This was a beautifully written fantasy novel, following historical fiction in addition to leaning into fantasy. I loved the entire storyline and am so thankful for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A Song to Drown Rivers is historical fantasy about Xishi, one of the four great beauties of ancient China. I was unfamiliar with Xishi's story before this book and love when history, fantasy, and myth are combined!

I thought this book was so good!! It hit such a great balance of fantasy, history, political intrigue, and compelling characters. I often have trouble with books where the main character is "devastatingly beautiful" and the character learns how to wield it in a deadly way. I feel like it often doesn't feel that deadly. In this book, it definitely was. We got to see Xishi learn how to use her assets to her advantage, her reasons for doing what she did, and her conflicting emotions as she became more embroiled in the court.

Overall, I highly recommend this book if you like historical fantasy. It was so good!! 4.5 stars from me rounded down to 4. Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the eARC of this book, my thoughts are my own!

A Song to Drown Rivers is based on the legend of Xishi, one of the four beauties of Ancient China, as she navigates a world of war and espionage. Advisor to the Yue king, Fanli discovers Xishi and gives her the rare opportunity to save her people and take revenge on the kingdom that has taken so much.

WOW that ending. The beginning got me intrigued. The middle had me guessing what would happen. The ending blew me away! I would have liked more of a build up for Fanli and Xishi’s romance to really give me that 5 star rating, but overall I really enjoyed this read. I would be interested to see if Ann Liang wrote stories for the remaining 3 beauties!

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

A song to drown rivers was a delight. this book transported me and made me forget the world. the audio was excellent too.

I’ve really enjoyed Ann Liang’s writing in the past—she has such a smooth and readable style. So, I was excited to check out her new adult fiction, especially since it’s a retelling of Xishi, one of the Four Beauties of Ancient China.

That said, I think I prefer her YA books. I initially expected that a move to adult fiction might mean a more intense or racy story, but that wasn’t the case at all. The pacing felt a little slow at times, and I wished for stronger character development. Liang is a fantastic writer, but maybe this genre just wasn’t my cup of tea.

Would I recommend it? If you’re a fan of historical retellings and enjoy a more measured, reflective story, you might really like it! But if you’re looking for something fast-paced or more dramatic, her YA books might be the better pick

Beautiful, Stunning, EMOTIONAL. This book had me reeling with emotions I did not see coming. I was entranced very early on and the ending delivered in a way I was hoping for but did not believe would be executed on. Ann Liang, this is a masterpiece!

4.50 ⭐️
(Writing this with blurry eyes and a face full of tears)
Oh my gosh!
This book is a captivating mix of magic, mystery, and heartfelt emotions. The story follows a strong, relatable main character as she navigates a world filled with secrets and danger, all while discovering her true strength. Ann Liang has truly created something special with this one 👌🏻 I can’t believe this is her first fantasy book?

I love the way it combines a fast-moving plot with meaningful themes like bravery, sacrifice, and finding your identity. The world-building is beautiful! Such a magical setting that feels so real (I could almost hear the rivers flowing). The writing is clear and engaging, making it easy to get lost in the story.

If you love:-
- Magically and wonderful settings in fantasy books
- Strong main characters
- Action packed as well as gut wrenchingly emotional
- Slowww burn Romance
- Angst
And so much more then don’t sleep on this one!

The book itself is stunning. Do yourself the favor and get the Deluxe edition, The cover is beautiful and the sprayed edges are so tastefully done.

Inspired by the legend of Xishi, one of the famous Four Beauties of Ancient China. I use "Inspired" a tad loosely, As i recall this is the same story. I however may be misremembering the original story and there could be some differences i , myself didn't pick up on. I wouldn't call it fantasy, more of Chinese folk tale or historical fiction.

It was very well written and an easy read. This is a great stand alone novel, and i would recommend it to anyone new to Chinese folk lore / historical fiction, or even those who have heard the story of Xishi in the past.

I will say it is a book about a concubine however there was no "love scenes", not even a fade to black or closed door romance. Those looking for spice are not looking in the right book.


A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK

Thank you Netglley and St. Martin's Press.
#ASongtoDrownRivers #NetGalley

Inspired by the legend of Xishi, one of the famous Four Beauties of Ancient China, A Song to Drown Rivers is an epic historical fantasy about womanhood, war, sacrifice, and love against all odds. Her beauty hides a deadly purpose.

I loved this book. I adore historical fiction, but romantasy historical fiction is even better.

I feel like the narrative was easy to follow but just lost my interest a bit through the middle. It is listed as a fantasy but there is no magic system and just seems to lack something. The characters just fell a bit flat for me and I did not feel a connection. I will defiantly give this author another try.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the E-ARC all opinions are my own.
3 Star

Ann Liang has done it again. A Song to Drown Rivers is a breathtaking historical fantasy that grips your heart and refuses to let go. Inspired by the legend of Xishi, this book weaves themes of war, sacrifice, and love into a hauntingly beautiful tale of espionage and fate.

Xishi’s journey from a village girl to a weapon of seduction and destruction is both mesmerizing and heartbreaking. Her chemistry with Fanli burns with tension, while her complex relationship with King Fuchai is equally compelling, making the love triangle one of the most emotionally charged I’ve read. Liang’s writing is stunning—every line drips with poetic beauty, and the emotional weight of Xishi’s choices lingers long after the final page.

This book is a masterclass in character depth and moral complexity. Xishi is an unforgettable protagonist—fierce, vulnerable, and torn between duty and desire. Fanli’s quiet devotion contrasts perfectly with Fuchai’s tragic intensity, leaving readers emotionally wrecked.

If you love historical fantasy with a touch of political intrigue, forbidden love, and soul-crushing angst, A Song to Drown Rivers is a must-read. But fair warning—have tissues ready. This book will break your heart in the best way possible.

A Song to Drown Rivers was my first book from Ann Liang, but will absolutely not be the last. It was a slow burn but truly captivating and beautifully written. It was easy to be immersed in the story, world and tension between our characters. I also appreciated the choice of ending was not an easy one but truly impactful.

If you love re-imaginings and historical fantasies like I do, definitely check out A Song to Drown Rivers.

I just finished last night and by the time we are on this, i believe the book is out and many more people gave thoughts about this. But here's my 2cents.

I understand the intention. How the author and editor want it to be and which crowd they targeted. But, as a part of this targeted audience, I feel this book is not fitting into my liking. The plot devices are simple, like a girl disguised as spy and all revenge-plot. The romance took most of the part as it was labeled as historical romance. A bit surreal/fantasy I think because the some chapters toward the end (the part that irks me the most). Causalities in this book were questionable. Like, how could you make a girl, bumpkin-innocent-pretty girl who never took courty courses and manners, be like a perfect lady in just mere 10 weeks??? not to mention she was sent to enemy kingdom to did a CRITICAL DUTY AS SPY??? a training in 10 weeks? really?

And how about the disease? Heart condition I recall. or whatever disease this gurl had, it just vanished with no trace. There were some lines when this gurl talking about it, but there's that and whoosh, she was healthy and fit into duty.

This is the most questionable plot I've ever witnessed in the early 2025.

Aside of that, the author has its own style of writing which I adored. The dramatic narration and detailed world building is one of her perks I bet. Somehow it makes the book pretty, but it some cases, it kind of dragging. Nevertheless, to me it was an okay

I’m a sucker for a tragic love story and that’s only one of the reasons why I absolutely loved A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang.
 
This book tells the story of Xishi who is known for her beauty and comes from a small village. Her beauty is a curse and a blessing and during the story she uses it as a weapon, and I adored her strength. She attracts the attention of the king from a rival kingdom, and she appeals to him in order to destroy him from within.
 
The concept of this book was absolutely amazing, and it’s inspired by the Chinese legend of Xishi and it worked so well. The writing and plot were completely captivating, and I was rooting for Xishi the whole book.
 
The romance in this book was absolutely tragic and the tension and longing were unreal. The more time she spends with the king, the more you sympathize with him, and then there’s also the military advisor Fanli who trains her. But I really liked how this was mainly Xishi‘s story. I’m only a little conflicted about the ending as I would have expected something else. But the story is still so worth reading and just amazing.
 
I adored Xishi and A Song to Drown Rivers and already can’t wait to read more from this author. 4,5 stars.
 
(Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an arc.)

Saved by an enigmatic man, Fanli, from one of King Fuchai’s soldiers, the stunningly beautiful village girl Xishi is convinced by Fanli to train in Court etiquette, among other things, so she can help him, and by extension, their King Goujian, take down rival King Fuchai and his kingdom Wu.

Based on the legend of Xishi of ancient China, this story of politics and forbidden love is so full of yearning and sadness. Xishi, though a humble village girl, is no fragile flower and does not lack in intelligence. She bargains with Fanli to ensure her parents are well cared for before she agrees to embark on the difficult and highly treacherous task of infiltrating the neighbouring kingdom and manipulating Fuchai into weakening his rule.

Once in the rival Court as one of Fuchian's concubines, Xishi can never let her guard down. Though she has support in her fellow village girl also under orders from Goujian and masquerading as a Court lady, Xishi keenly feels her isolation. Fuchai's head minister is constantly suspicious of her, and the other concubines are jealous of his fascination with Xishi.

We learn that Xishi's younger sister was killed years earlier by Fuchai's guards, so she's there for vengeance. That does not mean that she does not question her purpose at times, or that she finds it easy to hate Fuchian the more she gets to know him. She knows she and her beauty are a weapon wielded by King Goujian, and her love for Fanli has no hope of flourishing, despite both Xishi and Fanli feeling powerfully for each other.

The story is deeply moving, and I wanted Xishi and Fanli to find some happiness, despite the odds. I loved the politics, the intrigue, and the complex, complicated feelings Xishi experiences over the course of this wonderfully characterized and lovely novel.

Thank you to Netgalley and to St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my review.

I really enjoyed A Somg to Drown Rivers! A historical fantasy with a beautiful romance and a surprising ending. The physical books are also so pretty! I cant wait to see what Ann Liang writes next!

This book wrecked me. It started off exactly like watching a Chinese drama where I felt I could be immersed in it. But how tragic. This is subjective of course, because I find that life is often so hard as it is, that I was hoping for something that was more hopeful in my fictional stories.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an e-arc for an honest review.

Plot: A song to drown rivers is an adult historical fiction retelling on the legend of Xishi - one of the 4 beauties (according to my knowledge). The novel tells the story of Xishi as she navigates herself through the wu kingdom disguised as Fu chai's concubine, seeking revenge and justice for her kingdom through prior training with male lead Fan li, the military advisor of Yue kingdom .

My opinion/thoughts 💌: The book is advertised as an adult historical fantasy, which confused me a bit as I found the book to be lacking in the fantasy aspect, unless if it is the small fragments of it in the end. I have slight mixed feelings towards this book, particularly due to the fast pacing of the book which hindered the ability for the author to develop a sense of emotional connection between the characters and the reader.

Xishi/Fanli💕:This also connects to the development of the romantic relationship between the two protagonists; Xishi and Fanli. It was insta love, whilst I greatly enjoyed the scenes with them I do wish they had more screen time, especially due to the fact that the author places a great emphasis on their relationship throughout the course of the book. The book is entirely from Xi Shi's POV, which enables the reader to only see her perception of Fan li and her pining for his presence/love. When this collides with the little screen time Fan li and Xi shi have it interferes the development of their relationship - making it seem quite underdeveloped. I did not take a liking to this as I felt like their entire premise of their relationship, and the development towards it wad severely underwhelming.

Fan li🖤: Fan li is the king of Wu kingdom and portrayed as the antagonist/ enemy of the Yue kingdom. This is actually one of the characters I was most excited to see within this novel, I found myself curious how Ann would explore his character throughout the course of this book (also the fact that this character is quite different from her usual male leads). Although he had a lot of screen time, we couldn't see the full potential of his character, almost lacking at times. I think there was great potential and I really loved the dynamic/ development of his relationship with Xi shi - one that almost brought me to tears towards the end.

💭: To conclude, I did not enjoy reading this book and would not recommend it as an adult fantasy as advertised. My main issue was the pacing of the book as it hindered the exploration of the characters in a greater detail, making it hard to form a more deeper connection towards the characters. I think dual/multiple POVs would also have helped at times, especially ones with Fan li to not only see his perception of Xi shi/longing for her but also for readers to see what is happening in the Yue kingdom whilst xi shi is in the wu kingdom following her part of the mission. However, I completely understand why Ann chose not to as this book is purely from Xi Shi's POV - this is very important in a way as this book inherently explores the consequences of war on the civilians, so it is important we see it from Xi Shi's perspective rather than from someone with political backgrounds.

Rating: 2 out of 5

4 1/2 stars

When Xishi, a poor country girl from the Yue Kingdom, crosses paths with Fanli, a handsome advisor to the King, her life changes. Fanli recruits her and her childhood friend to serve the King by becoming a concubine for the King of the Wu Kingdom with whom Yue has been at war. Xishi will do anything to gain retribution for the death of her younger sister at the hands of Wu soldiers, so she agrees. She’s trained and delivered to the Wu king, where she endeavors to learn state secrets by cozying up to the king.

This was a delightful tale of eternal love, espionage, sacrifice, friendship, and patriotism. The writing is exquisitely beautiful, the characters are likable and believable, everyone flawed in some way that made them truly human. It’s about a romance that cannot be pursued, of loss, of betrayal. There’s plenty of intrigue, several deaths, and an ending that is both sad and happy. This is a book about eternal lover.

I really enjoyed this book. What I didn’t find useful is the fact that this book is considered fantasy, but there is very little fantasy in it, and what little there is mostly comes at the very end. I believe that nearly everything that happens in this book could have happened in truth, without any fantasy element. I would label this book as historical Asian fiction. I completely enjoyed the book, the story it tells, but I honestly don’t see it as much of a fantasy. Still, it’s well written, well-plotted, the characters are delightful, intelligent, and well-designed for their roles in accomplishing their purpose.

While I didn’t thing this was fantasy, I still believe it’s an excellent read. I highly recommend it.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. It thank all involved for their generosity, but it had no effect on this review. All opinions in this review reflect my true and honest reactions to reading this book.

"A Song to Drown Rivers" by Ann Liang surprised me in the best ways. The premise—spying, sabotage, and romance set against ancient Chinese legends—had me hooked. Liang’s writing is vivid and atmospheric, capturing the heartbreak of war and the quiet strength of a woman wielding her beauty as a weapon. While I loved the political intrigue and the tragically beautiful ending, the pacing felt uneven, and the romance didn’t always hit the mark. Still, it’s a captivating tale of power, sacrifice, and what it means to truly change an empire.