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A review by trips
Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- 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
3.5
This was overall an enjoyable read from a purely entertainment standpoint. If I think about the world and magic system for more than a few minutes though, things start to fall apart really fast.
1) world building was alright but its pushed so often into the middle of scenes it gets really awkward and its easy to forget about what is even going on (this even happens in spicier scenes, it is very weird).
2) The body hopping/magic system of this world did not get enough explanation. The explanations about body invading was overall just quite strange, they seemed like Gong forgot to expand on how it works and was like "oh yeah I forgot to explain that, I'll do it here," in the weirdest spots throughout the book. I couldn't get behind it.
I do think its important coming into this book that it is inspired by Antony and Cleopatra, but it is certainly not a retelling. Anton and Calla are obsessive about each other and their relationship is pretty messy. That is about it in terms of similarities though.
Regardless of the above critiques, it is a pretty fun, easy read with some exciting twists. The last line of the book may leave you like :O! too hahaha
1) world building was alright but its pushed so often into the middle of scenes it gets really awkward and its easy to forget about what is even going on (this even happens in spicier scenes, it is very weird).
2) The body hopping/magic system of this world did not get enough explanation. The explanations about body invading was overall just quite strange, they seemed like Gong forgot to expand on how it works and was like "oh yeah I forgot to explain that, I'll do it here," in the weirdest spots throughout the book. I couldn't get behind it.
I do think its important coming into this book that it is inspired by Antony and Cleopatra, but it is certainly not a retelling. Anton and Calla are obsessive about each other and their relationship is pretty messy. That is about it in terms of similarities though.
Regardless of the above critiques, it is a pretty fun, easy read with some exciting twists. The last line of the book may leave you like :O! too hahaha
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Child death and Sexual content
Minor: Trafficking