A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang
#fantasy

I really wish that this book had a prologue. I was bored and lost for the first few chapters. Yes, that is where they introduce the world building. But in this story they needed to pick the spy they were going to send into the rival king's palace. It would have been nice to know up front. I, like many readers, like to go into a story blind. I pick books by reading their synopsis months in advance usually. Authors please give us the hint of foreshadowing in the beginning of the book.

After the spy was chosen, the story picked up for me. But it was a very slow start. This is why I took off the full ⭐. I almost didn't want to keep reading. BUT I did end up enjoying the story even though I wasn't thrilled with the ending. But this ending did make sure that the book would remain a stand alone and not become a series. All ribbons tied neatly into bows.

#stmartinspress
#asongtodrownrivers #annliang

Beautiful historical fantasy! A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang is inspired by the legend of Xishi, a beautiful girl who brings down an empire. Written as if told orally to us by the narrator, the story follows Xishi, a young Yue village girl known for her beauty who is bitter at the loss of her sister and wants revenge on the Wu kingdom. Fanli, the advisor to the Yue kingdom, offers Xishi a way to get her revenge, but it won’t be easy, and it’ll test Xishi in ways she never thought possible.

I loved every word of this story. Xishi is trained by Fanli to use her beauty and become a concubine of the Wu king, a gift form the Yue kingdom and its new spy. Xishi bravely takes on this task, learning how to use her beauty to her advantage. Her courage and determination drive her as well as the promise that her family will be well cared for. She is doing this for them and her country.

Xishi’s story unfolds in two halfs. The first is her home kingdom Yue where she learns to be a spy and temptress. The second half follows her into enemy territory where she is tasked with making the Wu king fall in love with her. During the first half, we see her relationship with Fanli unfold. I loved how they danced around each other, this tension building between them. The second half is driven by fear as Xishi enters the Wu kingdom where her every action is examined. I love how the two halves couldn’t be more different but also the same danger runs through them both.

Overall, A Song to Drown Rivers is a beautifully worded retelling of one of China’s great beauties. It is haunting, filled with danger, intrigue, and romance. Oh the romance! It is both heartbreaking and warming all at the same time. If you are a fan of historical fantasy, I highly recommend this one. It will not disappoint!

I started this book with maybe not the best of mentalities. It was about to publish so I started to "knock it out". I just have to say, even though my attitude was a little stinky, I really enjoyed the story that Ann wrote. I think the cover artwork is perfect for what's inside: a historical fantasy featuring a dynamic heroine playing a deadly game and using all of her beauty and smarts to avenge her sister and make her world a better place.
Xishi is a likeable character and I was invested in her journey and endgame.
Thank you to SMP and Netgalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

A Song to Drown Rivers is a story inspired by one of the Four Beauties of Ancient China, Xishi. She is recruited by the military advisor, Fanli, of Yue to be a spy and seduce the immoral king of Wu, Fuchai. There is a lot of political intrigue and romance in this story. The story is shorter than I expected for inspiration. There is a lot to go into about Xishi and I think the story did not quite go far enough. The story spends a lot of time going through establishing the characters and other elements that were all enjoyable and just needed a little more time to explore further.

Fuchai remained a mystery for most of the story as I wanted to explore his backgrounds and motivations a little more. There seemed to be a lot more to his character and I think it would be great to explore it. As for Xishi and Fanli, I wish that they spent more time together for the reader to further connect to their relationship. There was a lot of potential there, but I think there was not quite enough connection for me. The rest of the story was good, and the story went by quickly. The pacing was a little slow, but it did pick up towards the end. Overall, this was a good story and I look forward to reading more from the author in the future.

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, for the opportunity to read this entertaining novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

I'm having trouble deciding how I feel about this book, the writing was fun and enjoyable, but I can't help but feel like the story could have been fleshed out better. It was at times slow and then breakneck fast-paced, I do believe this book has been mis-marketed, it's supposed to be a romantasy but really it's historical fiction based on
the Chinese legend of the Four Beauties, there are no fantasy elements, except a teeny bit at the end, and the romance is very backstage. I wanted to root for Xishi and Fanli but I wish they had gotten more time together and more time for us to see why they are in love, because honestly she was with Fuchai more and he had some absolute killer lines that made me want her to switch things around so he was endgame. Honestly, it just felt like wasted potential. That being said, I did enjoy the writing style so I will totally try more Ann Liang books!

This absolutely had moments of utter heartbreak and devastation, with beautiful writing and a really great story. While I felt some underdevelopment with the main characters, I still enjoyed my time with this one.

This book was amazing— so much depth about the power of humanity and kindness and the futility of war. It had mythology and history and romance and action - and the prose was gorgeous.

I was promised fantasy, but it was 99% historical fiction and 1% fantasy. If this was labeled correctly, I could've at least set some reasonable expectations. (That is, not requesting the arc in the first place and reading the published version instead.) It is what it is.

The first paragraph where the FMC talks about her overwhelming beauty didn't draw me in at all. It pretty much did the exact opposite and set my mood for the rest of the novel.

I didn't find any of the characters compelling. I didn't care for the romance between Xishi and Fanli. I love femme fatale stories, but this was written in such a flat manner that I couldn't bring myself to care about Xishi's training, character development, relationship with the king, or any of the political ploys.

Two stars for the ending though. That little bit of fantasy was like an oasis after a long trek in the desert.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this arc.

A Song to Drown Rivers draws on the story of the Four Beauties from Ancient China, specifically the story of Xishi, a beautiful young woman from the Yue Kingdom who entered the court of the Wu Kingdom as a concubine in order to pull down the Wu from within. Thanks to my more American than Chinese upbringing, I was unfamiliar with this story, but was delighted my reading experience made me feel like I was watching an historical Chinese drama. Mostly. This was, unfortunately, not smooth sailing for me. It’s a more or less faithful retelling of the story, but I felt like threads were constantly dropped and lost, and time jumps felt awkward.

Xishi is probably the most beautiful girl in the Yue Kingdom, but lives modestly in a small village helping her mother wash silk. Her life is upended when Fanli, one of King Goujian’s ministers, comes looking for the most beautiful woman to send to the conquering Wu Kingdom as a tribute, but actually as a spy from within. Along with her friend Zhengdan, another beauty from the village who will serve as her palace lady, Xishi trains under Fanli to seduce Fuchai, the Wu Kingdom’s king. But the Wu Kingdom is distrustful, especially a minister who was faithful to Fuchai’s father, creating obstacles in Xishi’s path at every turn. In a court full of vipers, Xishi and Zhengdan must tread carefully in order to be successful in their mission in bringing down the Wu Kingdom, and stay alive while doing it.

A Song to Drown Rivers and I started off so well. I loved how it reminded me of the historical Chinese dramas I watched a couple of years ago, scratching an itch I didn’t know I had. Even though the descriptions generally proved to be sparser than I’m accustomed to in a fantasy novel, I felt the world came alive in my mind thanks to the knowledge I went into the novel with. It was so much fun getting to know the more reserved Xishi and her more outgoing friend Zhengdan and the extremely serious Fanli, but things started slowly going downhill once the girls reached the Wu Kingdom. After an extended training sequence under Fanli’s careful tutelage, the story then takes place over a two year span, and some of the story threads just felt a little off. The ending, too, was frustrating. The last chapter read more like an extended epilogue I didn’t need, and I felt like a second book could have been a good option to really close out the story of Xishi and Fanli, but, instead, it seemed like some really exciting things happened, but, due to circumstances, the reader doesn’t get to know any of it.

I did like Xishi, though, and I liked the subtle, soft romance between her and Fanli. Xishi may just be a village girl, but she was brought up well, even if her childhood came with the trauma of witnessing her younger sister’s death at the hands of a Wu soldier, and carried herself well throughout the novel. She’s smart and always does what her mission demands, even if a part of her fights it. I really liked her poise and determination, but I wish her personal stake in it, wanting to avenge her sister’s death, had played a bigger role. Her romance with Fanli was sweet and soft, though I was sometimes a little frustrated with how often Xishi longed for him those two years she spent in the Wu court. Their devotion to each other, though, was lovely, and a part of my heart ached for them, especially at the end.

As Xishi’s story, I felt like A Song to Drown Rivers cut out more story than I would have liked. There were so many interesting characters, and hints at court intrigue, and the reader just doesn’t really get to see any of it because only Xishi is telling the story. If Xishi doesn’t do or hear of anything, the reader doesn’t as well, and sometimes I was left frustrated because someone else was doing something more interesting than she was. It also made me feel like threads were picked up only to be dropped because the characters they dealt with had no place in much of Xishi’s story. That was a little disappointing because Xishi spent two years in the Wu Kingdom, but it’s really probably half of the book, if that, that covers her time there. Her training, which was just a matter of weeks, felt overly long, though I understand it was probably to develop that strong emotional bond with Fanli. I just would have loved to see more time poured into the time she spent in the Wu Kingdom.

I would have loved to get to know the minor characters a lot better. Fanli is coldly beautiful with a razor sharp mind. He never lets himself get above his mission, and I loved his devotion and dedication, as long as it didn’t imperil his values. I would have loved to see more of him, but of course he couldn’t be more involved in the story than he was, and, even then, it felt dangerous, which was actually kind of fun. I would have loved to get more of Zhengdan. She had such a fun personality. She isn’t quite as refined as Xishi, and definitely has her own vendetta. I would have loved to get more of her story because it felt like it ended kind of abruptly, and she was definitely one of my favorites. She was, unfortunately, given a bare bones characterization that could have gone somewhere and didn’t. Lady Yu, one of Fuchai’s concubines, could have had an amazing role in this story, but I felt like her thread was dropped just after being introduced and she didn’t get to reach her full potential. I wanted so much more, and especially would have liked to see her, Xishi, and Fuchai all together, but this was just a huge letdown. Fuchai himself was an interesting character. He came off more spoiled than evil, and I ended up feeling sorry for him because I didn’t feel like he really deserved everything that happened to him, just some of it.

The thing that bothered me the most, though, was how the prose and the dialogue felt like a mismatch to me. I know a part of me kept thinking the characters were going to open their mouths and start talking in Mandarin (which would be absolutely ridiculous in a novel), but there just wasn’t anything even remotely pretty about the way they spoke. While the descriptions and general storytelling felt beautiful, like a lovely Chinese painting, the speech made me flinch with how plain and more American it felt. Maybe this is just me, but it really bothered me throughout the novel. Xishi’s inner thoughts felt more eloquently expressed than her speech did.

But A Song to Drown Rivers did manage to entertain me. I enjoyed reading this novel, and was often surprised at how quickly I flew through it. The pacing felt a little off, and the time jump in the middle of Xishi’s time in the Wu Kingdom was a little awkward, but I enjoyed the story. It’s much more straightforward than the Chinese dramas I’m used to watching, which was a nice change of pace for me. Still, there were things that bothered me, and I really hated the ending. Overall, the story didn’t feel quite as smooth as I would have liked, but I enjoyed this Ancient Chinese-inspired novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thanks to St Martin’s Press for gifted access via NetGalley. All opinions below are my own.

A beautiful young girl is convinced to become the concubine of the enemy king with the goal of being a spy for the rebellion. She must transform herself into an enticing temptation even though she has lived a hard life torn by war. She falls for the man coaching her through the process but they must focus on the mission. She gets closer and closer to the king with a chance to take him down and lose it all in the process.

I loved the ending of this one. It was very unexpected. The rest was your standard fantasy love triangle with a strong base in history. The underlying theme of personal desires versus the need to sacrifice for your country, your beliefs and the hope of a better world was so on target.

Unfortunately this book was just not for me, it was way too instant lovey for me, it had so much potential tho

unfortunatly this was too ya for me to get into, but im above the ya age range so take this review with a grain of salt

Ann Liang’s A Song to Drown Rivers is a richly told story with the emotional depth I often find lacking these days. This Chinese fantasy inspired by the Legend of Xishi features all the themes to pull on your emotions: love, sacrifice, and resilience. The main characters, Xishi and Fanli, are well-crafted. Xishi’s struggles and aspirations amid a war-torn setting had all the makings of my favorite historical fantasy dramas I love to watch. Liang’s prose is beautiful and gut-wrenching. I was invested from start to finish.

I have many thoughts on this book..

The story follows Xishi, who is so beautiful that she gets recruited by the military to seduce the enemy king currently in power and then help overthrow him. She gets trained by the military prodigy Fanli, who she falls in love with, before going to the castle and carrying out the plan.

The good -
The writing could be eloquent and beautiful at times, and the story was entertaining and flowed easily.

The not-so-goods -
I never really connected to any of the characters. None of them seemed really developed, and I honestly didn’t care what happened to any of them. Also, the romance - It seemed like insta-love and I never really felt their connection. Again, just didn’t care about their relationship at all, and when I can’t emotionally connect to a book, I’m probably not going to like it that much.
I also thought the world was very vague and nothing was ever really explained - we know the central political conflict, but nothing else. Also, I thought this would be a fantasy but I guess not because there were no fantasy elements at all.

I was really excited for this, so I’m disappointed I didn’t like it that much. It was definitely not bad, just had a lot of parts that fell flat.

Thank you netgalley and St. Martins press for the arc! I have loved Ann’s other books and knew that when she went into fantasy I wanted to give it a try. And it didn’t disappoint. At the beginning though I didn’t totally understand what was going on because he names kept confusing me, but once I knew what was going on after the first 15, I flew through the rest of it. The creatures and other fantastical elements were crazy. Sushi is such a strong character and has to go through the unimaginable. She is sent off to marry the ruler of Wu and is trained by Fanli. The political intrigue was unexpected and had me guessing till the very last page. Even at the end I was stuck in shock because I have to assume that this can’t be the end because I still have questions. Definitely read this book if you want something crazy and unique.

4/5⭐️

Rating rounded from 3.5 stars.

A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang is a beautifully written novel inspired by the legend of Xishi. It is about the cost of war, the dangers of beauty, and what it takes to bring a nation -- and a king -- to it's knees.

I would be remiss if I didn't talk about just how much I enjoyed the writing of this novel. Ann Liang has a beautiful style, and the prose had me captivated from the very start. As someone who was unfamiliar with the legend of Xishi, I also found the story's premise quite intriguing. That being said, there are three main things that I did not like: the romance, the pacing, and the marketing.

For the marketing: This book was not in the least what I expected, because it was sold to me as a fantasy romance... which I do not agree with. It is not romantasy. It is historical fiction. Marketing this book as romantasy in any capacity is setting it up for failure -- especially in an age now where romantasy has been so clearly (re?)defined by series like ACOTAR and Fourth Wing. Again, this is a beautiful book, but it is a beautiful historical fiction novel.

That being said, the romance was a miss for me. Don't get me wrong, the longing is written so phenomenally, but I just... didn't care. Fanli is the main love interest, but he appears in like... 15% of the book? I'm not sure how I am supposed to develop an attachment for the connection between Fanli and Xishi when we don't even see much interaction between them.

Finally, I just felt that the pacing was off. I don't usually say this, but this book could have benefited from being longer. It felt like the ending was rushed, with most of the climactic events happening within the last 50 pages. I was left wanting more!

Overall, I did really enjoy the book. Ann Liang won me over with her writing style, and I look forward to reading more of her novels in the future.

4.75 stars A story about one of the Four Great Beauties of China caught my attention. If one is a fan of C Dramas A Song to Drown Rivers is going to make you very happy. As a fan myself, this read like a movie playing in one's head. You could see what was happening and understood what was going on even off-stage. The ending was tragically beautiful and I would recommend this to anyone who wants a bit of history and fantasy.

love this author so much, it was interesting that she took a full dive into fantasy but i think i just enjoy her magical realism more

I was surprised by how much I loved A Song to Drown Rivers Quietly. It was beautiful, delicate and brutal. There are indications that it will be bleak, but it still hits pretty hard.

Xishi is so pick-me I could cry, if I gave more than -5 shits about this book. Her ill health is mentioned at the beginning of the book, Violet Sorrengail-style, and then not again until the very end.

Fanli is supposed to be an emotionally repressed, but beautiful sadboi you're supposed to fall for, and obviously Xishi does, but he was so boring I just didn't care.

Xishi, uneducated country girl that washes raw silk for a living, can now describe poetry. Can we collectively vomit?

"Wisps of clouds moving over a full moon. The silence of solitude. An empty room, dust motes floating in a slant of pale sunlight. Regret for something you cannot take back. Happiness for somebody you cannot have."


Even more unbelievable than all that, we're supposed to believe that in ten weeks, Xishi, yes, that same uneducated country girl, can be trained enough to become a rival king's prized concubine, and use her wiles to seduce him and dismantle his country from the inside out.

The evil king everyone keeps complaining about seems less evil and just sad. Fuchai amuses in a way that Fanli never could. I'm not one for love triangles, but this could've made things interesting. Things remain uninteresting.

Then there's a time skip. Those always go well. We're supposed to believe that in all this time, Fuchai's obsession with Xishi grows, even as she never sleeps with him. Truly, have you met a man? How long do you think he could possibly last?

I'm diverging, as I nearly always do. I'm not a doctor, and my soy allergy may make me biased, but please explain this? It doesn't seem sanitary?

I tipped a few drops of soy sauce onto his wound and rubbed it in, then bandaged it up carefully.


Well, since we're diverging. This made me laugh. Most Americans will keep this dog and ruin entire relationships over it. r/TalesFromTheDogHouse

"And no owner will keep a dog that tries to bite them, time and time again."


+1 for Fuchai, the only interesting character in this book
+1 for nobody having jade green eyes

📱 Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press