3.5 stars rounded down.

I am conflicted here. On the one hand, I loved book 1 and the game aspect. Without the games in book 2, a lot was lacking. There wasn't a structure and the plot suffered for that. Because this plot... it was wildinnnn. I was confused 65% of the time. I do think upon a reread, knowing all the political players and a bit more about the world, I would enjoy this book more.

World-building was a big issue for me with this story. In book 1, we are in the walled city of San-Er. The outer lands are mentioned, but we don't know much about why people want to live in the city. I was convinced everything outside the city was a barren, lawless wasteland. But in book 2 it is revealed that isn't the case. There are more opportunities in the city, but the lands outside of it are monitored by soldiers and are predominantly farmers who provide food for inside the city. I pictured the city to be dirty and people are murdered there a lot with no repercussions, so it is still unclear to me why anyone would want to live in the city (other than the poverty outside of it).

The chemistry between the main characters was a huge part of book 1, so moving backward in book 2 was a letdown. It took soooo long for them to even like one another again, and then it was all at once. He didn't trust her one minute, and then the next it was all fine...? I didn't like the complete lack of finesse.

The last 15% was really strong, and I think book 3 will be better. Book 2 suffered from too much info-dumping without a lot of info (I don't know how that happened, but it did). I will read book 3, but I'm not highly anticipating it anymore.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with copies of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Immortal Longings was one of the most unique books I read last year, unfortunately, this one was a complete miss and disappointment for me.

Vilest Things picks up immediately back up where Immortal Longings left us, and this is something I really appreciate in books. It puts the reader back into the end of the first book, ready to jump into the story and continue. For this book though, that transition was very disjointed, and I kept feeling like I missed something. Our characters very clearly have their own motivations and goals, and it's obvious in their actions in this story, but we lose all of what had been built up in Book 1. By about the 25% mark our characters had barely interacted, and instead been thrown in weird situations to further the overall plot of the book.

I was excited for this plot to grow, and become more political, but instead it feels like the author inserted random characters and scenes, to make this book as close to a retelling as she could, at the expense of the story. We have a similar plot to the first book in terms of the mystery that is happening, but without the cool magic, which for plot reasons, cannot be used as much as it was in plot 1..

Not to mention, the author bends the rules of her own magic to create scenes of suspense and mystery, but it only just confused me, as it didn't seem to follow the rules of her magic system-inciting a feeling of "anything can happen" so I can't really look for anything feel to this book.

I unfortunately will not be continuing this series, but look forward to reading something different from this author in the future.

Princess Calla has just won the games, not without cunning and sheer deceit. Now that she’s helped bring an end to her uncle's tyrannical rule, she must decide if August’s reign will be any better. But can she live with the choices she made, particularly what she did to Anton at the end of the games? Before she can confront her actions, however, she begins to sense something is off about the seemingly miraculous recovery of Otta Avia.
This book was both entertaining and unique. The idea of someone being able to take over your body is both fascinating and terrifying. I have similar feelings about this book as I did with the first, yet while it was compelling, the middle section felt a bit slow and I think some parts could have been trimmed. I also think the story would have benefited from including chapters told from Otta’s perspective. However, the ending was fantastic and I’m hopeful that if a third installment is in the works, it will delve deeper into Otta’s backstory.

*Thank you to Chloe Gong, Saga Press | S&S/Saga Press and Netgalley for the ARC copy. I am freely leaving my honest review.

Chloe Gong never fails to give me anxiety. It took me forever to put out this review, but I had to adequately wrap my head around this one. Whatever you think you've figured out, or what you think you know about any of the characters or events that are happening, just keep in mind that Chloe Gong will pull the rug out from under your feet. That's all that I can really say without any spoilers, but Vilest Things is the biggest rollercoaster of a book I've gone through in a hot minute!

Firstly a huge thank you to Saga Press and Netgalley for giving me an early copy of this book back in May, i’m endlessly grateful for that.

Wow, where do I even begin with this book… After the ending of Immortal Longings, I was patiently waiting for me to be able to read this book because I DESPERATELY needed to know what happened next, and the wait was TOTALLY worth it.

Following the events of Immortal Longings, this book continues the story and does not disappoint at all. While IL was more centred around the games and violence, Vilest Things teaches us about the history of San-Er and its politics which I thoroughly enjoyed. Although the romance is not the main plot line of the trilogy, I was curious to see how the romantic relations between Anton and Calla would be and I was glad there weren’t any cousins kissing (iykyk!)

This is genuinely my favourite Chloe book of all time like I had so much fun reading it and in my opinion, it’s her best book yet she has truly outdone herself with this one. Reading this book put me through a roller coaster of emotions and I was truly gagged reading this whole book. There’s like a 2 min video of me reacting to Chapter 22 of this book that I had sent to a friend and I genuinely think it’s the funniest video in my camera roll because my reaction to it was HILARIOUS.

This was JUST as intriguing as the first book in the series, and now with all these reveals, I NEED to know what else happens!

I finished this book in one sitting!! That said something~ in a way that the storyline is gripping enough, the pace is okay (they're wrecking havoc 30% in so yeah).

I feel like this book is finally underline the series' title (False God).

For me, Vilest Things is enjoyable in the matter of me turning off my critical thinking skills and receive whatever Chloe Gong throw my way throughout the plot.... (It's still all over the place, but page turning I guess)

I mean, yes we get this kind of magic system. We understood it from the prev book, only for it to be useless bcs there are so many exceptions. The plot armor..... A lot of things don't make sense. The author conveniently change the way of the magic as she saw fit. In the end it's about the chosen one and it makes the whole series less interesting for me.

And I think book one lost its importance. Vilest Things is very very different than Immortal Longing. Anton and Calla didn't have to go through the bloody games to be in this position for the second book to go through (?) the game itself is not necessarily crucial in the end.

Wondering how someone who's in coma for 7 years, wake up, and basically the strongest person there???? (Told ya if you're not muling over things too hard you may enjoy the book better. Don't question it).

This book has more medieval vibes with the crown that choose the leader kind of thing. Revolution and challenge the monarchy.

For an adult sff novel, I've seen better (in terms of writing, premise, and plot).

Oh, and I actually liked the characters dynamic. Chloe Gong strength 👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾


If you're into SFF with kingdom intricts, unhinged FMC, toppling down monarch, laced with compli ated romance, and plot twists, give this series a go!!!

You can start by reading its first installment, Immortal Longing.

Thank you Sgaa Press and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for honest review.

Oh I will definitely read the third book ✨🥹😂

I love Chloe Gong Our Violent Ends is one of my favorite books ever, but ever since she wrapped up her YA series, it feels like she hasn’t quite found her voice in adult fiction. In her first duology, there was a passion in her writing and a depth to her characters that completely captivated me, but I just don’t see that here. The characters feel like replicas of her past ones, and honestly, I just don’t care about them. And don’t even get me started on Calla and Anton—something about them is just so cringe… girl, IDGAF. Gong’s plots and concepts always sound promising, but so far, they haven’t quite hit the mark.

In this follow up to Immortal Longings, Calla and Anton continue to attempt to hide their true identities. I liked it as well as I liked the first in the series and can't wait for the next book after that cliffhanger!

Special thanks to Netgalley and Saga Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Content Warning: This book includes: on-page sexual content: (Insinuations and jokes, lots of tension, and sexual thoughts and scenes). A good bit of profanity. Lots of familial issues, mentions of murder, war, grief, betrayal, adn political sabotage.

After reading Immortal Longings, I knew I needed the sequel as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the timing was not perfect and I got to it super late. The politics, the secrets, and the betrayal are all bundled into the perfect segway for the next book in the series. I will not go in-depth since it is a continuation of an ongoing series, but if you have not picked up Chloe Gong’s books, what are you doing? Every book of hers that I’ve read (all of them) has effectively kept me interested in the plot and romance. Did I even talk about the romance? It made me want to pull my hair out in the best of ways.

I would recommend Vilest Things to anyone who loves Fantasy. Recommended reading would be Gong’s other works, like Immortal Longings and These Violent Delights. I would also recommend A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang (Historical Fantasy), and Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan (Fantasy/Romantic/Political).

Sad to say, this follow up was not for me. I love Gong’s other work, especially Immortal Longings. This pacing was my biggest issue. It took me so much longer than usual to get through this book, often putting it down and coming back to it weeks later after a few other reads. Still a Chloe Gong fan though! Thank you for the opportunity to read this as an ARC!

Wow . Phenomenal follow thru from the first book. This is everything you would expect from a sequel. Like the one before amazing story, love the world building and the development in the book. Definitely want more.

SO good! Vilest Things surpasses Immortal Longings for me, which was completely unexpected.

The characters seeing each others’ “true” selves at the end of book 1 set this up perfectly for distrust and grudging alliances. It was so well done!!

So hard for me to put in plot strengths without including spoilers for the first book, so I won’t. I’ll just say that this I’ve read everything Chloe Gong has ever published, and this is my favorite.

I really enjoyed the first book.
Less so this one.
what charmed me about the characters seemed to be missing in this follow up, it was chaotic (but not it a good way) and I just found myself uninterested.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

I loved the follow up to Immortal Longings 🐈. Mao Mao and Calla are my favorite characters, of course. Bebe had me questioning her, but I think I'm gonna like her and can't wait to see where book 3 takes her. Thank you to Saga Press for sending me a physical copy of Vilest Things! #SagaSaysCrew

Anton and Calla are at odds after the events of book 1, especially after his long lost love, Otta, awakes from a years-long coma. I was fighting for them to find their way back to each other the whole time.

The twists and turns that the story takes in book 2 kept me hooked and that cliff hanger 😮 Chloe, I need book 3 immediately!

The audiobook was performed phenomenally by Jeena Yi! She did an amazing job, once again.

3.5/5. This felt like a middle book in a series. There was a lot of political intrigue and setting up throughout for the next book. It was interesting, but it did make the plot pretty slow and reduced my enjoyment a little bit. There was just a lot of information overload in a small amount of time. I did like the development of the characters. They are very complex, and I really like how real they feel. They aren't archetypes of a "good" or "bad" person. The author does an excellent job with the pining between Anton and Calla. The angst was very good and not overdone. The last 50 pages really gripped me, so I am intrigued to see how the story concludes.

Thank you to Netgalley and Saga Press | S&S/Saga Press for the eARC in exchange for a review!

This book was really enjoyable!! Chloe Gong do such a great job weaving an intriguing story that readers will fall in love with like I did!! I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves fantasy books!!

The second book of the Flesh & False Gods trilogy finds Anton in August's body, ruling San-Er, and Calla as an advisor. Throwing an even bigger wrench in things is that Otta Avia has woken up. As things start to become more chaotic across the kingdom, Anton and Calla must overcome the events of the arena to try to stop worse things happening.

This one started a little slower than the first book for me. However, about halfway through it really picked up and I wanted to just keep reading! I didn't realize this was going to be a trilogy (thought it would be a duology like the other two series), so I was like how is this going to wrap up??? With like 50 pages left I finally realized there must be a third book that would occur. This one does end on a big twist, one that I definitely didn't see coming. It will be really interesting to see how this story ends in the next book!

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Vilest Things suffers from classic middle book syndrome. The bones of the book were interesting with a plot twist introduced at the end and a bit of much needed world building after book 1 focusing mostly on the tournament, but i feel like it took almost 60% of the book for any action to happen.