After a hiatus in reading, I finally found the time to read and finish "A Song to Drown Rivers" and I have thoughts. This book frustrated me to no end, both in a good way and a bad way. The plot was very intriguing to me; I have a particular soft spot for east Asian fantasies, especially if it is based on Chinese legends. However, I had several qualms:

1. The romantic relationship between Xishi and Fanli didn't make sense to me. How was she so in love with this guy she met and interacted only for 10 weeks versus Fuchai, whom she developed a relationship over the two years they were together? Fanli was in the book for about 10% and the development of the of Fanli and Xishi's romantic relationship was practically nonexistent besides a couple stolen glances and inherent curiosity of two people living in the same residence.

2. Fuchai had lots of potential in terms of character development. Many elements in his life could've been elaborated. For example, his hatred towards his father's legacy and expectations, his relationship with his mother. These could've been explained further to allow the reader to understand why he is the way he is and understand the emotional tug-o-war Xishi was having.

3. Lots of telling, not enough showing. We skipped many aspects of Xishi's training that could've been a great place to get to know this character more and her developing relationship with Fanli. Although, I respect the possible decision of the author to keep this book as a standalone which would necessitate parts to be chopped.

Although this book did fall a little flat for me, the writing in some parts of this book absolutely slapped.
"They say that when I was born, all the wild geese flew down from the sky, and the fish sank beneath the waves, having forgotten how to swim. Even the lotus flowers in out gardens quivered and turned their heads away, so ashamed they were of their own diminished allure in my presence."
BARS.

Overall, the potential of this book was astronomical; I think maybe if the plot was explained and we got to know more about the characters, I would have given this at least a 4 stars. To my knowledge, this is Ann's first fantasy book and it's a good start nonetheless. Thank you NetGallery for allowing me to obtain this ARC for my review.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Overall I enjoyed this book a lot. The beginning of the book was a bit slow, but the ending was very poignant. Xishi is a great protagonist and I enjoyed her character arc. A solid read with romance and politics.

i really loved this book despite some areas feeling lackluster in their development. for example, i wish the romance between fanli and xishi was developed more because it felt rushed, and it seemed like her attraction to him was the primary driving force for committing to the plan. i think some of her motivations could have been delved into a little more (ex. her sister, which was mentioned very minimally after she is in the kingdom). also i love fuchai even though i know he’s the “bad guy” but i’m a sucker for love interests who would burn the whole world down if they asked for it. i wish his character was developed more to highlight the ideas of “no good vs bad side”/“morally gray.” there is some moments of that, like when she recognizes that some people in the wu kingdom view the yue kingdom as monsters, but it’s underplayed. i also wish there was a more “punchier” or more developed moment in the book when she realizes there are no winning sides in war. i mostly enjoyed reading her inner monologue about fuchai and how he was so beholden in her presence.

thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Rating: 4 stars
Spice: 🌶️

Tropes:
✨Legend/Mythology retelling
✨Court intrigue/politics
✨Spies
✨War
✨Insta-love

I genuinely don’t even know what to say. How to feel. What to think. My flabbers are gasted and I am destroyed.

Based on the legend of Xishi, one of the four beauties of ancient China, this book aims to bridge a gap between epic war, star-crossed love, sacrifice, and betrayal. Xishi has long been viewed as the most beautiful woman of her village, and as such, she is selected to be trained as a concubine to the king of the enemy Wu nation on the surface, and a spy for her own king beneath. Xishi initially leapt at the chance to take down the leader of her sister’s murderers, but as time goes by, her own internal conflict arises. She’s fallen for the man training her to be his spy on the other side and would give up the entire mission to be with him, but she also can’t help but see the good—however limited—there is in the one she’s been sent to destroy.

I’m so conflicted as to how I feel about this book as a whole. While I enjoyed it immensely and most definitely teared up at that ending, there are issues.

This book was categorized as adult where I bought it, and yet it reads so YA. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, just something to note. It also kind of held back the author I feel in both her storytelling and her characters. While the war is gruesome and a suitable amount of time is dedicated to showcasing the trauma these people have survived, I felt like things could have gone just a touch darker. The stakes just didn’t feel real in Fuchai’s court. I’m sorry, I’m meant to believe the most beautiful woman in existence has been given to this man as his own personal property, in a time when that’s all women were, and in two years he never lays a hand on her? And that’s not even mentioning that said man has a known proclivity for possession, women, and violence? And perhaps this is just the product of me reading too much dark romance recently, but was anyone else disappointed in how Fuchai’s arc turned out? He had so much promise, was by far the character I was most interested in. I was literally broken by his ending. Dammit, Xishi. 🎶You ruined eeeeverythiiiiiiiiing…🎶

My bigger problem with this book was the telling not showing. I can normally look past this sin for a little while, particularly if it’s used for like a montage scene or what have you, but it was relied on way too heavily in this book. We’re told Fanli and Xishi are in love and have this mutual pining thing going on, but we see almost none of it develop, and so I don’t feel as much of a separated-lovers-trope as I’m supposed to. We’re told Xishi is an awesome spy doing awesome spy things for the two years she lives in the enemy’s court, and yet we see very little of it—and what we do see is her colossally fucking it up half the time. We’re told Fuchai is evil, sadistic, disgusting, etc, and yet we’re not shown a ton of evidence to support that. Yeah, he stabbed Fanli that one time and also made the Yue king his horse bitch for a while, but in the scheme of ancient Chinese emperors? My guy that doesn’t even make the top 100 list of baddies. Being a white American, I also probably don’t have the right to speak on this, but I also felt like this book could have taken place in any western European court in any time period and you wouldn’t know the difference? I kept waiting to be introduced to so much ancient Chinese culture, and found myself so disappointed every time I read about Xishi’s “skirts” or her “curtsying.” I know these words are fairly equivalent to their Chinese counterparts so I’m being nitpicky here, but why not at least use them once or twice? It just felt kind of bland.

I loved the side characters. Zhengdan, while a huge departure from her original legend counterpart, was refreshing and fun. Luyi was hilarious and adorable and I wanted more of him on page.

In fact, that’s probably my entire complaint about this book in a nutshell: I wanted more. More darkness, more stakes, more political intrigue, more spying-from-the-shadows. Give me K-drama or give me death! (Let’s be honest, I also really wanted Xishi to turn traitor and fully commit to Fuchai—the POTENTIAL.) But for what it was, this book was an extremely quick, very beautiful and poignant story that I will definitely be revisiting. It had the potential to be something so massive and tragic and life-changing, but I’ll have to appreciate it for what it is.

A deeply romantic, deeply beautiful retelling of a legend, for fans of <I>The Song of Achilles</I>, <I>She Who Became the Sun</I> and <I>Daughter of the Moon Goddess</I>.

This was a fast-paced story that pulls you in immediately, into an epic, romantic story full of love, betrayal, sacrifice, and beauty. Set in a world at war, where our main character Xishi knows very well the ravages and horrors that war can lead to. Her beauty is a blessing, and perhaps also a curse, when she catches the attention of her king's young military advisor Fanli, who presents her with the opportunity to wield her beauty like a blade, and potentially help bring down their rival neighbouring kingdom.

This is a story of womanhood, power, beauty, sacrifice, and what we do in the name of war and survival. I found myself deeply invested in the story and its characters, and as the stakes got higher and higher, I was more and more enthralled. This book kept me on my toes - causing me tears, and butterflies, at equal turns.

I did not know anything about the legend of Xishi when starting this book. She's this beautiful face, and her purpose is to be married off. Quickly, things were much darker than they seemed. Xishi is also much more than she looks.

I won't shy away from the fact that this book was heartbreaking. It ripped my heart to shreds, and I was not expecting it. The writing was fabulous! It was so descriptive and beautiful. I was instantly in love with this story, and it was hard to put down. Xishi is trained to be a spy for the opposing king. She doesn't expect to fall in love, but she finds more than that. I was so worried we were going to have a love triangle. It's my least favorite trope, and we get a slight one. Xishi sees a side to her enemy that she doesn't understand. Things are not so black and white. I loved how deep and complex all three of these characters are. It made for such an impactful story.

I want to take a minute and talk about the romance. The actual longing for one another in this book is so agonizingly beautiful. It was felt with every part of me! This is where her writing was just outstanding. The way that Xishi and Fanli love each other and pine for each other is beautiful. Again, I'm glad we didn't get a full-on love triangle because it would have taken so much away from the longing.

This book does many things at once. Not only does it rip out your heart and stomp on it, there are many tones and themes. We get to see two sides of the enemy. There are many sides to a person. It makes us question who is on the right side. Are they fighting to become the same thing they were against? There is love, but there is also sacrifice.

Overall, this was a fantastic read! It's a deep story that will make you question things. It's full of beautiful writing and prose. I am happy to have buddy-read this one (thanks, Julie @OneBookMore) because we had some great discussions. It was also great to have someone commiserate with my heartbreak!

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an e-arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own!

In this historical fantasy thriller the neighboring kingdoms of Wu and Yue have been warring with each other over many years. Currently the Wu have the upper hand, but the King of the Yue and his top military adviser, Fanli have come up with a plan to defeat their number one enemy and topple King Fuchai.
It’s based on the ancient historical accounts of the Four Beauties of China; four women who were renowned for their beauty and who influenced rulers. One of the Four was Xi Shi the character Xishi is developed from. This is the story of Fanli and Xishi and their great love for one another. It’s a story of revenge, betrayal, sacrifice, guilt, loss and heart breaking grief. Well written with excellent world-building and character development. I relished every page right up to the very end. 4.5 stars

Thank you to St. Martins Press for my complimentary eARC, and to MacMillan Audio for my complimentary ALC of A Song to Drown Rivers. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A Song to Drown Rivers is an enchanting retelling of the Legend of Xishi, one of the famous Four Beauties of Ancient China. I had not heard of this legend, but it is now one of my favorites.

Love, betrayal, family, war and sacrifice are all front and center in this historical fiction/fantasy/ YA romance. I could not put this one down. I kept saying just one more chapter, and before I knew it, I had read half the book!

Xishi and Fanli are playing a dangerous game and kingdoms will fall. Will their love survive? Or will they fall victim to a ruthless king???

I paired the audio with the eARC, and Natalie Naudus is a wonderful narrator

This was a 2 star for me? and honestly I really couldn't tell you why.

This story is 1000% for someone, that someone just is not me. I am a girl who really loves and prefers first person and I just could not connect with the main character. I wound up putting this book down around 30% and just not having the will to pick it back up.

The *idea* of the story I really loved and found interesting. Maybe I'm falling into a reading slump and just aren't feeling it? lots of mixed emotions. Pick the book up if you find the synopsis tickling your fancy.

Ann Liang's A SONG TO DROWN RIVERS is story so well told it felt more like breathing than reading. The story of an extraordinarily beautiful woman drawn into dangerous politics gamesmanship by powerful men, Xishi is at once pawn and powerful force as she maneuvers through treachery, betrayal, and danger. I loved it, marveled at the writing, was totally immersed in the retelling of a mythic story from Ancient China -- captivated by the poetry, the rich characterizations of people and place, a time and place I felt I knew through her incredible writing. Such a masterwork! I received a copy of this book and these thoughts are my own, unbiased opinions.

Another Ann Liang masterpiece. I only read one other book from this author which was "If You Could See the Sun" and if that made me feel like I was reading an episode from a K Drama - then this book was definitely a C Drama. Ann Liang is definitely an author whose work is worth reading!

I ADORED THIS BOOK.

Even when it was making me ugly cry.

It actually reminded me a lot of the Biblical story of Esther, but if it ended differently.

10/10 recommend if you love a lush fantasy story and don’t mind a good cry.

I received an advance copy from the publisher, all opinions are my own and a review was not required.

Xishi is a beautiful young woman who is approached by the famous young military advisor, Fanli. He wants to use her beauty as a weapon to destroy the rival neighboring kingdom of Wu. To improve the lives of her people and avenge her sister’s murder, she must infiltrate the enemy palace, seduce their immoral king, and weaken them from within. Xishi learns everything she can to do so, and the attraction between her and Fanli grows. The higher Xishi climbs in the Wu court, the more difficult everything gets. If she is unmasked as a traitor, she will bring both kingdoms down.

The beginning of the book involves training Xishi's mind as well as body. She must learn etiquette, court rituals, instruments, and keeping herself from showing emotions on her face. She hopes to bring down the Wu kingdom, thinking her life in exchange for her people is a good balance. This means she makes alliances at court, does what she can to sustain the king's interest while sidestepping his suspicious minister, doing whatever she can to succeed in her mission despite personal losses. The ending is bittersweet and left me in tears. Overall, the book is hauntingly beautiful and worth reading.

A Song to Drown Rivers was a beautiful and lyrical read. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel and think that many people will enjoy it as well. Thank you St. Martin’s Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. The book was published October 1 and is now available.

Unrequited love, revenge, political intrigue, infiltrating the enemy’s kingdom, and war - all with Xishi at its center. I really appreciate Xishi’s character arc and how she grew to play the game when in her enemy’s court. The book was haunting, and I think the ending will stick with me for a long while. It reminded me of another one of my favorite books, which I’ll refrain from naming for fear of spoilers, but it was beautiful.

I highly recommend A Song to Drown Rivers, especially if you’re a fan of lyrical prose, strong female characters, and historical fiction. I will say I wouldn’t categorize this as a fantasy novel, so know that if that’s what you’re really looking for.

✨What to expect✨
-Political intrigue
-Mystery/Suspense
-Chinese Lore
-Love Triangle

I will be honest, I was pretty bored with this book. I did not really connect to the writing and I saw where the plot was going from the very beginning and don’t even get me started on the love triangle. I am so sad to say this but this is a no from me 😭

Xishi lives in the village of Yue with her parents still mourning the loss of her beloved younger sister at the hands of the Wu warriors. Fanli is a military advisor of the king who recognizes that Xishi's beauty can be used as a weapon to help infiltrate the enemy palace of Wu. She agrees so she can help the kingdom and avenge her sister's murder.

He trains her in everything from dancing and etiquette to the art of seduction and sends her to the king. Her goal is to infiltrate the court and make the king fall in love with her. Once inside the palace, the king is drawn to her and she rises through the court. But, one mistake can bring the whole kingdom crashing down. She must strategize and navigate enemy territory without drawing any suspicion or her punishment would be torture and then death.

I absolutely loved this book and could not put it down. The story is beautifully written. The plot pulled me in from the first page and was non-stop throughout the book. My heart felt the pain of Xishi's loss and the anxiety of living a second life "undercover". This story is heartwrenching and beautiful at the same time #gifted

Inspired by the legend of Xishi, one of the Four Beauties of Ancient China, A Song to Drown Rivers is an epic historical fantasy about womanhood, war, and love against all odds.

Xishi’s beauty is seen as a blessing to the villagers in the Yue Kingdom as she will bring fortune to her family. One day she is rescued by Fanli a young military advisor. This will not be their only meeting: Fanli comes to her home and presents to her and her parents an offer. The kingdom needs a spy to watch the Wu king who has taken over their lands. With her beauty, Xishi is perfect. She accepts as she hates the Wu and how they killed her little sister.

Trained by Fanli in everything from classical instruments to concealing emotion, Xishi and her friend Zhengdan (who acts as a “palace lady”) are as ready as they can be for their mission. It takes time but Xishi is able to seduce the kind and begin the machination of the Yue kingdom. Her life is on the line, can she save her kingdom while keeping her own life?

Anne Liang creates a beautiful and desperate world. The images of the castle Xishi must go to are contrasted with the poor, drab village she came from. This effect makes the royal world even more lush. This gaucheness becomes a tool for Xishi as she gets the King to eat away at the Kingdom’s resources seeing the beauty of a person and a place as a weapon gives the world a dark edge creating tension as the darkness and light meet. The tension is there in every brick he builds. Will Xishi live? Would the Wu be defeated? I had a hard time putting the book down.

I had not heard of or looked at the folklore behind Xishi before this book, as I didn’t want to ruin it. There are several different tales so those who know the stories can be surprised at which avenue the author takes. Liang hits you in the gut with emotions, and I haven’t cried over a book this hard in some time. This tale truly honors the woman of legend.

Emotional, tragic, and beautiful, A Song to Drown Rivers will capture your imagination and your heart.

Publication Date: Oct 1
I received an ARC for review; all opinions are my own.

Ann Liang has once again proven her literary magic with "A Song to Drown Rivers" – and let me tell you, five stars are a gross understatement for this epic tale! This book is an absolute gem, a stunning, compelling, and emotionally charged journey that left me breathless.

This heartbreakingly romantic retelling of Xishi's story, one of the legendary Four Great Beauties of China, is nothing short of a literary marvel. Liang effortlessly weaves a narrative that draws you into the tumultuous world of a wartorn village, where the protagonist, Xishi, evolves from a simple village girl to a pivotal player in the political intrigue of the Wu Kingdom.

The beauty of this novel lies not only in its captivating characters but also in the exquisite romance between Xishi and Fanli. Their forbidden attraction adds layers of intensity to the story, making it impossible to put down. Liang skillfully navigates the complexities of courtly manners, espionage, and the struggle to conceal true emotions, creating a gripping narrative that resonates with both passion and intrigue.

The characters are not just names on a page; they're living, breathing entities with motivations that unravel like a meticulously crafted tapestry. Xishi's journey and the desperation of women in a world dominated by the ambitions of men are explored with a depth that tugs at the soul.

From the very first page, the writing grabbed me, pulling me into a vividly painted world where every setting felt palpable. The attention to detail and the well-crafted characters make this novel a feast for the senses.

Ann Liang has outdone herself, creating a world that is both enchanting and thought-provoking. If you're ready for an emotional rollercoaster through a world of love, politics, and self-discovery, this book is an absolute must-read!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

🌊A Song to Drown Rivers 🌊

THIS BOOK. Oofa, that was a journey.

Xishi is a beautiful villager who is selected by her king and training by his minister, Fanli. She is to be a gift concubine to the rival neighbor Wu king, to seduce him and then ruin him. Xishi also wants what she can’t have and Fanli is always just out of reach.

This is emotional and heart wrenching. Stressful and heartbreaking. WOW.

Check this one out for:
🌊 Romantasy / forbidden love
🌊 Master manipulation schemes
🌊 War time angst

I’m still REELING about the ending, y’all. What!!! So wild.

I alternated between the ALC and the ARC. The narration was absolutely fabulous, the intonation, and the fun of hearing the name pronunciations really added to the story experience.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for the ARC/ALC! A Song to Drown Rivers is on shelves now. My opinions are my own.

I truly truly love learning about cultural myths through retellings and this is no exception. although i can’t speak on the accuracy of the myth, this was a fun read and i really enjoyed it!