CRB Bingo Square “I”. 
When you know a book has a big huge twist in it, do you try to figure out what it is? I had read that there’s a big twist at the end of Chloe Gong’s Immortal Longings, and even though the book did a good job of setting it up, I was very surprised. So then I thought about what kind of reader I am in general, and I would say I tend to just read and let the plot wash over me, and not try to figure things out. The book concerns Calla Tuoleimi, a child who grew up in the palace and murders her parents, resulting in her uncle coming to power. Somehow she manages to escape and lives in the underbelly of the city. She decides to compete in a murder competition because the winner gets an audience with the King and she wants to finish the job. She allies herself during the competition with Anton, the slightly shady man of prior nobility who is trying to save money to rescue his girlfriend, who is in a coma. Then there’s the King’s adopted son, August, who gets Calla an invite to the death games and is trying to rise in power himself.
This is inspired by Antony and Cleopatra, so you know there’s going to be some betrayal, which is a theme of the Shakespeare play. There’s also an interesting magic system where you can jump into other people’s bodies and take them over completely if your will is strong enough. I’ve always thought mind magic would be the scariest of all, and add in that you no longer have control of your body that’s a pretty scary though. Death games with only one winner, so there’s a lot of violence. Much of it happens off the page. Looking forward to seeing where this goes AND it’s only a duology, so you don’t get the usual middle book slog. Hooray!