Overall, this was such a beautiful read. I was constantly on the edge of my seat. I went in expecting my heart to hurt and can confidently say Miss Ann Liang succeeded. This was beautiful, tragic, emotional, stressful, and cunning. This was such a change from her normal style of writing, and I could not have welcomed it more. Unfortunately, my heart took the hit and that doesn’t seem fair (I would like her hurt me again). The morally gray characters were morally graying, the forbidden romance was delectable, and the drama was very much present!! I also love the Chinese story aspect. It was really fun to see how that was adapted into a novel. The plot was proceeding at a good pace. I felt connected to the characters. I honestly don’t really have any notes for the story itself. My biggest note to change is the marketing around it. I fell in love with Fanli, and I was not expecting to like him. I was expecting more of the romance between Xishi and Fuchai. But it was still really good. I would maybe adjust the marketing so that there’s more of the forbidden a romance or even like potentially, not a love triangle, but some wave of angling at that way.

ARC Review
A Song to Drown Rivers
By : Ann Liang
Publish Date: Oct 1st
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

“I’ll admit: I would never have expected such tenderness from a wolf.”

The ending... what a heart-wrencher! 😭 If you're searching for a story that is both breathtaking and devastating, this is the one. Every detail was perfectly balanced, offering just enough world-building and action without overshadowing the story’s most compelling moments. It never felt overdone. While some might expect a full-fledged romantasy, I would classify this more as a fantasy with a touch of romance, and it still exceeded all my expectations.

The story centers around Xishi, widely considered the most beautiful woman in all of Yue, or so the villagers claim. She grew up in a humble cottage with her family, living simply but happily—until the Wu warriors tragically killed her sister Susu. From that moment on, everything changed. Fanli, a military advisor to King Goujian of Yue, heard of Xishi’s famed beauty and devised a plan: turn her into a weapon to seduce and ultimately bring down the King of Wu, Fuchai. The mission? Win the king’s love and trust.

During this journey, Xishi is reunited with her friend Zhengdan, another strikingly beautiful woman, but one skilled in swordsmanship. Zhengdan would also become a palace lady, using her talents to help weaken the Wu kingdom from within. After ten weeks of intense preparation, the mission begins. However, King Fuchai is far from what Xishi expected, and her time with him at the palace is filled with both beauty and sorrow. The court advisor Wu Zixu, along with others, is suspicious of her intentions and plots to expose her before she can manipulate the king.

Will their plans succeed? Will another war break out? And will Fanli come to regret sending Xishi on such a perilous mission?

The ending might just tear your heart out, but if this story intrigues you, it's absolutely worth the read.

respectfully, wtf was that ending. ann liang you WILL pay for your crime.

that was captivating from the beginning. a young woman with an extraordinary beauty was asked to be a spy, under a cover of a concubine for the rival neighbor's king. during her training, she caught feeling for the young military advisor instead. but for the sake of her own kingdom, she must put aside her feelings and do her job well.

and so she became a seductress that mastered the art of passive aggressive. it was interesting, seeing the story unfolded. the time period covers more than 2 years but it felt like mere months because it's really page turning. BUT THE ENDING!!!!!!! it's either should be cut short OR extend to cover more ending because what the hell T.T

a nice fantasy debut from a well-known contemporary romance author. written very well. but i won't forgive her for that ending until unforeseeable future.thanks.

I’m not sure what I expected from this book. But it was wonderful. The end they made me sad. I actually looked up the history and had hoped things would go differently. But the writing was beautiful and kept me engaged. Overall, this was a great book.

*I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.*

“A Song to Drown Rivers” is a tragic war story. Ann Liang has woven a tale about the reality of war through a woman’s eyes. Our main character Xishi was born in a life of poverty and has faced hardships while living in a land in the midst of war. Through the beauty of her image, she was given an opportunity to seek revenge against the kingdom oppressing her country. Like other women in history her beauty and brains were to be sharpened like a sword to seduce men in power.

As always, I love Ann Liang’s writing. It is simple, straightforward, and very easy to read. While I enjoyed this story and appreciated the ending, I can recognize ways “A Song to Drown Rivers” could have been a phenomenal book.

Intensity. If only Fanli & Xishi had more time to develop their relationship the ending would’ve torn my heart to shreds. Regarding King Fuchai, I did not like him at all, but I found myself crying for him the most (obviously, I am a crybaby). In my opinion, Fuchai had the most potential as a character. Characters whose morals are ambiguous are interesting. You hate to love them! Immersing us into his backstory and explaining the way he thought would’ve been beneficial.

Lastly, the time skips could’ve been filled with more politics and world building. For books like this the politics are the best part! Overall, this book is decent but may leave you wanting a little bit more.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

This was such a a beautiful book and I'm still crying from the emotional damage. I'm not sure if I'll ever recover

I found the writing of the book to be really good and it was interesting to me that it is written in past tense. It almost feels like Xishi sitting down beside a fire and telling you the story about her becoming a spy and the most important weapon for the Yue Kingdom. This gave me real cozy vibes and drew me into the story probably even more than if it was told in present tense. I kept reading on and on because I wanted to see what happens to Xishi next. I enjoyed the read a lot although, without spoilers, I was not happy with the ending. Not let down, as it was a good ending, but I would have wanted a different one. I assume the ending is the ending the legend from ancient China has as well. I liked the story of Xishi and the dynamics between her and the other characters in the book, as it showed several facets of her character and how she interacts with different people differently as well as her intelligence. Xishi is emotional and ice cold at the same time and that was a very interesting combination for a female main character. She embraces her role as a spy and that contributed significantly to the really good story. My second favourite character was Fanli, whom I would have wished for to have had a larger part/spotlight in the book. It was my first book by Ann and I will most probably read more of her books.

2.5

A quick read, but it felt like it lacked substance in some way. One part of it was the prose -- it was distracting for some reason. Sometimes I felt like it tried too hard to be flowery or poetic, but the end result was just unnecessarily dramatic. Another part was that it kind of felt like nothing happened -- everything just went super smoothly. Characters weren't fully fleshed out so I couldn't develop any attachment to them. People all seemed to be archetypes pandering to the readers. I never felt like Xishi's actions were particularly clever -- she just had a particularly foolish target.

Received a free copy from Netgalley.

how do i even describe this book? i can’t because it’s impossible. this book is just actually so good it’s not even possible to put into words. this book has become the center of my universe and the object of my affections that’s how much i loved this. i canceled PLANS to read this, that’s when you know it’s serious

i just fell in love with every character, all of them. xiashi and fanli, perfect perfect couple. the romance was top tier, the fantasy was top tier, all of it was amazing. and yes i weeped like a baby at the end.

“The mind destroys; the heart devours”

“Beauty is not so different from destruction”

“Am I hurting you?” “You could never hurt me”

The premise of this book hooked me instantly, and I just wanted a little more from it I think. The main plot line was interesting and well done, though I was expecting this to be fantasy from the marketing and it wasn’t. I feel like halfway through the book things shifted and everything the first half built up just kind of fell flat. I found myself cheering for the villain when I definitely wasn’t supposed to but he was the best character by far.

I went into this book knowing nothing of the ancient Chinese legends, but something about this book hooked me from the beginning and didn't let me go until the end!
Xishi's beauty is known throughout her small village, but eventually captures the attention of a young military advisor. He plans to use her to topple the neighboring Wu kingdom as a spy on the inside! She agrees and transforms her life from poor silk maker to favorite concubine of the King! But will she be able to accomplish her mission and help her people defeat their enemy?
This was a quick read because it was so engrossing to me, I wanted to find out what was going to happen. Although she's a concubine, this book doesn't need a warning about bedroom scenes, but could use one for violence. The King is notorious for killing subjects for the smallest infractions and some of the deaths and punishments are described in detail. For me, it didn't take away from the overall beautiful feel of the book though. The descriptions of the scenery and grandeur of the palace were also clear to picture!
This is set to be published next week, 1 Oct, so add it to your TBR and get a copy! I will definitely be adding some of @annliangwrites 's other works to my TBR!
Thank you to @netgalley for the advanced copy!
#NetGalley #ASongToDrownRivers

I loved this book. It was such a fun, easy read but it hooked my attention and dragged me through it as well. I loved Xishi and Fanli (and even the character’s that we weren’t meant to love). I wasn’t expecting to find such a tender and small romance so enticing. I will say that there isn’t any spice or smut and the romance is not very potent or exaggerated. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it thoroughly and felt everything everytime they had moments together. I loved how the book shifted the perspectives and showed the war from both sides through biased eyes. By the end of the book I felt the message just as deeply as I understood it and (no spoilers here dw) it is relevant especially today. I was obsessed with Fanli and the silent, brooding vibes absolutely worked. In a shocking turn my heart broke for Fuchai, though I’m slightly disappointed the ‘antagonist’ had the best character development. The cast is diverse and rich with life and I was pulled into the story through them. I loved reading a story set in Ancient China and I enjoyed seeing how the culture was brought to life.

Ineffably sad. Joy and grief that seem the same. Heartaching.

Recommended: YES
for characters with true choice, for heartache that's bone-deep, for beautiful imagery and settings, for that bittersweet pain/love combo

Thoughts:
WOWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so so happy this was so excellent, because I really wanted it to be and then was afraid nothing could live up to my expectations. In a shock, this has far and away surpassed them. The story is told in what feels like different segments where a specific arc is at play. It made it easy to track where they were at and anticipate the next events to come. And yet, it also had a beautiful tinge of loss to it each time we moved to the next arc. That mirrored the characters' feelings so clearly that it gave me a really strong and unexpected connection to the book.

What really drove that home is how about a quarter of the way through, I realized I was really loving this experience of reading and being in the world so much that I was already sad thinking about how it would eventually have to end. I'm notorious (to me) for not finishing things that I really love, so I have the option of them rather than the knowledge of them. I pushed past it for this one, because it was just so gorgeous and I felt like nothing I imagined would be better than the way it finally ended. I was right -- I never could have guessed at the ending. I finished it on a lunch break, and had to just sit for ten minutes after to quietly cry and sit in my feelings. Granted I'm an easy crier, but I really can't think of many books that have affected me so much. Probably sun memos by Ziggy Alberts but in the opposite way because it made me feel healed and full of light, whereas this made me feel raw and exquisitely mortal.

Oh gosh, it's just beautiful. Have I said that enough yet? The literal settings where they are have such a vividness to them. The way emotions are expressed, even to the most minute subtleties, tore at me. The imagery used all the way through to convey ideas or feelings or goals, gosh it just takes my breath away. It's pretty rare that I read an ARC and then purchase a physical copy to also own, because I don't re-read many books, but this is one I am immediately putting in for. (It doesn't hurt that there's a lovely special edition, too.)

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for a free advanced copy. This is my honest review!

Thank you NetGalley, publisher, and author for this ARC.
I want to start off by saying that the ending left me so heartbroken that I had to remind myself that I cannot give the book a bad critique because of my own feelings. That's how you know that a book truly grasped your attention and made you think beyond just happily ever afters. I was so invested in a hopeful happy ending that I forgot that sometimes a beautiful story can have a tragic ending. The writing wrapped me up into the story so deeply and the way the characters navigated their feelings with each scene that was painted. I had never heard of the original lore behind the plot, so I went into this blind. The pacing sometimes felt a little confusing since this story happened over a long period of time, so sometimes i had to keep track in my head of how much time had passed. I think the best character development and just overall the character itself was Fuchai. As a reader I kept feeling conflicted deciding whether he was truly awful or just an unfortunate symptom of his upbringing. The setting was gorgeous, and the characters felt real and tangible, which is why I think I got lost in the story itself.

It’s entirely possible that I went into this book with high expectations that didn’t end up being completely met, though I did ultimately think it was a solid read. I flew through it in less than a day, which tells you something about the way it’s written. There were also certain lines and sentiments expressed that I thought were lovely, and I ended up with a collection of bookmarked passages.

But it did fall a bit short in every aspect of the story, and to me, it’s because all of it felt too lightly developed. I especially could have used just a tad more when it came to the characters and their relationships, which were truly the driving force of the story.

While I wouldn’t say I was as impressed as I was expecting to be, it was compelling enough that it held my attention the entire time I was reading it and I do find my curiosity about this author’s other works piqued.

Thank you NetGalley for this e-arc!
4 stars

i was so incredibly excited for this the minute ann liang announced it!

a song to drown rivers follows the legend of xishi who is one of the four beauties of china. she is sent to be a spy to infiltrate the enemy kingdom to help her home kingdom get revenge.

xishi is a strong willed woman is willing to do whatever it takes to ensure her loved ones and her people get to live in peace. her tactics of seducing the king and learning their ways were interesting and thrilling to see.

fanli is an interesting love interest but i wish we got to see more of him. i understand that circumstances were dire and xishi had to leave quickly but i wish there was a bit more buildup.

fuchai is a thrilling enemy character who had a strict upbringing as the future king. i was surprised to see him be soft and kind with xishi as i was fully expecting him to be ruthless and terrible towards her. it was a nice change of pace.

xishi’s internal struggles were realistic as she got to know fuchai more. her final realization broke my heart and in that moment i felt more for the king than i thought i could.

the ending ripped my heart out. i wasn’t familiar with the legend so i went into this story blind and i’m glad i did.

the pacing was fast which i don’t mind too much but i wish we got to see more of xishi’s training before she left for the wu kingdom. i wanted to see everything she trained for, each and every detail.

the prose was absolutely beautiful and i found myself rereading multiple lines because ann liang wrote them so beautifully. the setting was vivid and descriptive and brought ancient china to life.

all in all, i loved the story. i just wish it was a duology so we could’ve lived with these characters and this world a little bit more!

3.5/5 stars

A Song to Drown Rivers is an epic fantasy inspired by the Four Beauties of ancient China, and follows a woman named Xishi as she plots to bring the enemy kingdom to its knees.

I’ll be honest, I was tempted to DNF at 30%, and while I’m glad I didn’t, I do think the book had a very slow pace until about 90%.

The prose is beautiful, and I love the setting the author created, which was very immersive. Nevertheless, I struggled to connect to the main character’s desires despite her traumatic backstory. (Like, I understood *why* she wanted the things she did, I just struggled to truly *feel* them.)

I kept seeing people calling this book romantasy and I don’t think it should be categorized as either romance or fantasy. There is no magic present, but it is second world which classifies it as fantasy, and whilst much of the book is *about* romance, there is not a lot of actual romance (which totally works for the book, I just think it's important to note.)

The end of this book is positively beautiful and was done in a way I was not expecting, which I so appreciate.

(Also I thought music would play a much bigger role based on the title lol).

Overall, I liked the book, I just wished I liked it more.

DNF @35%🥴

Every time there is an East Asian book inspired by their mythologies or folklore, I get really excited. I had such high hopes for this book especially after seeing all the praise for Ann's contemporary books, although I haven't read them I have seen enough friends absolutely adore them. However, I really struggled with her writing in this one either because it is a different genre than her usual or something else entirely. The world building wasn't enough for me personally for being inspired from such rich culture, other than the initial barest introduction to the world, it didn't reflect any cultural or mythological richness I hoped it would possess.

The insta attraction was an immediate turn off but I'd have just gone with it if I wasn't reminded of how really really beautiful the FMC/MMC are on every other paragraph.While I understand that the FMC is a character inspired by mythology and to be considered as unearthly beauty it just was annoyingly redundant how many times I have to read how beautiful she was over and over again and the way she is aware of it, it just didn't work for me. I also get that the FMC is being trained to become a temptress(in 10 weeks that is) to be sent off to the enemy kingdom as a spy but it felt so unconvincing. The MMC , the ruthless general of them kingdom not only reveals a secret plan to a random village belle without even knowing if she'd accept which is probably not the wisest thing to do by one of the wisest general to exist as per the story and once she does he proceeds to teach her EVERYTHING, it just him and one other confidant that trains Xishi and her friend. The obvious romance ensues but unfortunately it is the weakest and underdeveloped as well, around 35% I realized I am just forcing myself to read without actually enjoying it, I really wish I enjoyed this one but unfortunately it didn't work for me .

This is another case of high expectations and disappointing results. I’ll start by saying this book is beautifully written. The writing has a lyrical flow and pulls you into the setting. For me, the pacing seemed uneven. There were long stretches of prose where literally nothing happened, followed by short bursts of frenetic activity that ended abruptly.

The book had many characters and I found it helpful to read along while listening to the audiobook. The narration by Natalie Naudus was superb and kept me going through the challenging parts. Her ability to infuse each character with life was remarkable. I highly recommend the audio version of this book for the production quality. It is excellent.

This is not really a romance, though there is a romantic thread. It is more a tale of historical espionage where a young woman of uncommon beauty is recruited to spy on a corrupt leader. I felt the character development was lacking and never reached its full potential. Considering the lushness of the prose, this felt like a missed opportunity.

I’m glad I read this book. The time period and setting were fascinating and the intrigue provided suspense throughout.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and St. Martin’s Press for the advance copies in exchange for my unbiased review.

Thank you to Ann Liang, St. Martin’s, and NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

A Song to Drown Rivers was an interesting dip into Chinese legend and folklore, telling the story of Xishi, a beautiful girl from a rural village who is recruited into seducing the king of a rival nation and bringing down his kingdom. The espionage was cool and Xishi was a badass woman - I do just wish more of the romance that seemed to have been developed off page had been more on page, with both Fanli and Fuchai. I didn’t really see where Xishi’s love for Fanli came from, nor her growing feelings for Fuchai.

Overall, an enjoyable read.

POV: single first person

You can expect: espionage, bringing down a kingdom, seduction.

Rep: Chinese MCs

CW: death of a sibling (past), murder, violence, gore