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thebelovedreadingnook's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Classism, and Blood
ipekcav's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Entertaining read! I felt some of the plot points were rushed. The romance aspect felt rushed. Great twists and ended on a fantastic note. Gong could leave it where it ended but there is clear opening for a second book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Classism, and Grief
Moderate: Sexual content
thesnarkside's review
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death
Moderate: Child death and Classism
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
theycallmebookish's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
This dystopian enemy to lovers story follows Princess Calla on her mission to save her people. This was very body snatchers meets Hunger Games meets the Expanse. I enjoyed the world building and the creativeness that went into even thinking up this book but I will also say I was super confused a good chunk of the beginning of the book. The body jumping and different color eyes and introducing so many characters at once was a lot to follow. And because there was so much happening in the story there were a few plot holes. A big one I can’t mention because of spoilers but if you read this you might know what I mean. I’m curious to see what the next book brings.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Murder, Blood, Death, Violence, Classism, and War
rexpostfacto's review against another edition
3.25
Did I have a good time? Yes. Did I understand any of it? No.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Death, Murder, and Classism
sarasreading's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This is a book where you can't let your mind wander or you'll miss a vital piece of information. It was a lot of info, yet I still sometimes had a hard time following and remembering the info that was given.
I flew through this though, and generally had a good time with it. I had some squabbles, especially with the speed of the romance and how the characters seemed to fundamentally change as it progressed. I didn't realize this wasn't a standalone, but I might give the next one a go.
I flew through this though, and generally had a good time with it. I had some squabbles, especially with the speed of the romance and how the characters seemed to fundamentally change as it progressed. I didn't realize this wasn't a standalone, but I might give the next one a go.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Classism, and Death
booksthatburn's review
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
IMMORTAL LONGINGS builds a claustrophobic sense of place, with densely packed buildings and strangers everywhere. The mechanics of jumping are used excellently, and explained enough to allow for a pretty cool late-book reveal. It plays with the tension between this culture of literally disposable bodies and Calla's refusal to jump. Rather than one's physical form, Qi (a person's essence) is the durable part of who they are, and it's possible to jump one's Qi into another body, taking it over either temporarily or permanently. Some people's birth bodies are lost, and they continually jump between bodies, others jump temporarily and then return to their own body. Many citizens can't jump at all, and run the risk of having their bodies used by jumpers at random. I like the way the jumping is explained and used, and if I keep reading the series it will be to see how jumping is used once the games are over.
One of the things with showing relationship chemistry in a narrative on the basis of past events between characters is that it can leave some readers feeling like the characters aren't grounded enough or their relationships don't fully make sense. I, in particular, know that I have trouble with this as a reader. I don't have an imagination filling in the gaps and wondering what tension could have led to this moment. I read how it plays out in the book right now and I either have enough detail or it just falls flat for me. This didn't work as well for me as the similarly antagonistic/romantic relationship between Juliette and Roma in THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS because once IMMORTAL LONGINGS BEGINS, Anton and Calla don't really do much to harm each other's aims until very late in the book. They're set up so that at some point they will no longer both be able to get what they want, but since that point is when dozens of other people have been eliminated it can be far away for a long time. When combined with the reveal at the very end, it means I finished the book a bit confused and not sure whether it worked well for me personally. It leans even more into this narrative style which the Secret Shanghai books also have, but the way it's refined here took it out of my comfort zone.
I've seen a lot of comparisons between Immortal Longings and The Hunger Games. This is both slightly true and mostly unhelpful as a generalization, as what they have in common are either superficial genre features or not unique to The Hunger Games. I understand why the comparison occurs to people so I'd like to take it seriously, that will be covered at length in an upcoming essay.
If you like books where things are left more mysterious and many people have hidden plans, you'll probably like this. It wasn't quite my style, I prefer the Secret Shanghai books.
One of the things with showing relationship chemistry in a narrative on the basis of past events between characters is that it can leave some readers feeling like the characters aren't grounded enough or their relationships don't fully make sense. I, in particular, know that I have trouble with this as a reader. I don't have an imagination filling in the gaps and wondering what tension could have led to this moment. I read how it plays out in the book right now and I either have enough detail or it just falls flat for me. This didn't work as well for me as the similarly antagonistic/romantic relationship between Juliette and Roma in THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS because once IMMORTAL LONGINGS BEGINS, Anton and Calla don't really do much to harm each other's aims until very late in the book. They're set up so that at some point they will no longer both be able to get what they want, but since that point is when dozens of other people have been eliminated it can be far away for a long time. When combined with the reveal at the very end, it means I finished the book a bit confused and not sure whether it worked well for me personally. It leans even more into this narrative style which the Secret Shanghai books also have, but the way it's refined here took it out of my comfort zone.
I've seen a lot of comparisons between Immortal Longings and The Hunger Games. This is both slightly true and mostly unhelpful as a generalization, as what they have in common are either superficial genre features or not unique to The Hunger Games. I understand why the comparison occurs to people so I'd like to take it seriously, that will be covered at length in an upcoming essay.
If you like books where things are left more mysterious and many people have hidden plans, you'll probably like this. It wasn't quite my style, I prefer the Secret Shanghai books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Grief, Death, Death of parent, Child death, and Classism
Minor: Drug use, Terminal illness, and Sexual content
brewdy_reader's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This is a combo of Hunger Games meets The Host/Squid Game but reinvented in an Asian-inspired urban environment where power and wealth corrupt.
Look, I think this book got done dirty in reviews. I was very entertained by this story and cannot wait for the sequel to come out.
The descriptions of the city make the smog suffocating and the poverty palpable. Street food and urban bars and brothels, city guards and surveillance cameras on every corner, cramped living quarters, and rumors of life outside the city walls set the backdrop for the annual competition in which 88 lucky entrants fight to the death in a winner take all game. Morally grey is a theme for all the MCs: an exile, an outlaw princess, and the heir to the throne.
The first third of the book does require mental focus in order to grasp the names, places, characters and their backstories, and also the rules of the fantasy system. Critics call this 'info dumping' but this is exactly what happens in high fantasy books; it cannot be all action all the time and requires build up. This is fantasy first and romance second. There is flirting, tension, romance, and one pretty spicy scene. There's also some great combat street fighting and dark urban dystopian vibes.
Minor complaints: the opening was on the slow side and some of the wrap-up anti-climatic. However, I really enjoyed the fantasy elements and I'm excited to see what is next from Chloe Gong.
Look, I think this book got done dirty in reviews. I was very entertained by this story and cannot wait for the sequel to come out.
The descriptions of the city make the smog suffocating and the poverty palpable. Street food and urban bars and brothels, city guards and surveillance cameras on every corner, cramped living quarters, and rumors of life outside the city walls set the backdrop for the annual competition in which 88 lucky entrants fight to the death in a winner take all game. Morally grey is a theme for all the MCs: an exile, an outlaw princess, and the heir to the throne.
The first third of the book does require mental focus in order to grasp the names, places, characters and their backstories, and also the rules of the fantasy system. Critics call this 'info dumping' but this is exactly what happens in high fantasy books; it cannot be all action all the time and requires build up. This is fantasy first and romance second. There is flirting, tension, romance, and one pretty spicy scene. There's also some great combat street fighting and dark urban dystopian vibes.
Minor complaints: the opening was on the slow side and some of the wrap-up anti-climatic. However, I really enjoyed the fantasy elements and I'm excited to see what is next from Chloe Gong.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Murder, Classism, and Gore
camiclarkbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
“Immortal Longings” is very much “Hunger Games” meets “These Violent Delights,” which makes sense since Chloe Gong wrote one of those beloved YA series. Which one? I’ll never tell.
This is Gong’s first foray into the adult novel market and in some ways it shows. The pacing felt slower than in her previous books and the “spice” could have been better integrated, in my opinion.
However, the main characters stayed true to Gong’s signature “Knife Wife” and “Male Wife” pairing. Calla and Anton have tremendous potential and I’m thrilled to see what happens in the sequel!
In all, it was a little heavy on the world building and had long stretches between plot action—although there was plenty of battle action—but has definitely set the stage for a great book two!
This is Gong’s first foray into the adult novel market and in some ways it shows. The pacing felt slower than in her previous books and the “spice” could have been better integrated, in my opinion.
However, the main characters stayed true to Gong’s signature “Knife Wife” and “Male Wife” pairing. Calla and Anton have tremendous potential and I’m thrilled to see what happens in the sequel!
In all, it was a little heavy on the world building and had long stretches between plot action—although there was plenty of battle action—but has definitely set the stage for a great book two!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual content, Classism, Death, Grief, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent
wet_towlette's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Chloe gong really can’t help herself and just has to write the same book over and over again 😭 there’s always a main plot of political unrest and a subplot of culty sciencey murder mystery type shit. And a very tropey romance (but I’m not really complaining about that). It was okay but nothing about it stood out in the way that her some her ya books do
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual content, Blood, Classism, and Suicidal thoughts