forced to choose between love and vengeance.

This story grabbed me in a way I didn’t expect. Immortal Longings was brutal with the participants entering a game setup in the city of San-Er by the King to win wealth. Unlike the hunger games, the players use the city as their setting—weaving in out, and jumping into the bodies of ordinary citizens to avoid death at the hands of the other players. It’s bloodbath from start to finish!

Enter Calla, our believed-to-be dead Princess who had killed her parents five years before the story starts, and Anton, a former palace noble desperate to keep his childhood love alive. Together, the two enemies form a reluctant alliance against the other players in the game. However, as the body count grows higher, so do their feelings. Only problem is, the longer they play the games the closer they are to being the last two standing and will have to face each other in a fight to the death.

I loved the morally grey characters and the build-up of the relationship between them. Calla and Anton are loyal to their causes to a fault, and that ending—THAT ENDING! This story is very character-driven and it landed with a glorious sharp edge that I didn’t see coming. I, for one, will be eagerly anticipating the next book!

Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for the arc!!

Maybe it’s because I haven’t read the Shakespeare play that inspired this book (Cleopatra and Mark Antony) but the plot felt a little all over the place. The characters didn’t feel too fleshed out or distinct. Overall, not my favourite Chloe Gong book but I will continue to pick up her books in the future.

Chloe Gong does many things very well, two of those things is world building and angst.

Immortal Longings follows our main character, Calla Tuolemi, as she fights to the death against 87 other players to win a big cash prize. But that's not the prize she is after, and when she starts collaborating with another player and the game is getting close to the end, her priorities start to shift.

The story for me was a bit hard to get into at first. There was a lot of world building and setting up the plot in the beginning, but around the half way point is when things start to pick up and I got sucked right into the story. It definitely has Hunger Games story aspects with the fight to the death aspect of the game but on a city wide scale.

The romance isn't the main storyline of the book, but it is definitely there and full of angst and banter. I liked seeing it developed over the story allowing it to be fully fleshed out and not just a love at first sight.

I saw some reviews saying that the twists were easy to guess, and I can see where they were coming from but also I was shocked by some of the ones that came up. So I would suggest just read and enjoy the story, don't go looking for them.

I DFN’d These Violent Delights duology, so I was completely taken by surprise by how much I liked Immortal Longings! It’s very fast paced, gory and action packed which is exactly what I hoped for!

I genuinely believe CG’s writing is tremendously better; the world building, the plot, the twists and turns (specially in the last few pages), the social system and the politics are blend perfectly together!

Everyone is fighting to survive, none more than our main characters! There are vicious, selfish, mysterious and INCREDIBLY complicated. Calla is intelligent, cunning and stubborn. Anton is cynical, focused and sarcastic. I am also in love with them both. I also don’t know if I want August to die or to be happy. The more I read about him the more frustrated I got. Suffice to say that I am nowhere near satisfied with that ending, I need more ASAP! I can’t wait to see how their stories will progress in the next book!

Many thanks to Saga Press and Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

✨ Thank you Simon & Schuster Canada & Chloe Gong for an e-ARC of this✨

This. Book. I stared into space for a good 20 minutes before I was able to form any sort of coherent thoughts. The one star loss is because I found myself confused at many points, but the overall story is so fantastic I didn’t really care too much in the end.

The main and side characters were SO well done. Even the characters that were secondary felt fully developed in the short time we got to meet them. It was very easy to fall completely in love with the majority of them, even if they were morally grey.

The book’s pacing is quite good as well. Right from the beginning I was hooked. There was never a lag in the plot, which made it so hard to put down. I just wanted to know what was coming next.

I am itching so bad for the next book already - buckle up for plot twist after plot twist after plot twist. You’ll definitely be picking your jaw up off the floor a few times.

Wow! I absolutely loved this book, definitely a 5/5 star read. Immortal Longings is the first book in a new series and I can’t wait for the next for the next book, especially with the cliffhanger at the end of the book. I devoured this book and finished it in one day, I couldn’t put it down. This is the first book I’ve read by Chloe Gong and it was amazing and I now want to go back and read her other books. This book is released July, 18,2023. Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada, Chloe Gong & Netgalley for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I found Immortal Longings to be a disappointment, which was sad because I loved These Violent Delights, but this book did not live up to my expectations. The characters were flat, and for a plot revolving around a Hunger Games-esque competition, I didn't feel any tension or stakes whatsoever. Half the time when I tried to picture the city, I kept on thinking it was underground. I had no understanding of any of the politics in the world, but in a bad way because I tried thinking about it and none of it made sense.

For the romance, I didn't feel any sort of chemistry between the two characters at all, and when they first kissed (I think they kissed there? I don't actually remember) I had to go back a few pages because it was entirely out of nowhere and I'm pretty sure I was trying to pay attention and not skim at that point. I loooooved Roma and Juliette's romance in TVD, and Orion and Rosalind's in Foul Lady Fortune, leading my expectations to fly too close to the sun in regards to Calla and Anton.

I didn't actively hate the book, which is why it's not getting one star, but I did think it was boring. 2/5 stars.

I feel a little bad, but at the same time, I just could not get into this. I had tried reading Chloe Gong's other series and the same problem happened. I lacked any real connection with any of the characters and they all felt a little flat while also trying to hard to be edgy and mysterious.

The concept and description of the book are phenomenal and honestly what caught my attention originally, but I really feel like it was 2 different stories. Thank you unbelievably to the publisher for giving me the option to try this one, it just wasn't for me...

HOLY CRAP

What an absolutely wild ride this took me on. This was my first Chloe Gong and it did not disappoint. I read in less than 24 hours.

Very hunger games meets game of thrones-esque this adult fantasy delivered top tier vibes. The twist at the end had me at the end of my seat.

I can’t wait for book 2.

This one is out July 18th and needs to be on everyone’s tbr.

Big thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for giving me the opportunity to read this in advance in exchange for an honest review.

Characters: 5/5
Setting: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Steam: 🔥/5
Plot: 4.5/5
Overall: 5/5

“Love isn’t deserved. It is given freely.”

I have so many thoughts about Chloe Gong’s new adult fantasy debut, so bear with me here. First of all, I absolutely loved this. It took me longer than I expected because of some life chaos, but it was no fault of the book. Immortal Longings was engaging, dynamic, and had characters you’ll want to love and punch in the face at the same time. Very on brand for Chloe, at this point.

I will say that this was less of a high fantasy and more sci-fi with elements of fantasy. This isn’t a bad thing; we all know Chloe does sci-fi impeccably. But if you go into this book looking for dragons and goblins and other things typical of high fantasy, you won’t find them in San-Er.

Chloe has such a distinct writing voice, and I loved seeing that stay the same even as we left the Secret Shanghai universe. I love when she introduces a random POV other than the main characters. Every time I read one of her books, I picture her laughing as we lose our minds trying to figure out what everything means.

Everything I’ve heard about Immortal Longings has told me that I would be absolutely devastated by the ending, I’d be in tears, a puddle on the floor, etc. I was very surprised when instead I ended up cackling at how well executed was. I might even go as far as to say that it’s the best ending Chloe has written thus far.

I need more people to read this book so that I can talk about it more 😩. The agony of reading one of my most anticipated books of the year 4 months early 😂.

Immortal Longings is out July 18th!

oh my god what did i just read???

it’s been 30 minutes and i’m still staring at the wall comprehending the ending (book 2 can you please come soon i will NOT be functioning properly until then😀)

the story with Calla and Anton was so intricately created around a plot that was incredibly similar to my forever obsession, Hunger Games! I loved the vibes and the romance was just 🤌🤌

the worldbuilding was amazing, and exceeded all expectations because it was written by the queen Chloe Gong, of course. this is definitely my favourite read by her and i will not tolerate any hate slander for it unless you’ve read all 367 pages and can validate your reasoning with a atleast 10 essay arguments that my narcissist of an english teacher would approve of🥰🤭 now i shall return to my state of denial and read more of her writing because i love love! and pain!😍

*thank you to netgalley for providing me with an E-arc and Simon and Schuster Canada for mailing me a paperback version eee!!! definitely made this experience all the more memorable❤️*

Thank you NetGalley and SimonSchuster Canada for the e-arc in exchange for a review!

This was such an interesting book, I think there is so many aspects of it that will make it a great seller and very popular. And especially the twists at the ending! The last half of the book really won me over and I can't wait for book two.

My biggest critique and what failed to make it a five-star for me is the CONSTANT descriptions of the city. I felt like I was being bombarded with how this city was falling apart at every possible moment. Calla would be fighting in a fantastic scene, but would still be mentioning the crumbling stairs or how the sky above her is so dark from pollution or how a brothel was above a restaurant above who knows what else. I found myself getting rather bored of the city and how it was falling apart, and wishing I was getting more character development or explanations for how technology sort of worked in this city but yet people dont use cell phones. Essentially the world building was a bit weak.

Everything else was well done though! This still doesn't fit in the adult category for me, I feel like it is truly New Adult and if the romance was not as graphic as it was, it could even safely live in YA. The ability to jump into other bodies was a fantastic thing to explore, especially in a competition to the death, and Anton and Calla had some great chemistry.

Immortal Longings is Chloe Gong's greatly anticipated adult debut inspired by Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra.

This book follows Calla, a princess in hiding, and Anton, an exiled aristocrat, as they compete in a deadly fight to the death. Immortal Longings is set in a violent, bloody world with a unique magic system that feels familiar yet entirely avant-garde. The characters jump from body to body (quite literally), engaging in a desperate fulfilment of vengeance and destiny alike to form a tale that wraps you in a cutthroat plot and bittersweet, dreadful romance. Capturing both my attention and curiosity, Chloe Gong had me turning the pages in distress, latching onto any sign of hope in this tragic tale of politics, cruelty, love, and sacrifice.

Fans of Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao and the Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee will devour this book in a heartbeat!