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

There were a lot of things in the novel that worked for me. The writing did very well imitating the feeling of learning ancestral folklore - it was lyrical but not complicated, and added the right kind of both tenderness and intensity to heartbreaking and pivotal scenes. The mythological atmosphere of the novel was complimented by Liang's writing and by how she described not only the settings in her story but also the characters and events. All of the characters in the story were interesting and well-rounded and I found myself falling for Xishi just like the men around her. I was never once bored while reading this novel.

What I think did not work so well was the romance. While I could certainly feel the longing between Xishi and Fanli, it felt far too rushed to be anything other than surface-level or physical attraction. After only a short time spent together, they seem to be deeply drawn to each other. Not only does the short amount of time they spend together before they fall for each other make their love story weak, but so too does the fact that readers are not shown what happens between the two of them when they are together. Instead of readers being able to see Xishi and Fanli's bonding moments, there are time skips to get the main plot of the novel started, and once the plot does start the two do not see each other for many years. This makes it feel as if there is not a strong foundation for their love and made me question why they still felt an obligation towards each other years later.

I was also not a big fan of the end of the novel and I am still trying to wrap my head around what Liang meant to teach readers. The novel does a good job of getting across the point that war is not black and white, that there is good and evil on both sides and perspective changes everything. What I do not understand is why, at the end, there was romanticization and villainization of certain characters. Without getting into spoilers, these aspects worked to deconstruct the entire story and characterizations that were previously set up and in doing so worked against the themes of the book. Also, as a side note, I was also confused by Xishi's heart defect. I kept waiting for it to be relevant to the plot of war or to her character but besides being mentioned once or twice in the beginning it was virtually irrelevant.

This is certainly a beautiful and emotional novel despite the fact that there are some weaker elements in it. Once I finished reading this story I was still thinking about it a week later and because of that, I feel that most readers will enjoy it.

Thank you, NetGalley, for an ARC copy of this book! This was one book that I could not put down. It broke my heart only to put it back together and break it again. In a land suffering from war, we meet Xishi, as she bears the weight of family responsibility and the hopes of revenge. When Fanli visits her tiny village and offers her the opportunity of a lifetime, there is no chance she could say no. This book does a beautiful job of weaving legend and story together.

This book was beautifully written, but unfortunately I think I wanted something a little less literary. I didn’t get the fantasy aspects of this I was searching for, and the romance could have taken a step forward, with either of the love interests. If I’d gone into this expecting historical fiction I think I would have enjoyed it more. Not for me, but I can see how others would love this.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for my advanced copy.

4.5/5
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ebook ARC of this incredible - yet painful - novel. Beautifully written while also packing a severe punch, this is a story that's going to leave a mark for quite a while. I won't say any more, since the book isn't released until October, and I don't want to give anything away, but WOW.

As much as I loved this book, I will be withholding my review in solidarity with the readers' strike on St. Martin's Press title, led by Readers Want Accountability.

This was absolutely immaculate perfection. Ann Liang always delivers but this book was absolutely breathtaking. The writing was just so beautiful and it's very clear that there was a lot of effort that was utilized in order to construct and evoke such gorgeous imagery and craft such a compelling story. The tension and chemistry between the characters Xishi and Fanli was absolutely incredible, and this is such a momentous staple for the romantasy genre.

A beautifully written work of emotional and tragic, historical fiction ..... Five stars is not enough.....

From the moment Xishi meets Fanli by the river, her life is changed. With the war between the Wu and Yue kingdoms, she is given the chance to find revenge for her people. With her beauty, can she captivate the Wu King and help the Yue bring down the Wu kingdom? What about the feelings she has developed for Fanli. How will it all end??

THIS BOOK IS A MUST READ....I couldn't put this book down.

A HUGE thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to enjoy this ARC.

I will not be giving a review. I am apart of and support the SMP boycott! I will give a review when the demands are met by SMP.

Retelling of Xishi's story, one of the Four Beauties of China. Xishi, a simple Yue village girl, is chosen as a gift to
the king of the Wu Kingdom. Fanli teaches her the skills she will need to capture the king while fighting their
mutual attraction. As she enters the king's court, she will have to deal with courtly intrigue and distrust as
she is considered to be the enemy. What will the cost be for achieving a way for the Yue army to enter and vanquish the Wu?
Unexpected ending. Gripping emotional story.
#ASongtoDrownRivers #StMartinsPress #NetGalley

I really dont know what to say except WOAH. WOAH. This was amazing! But again, I didn’t expect anything less. It was soooo good! Such an amazing book! Great job Ann!

What a beautiful story.. This was such a vibey book. I thought this author had such a way with words.

my first ann liang book, and it certainly won’t be my last! i have seen her romances countless times, so stepping into her fantasy as my first foray into her writing did not disappoint. her writing, storytelling, and characters stole my heart and i need to read everything she’s written immediately- including her grocery list

This book was deviating and beautiful, which I’ve come to expect from Liang,
I hadn’t heard of this myth before reading this novel, but it’s clearly a very important story and Laing did a masterful job of telling it.
The prose was stunning. The characters were wonderful and I grew to love them dearly. The plot was excellent and well-paced.
I thought Xishi was such a well-written character. She was a young girl thrown into this world of politics and trickery and forced to deal with the consequences of actions she had such little control over.
Her and Fanli made me ache, and their longing was palpable, another Liang trademark.
Overall, this was a fantastic novel and an excellent foray into fantasy for Laing.

DNF @ 10%

This is the second Liang book I've tried, the other being, I Hope This Doesn't Find You, and I've come to the conclusion that she doesn't write for me.

This book was SOOOO much telling and not showing. The first fight was so long I lost interest.

I'm glad I tried it but this author just isn't for me.

I will be withholding my review of this book in solidarity with the St. Martin's Press boycott.

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

A Song to Drown Rivers is inspired by the legend of Xishi. In this story Xishi is tasked with infiltrating the enemy kingdom and using her extraordinary beauty to make the king fall in love with her.

I don’t want to give any spoilers, but this is a beautiful and tragic fantasy story. There is love, war, and political intrigue.

will like to first thank Netgalley and the publishers for this opportunity to review this book.
Going into this book I was expecting forbidden romance in a high stakes environment. However, the book did not deliver. The first complaint is the insta-love in this novel between both men and the fmc. The fmc was already in love with one mc at the 30% and the other mc fell for her quite quickly also. Most of the interactions between the two males happened off-page, especially the first male the most. However, the romance was not the only thing that happened off-page. The fmc spy training and actual spying happened off-page. This suffered tremendously from tell-not-show. Due to the lack of showing it was hard to believe the romance and connect with the characters. I honestly can not tell you what the fml and mml like about each other, since their moments are off-page. All I know is that both characters find the other hot, so their attraction seems surface level. There was no passion or yearning. The lack of development made the ending unemotional. I felt no attachments to characters and their relationships. What I did like is the poetic descriptions the author used. I will end this review by stating what could have been different to improve the book. I believe if the book was 100-200 pgs longer and shown the off-page moments of spying, training, and buildup to a romantical relationship; this book could have been devastatingly beautiful .

I…. Actually have no words. From the minute I picked up this book I could NOT put it down. I absolutely fell in love with the characters and the story. It’s nothing like what I was expecting and also so so so much more.

I don’t want to say too much but.. if you love a fantasy with lots of political intrigue… ya. This is a good one.

Don’t mind me while I go cry myself to sleep over this!

Thank you so much NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

This was a tragically beautiful and captivating tale depicting a Chinese Beauty who can seduce and manipulate her way into bringing a Kingdom to its destruction.

Xishi, Fanli, and Fuchai were all incredible characters that were woven into the story masterfully. All of them had their roles to play in this game of two war-torn rivaling kingdoms, and each of them brought such interesting backgrounds and motives that further developed the story.

The writing was hypnotic, and the plot, subplots, and characters are all superb in this. I am a firm believer that this is going to come out as one of the best books of 2024, and I would highly recommend it to everyone!

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC !

I adored this book!

The two main characters, Xishi and Fanli, are so well written. I love Xishi’s voice, as it’s from her first person POV.

I’m actually devastated at how beautiful this story was—and heartbreaking. Liang’s writing is gorgeous and lyrical. Liang tackles the themes of war and sacrifice especially well. And despite me literally crying at the ending (which is very rare for me!) this was such a beautiful and well-written book.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC!