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dreadspawn'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Violence, Murder, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Sexual content
abby_can_read's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
đź“–
This was quite the book. I don't really know how to explain my feelings. I think it was interesting. I liked the magic system. The worldbuilding and the lore were interest. I struggled to like the main characters -- Calla, Anton, and August -- and I'm wasn't the best fan of the romance between Calla and Anton.
This was quite the book. I don't really know how to explain my feelings. I think it was interesting. I liked the magic system. The worldbuilding and the lore were interest. I struggled to like the main characters -- Calla, Anton, and August -- and I'm wasn't the best fan of the romance between Calla and Anton.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content, Child death, Blood, Gore, and Death of parent
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, and Trafficking
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
brywalls's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Listening to the book, it was hard to keep track of all the characters. I only see the most tangential connection to Antony and Cleopatra...maybe there will be more in the next book. The whole thing feels like a Hunger Games knockoff but doesn't do the "bread and circuses" nearly as well
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Child death
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
lilhappyhermit's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book threw me for a loop in the best way possible. I absolutely loved the dystopian setting of this book mixed with the fantasy element of what certain characters can do with their “souls”. The three main characters that you follow are such an intriguing group. They all have 3 end goals with the tournament, but lines slowly blur as Calla and Anton team up in the games. The ending had me in tears and in complete shock. I cannot wait for the next book in this series!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Child death and Sexual content
hannahs_library_'s review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Sexual content, Death of parent, Child death, Death, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Blood
literalhedgehog's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This was an entertaining read. It was very fast pace as the main characters are competitors in a competition to the death that team up but also have some history and serious trust issues. It’s (loosely) based on Anthony and Cleopatra, character-wise but it DEFINITELY has Shakespearean levels of drama. It set up a lot of mystery I want to see resolved next book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Death
Minor: Child death
roseleebooks's review against another edition
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? It's complicated
4.5
This book is my first read by Chloe Gong and I am impressed. The pace starts out slower, but gradually increases along with the tension throughout. The last 30% of the book was a whirlwind in a good way.
It's a story of love, obsession, and revenge. It will make you question whether anyone can have power and be uncorrupted.
There are almost no likeable characters in this book, but they do feel very real. The world that Gong has written them in shapes who they are very logically. And despite them not being likeable, Calla and Anton and even August are compelling to read about.
The worldbuilding is exceptional and I could clearly picture the atmosphere and streets of the city the characters are in. It was a character on its own which I appreciated.
There is a lot that happens in this bookincluding several reveals toward the end. The setup for the next story is absolutely exceptional and I wish I could pick it up right away!
It's a story of love, obsession, and revenge. It will make you question whether anyone can have power and be uncorrupted.
There are almost no likeable characters in this book, but they do feel very real. The world that Gong has written them in shapes who they are very logically. And despite them not being likeable, Calla and Anton and even August are compelling to read about.
The worldbuilding is exceptional and I could clearly picture the atmosphere and streets of the city the characters are in. It was a character on its own which I appreciated.
There is a lot that happens in this book
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death of parent, Violence, Child death, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Blood, and Grief
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