Immortal Game by Allison Saft — Release Date, Reception & What to Know

Updated on October 5, 2026

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When we first wrote this page in early August, Immortal Game was a few days from release and everything we had came from the publisher’s synopsis. Two months later the book is in readers’ hands, and some of what we said then needs correcting. The most important correction is that this is a young adult novel. Wednesday Books publishes it as YA, and that matters more for setting expectations than anything else on this page, especially if you came here looking for adult romantasy heat.

Below is what we can confirm: the release details, how the trade press received it, the content notes, where it sits among Allison Saft’s other books, and what to read alongside it. Where we haven’t yet read enough reader reviews to judge something, we say so instead of guessing.

Is Immortal Game Out Yet? Release Details

Yes. Immortal Game came out on August 4, 2026, on the same day in both markets:

• US: Wednesday Books (a Macmillan imprint), hardcover ISBN 9781250404763, about 400 pages. StoryGraph lists the hardcover at 390 pages, so expect a small difference between listings.
• UK: Hachette Children’s Group, hardback ISBN 9781510113749, 400 pages.
• Formats: hardcover, ebook and audiobook. Barnes & Noble lists all three, and its hardcover listing describes a deluxe edition with gilded edges, designed endpapers and a foiled case stamp.
• Cover: illustrated by Syd Mills and designed by Kerri Resnick, according to the author’s site.

The book is a standalone. Both the author’s own book page and the Barnes & Noble listing describe it that way, so there is no sequel to wait for and no cliffhanger built in for one.

If you listen rather than read, the US audiobook is narrated by Kristen Sieh and runs 11 hours 19 minutes. We also track new sapphic audio releases on our new lesbian audiobooks page, which includes Immortal Game.

Prefer audio? Listen to Immortal Game on Libro.fm — the audiobook shop that supports independent bookstores.

What Is Immortal Game About?

Shea Fury is a chess prodigy, and for six years one loss has outweighed every win. Her sister was taken by the High King of the Otherworld and carried beyond the Iron Veil, the border between the human world and the realm of the fae. No one comes back from there, and nobody goes in unless they are invited.

Then an invitation comes. The Otherworld is holding a chess tournament that only comes round once in a long while, and whoever wins it can ask the High King for a single wish. Shea knows what she would ask for. Getting there is the easy part. The tournament is played under fae rules, the other players are ruthless and dark magic seeps into every part of it, and the people across the board want their wishes as badly as she wants hers.

The complication is Ciara of Brí Leith, a fae princess and the rival Shea has measured herself against for years. To survive the tournament, the two of them have to work together, and an alliance with someone you have spent years trying to beat does not stay simple for long. The publisher sells it as rivals-to-lovers. Early praise suggests the relationship between the two sisters weighs as much as the romance does.

How the Early Reception Looks (October 2026)

The trade press response was strong across the board. Immortal Game picked up a starred review from Publishers Weekly, which called it “a moody, cerebral fantasy” inspired by Irish folklore and singled out its intellectual heroines. Kirkus, School Library Journal and Booklist all reviewed it as well, and their excerpts on the retailer pages praise the same things: lush faerie atmosphere set against real chess terminology and strategy, a layered emotional story with Irish roots, and a tense plot that should suit fans of sapphic romance, rivals-to-lovers and do-or-die stakes.

The cover blurbs come from Rachel Gillig and Ava Reid, two authors whose readers overlap heavily with Saft’s. Reid’s blurb puts sibling bonds first and love second, and that order tells you something about the book.

We haven’t yet read the reader reviews closely enough to summarise them, and we’d rather say so than fill the gap. Waterstones shows 12 customer reviews, but the three it displays are five-star reviews written in July 2026, before publication. One is from an advance-copy reader and one is a bookseller’s staff pick that pitches the book as The Cruel Prince with chess. That counts as early enthusiasm, not settled reader opinion. StoryGraph’s tags describe the book as adventurous, emotional and medium-paced.

On Goodreads the book sits at a 3.97 average across 1,202 ratings and 677 written reviews (all editions, checked October 5, 2026). That is a real body of reader opinion, and once we’ve read through it we’ll replace this section with a proper breakdown of what readers praise and what they push back on.

What we can say now: critics agree the book is smart and atmospheric. The open question for romance readers is how central the love story feels next to the sister plot, and the full review needs to answer it.

YA or Adult? Heat Level and Content

This is the part our original preview got least right. Immortal Game is a Wednesday Books young adult title, published for teens, and our new sapphic romantasy 2026 roundup lists it as one of the year’s YA entries rather than an adult romantasy. On a YA list, expect the romance to run on tension, longing and the push and pull of rivalry, not explicit scenes. romance.io currently rates it 1 of 5, “glimpses and kisses”, though only four readers have rated it there so far, so treat that as an early signal.

The content notes on the author’s site are the ones to read before you start:

• Emotional abuse, from parents and between siblings
• Domestic violence, off-page
• Graphic descriptions of blood and wounds

Two of those three are about family, and so is the sister-rescue plot. If family cruelty is hard for you to read, that matters more here than the fae peril does.

If you want sapphic fantasy with an adult cast and more heat, our sapphic fae romance books list sorts its picks by heat and ending, so you can choose deliberately.

Chess, Fae and Irish Folklore: What Kind of Fantasy This Is

Three ingredients set Immortal Game apart from the many fae-court novels out there.

The chess is real. Kirkus notes that the book’s atmosphere is balanced by chess terminology, strategies and actual plays. That suggests the games are written as games, not used as a stand-in for some vaguer competition. Readers who play will likely enjoy it. Readers who don’t should expect some vocabulary, though a YA novel built around a tournament has every reason to keep the stakes of each match clear.

The fae are bound by rules. A tournament run by the High King, a wish as the prize and an invitation that works like a contract are classic fae-bargain territory. If you like the way bargains and oaths drive this kind of plot, our explainer on what a fae bargain is covers why the device works so well in romance.

The folklore is Irish. The Otherworld, Brí Leith and the High King all come from Irish myth, not a generic Seelie and Unseelie setup.

Where It Sits Among Allison Saft’s Books

Allison Saft writes in two lanes. She began in YA with Wednesday Books (Down Comes the Night, A Far Wilder Magic, A Fragile Enchantment), and moved into adult fantasy with A Dark and Drowning Tide. Immortal Game takes her back to YA and to Wednesday Books.

The book it compares to most directly is A Dark and Drowning Tide, her adult sapphic novel about two academic rivals forced to work together on a murder investigation. We reviewed it in full: A Dark and Drowning Tide review. Readers loved its prose and atmosphere and argued over its ending and politics. Immortal Game shares its basic shape, two clever women who start out competing and end up allied, but it’s aimed at a younger audience and built around a tournament instead of a mystery.

Coming from A Dark and Drowning Tide, expect the same strengths in a book with a more contained plot. If that book’s closed-door romance disappointed you, a YA title won’t fix it.

Who Should Pick Up Immortal Game?

Good fit if you want:

• ✓ Sapphic YA fantasy from an established author with strong trade reviews
• ✓ A competition plot where the game is actually on the page
• ✓ Fae folklore with an Irish setting, not a generic court
• ✓ A complete story in one standalone volume
• ✓ Sister relationships with as much weight as the love story

Think twice if:

• ✗ You only read adult romantasy, or heat is a priority
• ✗ Parental or sibling emotional abuse is a hard limit
• ✗ You want a romance-first plot. The early signals point to a fantasy with a strong romantic thread, not a romance with fantasy around it

Readers who want more teen-focused picks can start with our lesbian YA books guide.

If You’re Excited for Immortal Game, Read These Next

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Immortal Game a sapphic romance?

It’s a sapphic fantasy with a central romance. Shea Fury and the fae princess Ciara of Brí Leith start as long-standing chess rivals and become allies, and the publisher sells the relationship as rivals-to-lovers. Trade reviews and blurbs give the sister plot equal weight.

When did Immortal Game come out?

August 4, 2026, from Wednesday Books in the US and Hachette Children’s Group in the UK, in hardcover, ebook and audiobook.

Is Immortal Game YA or adult?

Young adult. Wednesday Books publishes it for teen readers, so expect YA-level content, not adult romantasy heat.

Is Immortal Game a standalone?

Yes. The author’s site and retailer listings both describe it as a standalone.

Do I need to know chess to enjoy it?

You don’t need to play, but Kirkus notes real chess terminology, strategies and plays on the page, so expect some of the game’s vocabulary.

What are the content warnings for Immortal Game?

The author lists emotional abuse (parental and sibling), off-page domestic violence, and graphic descriptions of blood and wounds.

Do I need to read Allison Saft’s other books first?

No. It’s unconnected to her earlier novels. If you want her other sapphic book, read A Dark and Drowning Tide, which is adult.

The Bottom Line

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