I am a huge fan of Nghi Vo's novella collection. In my opinion they represent some of the most engaging storytelling avaliable. They contain tight-knit plots, rich world-building and compelling characters. I also find them to be the perfect length to teach in general education literature classes because they are about 100 pages and don't feel daunting for students not used to reading novels. But despite their short size, they are still full of abundant detail and thematic content--especilly related to issues of gender and sexuality, the importance of history, and the value of local myths.

Vo's latest contribution to this nonsequential series builds on the thematic material of the previous two novellas by introducing readers to a collection of stories called "ugly women tales"--the stories of female fighters and heroes made famous for qualities beyond their appearance. In the novella, the boundaries between legend and reality blur as Chih, our favorite nonbianry cleric, travels with a group of Riverlanders to their home.

While reading this novella, I found it hard not to compare it to the previous two. And while I enjoyed the story and liked learning more about Chih's world, I prefer the other novellas more. One thing is this novella contains many hints and starts to various stories, but unlike the previous two books, we don't get a fleshed out version of any of the stories, only hints. I found myself wanting more detail and explanation about some of the '”ugly women stories” an wishing that the novel would have a more sustained narrative.

In my experience, Vo's novellas are always better the second time around. So I look forward to rereading this installment as we wait for more stories about Chih.

I received a digital copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Series Info/Source: This is the third book in the Singing Hills Cycle. I got a copy of this book to review through NetGalley.

Thoughts: I enjoyed this addition to the Singing Hills Cycle a lot. In this book Chih and Almost Brilliant head to the Riverlands, a vicious land plagued by bandits and fighters. There is a lot more action in this book than in the previous ones. As with previous books there are stories and tales within the main story that Chih and Almost Brilliant collect along their journey.

This was very well done and a thoughtful (if quick) read. We get to learn more about the Riverlands and meet the legendary fighters of the region. We get to watch as Chih is involved in a battle for a small village (and accepts that they are more suited to telling stories than fighting). I enjoyed this a lot, I think if you have enjoyed the previous novellas in this series you will enjoy this one as well.

I still love the idea of Chih being a collector of stories and really enjoy Chih's love of stories themselves and knowledge of how they help people understand the world.

My Summary (5/5): Overall this was a great pleasure to read and I continue to really love the premise behind this series and the stories it contains. This book was a bit more action packed than previous ones. I am eager to see where Chih and Almost Brilliant explore next!

4 stars!

ngi vo's prose is what truly shines throughout the series! i loved the stories told within stories, but i still think that the previous book did it better. the wuxia element of Into the Riverlands stood out from the former two novellas + the setting and atmosphere of the riverlands was unique and magical. rest assured, i simply cannot wait for the other two books to be out!

This felt like kind of a transition story. The first two novellas in this series were 90% a story being told to our cleric Chih with a tiny bit of “present day” to set the scene. This one has one very short story in the middle as Chih travels with some interesting people we end up knowing very little about by the end. Because Chih is our POV character, we don’t get to experience the action scenes in a way I know we could if the POV was from someone who had more of an idea of how fights work, but what we did get was great and I wanted more.

It basically felt like it tried to do too much, introducing 4 new characters, having several fight and traveling scenes, and having a story in the middle. As such, it didn’t really do any of them justice, unfortunately.

My first venture into the series, unlike a few other reviews I looked over. I found it to be enjoyable by the end, but was a little thrown off at first. I look forward to continuing with the others when I get the opportunity.

Apparently this was the month for starting books by authors who wrote other books I had intended on reading first, but haven't and loving them!

I've wanted to read The Chosen and the Beautiful for months and haven't had the chance, but the cover of this one was so intriguing combined with the author I couldn't pass it up. I started this knowing I would probably be a little confused since, even though it says you can read them out of order, I still thought there would be pieces I would be missing. But even if I was, I didn't feel like I was. The story is short enough that even if it was a stand-alone I would be eager to hear more and find out more about all of our characters.

The way you're reading a story that's essentially about stories and how they're told and passed along and kept throughout history was fun and led to a sort of twist I didn't really see coming even though it's right in front of you (and Chih). Chih and Almost Beautiful are a wonderful couple to have as the narrator, but I loved all of the characters that were along for the road trip. I would gladly read a book about any of them. I fully plan on reading the rest of The Singing Hills Cycle books and I highly recommend this series!

Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!

I think this is my least favourite of the Singing Hills Cycle...
Let me explain.

Into the Riverlands follows the same pattern as did the two previous novellas: We follow cleric Chih as they travel the lands and get told stories. There's always some kind of stuff happening to Chih and their travelling buddies too, but it's mainly about the old stories and legends Chih and their neixin Almost Brilliant hear. Which, after the third time, somewhat gets old. Maybe the Singing Hills Cycle would work better as an anthology?
But yeah, we get told something as Chih is told, and while Chih meets good storytellers, in the end, it's the ultimate tell don't show.
My main issue, I think, was that everything in this felt somewhat random. In The Empress of Salt and Fortune, the story is about the servant Rabbit (iirc) and her relationship to the titular empress. When the Tigers Came Down the Mountain is about Chih and their companion being trapped by tigers and talking their way out of it through a story they heard.
Into the Riverlands feels like three half-formed stories packed into one novella, with little holding them together.

So this gets three stars, because I still enjoyed it, even when I was left confused for most of it.


@Tor and NetGalley: Thank you guys for this ARC!

I love Nghi Vo's Singing Hills Cycle. Chih and Almost Brilliant's travels and encounters with the mythological and supernatural are told through a series of tight novellas. I loved the characters in this one and what it has to say about story and myth.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this novella, however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really hope there are going to be about fifteen more of these. I love them so much. They’re the perfect mix of fantasy, history, lore, and adventure. Into the Riverlands is a great addition to the other two and just when people are wondering how Nghi Vo can keep it interesting, this one turns more towards adventure than lore. There are actual fight scenes. Very fun fight scenes, but fight scenes. This one has high stakes and fantastic new friends. Oh, and did I mention there were fight scenes.

Into the Riverlands explores how truth becomes myth/lore and how all stories have more than one side. The different aspects of myth and lore change depending on who is telling the story. Certain details will be changed or emphasized depending on the agenda of the one telling the story. It also discusses how prevalent “beautiful people” are in stories in juxtaposition with stories of “ugly women.” Just generally speaking most people are average or normal in reality. In history the “good guys” are depicted as beautiful and the “bad guys” or people outside the norm or depicted as ugly or grotesque.

Overall, I’m so excited that this series just keeps providing such great tales. I’ll keep reading Nghi Vo because her work just keeps getting better and better. I may not love her novels as much as her novellas, but she can get me to pick up just about everything based on her writing alone. I just want more. Please give me more.

I loved the other two entries in the Singing Hills Cycle, and this new addition is very similar in set up. Once again, Chih a cleric historian on a journey to collect stories and her partner Almost Brilliant, a bird with a long memory and perfect recall, run into a group of individuals that are more than they seem. This book focuses on martial arts, banditry, and a feud that's been going on for so long that it's basically become a legend. I really enjoyed the cast this time, they were all interesting and interconnected in a way I did not expect, but I would've liked to hear more about their backgrounds than what we got. I have a harder time following the plot this time, but I did like the stories that were included. I felt like it was missing some of that magic realism quality that was more present in the other two entries and wished it had been included more. Otherwise, this was a solid entry and I hope the author continues adding to this series.

I've been a big fan of Nghi Vo's Singing Hills novellas and was very excited to have my request for this one accepted! Will post more in detail closer to pub date, but I really enjoyed this and will always happily read more of Chih's and Almost Brilliant's adventures.

Into the Riverlands is the latest novella in the Singing Hills cycle and in classic Nghi Vo fashion it is lyrical, heartfelt and comforting.

We continue to follow the cleric Chih on their travels, this time they venture into the riverlands to record tales of the notorious near-immortal martial artists who haunt the region. On the road to Betony Docks, they fall in with a pair of young women far from home, and an older couple who are more than they seem. As Chih runs headlong into an ancient feud, they find themself far more entangled in the history of the riverlands than they ever expected to be.

One thing I really love about this series is the sense of community and interactions with strangers. It is a very human thing and I think the way Chih listens, learns and gets to know others in throughout the series just sings to something in my soul. I also really enjoy the elements of storytelling, especially oral storytelling, woven throughout the story. I really enjoyed how in this book Chih explores how there are always many sides to a story and discovering hidden secrets that reveal more complex truths about historic events!

Nghi Vo's writing is stunning as always. It strikes the perfect balance between beautiful prose whilst still being easy to read and understand. Additionally it has such a nice flow and creates a vivid and imaginative atmosphere.

This novella is a bit more action packed that the other novellas in the series, with some very fun fight scenes! I enjoyed how Chih was more of a main characters in their own story in this one, rather than the focus of the book being on whoever was telling them a story. Seeing a bit more of Almost Brilliant as well was such a delight!

The only slight negative I have about this one is that it was so short. With the other novellas in the series I felt like they were the perfect length however in this I felt like it felt like something was missing and I wanted more time to get to know the newer characters.

Overall this is such a cosy series and perfect for cold autumn evenings when you need a boost of comfort.

Into the Riverlands is the highly anticipated third installment in the Singing Hills Cycle and it follows Chih and Almost Brilliant as they accompany a group of martial artist on their journey. The novella follows the same patterns as the previous ones – we get to find out stories at the same time as Chih and I loved every second of it.

Both Chih and Almost Brilliant are characters I’m quite fond of, so revisiting this universe was like meeting an old friend. I love their banter. I can say these are probably my comfort reads and I will probably reread all three soon. Nghi Vo’s is such a skilled storyteller and I absolutely loved how she approached the wuxia genre. I also really like how unapologetically queer the novellas was.

Such an amazing story with loveable characters! Nghi Vo has done it again!

A cleric and their talking avian companion go into the riverlands to record stories of the famous martial artists in the region but along the way they meet two young women and an older couple. The story focuses on the tales from the martial artists about famed fighters and bandits. This is definitely a more action packed story yet I just didn’t connect to it as much as I did the previous two installments, that is not to say this one wasn’t also a good read. I love the way Nghi Vo writes and how they manage to weave their stories. It does make a great read for a nice afternoon.

*Thanks Netgalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge, Tordotcom for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Another brilliant addition to the Singing Hills Cycle.

This time we get to follow Chih and Almost Brilliant into the riverlands where they collect stories about the martial artists haunting the region.

I love the folklore and how atmospheric the whole novella is.

Nghi Vo’s writing style is captivating and beautiful to read. I have no idea how Vo manages to write such good worldbuilding within so few pages. It's honestly baffling.

I really hope this was not the last book in this series because I desperately need more stories about Chih and Almost Brilliant.

Another solid installment in this series! Into the Riverlands takes Chih and their talking avian companion to the riverlands and into the company of wandering martial artists, and together they must brave the journey into lands rife with bandits.

And, of course, Chih gets to hear a few interesting stories.

The Singing Hills Cycle delves into a different element of Chinese culture and a different type of story. While Empress was about the political games of court and Tiger was of fantastical beasts, Riverlands dips into classic wuxia legends of impossibly strong martial artists. The story in this one was simpler and a little more straightforward, but still delightful to read. Vo’s prose is so solid, as always, and I enjoyed the craft of the pieces coming together.

As always, I like the casual inclusion of a little fruity rep.

Like the two previous stories in the Singing Hills Cycle, Into the Riverlands packs so much into so few pages. It's tightly woven, all stories and legends and histories tangling richly into one another, as well as thoroughly entertaining - there are multiple fantastic, high-adventure fight scenes in this novella, which were delightfully fun to read as well as highlighting another kind of storytelling in its homage to wuxia and similar tales. A beautiful, brilliant gem of a novella, and of a series.

Thanks to Tordotcom for the advance review copy!

It’s a delight to meet back up with Chih and Almost Brilliant in Vo’s latest installment of Singing Hills Cycle. Vo’s ability to tell such a complete and lovely story in such a short format is amazing. You get heartfelt moments, kick butt action-adventure, and life lessons all in a tightly woven fable-esque package. Plus the 2LGBTQIA+ repetition is effortlessly interwoven into the world and tales. This is the third in The Singing Hills Cycle series and since all the novellas are linked by the cleric Chih, they may be read in any order, with each story serving as an entrypoint. But if you’d rather read them in order, pick up, the first, The Empress of Salt and Fortune and then, the second, When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain stories in this lovely series.

I received this eARC thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge, Tordotcom in exchange for an honest review. Publishing dates are subject to change

Despite not having read the first two in a while and only having a vague recollection of the plot, Into the Riverlands was a nice return to the writing of Vo. Chih continues on their history collecting journey with Almost Brilliant, and runs into a few people with extraordinary martial arts skills. The stories revolve around other such people with martial prowess, and there were nods to the previous two novellas that I was delighted to catch onto.

The next instalment in the beautiful Singing Hills saga, Nghi Vo casts another spell full of plot twists and queer romance.