After finishing 'Immortal Longings,' I was eagerly looking forward to Chloe Gong's next installment and the journey of Calla and Anton.

While I did enjoy 'Vilest Things,' I felt it lacked some of the vivid imagery that captivated me in the first book. Instead of exploring the vibrant cityscape, the narrative follows Calla through the countryside, which at times felt drawn out and slow.

Additionally, I found certain character arcs to be somewhat underdeveloped, and I'm curious to see if Gong addresses this in the final book.

Overall, I did find pleasure in 'Vilest Things' and will certainly be reading the next installment. Now, the long wait begins.

I was hoping this book would be less info-dumpy and more character and world building but unfortunately I found it overall underwhelming.

Thanks for the opportunity to read this one.

**I received an ARC copy of this book in return for an honest review**

Firstly, this book was much slower to get into for me than the first, but I did enjoy the twisty realisations and reveals throughout.
This book definitely still has a penchant for violence but in a more complicated way that made you question at every turn whether anyone in the book was truly good or bad, or even the right person.
I guessed the ending of this book but I do still respect the fact that it opens up so many avenues and it still has me thinking about what will happen next and how the series will end.
With a refreshingly unique setting, I would recommend this book truly although may be a bit complicated for fantasy beginners.

Loved every second of this book! Completely devoured it. Such a roller-coaster ride. It was ferociously thrilling and the cliff hanger was great but also felt illegal. I need another book pronto!!

I don’t know how Chloe Gong does it, but by the end of this book I was gripped! I can’t wait for the next one!

At first I did find it a bit like I was all over the place, due to the differing POV’s which emulated the ‘jumping’ aspect of the book. However, once I was settled, I was wholly along for the ride.

Aiming to not give anything away here, but I had my suspicions concerning certain parts of the book. So much happened within each chapter, that by the time we got to each resolution it felt so fully formulated and fleshed out, that it truly excited me.

I’m looking forward to continuing this series!

I speed read through Immortal Longings to read this before it came out and when I finished I needed to pick this up like it was air and I was suffocating. And then I finished it in one day. I am addicted to this world and these characters and this book did nothing to change that.
I rated Immortal Longings 5 stars and this only got 4, and that's only because I didn't have as much romance between Anton and Calla as the first book did, which was a highlight for me. I do understand that this book had to be more political than the previous and therefore left less room for romance, and well - so did the ending of Immortal Longings.
Apart from that though, this had the same plot twists, unique setting, interesting characters and all the rest as the first book. I love love love a book that allows me to make guesses and speculate about things, and I was given that with this. The character development was chefs kiss, with each character discovering things about themselves I don't believe they knew before. Something you definitely want in a sequel.
Chloe better be writing that third book already because the cliffhanger was cruel!

eARC REVIEW (spoilers for Book 1)

THIS BOOK RELEASES SEPTEMBER 10 (and look at that purty cover 😍)

My honest review;

With the first novel being what I like to call blade runner meets hunger games, the political aspects of this REALLY made it fall short in comparison. As a second novel, I understand @thechloegong wanted to give more of a viewpoint on the workings of the system, but I often found it a bit less slow placed and too much 'this is how it works' for me. Overall, I understand why most of this book was necessary to build both character and plot development, but it did fall short. That being said, the world building and understanding you get from reading this is UNPARALLELED and was something I seriously enjoyed.I will STILL be picking up Book 3 because the author SERIOUSLY knows how to write endings 🤯

Reminder: THIS IS A PERSONAL OPINION!(and it's totally valid if some books are for some people and not for others)

With that being said, good vibes ahead:

I love how it expands on the characters and the plot in Book 1, especially during the first 30-35% where it REALLY hammers in hard just how much conflict happened because of that last chapter. I found moments of it incredibly striking and interesting to read but it ultimately was not for me 😞. I would HIGHLY recommend it if you loved the first book and want to know more about what happens next and (if I'm totally honest) I want to know what happens after the end of this one. So it ISN'T a total loss if you start it and realise the political-centric plot of Book 2 might not be for you, it DOES give a brilliant segway into Book 3 (which I will honestly probably still pick up)

Huge thank you to @hachetteaus for providing an eArc for the experience and I look forward to reading Gong's work in the future (her world building STILL leaves me in awe. AND with Shakespeare influence??? Imma always sign up)


NOTE: This review has been posted on Goodreads under my profile and is tentatively scheduled for release on my Instagram early next week. Due to this, no links for the reviews have been provided

THE ENDINGS ALWAYS GET ME OMG

if you haven't read any Chloe Gong books this is your sign! I give every single one five stars or more! Her writing is phenomenal, some scenes my hearts in my stomach and others it's trying to climb out of my chest. and her characters!??

HER CHARACTERS!?!?

Cala and Anton are so recognisable even in their other bodies and when Anton easily figures out its her im just swoooning over here

8 stars, will be reading again on release date when I have the physical copy

How did I not know this author… fantastic book, action packed, intricate and full of magic and mystery. With a hefty dose of politics and power thrown in. Will definitely be reading the back catalogue. Thank you to the author. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

Vilest Things is the latest instalment in Chloe Gong’s Flesh and False Gods series and it is beautiful.
Now the Kings Games are over, a new kind of game begin and they seem more precarious and potentially more deadly. Seeing Calla and Anton in such a different situation with these new emotions bubbling up is a delight to read, and makes you want to shake some sense into them!
Otta throws (several) wrenches in the mix, answering a few questions and raising a whole lot more.
There is some expansions on the magic system and the use of qi, while bringing everything back to the Royals and giving more backstory on some of the characters.
This book provides insight into questions I had at the end of Immortal Longings, and has left me guessing on a few things for the third book! I was worried it might suffer the middle child syndrome but I thoroughly enjoyed the whole book and can’t wait for the next. Chloe’s way of switching between POVs, particularly in higher anxiety chapters, is beautiful and smooth. I am so so thankful to have read this ARC, it’s honestly stunning and I enjoyed it immensely. Book three can come through anytime please 🩷

“Blinded by greed, damned to play god”

Vilest Things by Chloe Gong ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

I started this sequel to the Immortal Longings with very low expectations as the first book really missed the mark for me. However, this sequel was so much better than its predecessor. I’m a huge fan of Chloe Gong’s other works like These Violent Delights, and this book isn’t her best work but the story was interesting and definitely darker than the first. The first book overwhelmed me with all the info dumping, but this one flowed so much better.

Like in the first book, I still didn’t really feel very strong emotions for most of the characters, like Anton and Calla, but with Otto in the picture the drama between these three kept me engaged.

In saying that, I did like the plot twists. Chloe Gong kept me guessing until the very end, with every twist raising the stakes even more.

It’s definitely a fun read. I loved the how the world and magic is written in this sequel and I could definitely tell that’s this is just a preparation for a crazy ending of the 3rd book.

✨Thanks @netgalley and @hachetteaus for giving me a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review!