A Song to Drown Rivers is a historical fantasy based on the story of Xi Shi, one of China’s legendary Four Beauties. It follows the events of the legend very closely, with a few exceptions.

Xishi is so stunning that she comes to the attention of the King of Yue and his advisor, Fanli. They decide to train her as a spy and send her on a revenge mission to the neighboring King of Wu, using her to topple his regime. Posing as a concubine, she is meant to distract the enemy king and open the way for her people to invade.

It’s a beautiful story with skillful writing. I love a woman using her intelligence and turning men’s weakness, and incomprehension of her as more than an object, against them. The romance is bittersweet, (though not very spicy, for those looking for that) but what I liked most about this story was Xishi’s character growth. Her family experienced trauma at the hands of Wu soldiers, and so it’s understandable that she has a deeply ingrained hatred for all Wu people, considering them all heinous, murdering villains. Once forced to live among them, she begins to realize how similar Wu and Yue people are, and that the only thing truly separating them is a line on a map. She meets people who experienced the same atrocities she did, but at the hands of her own people. You can see as her world expands.

My only quibble is that there are aspects of this story that are unrealistic in terms of adult behavior, and the timeline is ridiculous – an untrained, innocent village girl is trained to become a royal spy extraordinaire in only 10 months? – but keep in mind, this is a YA book, so I don’t really count that against the story at all.

And that ENDING! Now that was entirely unexpected, and I loved it. For me, that ending made up for any minor criticisms I may have had along the way.

If you like historical fantasy, particularly inspired by Chinese legends, and you like YA romantasy, check this one out.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an early copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion!

i was NOT prepared for that ending...
like WHAT?!?!? why ann liang?!??!
i have actually not read a bad ann liang book, and i've read all of them now (if you could see the sun, this time its real, i hope this doesn't find you, i am not jessica chen)
she know how to write a perfect book in length, characters, general writing, and making you FEEL THINGS
i always love the chinese connections
and how can she write every genre so well
if you want a sad, historical fantasy, inspired by old chinese legend, beautiful characters and so much more, this book is definitely for you
i honestly don't know what else to say except read this when it comes out, as well as, ALL of ann liangs other books!
i loved absolutely everything about this

I loved this. Let me start by talking about the romance. A love triangle. Normally I'm not into this. It feels overdone and not unique anymore but this one really worked for me. The writing in this book is so good. The characters feel real. The ending was just ugh. I cried a lot.

Favorite Quote: How many women throughout history were blamed for the weaknesses of men? We made such convenient scapegoats. We were raised to be small, to be silent, to take whatever we were given and no more.

Story Synopsis: Xishi is the most beautiful woman in all the kingdoms, but lives in a poor village ravaged by war from the neighboring kingdom of Wu. She is selected to become King Fuchai’s concubine, but in doing so, also agrees to be a spy for her homeland, Yue. Trained and sent into the lion’s den, Xishi orchestrates a series of events to help bring down Fuchai and Wu. She must learn about love, loss, war, family, and her people.

Why does this book beguile? I LOVED this book.

Until the very end.

This is a fast, thrilling, and heart-rending read. But spoiler: no happy endings to be had. A Song to Drown Rivers is about sacrifice and sadness (not songs or rivers). As a reimagination of a Chinese legend, I didn’t expect a happy ending, however, this book ended similarly to The Song of Achilles (which I detested with the fire of a thousand suns). Great book til the last two chapters and then it all fell apart for me.

°˖➴ ꒰🪐꒱ <b>plot 〰️</b>: xishi is known for her beauty and is seen as a blessing to her village, yue. when xishi meets fanli, a military adviser, he proposes the idea of using her beauty to defeat the rivaling kingdom, wu. xishi agrees and becomes a spy, living with the king who is enchanted by her beauty. the only downside is: if xishi gets caught, then both kingdoms will be taken down.

౨ ✉️ ৎ <b>my opinion ✔️</b>: i really liked this! it held my attention and moved fast enough that i was interested <u>most of the time</u>. that being said, i did still have some issues, causing this to be not quite a 4star, but a 3.75. in usual ann liang fashion, both characters were amazing, both separately AND as a couple. the ending was bittersweet, sad yet later happy. i still dont know how to feel but i think i liked it? im glad that there was hea-ish ending <3 i also really enjoyed the writing! i've previously read '<i>i hope this doesnt find you</i>' and '<i>if you could see the sun</i>' both by ann liang and i liked the writing in those too! i have to say that i think <u>her writing had improved</u> in this book!

°˖➴ ꒰🪐꒱ <b>what i didn't like✖️</b>: as i said before, i was interested and entertained <i>most of the time</i>. this did get boring for me at times. it went pretty fast for most of the book, but at some parts it was SO SLOW! im glad i followed through with it though bcs i ended up really enjoying!

········· ꒰🏹꒱ <b>recommend❔</b> 👍🏻∿👎🏻
જ⁀➴ ···· ౨ 📖 ৎ ⤳ <i>yes!</i> if you usually like ann liang's books then i would say that yes! this is worth it! it is pretty different from her usual fluffy, cutsey, short, love-filt romances <i>BUT</i> it is still <u>just as good</u>!
<b>౨ৎ release date</b>: <u>10/1/24</u> ⁺˖ ✉️❕

Part historical fiction, part legend, “A Song to Drown Rivers” by Ann Liang is exotic and fascinating. This novel is based on the legend of the 4 Chinese Beauties. Xishi reportedly lived in China, in the Yue dynasty in about 400 B.C. She was a young girl in a poor village when she was picked to be a spy and infiltrate the court of the enemy, the Wu Dynasty.

Her story is written as beautifully as a lotus. Besides her exquisite looks, Xishi is intelligent, wily and persistent. She succeeds in her intelligence mission, but pays a terrible price. I found her sorry to be fascinating. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for an advance review copy. This is my honest review.

✩˚.⋆4.75⋆⁺₊✧

“Don’t be a fool, I wish to tell him. I will meet you again in every lifetime there is.”

☾ ARC Review ☾

~ Filled me with pain and hatred, I love it. Her best so far. She needs to write more angsty stuff. I wouldn’t personally classify this as fantasy but I guess it is. It’s more historical cdrama vibes. Some interesting realizations about war and politics that I was hoping to touch on more. Satisfied my need for sadness and yearning. The rage, shock, and pain gave me physical reactions. The ending was complete enough and wasn’t something I guessed.

I have not stopped thinking about them since I finished this. I cried. The absolute heartache that it gives me to think about these characters, especially Fuchai. He’s kind of golden retriever/Cardan vibes. Like hate him all you want but that poor man deserved better. I love men in love I can’t even lie. Like I kept forgetting the bad things he had done because he was just such a simp and honestly I want him.

Thank you net gallery for the advanced copy of this book. This was a historical drama with tragedy and a little bit of forbidden love. A peasant girl is chosen to be a bride and a spy. The first-person narrative at the end was a little strange

Love the title and the cover. The title alone is a great example of what the book is like- very poetic. I really enjoyed it! I wish the backstory about the war was given more time to be explained. Overall, an enjoyable read if you like fantasy and retellings!

I am still crying over this book. Xishi is beautiful beyond and comes across Fanli, King Goujian’s adviser. He proposes she use her beauty to topple the Wu Kingdom. Their story becomes legendary and cautionary.

Best book I have read in a long time!

The book blends Eastern mythology with impressive world-building to tell a powerful and emotional forbidden love story with longing. I am interested to look into her other work! :)

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance reader's copy of the book. I give the author a huge round of applause and all the kudos. This book really kept me guessing what would happen. I honestly thought it would go one way, but then it went a totally different way and I was stunned. This is a beautifully written story and I became immersed in the world and didn't want it to end. Although it didn't end the way I expected it to, it was fantastic. I will be recommending this to all of my friends and family who read as well as to random strangers I meet. 10 out of 10.

I would love to review this book but unfortunately, St. Martin's Press still hasn't offered tangible steps for how they are going to mitigate the harm their racist employee caused, nor addressed how, moving forward, they will support and protect their Muslim, Arab, Palestinian, and other BIPOC influencers, authors and readers.

A beautiful, heartbreaking, heroic story.

A Song to Drown Rivers is a sweeping historical fantasy that explores womanhood, duty, and sacrifice. It will immediately draw you in with vibrant characters and there isn't a moment I wasn't fully invested in the plot.

I would say that this leans much more into historical fiction, with the fantasy element leaning a bit more towards magical realism. Nonetheless, it's a beautiful story and I didn't find myself mad about it!

I love this, I love this, I love this

Nothing I say will be enough to show my love for this book, and I'm counting down the days until I can have a physical copy in my hands(with a bonus because they really pulled out the big guns for this book and gave it everything you could want for a special edition!!!!!)

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. Everything in this review is my own opinion and has in no way been influenced by the writer, publisher, or Netgalley.

Heartful book, wonderful story outline but the characters are slightly lacking. The dialogue is very rushed and to me they lack chemistry. The description and the inner monologue was very well written but interactions not so much. The development of the war and kingdoms are rather vague which makes it harder to really connect to the plot in the first place. We see a few scenes of the bad but it doesnt help with the overall vibe of the story. Overall I did enjoy this book but I wish it was more gripping for the other characters and not just for Xishi.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the opportunity to read this E-arc. This is my honest opinion of the story.

A Song to Drown Rivers is the first book I have read by Ann Liang. Based on an Ancient Chinese legend this was an interesting if unusual read. It doesn’t turn out exactly as I had thought or hoped that it would but then I am not familiar with this legend. A woman using her beauty to further a cause is not new but Xishi is able to perfect her as a weapon.

Most of the time this story reads as a YA book then it veers off some but gets back on track, I guess you would say. I think YA all the way through would have been the best choice for this storyline to stay smooth. As I said at the beginning, an interesting read overall.

If you love palace intrigue, normal people turned spies, and a little romance, A Song to Drown Rivers will captivate you. In this story, two young women from a tiny village are recruited to train as courtiers and spies. Their mission is to infiltrate the court of a rival kingdom and lay the groundwork for an invasion. Months of training with a seemingly stoic advisor has the main character, Xishi, falling in love, but her mission requires her to suppress her feelings and spend two years pretending to love the King of the enemy kingdom.

The writing in this book is beautiful and lulled me into thinking everything would work out for Xishi and her best friend, Zhengdan, and the advisor, Fanli. Even the king, Fuchai, is a sympathetic character whose negative qualities are a product of his upbringing. I wanted them all to have a happily ever after. I could even imagine ways for it to happen.

Unfortunately, this is a tragedy. Four of the five characters have terrible endings. The fifth's life isn't even summarized. Four stars for the beautiful writing and making me want good things for all of these characters. We need an alternate ending because all of these characters deserve a satisfying conclusion!

The writing for this was so beautiful, the story itself was captivating, and the tears shed were real & hard. I have so many quotes I could share from this book (trust me, I will get to them all eventually). But just know, I reread the last 3 pages on this book approximately 6 times after finishing it because I just.. couldn’t. I would’ve gladly taken 200+ more pages of this story. It was truly addicting.
Xishi has been the star of my google search since reading this past and I will do everything I can to read everything I can about her!!!

I would love to share my thoughts on this book as I enjoyed it very much but due to the St. Martin's Press boycott, I will hold off until that is lifted.