Very thankful to have read this buddy read with blank. This book was unlike any other book I have read, given that falls outside of the usual genres that I read. I had seen this all over social media and managed to pick it up as an arc, but let it get lost in the phrase. It tells the story of a young woman who is chosen for her beauty and trained as a weapon to put in the palace of the rival kingdom. The hope is that the king will fall for her, let down his guard, and she would suggest moves that would allow her kingdoms soldiers to advance and seek retribution for the damages thid king and his soldiers had cost her people. She is trained by one man named Fanli who is her true love interest through everything.

I found the pacing up to one major celebration of warrior skill in the book where a lot of things happened at once. I think it was necessary possibly to show how long Xishi had to work, to be poised and focused in order to do what her kingdom needed. After this battle competition, the plot rushes at full speed to a high intensity ending. I found myself extremely moved by the conclusion of the story and enjoyed how it came back to Fanli and Xishis story in the end. This novel had really nice imagery and made me want to read more books set in this sort of place and time. I would recommend it to others.

The mind destroys, the heart devours.”

An interesting historical re-telling of a story I'd never read or heard of before. And, although I found the story itself interesting, I'm not sure this story stands out in the pile of other stories. It's tagged as fantasy and romantasy and I definitely didn't get those vibes at all.

I thought the story took a moment to get going with a very slow start. Xishi's a beauty and we hear about that a lot. She's plucked out of a village to be trained as a spy. Once she gets to the palace, the story got going. Even then, I didn't find the intrigue of palace life to be more interested than the town story and, although I liked how she'd worked both the king and a few of the other concubines, I found the pacing slow. I flipped to audio and did enjoy it a bit more but, ultimately, I'm not sure the story will stick with me. If you like court, political intrigue, and spies, than you might like this one more.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Through ads, the enemies to lovers trope is what drew me in. When I first read the synopsis, I expected this to be a story in third person that was a mix between the unrealistic web novel and the serious historical fiction. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the first person perspective and the intense descriptions of the main character’s traumatic experience with war. The main character was also thoughtfully written and her perspectives changed with her experience which made it easier to empathize with her difficult situation towards the end of the story. I would technically rate this book 4.5/5 since I was completely loving the ending until page 283's interaction with the boy.

I loved the poetic, emotional feel of this one—it pulled me in with a haunting kind of beauty. The story had a lot of depth, and I really enjoyed how it dealt with themes like memory and healing.

A gorgeous book with a fantastical setting and intriguing characters. This was my first book by Ann Liang and I definitely look forward to reading more of their work in the future.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

This book challenged me. It challenged me because it wasn't what I expected. I walked in thinking "fantasy" and thought magicians, warlocks, or some type of magical system would be at play. It wasn't. It was a throwback to the "fantasy" of an imagined world with a unique history. It is historical in nature, it is a battle of people who don't exist in a complex world. I was expecting the main character to have a specific trajectory. I was wrong. Liang kept me guessing after each moment. Some parts dragged, but overall, it was an effective story about revenge, about war, and about those in power and how it affects those without power.

I was really excited by what I found in this novel. It was reminiscent of the books I loved as a child. Xishi is a unique character because she's real. She knows she's beautiful, she knows what power she has, and she uses it effectively. She makes blunders, makes mistakes, but overall uses her own set of skills to the very end to make sure those who harmed her do not forget her. I was so unbelievable impressed with how grounded she was.

I also enjoyed the power battle in these books. It isn't always good triumphing. Good doesn't always have the best plan for moving forward. But the motivations and characters reacted realistically and every move was led with emotion and feeling. The book lost me with the love story, but I also think that it was realistic for the historical time period Liang set us in.

Uhmmm, I felt lied to because how is this book so highly rated. For starters, this book is NOT an adult romtansy. The only fantasy element is the mention of ghosts and the after life for about 2 chapters, so it’s definitely not a major plot point. Secondly, the romance felt VERY flat and felt very young adult. They literally kissed once in a dream, and the rest is just pining. The ending of the book left others feeling heartbroken, and I felt underwhelmed borderline glad that the suffering is over. The only positive of the book is that the author’s writing is very beautiful.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A Song to Drown Rivers tells the tale of Xishi, a young woman of unparalleled beauty who lives in Yue.

She is recruited by military advisor Fanli to get close to the ruler of Wu, an enemy kingdom with whom they are frequently engaged in combat. Xishi spies on the inner workings of the Wu palace and succeeds in getting close to the king.

This she does despite the feelings she has developed for Fanli.

I was not familiar with the legend of Xishi. It is a bittersweet tale that reminds me of The Sword of Kaigen in the sudden way things change. I tearfully read the last part and walked away thinking of the old movie The Ghost and Mrs. Muir as there are great similarities between the two. I thoroughly enjoyed this and highly recommend it.

This book was very heavy and beautiful at the same time. It is riddled with war, death, deception, and love. There were plenty of twists and turns and political plot points. It was written well to keep you on your toes while also weaving beautiful moments in. I did not expect the ending and it is not a happy ever after in my opinion. The end felt strange compared to the rest of the novel, but it makes sense after some thought. I’d still prefer it to end earlier.

The publisher sent me a copy of this novel nearly a year ago, and I'm sorry it took me this long to read it. Once I got started, I couldn't put it down.

If you ever watched the La Femme Nikita series, this has similar vibes. Xishi's beauty isn't the only weapon she possesses - she's also trained to bewitch, manipulate, and kill. Once she arrives at the Wu court, she knows exactly how to play King Fuchai as well as his advisors. Xishi may be in love with Fanli, but she's there to do a job, risking her life every day as her kingdom is depends on her. If you're a romance fan hoping for a lot swoon-worthy scenes between Xishi and Fanli, be prepared - he only appears in roughly 25-30% of the story.

Let's talk about King Fuchai. On one hand, numerous people have suffered and died because of him. But he's also been used, manipulated, and compared to his father nearly his whole life. He seems to genuinely love Xishi and would do anything for her. Looking at other reviews, there's an unofficial fan club for the guy. Kudos to Liang for creating a villain with depth who inspires feelings of empathy. It's a delicate balance to create a character like him.

The ending was unexpected and one I didn't see coming - but it was beautiful. Recommended for fans of morally gray characters, royal politics, and slow burn romance.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

What I liked
-very fast paced
-inspired by Chinese history
-great narration and audio experience
-beautiful cover

What didn’t work
-characters feel a bit one dimensional
-maybe because I already know the history, it feels very predictable? I wish the author took more liberty with the reimagining
-i would consider this light magical realism than fantasy. There’s barely any fantasy 😅
-emotionally constipated men are not my fav trope so the romance wasn’t that interesting to me

I have very mix feeling about this book, and I think this is why it took me so long to finally finish it. I attempted to read it a few times, and never managed to get into the story fully.
Some of it was that the book had potential to be a really beautiful story, but it missed the mark on certain aspect. The pacing felt slightly off. For a book that is on the shorter side, it could be really slow at time, and then some scene and aspects I would have liked to be expended on weren't....
I'm also torn about the romance aspect of this book. I think because it is meant to be kind of a tragic story between those Xishi and Fanli, but it felt like there was not enough time for their romance to build. I think I was missing that part to really feel for those two, to see the love bloom between them instead of feeling like they instantly fall for each other.
And then, it's hard to see Fuchai as being this evil immoral king. I actually liked Fuchai, and felt he was a tragedy in itself, being put into power without the fight guidance and the maturity needed to really lead. That's kind of how it came across to me.
In the end, it was okay.Would I be curious to check out Ann Liang's next book? Yes, depending on the story. Will I try to read it on release day? Probably not. Her writing was interesting, but the story failed to make me fall in love.

This book is a retelling of a famous fable and is classified as a historical fiction with romance (however I didn't feel like there was a lot of romance in this book IMO). I wanted to love this book but it just fell flat for me. I didn't attach to the characters and it was very slow story line for me. Im glad that other people loved this, it just wasn't for me

Thank you to the author, publisher, and netgalley for an ARC in exchange for a reivew.

The premise, the inspiration, the gorgeous first edition sprayed editions. All what brought me to this book. The story itself keeps you engaged but something about the execution of the seduction misses its mark for me.

I feel like I need to start off by saying it wasn't at all a bad book. It was an easy read, enjoyable, but forgettable. I felt like it could have been this gorgeous sweeping saga but was somewhat dulled to a "not another teen movie" style. Except instead of trying to make the girl beautiful we are trying to turn her into a spy. I felt there was such an opportunity to use Chinese mythology and incorporate some of the amazing imagery that other Chinese mythology-based stories have but this one just fell short. Again, I enjoyed the story. But I actually read this a few months ago and forgot to leave a review and I reread the summary and genuinely had to think back to what this was about because it just wasn't that impactful.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I enjoyed this, but I also am picky about my fantasy reads. The world building was easy to follow, and this story reads quick. I did have trouble connecting with the characters for a while. However, by the end, it was pretty action packed. Overall the writing was very 'lyrical'. There was also more of a romance element than I expected. Overall vibe is melancholic fantasy if that sounds like your thing. 3.5 stars

I loved the premise of this book and I even liked a lot of things about the execution. Unfortunately, the characters took away a lot of my enjoyment. The main character is pretty, just so pretty, and that's how she's so powerful. Because she's pretty. The violence was poorly done and unrealistic and the characters didn't react realistically to injuries/deaths.
The descriptions of the time and place were good.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

a great solid read and definitely a great story with fantastic world building and I highly recommend!

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book follows our main character, Xishi, as she is tasked by young military advisor, Fanli, with infiltrating the enemy to weaken them from within with her beauty.

I found the world building and the writing to be very well done. I really liked the suspense of the story and wondering what would come next. I thought that the ending was really unique, and I really liked the ending, though it was a little abrupt. I liked the intricacies of the politics of the story.

One thing that I remember not fully loving is the romance within the book. I think that it was too insta love for my personal taste, but to each their own.

This was an epic and emotional read with beautiful prose, compelling historical notes, political intrigue, and just the right dose of satisfying romance. This book was an emotional rollercoaster and I loved every minute of it!

Thank you St. Martin's Press, Netgalley and the author for a complimentary copy of this ebook. I am leaving a voluntary review. All thoughts and ideas expressed are my own.