The first thing you should know about Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong is that it is not for those squeamish about blood and violence. There are enough gory fighting scenes to tempt the blood-thirstiest reader. Personally, I love a good, bloody scene. I like when authors are willing to put their characters through hell and are not afraid to capture the action in detail. To me, doing so adds depth to the characters because such scenes show the limits of a character's morality, that line in the sand that no one should cross without consequences. Ms. Gong does this with aplomb to Calla and Anton, and the novel is better as a result. 

The second thing you should know about Immortal Longings is that when your main cast can jump into other bodies, you should not trust anything you read. Even Calla and Anton have an identifying phrase to indicate when Anton is in a new body. There is so much happening during the story that what you see on the surface is only a glimpse of the truth. Like any good author, Ms. Gong only shows you what she wants you to see. From the first page to the last, she is stingy with her reveals, making you and the characters work for each one. As each reveal peels back another layer of this intricate story, you are more than happy to do that work.

Any story inspired by Antony and Cleopatra is bound to be filled with political intrigues and plots within plots. Once again, Ms. Gong does not disappoint by staying true to her inspiration. Immortal Longings stays true to its inspiration. Calla has her plans. Anton has his, and August also has plans for the kingdom. That they decide to join forces is in no way a deterrence to their objectives. Half the fun of the novel is watching them trying to achieve their individual aims while maintaining their partnership. It is an understatement to say that it gets complicated, but that's what makes Immortal Longings so good.

The setting of Immortal Longings is a character in its own right. The entire novel occurs in and around twin cities that have somehow morphed into one ginormous city called San-Er. This city is a fantastic example of what life could be like should climate change adversely affect rural areas and force everyone to live in cities. What Ms. Gong describes is chilling in its clarity. The sheer volume of people stacked on top of people stacked on top of people renting rooms in buildings because of a lack of money. The filth and the cacophony are visceral. The conjoined cities make for some fantastic chase scenes, but Ms. Gong makes it very clear that no one should ever have to live that way.

I consider Ms. Gong's foray into adult fiction a major success. Immortal Longings has an abundance of great things with no downsides. With a mysterious and complex plot combined with pacing that is the perfect balance between action and development, the characters become the stars of the show with their thorough background stories and the insights we receive into their thoughts. The ending left me gasping and broken-hearted. With a publication date of 18 July 2023, make sure you get your hands on a copy of Immortal Longings because I guarantee you will be seeing it on year-end best lists in December!