absolutely heartbreaking and maddening and beautiful all at once. this played out exactly like a sageuk k-drama in my head as i read this (i know it's chinese, but my korean ass brain just automatically inserted sageuk material and kept jumping back and forth between korean and chinese visuals lol), and it was so incredibly to eat it up.

ann liang paints a rich world of a broken kingdom torn apart by war, and one of the lines (i'll paraphrase badly: they weren't killed by [one side], they were killed by the war- by two kings at play) will stick with me for a long time to come. this is my second liang read, and it's made me so excited to pick up her other books. she's so incredibly gifted in writing romance, in my opinion, and it's honestly refreshing to read a beautifully crafted non-spicy romance... though i will say romance isn't this book's main genre, so don't get into this if you're wishing for a feel-good HPE type of love story.

docked off half a star for the ending, as i'm not really into the whole beyond-the-grave thing, but i will say liang wrote it so... prettily??? that a tiny part of me doesn't care at all lol.

I was surprised to find out that this book isn’t categorized as YA. Although well written, this book was sorely missing complexity. The storyline is too convenient, the political maneuverings too obvious to actually work, the romance too instant. The reader is asked to care about these characters more than they can. Xishi considers the time she spent with Fanli (ten whole weeks!!!) to be her most formative. And they apparently were—Xishi was able to memorize every important poem in the Chinese canon, play guqin like a seasoned musician, school her facial expressions as well as the best of the best in these ten weeks. The actual legend of Xishi had her training for years.

I found Wu Zixu, King Fuchai’s minister, to be extremely compelling in the little scenes he had. I would have really liked to read about Xishi plotting her next move against him, to see her thought process and preparation, instead of having everything happen perfectly. It’s very one-dimensional to not be able to see the hard work that Xishi puts into her role as a spy and only just be given the justification that she is a natural.

It also feels like a missed opportunity that this book deliberately avoids the physical demands of a concubine, especially for a girl from a remote village who has never been kissed prior to her mission. Because I read The Voyage Home by Pat Barker right before this book, the difference between how sex is portrayed in that trilogy to A Song to Drown Rivers is especially stark, and illuminates another reason why Xishi doesn’t seem like an actual, fleshed-out character to me and why this story felt censored and sanitized. You’re telling me that Fuchai is the hottest young king ever and he can be brought to his knees without anything more than a kiss?

I do understand that this book requires a suspension of disbelief and that this book is ultimately meant for entertainment. I realize that Ann Liang has definitely considered all of these heavier angles, but ultimately did not actually want to go in depth on them beyond beautifully packaged ending in which Xishi demonstrates critical thinking when it’s too late. But I’ll be thinking of this book for a bit, wishing that she had.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me a copy of A Song to Drown Rivers in exchange for an honest review.

I have read a couple of Ann Liang’s YA novels and enjoyed them and so I was really looking forward to what was being described as her adult debut. I say described because none of the major characters really feel adult and the tone of the novel leans more to upper YA than adult. Maybe that sentence alone gives away some of my feelings on this book but I’m sad to say this is not what I thought it was going to be. I’ve seen this marketed as a romantasy and that could not be further from the truth. Firstly, the main couple of the romance do not actual interact all that much for the majority of the book. Secondly I would never classify this as anything close to fantasy. There is a somewhat speculative element at the very end of the novel, however, it is done in a way that I would not find out of place in any literary fiction novel. I would describe this as historical fiction and I think if I had gone in with that mindset I may have been inclined to feel a bit more generous with the book.

The first half of this was a slog, and I would say the last 10% could have been cut down. I was skimming for a lot of this book because it just wasn’t gripping me. I didn’t find the language used particularly evocative and overall found the tone too distant to feel much of anything for the characters. Once I managed to get to the half way point I did become more interested as that is where the political intrigue finally came into play and there were plenty of interesting moments. I would have liked to see Xishi struggle a bit more. A lot of moments in this book are too easy for her or she gets away with maneuvers that should not have worked. I’ll keep my eye on Ann Liang’s future adult endeavors but I don’t think I’ll be rushing out to buy them.

I'm not crying, you are.

I would have loved if this book was longer. If it had developed more in certain places. I think the politics in this would have been nice to see fleshed out, and the relationship between Xishi and Fanli and Xishi and Fuchai expanded on. But overall, I did enjoy reading this. I didn't want to put it down.

Need me men like Fanli and Fuchai ✌

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eArc!

Liang’s novel is one that has been on my radar ever since I saw the first edition hardcover with digital edges. I was really happy I got approved for an arc from NetGalley.

This book is inspired from Chinese Folklore and weaves a story about love, vengeance and mortality. I was hooked from the very start. The imagery was captivating through Liang’s writing. The book did lose a bit of steam for me in the middle however I enjoyed the ending. Not something I can say about a lot of books.

Hope you enjoy it as well.

This was ok.

I enjoyed the author’s writing style. There were some lovely lines throughout the book. The general plot held my attention well enough.

The specific plot points are where I struggled to buy in. The main character’s actions were presented as super smart and strategic but actually felt pretty incompetent. I regularly thought “there’s no way the king is buying this,” but he repeatedly did. It was too convenient to be believable and took me out of the story.

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.