eARC Review: A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang 🌊

This was a wonderful reimagining of the legend of Xishi and her role in the fall of the Kingdom of Wu in Ancient China. I had a fantastic time while reading this and that ending about did me in, but thankfully I was about to go to bed anyways so I could go wallow in my thoughts. 🥲

The story is more historical fiction with the barest of smidges of fantasy for the ending. I really enjoyed Xishi’s personal history of why she chose to help the Yue take down the Wu and how, over time, she needed to cling to these morals as she started seeing the Wu for what they were: humans. 💙

The relationship between her and Fanli was a wonderfully done yearning that made even me happy whenever they would have scene together. And her hate-love relationship with Fuchai? Wow, even I started to feel bad for the dude even though he was constantly making horrible decisions. The ending for both of these relationships were enough to leave me feeling like I was punched in the chest and at one point or another, I had to put the book down just to take a breather. If this is what watching C-Drama is like, then I don’t know if I could handle it (I have a funny story about that, that I’ll add in the comments if anyone wants a good laugh). 😰

As much as I loved my time while reading this, I did find myself wishing we had more time with the characters overall, especially Zhengdan. Zixu also felt like he was rather one-sided since we never really get a good look at his character other than just a suspicious advisor to the king. I also thought it rather odd that XIshi’s chest pains weren’t ever really explained other than just something she had all her life but felt fine in the presence of a specific someone. 🤔

Other than that though, I loved my time with this legendary beauty and historical figure. I’m already eyeing the Fairyloot special edition, so fingers crossed I can get a copy! 🤞🏼

Big thank you goes out to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for accepting my request to read this in exchange for an honest review, and to the author, Liang, for making my heart stop with that ending. ❤️

Publication date: October 1!

Overall: 4.5/5 ⭐️

A Song to Drown Rivers follows a beautiful woman as she infiltrates the enemy's palace as a spy. My attention lagged a little in the middle of the book, but the ending was worth the read. I went from thinking I didn't feel connected to the characters to very emotional over them.

I received an ARC and ALC from St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Song to Drown Rivers
Author: Ann Liang
Fantasy

Thank you so much Netgalley for this ARC! Beautiful fantasy read. Super atmospheric, and lovely. I didn’t know what I was getting myself into with this one. I had no idea this was based on a Chinese legend. Xishi is a rare beauty in her village and she catches the eye of Fanli, who is a military advisor looking for a wife for the King. He recruits her to join his cause and places her as a spy in the Kings palace. I felt the book was beautiful and had really good pacing. I didn’t find myself bored or in a slump during the whole thing. I loved the relationship between Fanli and Xishi. I also loved that she was a spy. This book did truly gut me and rip my heart out. Only reason I didn’t give it a five star rating was because overall I felt something was missing in the book. Still can’t put my finger on what it is. If you want a beautiful atmospheric, historical fantasy read check this one out.

"Ann Liang nails the vibe of this historical fantasy book, perfect for fans of ancient Chinese history and mythology! "A Song to Drown Rivers" is a thrilling tale of political intrigue, strategic seduction, and emotional turmoil, with an underlying tension that never lets up. Xishi, the protagonist, is a complex and ambitious character whose beauty becomes a weapon in a world where her value is constantly tied to her looks. Her chemistry with Fanli is off the charts, and their relationship is a compelling dynamic of strategy and emotion. The palace scenes are a standout, with Xishi constantly performing and manipulating to stay ahead. The book is a powerful exploration of survival and sacrifice, with a focus on how beauty, power, and agency are intertwined. While the pacing can be uneven at times, the book is intense, beautiful, and heartbreaking. If you're into historical fantasy with complex characters and high stakes, add this to your Goodreads ASAP!"

I'll post my book review along with character mood boards, on Instagram, on 26 September!!

3.5 stars. A decent retelling of Xishi. I enjoyed the descriptive language, but none of the characters really captured me. I found Xishi, the protagonist, to be quite bland, and I never found myself fully immersed in the story.

DNF. I suppose I need to face the fact that Ann Liang just isn’t for me, I put this book down after a couple chapters to do something else, and I have no desire to go back to it.

I read this book until I had finished it. It was so so good. I just don’t even know what to say other than that. Tragic.

Unfortunately, this one wasn't for me. It wasn't any fault of the book's in particular--I just couldn't click with the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

Inspired by the Chinese legend of Xishi, a woman uses her beauty as a weapon to try to infiltrate and take down the rival kingdom of Wu.

Without prior knowledge of the story this is based on, I was not sure what to expect. All I knew was that it sounded intriguing and had a gorgeous cover. Luckily, I don’t mind the love-triangle trope, but if that’s not your thing, be prepared for it, but don’t let that turn you off this book.

Highly recommend, and looking forward to reading more from Liang.

So much of life is presented like it's some sort of binary — good or evil, right or wrong, black or white — but i love stories that make me sit in the gray spaces between. A Song to Drown Rivers is one such story. Inspired by an ancient Chinese legend, this book is a beautifully written, well paced, and thought provoking tragic love story—and so much more! Would definitely recommend!

I was given an early copy to review in both ebook and audiobook form. This review is in regards to the audiobook as I have not had a chance to read the physical book yet.

It's not that I didn't like this book exactly, but at 56% I still felt like there wasn't much happening. Once I realized this I decided it wasn't worth my time to listen to the (approximately) last 3 hours.
I wasn't invested in these characters and I had a very hard time following along with the names/places. That's specifically a "me problem", I would be able to follow along much easier if I was seeing those names.

If I wanted to try this book again I would definitely try the physical book instead of the audio. The narrator is great, I just couldn't follow along well enough to enjoy the story.


Since this is a DNF, I'm not rating this book but giving a 3 as a place holder to leave my review.

Wow. I honestly have no words. This book was incredible and beautiful and heartwrenching. The ending had me in tears. Completely unexpected.

Review Corner: A SONG TO DROWN RIVERS by Ann Liang.

Releasing on October 1, 2024! (Thank you to netgalley, I was able to get this in advance)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I went into this book completely blind, and the concept felt fresh and intriguing. The storyline is simple, but setting is unique as it is inspired by an ancient Chinese legend.

I have to say— that ending!?!?!?! 😭 This story PLAYED with my feelings bigtime. The only thing though is that I felt the romance between with our main MMC and FMC wasn’t fully “ripe” perse, and I honestly felt more chemistry with Fuchai & Xishi. Fuchai was supposed to be the ‘enemy,’ yet I didn’t even feel a tinge of hate for him.

Without giving too much away, here’s a line I know I will NEVER EVER forget:

“The mind destroys; the heart devours.”

note: as this is an advance e-reader (ARC), quoted lines may change before the final publication.

This story is heartbreakingly beautiful and PERFECT FOR FANS OF:
* Devastatingly endings or;
* Tales rooted in ancient myths.

Before reading I decided to research Xishi (one of the Four Beauties of ancient China) and noticed a few variations on the legend. Not knowing exactly where the author would lead made this story more compelling.
Xishi agreed to become a spy for her country of Yue and given as a gift to the emperor of Wu a country which had violently overthrown her own. Trained by the stoic minister Fanli many unspoken emotions and feeling developed between them.
Carrying on with their plan Xishi came to live in the palace of Wu with the emperor Fuchai. While Xishi navigates this court of intrigue and treachery Fuchai becomes besotted with her. Although suppressing her emotions Xishis thoughts never waver from wanting to return home and be with Fanli.
How Ann Liang moves this story along is quite intense. The characters unacted upon feelings made for emotional reading. And how she wraps up Xishis legend is heartbreaking. Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan publishing for the tears.

"I could have kissed him as if history did not exist, as if war was only myth."

I want to start by saying thank you to St Martins Press and Net galley for the amazing ARC of 'A Song to Drown Rivers'.

This book starts off with Xishi about to leave the house to run errands, and her mother reminding Xishi to wear her veil. Xishi proceeds to walk to the river near her home, in order to wash silk. There, she discovers a soldier dragging around a girl. Xishi of course could not stand by and watch, so she defended the girl, throwing a rock at the soldier. This leads to Xishi being the new target. But a mysterious man steps in saving both Xishi and the girl. They depart, and Xishi does not think shell ever run to him again. But later, he arrives at her home, looking for the infamous beauty that her village brags about. There they both find out who the other is. The mysterious man, Fanli, proposes a deal with Xishi that will save her family and the entire kingdom. But she will have to travel to another kingdom and leave her family.

Ann Liang wrote a captivating and fast paced book. I was hooked since the first chapter. Overall I would give this book more of a 3.5 Stars rather than 4. Even though I did enjoy this book, it kept falling short at times. I do love that I was never bored. I managed to read this book in a few days, even working my full time job. This book had great plot, heroines, villain's and betrayals I never saw coming until the very end.

But I do wish the book was a bit longer and did not have so many time jumps that were so long. 2 of the main jumps that I wish had not happened were, in my opinion, important ones to character and the romance aspects. When Fanli has to train Xishi over the course of 10 weeks, I was looking forward to that development and growth. But we only got a few days of it then it was a time jump up 10 weeks later. The second one was a year time jump that I felt was not necessary at all because I wanted to see more of Xishi's character development and her involvement in the kingdom and with the king himself. Because how am I just to accept that they're so trusting and connected when we did not get much of it. I just feel that the time jumps could have been used better or not at all. I would have connected with all the characters much more. I do understand that this book is a standalone but it could have greatly benefitted just by being a bit longer.

Apart from that though I do love the pacing of this book. There truly was never a dull moment and I was left mouth agape a lot through out this book. I really adore and love Xishi and I love that we finally got a book where the heroine uses her beauty to her own advantage and to further her own advantages. I like that we are able to see how she balances pros and cons to her decisions because it is not just her in danger but kingdoms, but I also love that she is raw with how she feels.

Synopsis: Based on a Chinese Legend, a young woman is picked to train and become a spy for her kingdom with the goal of seducing the enemy King.
Pros/cons: Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy, due out next month! This has sat on my shelf for months and I’m mad at myself for not reading it sooner! I thought it was so so good- full of romance and suspense, it really surprised me! The ending was terribly tragic and I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it (so not quite a 5,) but overall I highly recommend!

4-4.5/5

2.5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an ARC of this book!

I want to start off by saying that I am not super familiar with the legend of Xishi and cannot corroborate to how accurate this book is to the legend itself, however I will say that the premise of this book really lured me in. It is no surprise that society as a whole unfairly places a lot of worth on a woman’s beauty, and I typically enjoy books where the FMC uses that to her advantage to acquire revenge or to satisfy her goals. This book however, fell a little short for me, personally.

I felt like the character depth was very limited in this book and I found it difficult to care about what was happening. This was super fast-paced and easy to binge; however, the pacing didn’t make sense to me. I think this book would’ve benefited from being longer and more drawn out. The book covers a timeline of just over two years, which I didn’t realize until the end because it was not outwardly stated and I felt like not much happened during that timeframe “on page”. I also felt like some plot points were just dropped or never fully explained.

I think if you connect to the romance from the beginning, you will really like this book. I personally, just didn’t. I prefer more of a slow burn in a romance where I can really understand why the characters want to be with each other, and I feel like I didn’t get that with this book. There were a lot of scenes that I would’ve loved, had I been more connected to them.

The reason that this book isn’t rated lower is due to the writing style. The prose was very beautiful at times and there were a lot of “quotable” quotes. I have heard great things about the other books that this author has released, and would consider picking one of those up, as I did enjoy her writing.

A Song to Drown Rivers - a lyrical poem of love, loss and revenge

I am unfamiliar with the Legend of Xishi, but this book has made ne determined to learn more. The kingdoms of Wu and Yue are locked in an eternal struggle of conquest and beautiful Xish is selected by Fanli, the minister, to become tribute to King Fuchian of Wu and topple the kingdom by gaining the King's favor.

One of my favorite lines of the book reads ,"Happiness was a side dish, like the sweet sticky rice cakes. But revenge - that was the salt of life. Necessary. Essential."

Ann Liang's writing reminds me of Shelley Parker Chan in composition and the ethereal quality of her navigating through Xishi's feelings has aspects of Judy A Lin and Amelie Wan Zhao.

The characters are beautifully etched, th eir emotions and thoughts veining through the marble halls of the kingdoms, shaping the future of the people. I absolutely loved this!! And am eager to see more.

Many thank yous to St Martin's Press and Ann Liang for the ARC!! I will be posting the review on Amazon once the book releases.

4.5 rounded up! This book was absolutely stunning. Liang took a world with two warring kingdoms (something that’s not uncommon in the fantasy genre) and worked it into something I’ve never seen before. All of the relationships were fleshed out and felt so raw and real. The feminine rage Xishi has, the relationships and politics, the yearning—it was all incredible!

This book and its characters will stick with me for a long time. I can’t wait to see what Ann Liang does next!

One of my favorite books of the year! I absolutely loved this story that was as beautiful as it was heartbreaking. This was my first Ann Liang book, and I was absolutely enchanted the entire time I read it. I fell in love with Xishi and Fanli. The story really drew me in and I could not put it down; I’m still thinking about it. Definitely recommend!

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