Where to start... Miss Ann Liang has done it again. This was such a beautiful retelling of the original classic that comes with a twist. According to ancient Chinese mythology, there were the four great beauties of China, and our heroine in the book, Xishi, is one of them.
A Song to Drown Rivers follows Xishi has she gets plucked from her ordinary life into this elaborate political operation to take down the enemy kingdom. Her mission? To seduce the neighboring king and bring down the kingdom from within.
I really enjoyed reading the book. Ann's writing style was just so addicting to read and I got swept into the world really quickly. As you get to know Xishi's backstory better, you also better understand her motives for revenge and her emotional turmoil as she gets to know the enemy better. I thought that Xishi's character was well flushed out, but I did hope that we got more of the male leads in the book. We aren't offered much of the two male leads and their perspectives as we only see them through Xishi's eyes but it would help to have both male characters be more flushed out.
Overall, really enjoyable and such a beautiful retelling. 4.75/5 stars for me!

DNF @ 15%
Those first few pages had me so hopeful. The writing was so lovely that I found myself highlighting excerpts. Unfortunately, I was barely halfway through chapter one when I realized this was not going to work for me. I loved the idea of this story, but the further I got, the more nothingness it felt. And I think it stemmed from chapter one. While the opening is eventful, I did not care for our main character. In theory, I should’ve, but I didn’t. Poor pretty girl in a misogynistic world, great, but nothing special. I was told her sister died and her village was recently ruined by war, yet I couldn’t care less because she felt hollow. Like I could walk through her and never notice. It then wasn’t helped that the setting up the plot felt half baked. It felt more like the brain dump stage of a first draft where you put general feelings and ideas down. The stage where you’re mostly telling yourself the story before fixing it be more subtle and nuanced and engaging for readers. It didn’t feel like we reached the latter stage.
I’m very sad I couldn’t get into it because I think this author does have some very lovely prose. And the idea was cool. But I have too many other books to read that something where my eyes were already glazing over and felt like there was nothing to absorb is not worth it.
Thank you to the NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for providing an advance reader copy of this book for my honest review.

Wow. Just wow. There’s not much else to say without spoiling the book but this was an incredible journey to read about, beautifully written. I felt deeply for all the characters and very much enjoyed reading this.

Thoughts

I am not okay. This book had to staying up two nights to read it. It had me crying several times.

It had me smiling, crying, angry, reflecting, and completely enamored. When I say this book hooked me from the very beginning I mean it. It was brilliant throughout. There were no slow parts.

The author used simple words but was able to create sentences with them that were so poetic.

I am not okay. I will never be okay again. The only thing this book hasn't killed is my dramatics. Now excuse me while I go cry in a corner for the next 6 months.

That can't be the end. I cannot be done with it...

Thank you to Netgalley for destorying me.

This was highly anticipated for me but sadly it ended up falling a little flat.

I am at a loss as to why this is marketed as a fantasy book, where were the fantasy elements? There is one small part at the end where it comes into play, I'd generously call it magical realism. This reads as a historical fiction, retelling, romance to me.

The characters were the biggest thing that were flat to me, which was the catalyst to the entire book falling flat. The love interest is barely in the book. I would have been more interested to read an ARC of Xishi falling for the king instead, with Fanli it kind of felt like istalove. Much of the book felt too surface level and telling vs showing.

I liked the writing, the prose was beautiful. The end actually took an unexpected turn and was quite sad but I'm not mad about it, I liked it!

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book.
If I was rating based solely on the second half, it would easily be a 4 stars. It was beautiful and tragic, and I cried while finishing it. But the whole first half fell a little flat for me, I was trudging through the slow start and build up.
The love interest is also absent for a big portion of the book, so all relationship building was reliant on telling and not showing. There was a lot of inner monologues thinking about the love interest, but not much actual development of it.
I also thought that the timeline was quite confusing at times, and again goes into the telling not showing aspect. I would think that maybe a couple weeks passed but then there would be a one-liner saying "it's been 2 years" and I was just thinking ok but how? where did that time go? What happened in those 2 years? The relationship was dealt with in the same way, with them meeting and then suddenly having so much tension seemingly out of nowhere because it has apparently been "10 weeks".
I think that the second half is so well done and tragic, but it could have been even more emotional and beautiful if we could have seen all of the development of the characters.
I did really enjoy Xishi's internal debates and struggles however, and felt that it was very realistic. Not knowing what side to stand on, what the right thing to do is, who to trust.

Beautiful and powerful, yet somehow even more—Ann Liang has crafted something truly extraordinary. An unforgettable read that will stay with you long after the final page. WOW, WOW, WOW!

I was unfamiliar with the Chinese legend of Xishi prior to reading this book, so I was mostly blind going into this one. I didn't love this, but it could be an issue of me, not the book. I have a hard time reading fantasy, I typically enjoy the genre more on audio, but this also wasn't super fantasy. More of a retelling, I did find myself getting bored at times and skimming to the end. This was well written though, and the legend it is based on is interesting, so I'm giving it 3 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of A Song To Drown Rivers in exchange for my honest review.

The ending of this book is pure bonkers! And I loved it.

A SONG TO DROWN RIVERS is based on the legend of Xishi, one of the four beauties of ancient China.

Xishi is trained to go to the enemy king to woo and seduce him and work as a spy for the Yue king to get revenge on her kingdom. But before that she must be trained by Fanli and a forbidden romance occurs.

Xishi and Fanli!! I loved them both. And the agonizing forbidden love affair hurt my heart.

I listened to the book on audio and the narrator was the perfect cast to play Xishi.

And the ending is one I’ll think about for a long time.

What You’ll Find:
❤️‍🔥A villain obsessed
🔥Slow burn
🖤Forbidden romance
❤️‍🩹Hurt x comfort
🗡️Some stabbing

thanks to NetGalley for the eARC

⭐️=3.75 | 😘=3 | 🤬=1 | ⚔️=4.5 | 16+

summary: woman has to go undercover as a rival king’s concubine to like get secret info and stuff

thoughts: the ending pisses me off but also I get that it has a very folktale vibe or something?? anyway. beautiful prose. heartbreaking. liked the message at the end (no spoilers). for all the political intrigue supposedly propelling the story forward, it was pretty simple, I guess? which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, just something to note.

the first book i have read in 3 months and i literally am not okay.
i have stressed and cried over this book too much so excuse me while i go look for my sisters copy of i hope this doesnt find you and reread that mf confession scene (in julius' confession scene we trust)
literally everyone in this book deserved better and i am so mad.

in depth review to come in october if i can untraumatized myself!!
ann liang youre paying for my therapy.
5/5 stars fml.

Another one bites the dust. I have been very displeased with romantacy lately, the reason being because I need there to be adequate worldbuilding in ADDITION to the romance plot. this book had neither. not only did we get no fantasy elements (not to mention threadbare political intrigue), but the love interest isn't even present for most of the book.

I am so sick of getting my hopes up about an exciting, original-sounding asian fantasy romance only to be let down. I want to diversify my fantasy reading, but the books that are being pushed out by publishing right now are not helping.

Xishi’s journey is one of growth, triumph, longing, and heartbreak. She’s given a mission because of her beauty; enchant the enemy king and manipulate him from the inside so he can be weakened and defeated. I wasn’t prepared for the way things ended, and this story will stick with me for a long time.

I was completely surprised and impressed by this beautiful piece of historical fiction/fantasy. Xishe’s story begins slowly, to build up the world and turmoil around her, but it’s so worth continuing to read. It’s a story of vengeance, power, and the complexity of love and war, and right and wrong. No spoilers, but I was surprised by some of the emotions it pulled out of me. 5 stars! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Did not finish at 8%. The story did not grab me. The writing was pretty but the characters did not interest me. I can see why people will like it though.

To begin, please take every trope you may have heard someone describe this book with, or every trope you think you are going to encounter, and just throw it out. Please. Read A Song to Drown Rivers with an open mind and with no expectations - except that this reads as historical fiction, not historical fantasy. (and also know you may get hurt - sorry.)

A Song to Drown Rivers contains a story aching and vengeful. The strength of this book is in the questions it explores rather than answers - whose side of war is "right?" How can womanhood be used as power even when women have no societal/political power? Personal happiness or the greater good? Does revenge satisfy?

Xishi begins the story with a black-and-white mindset but slowly comes to see that black and white may just be two sides of the same coin. None of the questions Xishi encounters are necessarily answered. The story is messy, in that way. Threads cross, combine, and are snipped in a myriad of ways, resulting in a thought-provoking exploration of some of the darker tendencies of humanity.

The tension was stunning. The positive version between Xishi and another, and the negative version between the Wu King and Xishi. Up until maybe 50% of the book, the tensions alone compelled me. I especially appreciated the author's ability to keep us longing for the resolution of the tension far longer than most stories. Side note, but too often I feel spoon-fed when tension cuts too easily or too soon; in A Song to Drown Rivers, the waiting is hard and perhaps not satisfactory, but perfect for the story.

I did feel a dip in pacing after the 50% mark until about 70% - I'm not sure if it was simply my pacing while reading, but things seemed to slow down and flounder for just a moment.

Interestingly, for a book featuring concubines and all that goes with that, the story is exceedingly closed-door. I found this a refreshing change for a book labelled "adult," that not every story above YA necessitates open-door content. It's the themes, the characters, the plot that shine through in A Song to Drown Rivers.

The atmosphere of this story will long stay with me - from the vivid imagery of Ancient China filled with rivers, yellow dust, jade, and vermillion walls, to the heartache and vengeance that compels Xishi. In other words, I loved it!

A solid historical fantasy with a strong FMC. Can’t resist a heroine with some feminine rage, and whose outward beauty is superseded by her inner beauty, strength, and determination.

I really enjoyed this book.

The story is interesting and complex and the pacing is perfect. I think the world building woven throughout helped build the story but not hold back the pacing. Really well done.

I love the FMC, Xishi, and her development. I mean, she really makes this story. I believed her and felt connected to what she was going through. At times, I did wish for a bit more plot development around certain parts like with the "lady's maid" and the ending with Fuchai. Also, Fanli is my absolute favorite. He is so complex and I just want to have more of him. Also, his connection to Xishi is chef's kiss and I just want a whole book of them. (Alas, it's not to be!).

But on the whole this book nails the message of how war is for the kings, not the people. And it really makes you think about how that truly is the case.

Definitely check this book out!

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

I went into this book without knowing anything about the legend of Xishi and honestly you should do that too. This book broke me and Ann Liang should write more historical fiction because the way she writes it is beautifully written and you feel transported.

5/5 ⭐️

Having been a fan of Ann Liang’s books and writing previously, you could tell that she was born to write a historical fiction novel. Her ability to storytell in both a compelling and complex way makes this a future classic that will be recommended within friends groups and reading circles.

The reason this book works so well is because it makes you question which side you will be rooting for, alongside the protagonist Xishi, a woman with irresistible beauty and motive to seek revenge for her family and village. Her bias against the palace gets challenged momentarily allowing for the reader to question not just the narrator’s reliability but also their own morals.

What would you do if you were the one to have to sacrifice everything you stood for just for it to not make a difference? To be just a cog in the machine of a cycle that is bound to repeat?

A true tragedy that everyone should give a chance.

Thank you to the publishers for providing me with an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

(MY THERAPIST WILL BE HEARING ABOUT THIS BOOK I FEEL SICK TO MY STOMACH WHY WOULD U DO THIS TO ME!!!!!)