Thank you NetGalley and publisher for a copy of Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong. I have not read much in this genre, but I am so glad I had the opportunity to read this. I really enjoyed the characters and the plot. If you are a fan of the Hunger Games, this is definitely a must-read for you!

This is my first read of Chloe Gong books even though I own them all.
‌
This book was Hunger Games-esq with a fantasy twist.
I enjoyed the magic system of Jumping your Chi from body to body.
‌
Many aspects of this book were repetitive. Info dumping galore. The city was described beautifully and in great detail the first time. And the again and again also in great detail. Same for the explanation of the games.
‌
But the twist at the end DID make me want to read the second one now. Too bad it’s not out yet. 😂

A book win for everyone that deserves a chance. It has all the elements that keeps you intrigued while wanted to know more. Also, the ending was so disrespectful.

Chloe Gong can do no wrong in my book. I love this take on Antony/cleopatra. I’m so glad someone did their love story justice. Chloe is another automatic buy author for me.

I have never really enjoyed this author's work. It just doesn't work for me but this one really didn't work for me. The writing is not up to her usual skill and the story itself felt off.

Not my favorite of Chloe Gong's, but I gave it a real try. We still have a copy in our library because to each their own, but I won't be rereading my copy.

This book was a fun adventure and so exciting to read. I enjoyed the characters and the world building was easy to understand. I enjoyed this book a lot.

Thank you netgalley for allowing me to read an arc of this book.

I requested this book because of Chloe Gong, as everyone is raving about her lately, and because the synopsis had me hooked, as it sounded like the start of the next best dystopian series. Let me say, and I say it in the nicest way possible, this is a Hunger Games rip-off.

In what was advertised as a retelling of The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra, a princess, an exiled aristocrat, and an adopted son heir to the throne are the main characters of this Hunger Games reboot where the concept of body jumping is the only difference between the two dystopian novels. Everything else lacks novelty and the descriptions feel redundant, unnecessary, and take away from the main story.

This story was a difficult one to complete. In my opinion, Ms. Gong's attempt at a Shakespeare retelling misses the mark as the story bears no resemblance to the play that served as its inspiration. As a result, I can confidently say that I'm done with this series.

This was my first book to read by this author but it won't be my last! This was a beautifully written novel that evokes so many emotions. Don't miss out on this one!

Okay, wow, this was so good. Excellent slow burn, nice world-building, exciting fights, anti-hero(es), and much more! Some parts felt a little slow, but then it immediately picked back up. I’m ready for the next book!

I would definitely recommend this to adult readers, but to some teens, too, if I knew them well enough to know they’d be okay with the mature content.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this title. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a fun read. It did take me a while to get into the story and understand every thing that was happening but I got there. I liked the games and yes it will be said it’s like hunger games it really didn’t feel that way and stands out on its own. Fun concept and the writing the flows that I couldn’t stop at a certain point. I liked the characters and I I was pleasantly surprised by the ending.

I think maybe Chloe Gong's writing style is not for me. The premise seemed very interesting, however I just could not get into it.

The writing of this novel was subpar. The characters had feeling for specific things, situations, and each other though the author did not provide emotional depth to accurately express the feelings. The plot was enjoyable but the novel feel short in keeping me interested.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for "Immortal Longings" by Chloe Gong in exchange for an honest review. I recommend this book to any fantasy lover and/or Hunger Games fan. While it took me a little to get into the novel due to the heavy information that the reader has to digest in the beginning, However, I was able to find an attachment for the main characters. I didn't like the idea of body-jumping, it felt invasive and uncomfortable due to the execution of it all, when there could have been important themes incorporated with it instead. Read this if you love multiple POVs! The chemistry between two characters in the book felt realistic and I love a book that ends in a cliffhanger, it makes you want to know more.

I am really sad to say that this book is not for me. I was tragically bored throughout. I LOVE Chloe Gong's other works, but for some reason her urban, hunger games, style sci-fi story did not work at all. I will of course read her work in the future but this story might be enough for me (if it becomes a series). I just don't think she leaned in hard enough to sci-fi conventions in order to make this fully work with both the narrative and tech/magic system? I will admit I am still a confused reader with this one....

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book!

I REALLY enjoyed this book. The "body jumping" magic system was super unique to me, and I felt like it was explained well right from the beginning, which is always helpful! I've never read any of the authors previous books, so I don't have any comparison to that. Though this was a retelling, it still felt innovative and new to me.

I have seen some comparison of this to the hunger games, and I will say that I think if you go in with that expectation you may be disappointed. This was more of a political fantasy/dystopian book, with a battle to win a competition as a plot device, more so than the focus of the plot. But I still really liked it!

This book was just not for me. The concept for this book was good but it just didn’t deliver in my opinion. I do believe the way people were hyping up this book, comparing it to the hunger game did affect my reading experience. So this is one of those “It’s not you it’s me” type of situation.

This review is quite late only because I have officially decided to dnf this book. I do not rate dnf books because it doesn't seem fair since I did not even get to the end; however since I have to for this review, I'll rate what I have read so far (34%). The world building felt heavy and like the author was trying to make a word count. I also did not care about what happened to the characters. Overall it felt like too much and I just can't force myself to finish this.

Thank you NetGalley, Gallery Books, Gallery / Saga Press, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

Every year, thousands in the kingdom of Talin will go to its capital twin cities, where the palace hosts a set of games. For those able to jump between bodies, competitors across San-Er will fight to the death to achieve riches. Princess Calla Tuoleimi hides since a massacre killed her parents and left the palace of Er empty and she was who did it. Before the king's forces catches her, she plans to win the game and since her King uncle will personally greet the winner, she will have her chance to kill him and bring the monarchy down.
On the other side there's Anton Makusa, an exiled aristocrat and his childhood love is in coma since they were kicked out of the palace. He's in debt to keep her alive. He's one of the best jumpers, flitting from body to body, in the kingdom and winning the game could help him save her. Calla finds unexpected allies in Anton and in the king's adopted son, August, willing to change the kingdom for the best, but the three of them have their own goals and the relationship between Calla and Anton is becoming more and more intense. Calla has to decide what's she's playing for, her kingdom or her lover.

Immortal Longings is Chloe Gong's adult epic fantasy debut and a fierce inspired story by Shakespeakere's Antony and Cleopatra, a story filled with power plays, violence, bloody romance and deadly games. Now set in a game with powerful players, jumpers, all fighting to get their own goals: freedom, vengeance, money to save their loved ones.
It's my first Chloe Gong's book and I fell in love with this writing style, the brilliant and intriguing worldbuilding and these complex characters, whose relationships with one other make the story even more convoluted and filled with plot twists and intriguing moments.
I really enyoyed reading this book, even though I predicted some things in the story, overall it's a very good book.

I haven't read a book by Chloe Gong that I haven't liked. I have looked forward to Immortal Longings and the step into adult fantasy. plus its another Shakespeare retelling and I am ALWAYS here for a Shakespeare retelling. I struggled with some of the characters, but it was more in a way that I didn't have strong feelings towards any of them. but the plot twists were 10/10 and I CAN NOT wait for the next book to come out!