This book was one of my favorite reads so far this year. It was bloody, well-paced and gut-wrenching, and I loved every second of it.

I won’t say it was unpredictable because most of the big plot twists were fairly predictable, but it was so well done that I was always excited to get to the reveal point and I still squealed like an idiot when they finally happened. That’s one of the things I actually liked most about this book: the anticipation. I knew the unfolding of this or that trope was coming and I couldn’t wait for it. The anticipation kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time.

If you know me, you know I like main characters who are not afraid to get their hands bloody, so in hindsight, the fact that I loved Calla’s story was not really a surprise. She’s fierce and efficient, I loved Anton almost as much as I loved her. I only wish that the angst of the tension between them had been more deeply delved into; when it finally really started to be obvious, the reader is told that it has been happening for a while, but the feelings were not mentioned or shown enough that I felt that tension build.

The world-building was great though, Chloe Gong is a very visual writer and you can easily picture everything she describes. I can only imagine that more will come on that front in the next two books.
I can’t wait for the sequel.

Immortal Longings is Anthony and Cleopatra meets Battle Royal/ the Hunger Games with some body swapping good times thrown in sounds complicated but it’s not once you get the hang of it. It took me a little bit to get fully immersed into this. There’s a lot of scene setting, world building and background history info dumping which is kind of necessary so that we understand all the politics and players in the game. Basically everyone wants to kill the king and to get to him they have to compete to be the last one standing in this city wide killing game and oh yeah they have powers that allow them to jump into other bodies. Calla is our renegade princess who refuses to jump and kills by skill alone she’s out for revenge, Anton is an outcast of the palace who has no permanent body he’s deep in debt paying medical bills of his lost love who languishes in a coma. Anton and Calla form a tentative alliance to come out on top. But only one of them can win. I really enjoyed this once I got used to the body jumping, it was good to have Calla as a still figure to latch onto even though she turns out to be just as complicated. I actually gasped out loud at the ending, it was delicious. Can’t wait for the next one I have so many questions.

Immortal Longings is an urban fantasy outing in an overcrowded, dirty and desperate city where a Princess-in-hiding, a banished noble and a Princeling are all plotting to kill a tyrant. Though they all have different motives and goals, they start working together in a deadly game.

This is Gong's first adult outing, and I must admit I was a bit confused about that for the first 2/3rds of the book as it has a very Hunger Games feel. An annual death-match which forms a large part of this text is a fairly wed-trod plot device in Young Adult and harks back to the hey-day of these dystopian books' popularity some years ago. In Immortal Longings, the game's entrants are chosen by lottery from voluntary nomination and after a free-for-all killing spree that rages across the city for weeks or months, the winner gets to keep their life (and some money which they all use to get out of the hell-hole that is San-Er). The "adult" part of the book becomes more evident as the killings progress as it's a very bloody gladiatorial circus that is played out in front of the city's security cameras and in full view of the public. There's also some sexy times on the page which I thought was pretty hot though the foreplay does involve a bit of violence and stabbing... For those who are fans, YES this book does have a "knife-to-the-throat" moment or two.

The most unique part of this book is the "magic" - some people are born with the ability to "jump" between bodies. Their "qi" energy suppresses the person in that body and takes it over. Nobody knows how it really works though and it's hand-waved off as a gift from the gods. I am hoping this is something that will be explored more in the later books. For now though, it allows characters like Anton to swap bodies like he's changing underwear, with only his unique eyes giving him away. Quite a few characters have unique eyes, a genetic trait of their family lines that assist in their identification when one's "birth body" may be long gone.

I liked the story and the world-building, though I did feel it was let down a bit by the characters. We don't spend a lot of time with any one of them and even though we are switching between the three POVs - Calla (the lost Princess), Anton (the banished noble) and August (the heir apparent) - we don't really get to know them that well. Their individual backstories unfold slowly and by the end we know where they came from and a bit about where they want to go, but not really much in between. There's also some inconsistencies - Calla is supposed to be a hard-nosed, unrepentant killer but she has a soft spot for the people she lets into her life. August is hell-bent on deposing his uncle the Evil King but doesn't think much beyond that, he's blind to the fact that he will just be replacing the figurehead of a very broken monarchical system.

The setting was also a tad confusing for me, given that it's a monarchy that is centered around one big urban city with lots of references to villages in outlying rural areas. In the city (or Twin Cities, as San and Er used once to be ruled by two royal families but are now merged under one King) there is electricity, internet, plumbing and phones. This infrastructure is crumbling and unreliable due to the overpopulation of the urban mass which is trapped inside a city wall and there's an almost Blade Runner feel to it, like what we thought the future would be like when we were looking forward from the 80s. But there are no guns or cars, and the rural villagers seem to exist in a quasi-medieval peasant state. It just felt a tad disjointed to me.

My biggest bone to pick with this book was the pacing - at 380 pages I should not have felt as if I was slogging through a high fantasy behemoth, but that how I felt in the middle of this book. I think this was due to the fact that this supposedly exciting killing match was played over days and weeks, and our heroes would go home to shower, eat noodles and sleep in between slicing each other up.

Lastly, I actually guessed the twist - and I NEVER guess the twist. So that means that it is fairly obvious. The ending leaves us with a logical conclusion to the death-match story arc with a small cliffhanger surprise that draws us towards the next book. I have no idea where this series will go, as I'm still not clear on what Gong is trying to say about her modern/medieval monarchical system and whether our heroes are meant to topple it, reform it or smash it into complete anarchy. I guess we will see.

Short review: aaaahhhhhhhh!!!

Longer review: I've never read Chloe Gong before even with the These Violent Delights duology being on my tbr for the longest time but my LORD was this the introduction I wanted.

Immortal Longings follows a scrimmage within a whole city. Imagine The Hunger Games but across the entire span of London, or Shanghai, or New York, plus they're telling the other players where their competitors are. I was a huge fan of the early 2010's era of dystopia that included The Hunger Games and Divergent but this was just so much better in every single way.

I loved Calla in the way that people love the likes of Loki and Deadpool. They're very much not the good guys but you just have a soft spot for them. Calla was well and truly the anti-hero and I loved her for it.

Chloe Gong, please give me book 2 immediately thank you!

Thanks to Netgalley, Hodder and Stoughton, and especially Chloe Gong for writing this ARC.

This one gave me hunger Games vibes.... but oh wow was it a roller coaster of emotions. I wouldn't say if you lover the HG you will love this, as there are very different, in an amazing way. I did enjoy this one - but I felt at times there was a lot of information that I had to take in - without moving the story along. I really enjoyed this and am looking forward to the next one.

I find sometimes that a struggle with the writing style of the author. Do not take that to mean I do not enjoy her stories! I do. I just feel like sometimes it's a little hard to follow, and I am a devout fan of Dean Koontz and Stephen King, so complicated is my jam. It's a really interesting storyline. The world she created is harsh, and the suffering is apparent on every page. A lot of twists and turns as we follow several different characters as they compete in a game where death might just be a relief to the suffering of the city. I am really looking forward to the next one! A cliffhanger that will definitely have you coming back for more!

Immortal Longings is Chloe Gong's debut Adult Fantasy inspired by Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra. Princess Calla Tuoleimi is in hiding; feeling after murdering her parents to liberate the people of Talin and has one person left on her hit list: her uncle King Kasa. Calla enters the games as the victor is given the opportunity to great the King.

From the get go, you'll definitely feel The Hunger Games 'vibes', two people - boy and girl, competing in a deadly game, become entangled and have to choose what they're fighting for under a tyrannical king... but I would say that's where the similarities end. Gong places an emphasis on the world building and making the world her own and bringing the reader in. The world building is info dumping at some points but I would say that it's necessary to isolate the world in it's own right (as I originally thought the book was related to Gong's other works), however it was a tad inconsistent perhaps if the information had been spread more evenly throughout the book? But also I prefer having all the information from the start, so I suppose it's personal preference.

I also think is book was not an Adult Fantasy, more new adult. When I think of Adult Fantasy I think of Tide Child, I think Robin Hobb, not really word for word but the style of writing is more Adult, the language in conversations is more mature. I can't really put my finger on it but I've read Foul Lady Fortune and to me both that and this have a similar essence.

Overall, I thought Immortal Longings was a great adult debut, and I look forward for my copy arrive and eagerly await book two.

Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton, Hodderscape for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an arc copy of this book.
This is my first Chloe Gong book but I still went into this with very high expectations knowing that the rest of her books are loved by so many.
I'll be honest, I kind of went through a rollercoaster of emotions with this book. Initially I was swept up with the colourful world building and exciting premise. Unfortunately, I did get a little bored after that initial high. Because of this I found the first half dragged and I think it was partially because I just wasn't in the right mood for the book, but also it wasnt hooking me in the way I'd hoped it would. HOWEVER, once I reached the 40% mark it was smooth sailing, I was once again caught up in the fighting, and the descriptions, (and the subtle romance), and I started to fall head over heels in love with the book. I'll be the first to admit that I don't actively try to suss out answer while I'm reading so that It can have more of an impact when things are revealed, so I found the plot twists very fun. Whether or not they're guessable is pretty subjective, some of them were a little bit obvious even to me, but the writing encouraged you to guess and wonder so i personally think it's fine.
Overall I was left not wanting to leave the world and I'm desperate for the next books to learn more about the story and what turns it'll take. It loses a star due to the first half being too slow for my liking.

WOW i loved this book it very much gave The hunger games vibes. Super fun read. The characters >>>>

Also i love the cover of the book

Rating
3.5 stars

I have mixed feelings about this book, it is good however I found myself struggling to get through it. There is a lot of info dumping and I feel we needed more so the pages flowed easier
Although it was a good book, the characters were likeable, driven and I'd happily read more about them

As a big fan of Gong's I had high hopes for this new series. I thought it was not her best work. I enjoyed the characters and as always her villian writing is great. However it just seemed unbalanced in how it dumped information on the reader, with lots and then none. But still enjoyable

3.5*
First of all thank you so much to Hodder & Stoughton for approving me of an e-ARC of Immortal Longings!

I am familiar with Chloe Gong's works myself as I have read multiple of her books (TVD series being one of my favorite YA romance ever), so I was very excited to dive in to her adult fantasy debut. It took a while to get into as I am not familiar with the setting and magic system but after that, I actually had a lot of fun with this book. I really enjoyed the competition setting and I liked Calla and Anton. The heart of this story for me is Calla, and although the romance took a while for me to get into, Calla and Anton stole my heart and I loved the little moments between them. This is very niche but Chloe Gong is so good at writing the little tender and quiet moments between the characters right after the intense romance scenes, just like she did for Roma and Juliette's reunion in OVE.

However, being said this, I honestly wouldn't call Immortal Longings as Adult Fantasy. The writing is still very YA-esque to me despite the adult setting and I think I enjoyed this a lot more because I didn't really think of it as adult fantasy? I think New Adult would be much more appropriate and I think this would be a good jumping ground for YA fantasy enjoyers to start reading adult. There was a lot of info dump at the beginning and a lot of telling but not showing which did make me a little iffy but it got better at the second half.

I will definitely be reading the sequel though:) This one disappointed me just a little bit but it was still such a fun book and I definitely could not not continue after that cliffhanger of an ending.

i'm in love with this book. i love the atmosphere, the characters, the plot, the writing, the ship. and that cliffhanger? i'm so excited for the next one!

Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC to review!

To date I have read every book that Chloe Gong has put out (which so far is 4 in 4 years), so I think this is more a me thing than a book thing (i.e. I might be getting a bit burnt out).

Gong creates a crowded, cyberpunk-esque setting full of magic and danger around every corner. But I wasn't quite able to fall into this one like I did with These Violent Delights or Foul Lady Fortune. She's definitely made the step up to adult - more gory, more spicy, and more ambitious worldbuilding/plotting, but there is also a lot that is the same as her other books. An enemies-to-lovers main couple, a mystery that borders on the magical/paranormal, and a cliffhanger ending.

I'm not sure if it's just because so many books have come out from this author in short succession, so I've been reading a lot of Gong's style and storylines, but this just didn't feel as engrossing to me as her other works. I don't think the comparison to The Hunger Games helped either - as with All of Us Villains, I couldn't help comparing it to the series which has been so formative for my reading career, especially when a lot of the plot points are similar. Despite enemy players being able to hide anywhere in any body, I didn't feel a lot of tension to the games themselves as it always felt like Anton and Calla were destined to make it to the end, especially with August's involvement. And while there were some good moments between the main couple, their romance moved a little too quickly for me to really root for it, which meant the ending didn't really pack the intended punch.

This is by no means a bad read, but I kind of wish Gong had been allowed to take a bit more time with this new series to really see her grow as a writer. The setting for this was cool but it felt a bit more infodumpy than her other works, and I think the book needed a bit more length to further develop the characters and their relationships. Unlike the Secret Shanghai series, the side characters didn't feel like they had much depth, which was something I really appreciated about Gong's previous works. I think readers new to Gong, or who perhaps have paced themselves better than I have, could really enjoy this.

I'd still like to pick up book 2, and I know I'll still pick up books from Gong in future so it's not really a big deal, but I do wish this one had been as much of a hit as I had been hoping :(

First of all big thankyou to Hodder and sloughton (an inprint of Hodderscape ) for am advanced copy .

I read a little bit of chole books before , when I found out about this book being coming up for review in jumped at the chance , I was very intrigued to find out what adventures lay in store,.I can say I wasn't disappointed.
This book is new adult fantasy which I've started reading alot of . I can tell you this book had me sucked in to chole world she has created hook, linen,and sinker .



I loved the fantasy side to the book , the romance well all ill say is if you love a bit of spice you won't be disappointed .

The plot is fantastic and is so well paced I would definitely say it remember me a bit of the hunger games but I think that what I loved most about this story if I'm honest .

The characters calla and Anton oh my gosh I loved them there is no stopping them in this story , it normally takes me a little while to warm to characters but they had me from the start.

We all love a good plot twist the book has a few , and the ending I NEED MORE !!! , I can not wait for the next adventure, I mean once my heart stops racing from this book ,

I'm giving this book a thrilling 5 star adventure.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the early access to this book!

The writing was great, the characters interesting, and the world building intriguing. I couldn't put it down, it had me hooked. This was a dark book - there's trauma, violence, tiny bit of romance (which I'm glad of), just everything you could want. I can't wait for my pretty special edition!

*Actual rating is 4.75 stars*

Immortal Longings is Chloe Gongs adult debut novel, and it features everything you canto expect from her - a big cast of characters, a delicious enemies to lovers romance, and more twists and turns than a rollercoaster. Then add a deadly, competitive game to that in a dystopian fantasy world and you got this book.

Some books you just immediately know that you’re gonna enjoy, and even though this book had a slow start it was still clear that I was gonna like this book. The story was full of intense and heart pounding action, while set in a dark and gritty world. Not to mention the really cool concept of jumping, of being able to take over other peoples bodies.

As previously mentioned, this book features a big cast of characters. Something that results in multiple POVs, with three main POVs and a handful of minor characters POVs scattered throughout the book. Now I’m not a person who usually likes it when books have more than two POVs, but here it just worked for me. So big kudos to Gongs writing for being able to write a story with multiple povs and characters, and still have me thoroughly engaged in the story. Because here it really helped add to the story, to get these glimpses into all these characters - into their individual motives and schemes. We’re not talking about simple double crossing, oh no. Throw in some triple crossing in there too just to make sure that the reader never knows someone’s true colours.

The one thing that keeps this book from being a full 5 star read for me, and which is common among all her books, is that there’s one major POV that I just don’t care about. In this case Prince August. While there was nothing wrong with his character I just didn’t really connect with his character. In stark contrast I was wholly invested in Calla and Anton, the two other main POVs.

Also that ending?! The implications of it? I was shocked! Not to mention that there was a second plot twist in the ending. This book really wanted to give me a full-on book hangover, and it succeeded.

Immortal Longings is the first book in an adult fantasy series by author, Chloe Gong. This was my first read by this author, but I am keen now to go back and read more of her YA novels. While this one is advertised as an adult novel (in contrast to her YA novels), it wasn’t super graphic and I think would still appeal to upper YA readers. I really like the “jumping” element which took me a while to get my head around but once I did I felt this gave the story something fresh and new and opened up a whole lot of possibilities. The book does end on a cliffhanger but that is to be expected from the first book in a series like this. I’m keen to read the next one and hope we don’t have to wait too long. Told in multiple POV the story is a lot of fun and both main characters are relatable and enjoyable to read. I’d recommend this one for fantasy fans looking for something new.

In interesting mix of dystopian, challenge to the death and fantasy elements set in an Hong Kong inspired fictional city of San-Er, Chloe Gong's first foray into the more adult market is as hectic as the world it portrays. This multi-pov, fast paced paced, Antony and Cleopatra retelling switches things up as often as the characters switch bodies in an engrossing way that will have you questioning what you think you know about the characters consistently. As Gong's first adult novel it reads young maybe New Adult that fully Adult but is enjoyable nonetheless. I am definitely intrigued as to how the trilogy will play out especially as I am not particularly familiar with the roman story it models.

3.5 Stars.

This is my first Chloe Gong book, and it’s very easy to see why she is such a popular author.

The writing feels exquisite, with so many details weaved into the world building tapestry - you are immediately immersed into the character’s lives, senses filled with all they are experiencing. It truly is captivating.

Unfortunately, there were some themes I personally couldn’t reconcile with (namely bodily autonomy & collateral casualties), which took away from my overall enjoyment. However, while this turned out to not be quite the right fit for my particular reading taste, it takes nothing away from the overall quality of the book, its story and the writing.