OH MY GOD! I loved this book so much that I want to buy a physical copy. I was haunting and beautiful. I wish I could re-read it for the first time again. Like I said, I will be buying the physical copy!!

Utterly original, I wanted to start it over immediately upon finishing.

Extensive review to come need to marinate on this.

I AM COMPLETELY WRECKED BY THAT ENDING OH MY GOD 😭😭 this story was so beautiful, it was nonstop intrigue. The characters were exceptional, the plot was plotting and the ending had me sobbing! All the stars!!!

I went into this book without knowing at all what to expect. It is heartbreakingly beautiful in its story and it's message. The ending is unlike any other l've experienced, but I found so much peace in it.
The political intrigue makes it such that you as a reader never know whom to trust. The book is short but makes its point incredibly well.
Those who love Asian settings and culture in their reads will find this a perfect fit.
This reads along the same lines of The Lies of the Ajungo for me.
The main character's experiences drive home the themes without a need for elaborate world building or intense character arcs. I love this and cannot wait to have a physical copy on my shelf.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an eArc of this title.

Good grief, I thought Abby Jimenez could make me cry in a novel but this one WRECKED me. There should be a a warning on the cover of this book!

when I tell y’all I violently sobbed at the last 100 pages of this book, oh my god. This was one of the most beautifully written books I have read in a long time. I did not want it to end. I am still crying thinking about it. I am in shock ❤️‍🩹 *Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC for this book*

"The mind destroys, the heart devours..."

"A Song to Drown Rivers" is an apt title for a novel that left me brokenhearted. The story takes place in the Kingdom of Yue, where we meet Xishi, a woman whose beauty rivals nature. Xishi is assigned the task of avenging the people of her nation against the Kingdom of Wu, ruled by King Fuchai. To achieve this, Xishi must seduce King Fuchai and infiltrate the palace forces while under the gaze of the king's watchful advisors.

Fanli, the military advisor to King Goujian of the Yue Kingdom, trains Xishi to use her beauty as a weapon of destruction while they both struggle to ignore their feelings for each other. Once she enters Wu court, Xishi must ensure there is no discovery of her traitorous behaviour.

Ann Liang took me by surprise with this one. I recently read "If You Could See the Sun," which was an average read for me - I found it too YA. I am glad I gave "A Song to Drown Rivers" a chance because it made up for everything lacking in my previous read.

There were well-rounded characters, and the storyline was well-developed. The ending of the novel stunned me. I was not expecting the ending that I got. It left me so sad because I wanted a different outcome.

Xishi displayed extensive courage! I would not have been able to do what she did and still have hope for a fulfilling life.

Fanli endured! He knows what it means to have a poker face amid adversity.

King Fuchai became one of my favourite characters. I developed a strong liking for him and also wished things had turned out differently.

Overall, A Song to Drown Rivers is a well-written novel highlighting the meaning of sacrifice and love.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Initially, I had mixed feelings about the premise, but boy, did it surprise me! Ann took me on an incredible journey filled with romance, suspense, and moments that kept me guessing till the end. The story wasn't anything I expected, and I mean that in the best way possible!

While some may label this as a love triangle, I found the dynamics between the characters to be much more nuanced than that. The complex relationship between Xishi and Fuchai was expertly crafted, with the author skillfully revealing Fuchai's redeeming qualities without diminishing Xishi's agency. I found myself unexpectedly rooting for Fuchai, despite knowing Xishi's feelings, and that's a testament to the author's talent in crafting characters that feel so real.

The simplicity of the writing style made the story incredibly easy to follow, and the fast-paced narrative kept me turning pages like there was no tomorrow. It served as the perfect palate cleanser after finishing a lengthy series.

This is undoubtedly a book that will stay with me long after I've finished. It's a story that demands to be owned and revisited time and time again. Upon completing the book, I went ahead and pre-ordered it immediately. I'm immensely grateful to Netgalley for providing the opportunity to read this gem in advance.

Absolutely loved this book, 10 stars! Based on a Chinese legend, it's the story of Xishi, a beautiful young woman in a backwater village which has been destroyed by a nearby enemy kingdom. When Xishi is approached by a mysterious handsome stranger, Fanli, who asks her to spy on the enemy kingdom, Xishi sees it as an opportunity to bring down the enemy kingdom and avenge her sister's murder. Xishi is gifted to the king as a bride, Xishi's task is to essentially seduce him. But as Xishi comes to know him, she's less certain about her task. And as she gets more into her training with Fanli, her feelings for him begin to interfere as well. Is the king as evil as she has heard? Will it really make a difference if he's gone?

Beautifully written, with wonderful characters, A Song to Drown Rivers will grab you from the very first pages to the surprising end!

Wow. I am left speechless and sobbing.

I could not book this book down, instantly I was drawn in and did not want to stop reading. When I did have to put it down, it was all I could think about. The world, the writing, the storytelling…it was all amazing.

This is such an incredible and well written book. I never expected the ending, and I was left sobbing. I am going to be up all night thinking of this book and the characters. I was lucky enough to read an ARC of this book but will be pre-ordering so I can have one of the beautiful limited edition copies for my collection.

This is the first book in a long time that has brought me to tears and left me shocked. This is one of those books that I wish I could re-read for the first time. Once the shock wears off I think I will reread this one soon.

St. Martin's Press provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All opinions in this review are my own. Publication date is set for October 1, 2024.

This book is beautifully written and for a while that was enough for me to thoroughly enjoy it, but some pacing issues start making themselves clear by the halfway point. The plot is extremely slow to get off the ground, which isn't always a problem - except the characters are also relatively thin and the love interest is quickly shuffled away by the story, so no new developments are coming in on that front, either. I think that some filler could have been removed and the court politics increased to make this a much more enjoyable read, but unfortunately my experience with it was that it's pretty but insubstantial.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this early!

Just...wow. From beginning to end, this book absolutely shattered my heart. It was beautiful and tragic in the best way, and I'm so grateful I got to experience this story. The author did an amazing job here!

This book is phenomenal. Lushly detailed, poetically written, both sweepingly epic and heartbreakingly intimate. The details were so vivid I could see them in my mind, and the characters were nuanced, sympathetic, and complex (even Fuchai, who I liked way more than I probably should have). I cried my eyes out at the end. This is a gorgeous book and I will be recommending it to everyone.

I see pining plus gorgeous writing and I’m a goner. This book had that and a rich tapestry of a story that sucked me in immediately and never let me go.

The plot revolves around Xishi, who is so beautiful that she is enlisted by the emperor and his advisory to seduce his enemy and her peoples’ political oppressor.

Even though this story leans more romantic, it is surpassingly adept in its descriptions and portrayal of political alliances and consequences.

This is a gorgeous book. I recommend going in knowing as little as possible.

first of all i would like to thank netgalley and st martin’s press so so so much for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. ann liang is one of my favourite authors and i honestly thought i was dreaming when i got the notification saying my request was approved :’)

this book destroyed me. ann did an incredible job with crafting an immensely captivating storyline and characters. she struck such a fine balance between plot and character development, and one of the things that struck me most was the torment xishi was going through. i think it added so much to the reading experience and made me feel the pain and struggle of the characters. obviously i can’t give any spoilers but just know that i am dying to express my thoughts and feelings about certain characters and plotlines.

one word to describe this entire book: bittersweet.

i can’t wait for everyone to experience reading this when it’s out in october. i was so invested and i loved it beyond words. 5 stars.

note: i will be adding to my review after the book is released because i don’t want to risk anyone getting spoiled!

A Song to Drown Rivers
By Ann Liang

4.75/5 stars

First, I want to thank St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC. I was drawn in by the cover and the initial book blurb, and in the end blown away by the quality of writing and enfolding tale.

You discover early on that this is a retelling by Xishi, our main protagonist. It’s a recollection of a specific 5-ish years. It’s given away, along with some foreshadowing, with statements such as “if I’d known then”, etc. I imagined one of three scenarios for when this was being retold: 1. She was living an inconspicuous life and finally telling the tale of these fantastical events; 2. There was a twist of events and she had come into a place of power, or 3. She was in exile recalling how that came to be. And none of those were correct. The ending is much, much stranger. But I’ll get to that in a minute.

This was a grim but beautiful story. I knew early on that whatever end lay before us it would break my heart, but I couldn’t stop. The short of it is that this is a historical fiction, a tale of political espionage by a village woman turned concubine for the enemy court. It was devastating and heartbreaking, but one where it’s hard to look away.

I appreciated the reality of it all – we didn’t get a sugar-coated story where there really couldn’t be one. War is ugly, and as a central part of taking down a kingdom, Xishi’s own tale could not be expected to be other than it is. And because of that, loved it even more. In the end, I was happy to see Xishi be so conflicted, and recognize her own part in the devastation.

The writing was superb. I lived the world, learned the rules of the court, saw each swish of the robes, and admired the lanterns hung for the banquets. It was mystical without there being magic. I loved the immersion into these foreign lands.

We had several strong female characters, each clever and deadly in their own ways. We have a forbidden love with a high official, Fanli, but this was not a romance. At least not in the typical sense. It was admiration and longing from the edges. A pull and push that carried over years, and though it fed into the tension of the story, I did not feel it was the main plot. The main plot was complicated, but direct. There was one goal – capture the Wue King’s eye and heart - just challenges achieving it. And in the end Xishi’s wins…but at what cost?

This story was a 5 star at the 32% mark, the 68%, and up until the very end – right up until Xishi received official news that she had completed her mission. Unfortunately, the last few chapters from that point on felt like a completely different novel. I felt it got lost.

Don’t get me wrong. As I stated previously, I knew early on, while Xishi was receiving her initial training, that this was a tale of tragedy. I even correctly assumed who would be lost first. So, I’m not looking for or expecting a happy ending. However, I was looking for something more in line with the tale and motivations of the characters.

To be honest, from what we learn in the tale, including the current ending, I don’t feel that the King of Yue would have acted so direct and swiftly in the case of Xishi. She wasn’t a Wu turned traitor. She was a symbol. Even his soldiers knew who she was, and she was celebrated back home. I feel he would have paraded her for a while, the perfect propaganda and distraction. War is ugly but she was beautiful.

I feel it would have made more sense if he had gone after her later, and possibly through an order to Fanli, a test of his loyalty. And at that point we could have a change of point of view…instead of what we got.

The end as it is written really is just too odd. It turned historical fiction into a fantasy – maybe magical realism. It really was strange, and for that dropped my overall rating.

I still recommend this book. I’m sure there are plenty of others who will say the same. It was powerful and splendid writing. I loved the time period, the setting, and the characters. And would possibly read it again at some point.

A heartbreaking tale painting the pain and sacrifice women endure for those they love, be it family, lovers, or their own country. An absolutely amazing historical fantasy retelling akin to Song Of Achilles.
4.5 stars

I would give this 4.25 stars. I enjoyed reading this, and finished in just a single day since I didn't want to stop!

Liang has created a plot that resembles many dramatic and well-loved East Asian television series. I love media set in historical times, especially the dynastic royalty periods. Xishi is an interesting protagonist to follow, and her interactions with the other characters in the made me feel many ways. Liang makes the second male-lead likable and even pitiful, which makes Xishi's final actions even more heart wrenching. The novel's ending is also unexpected, and while I was sad to read about it, I think it spoke to a larger morale that makes the story even more meaningful. Nonetheless, there were moments that as a reader I found harder to digest, between the love triangle as it was clear Xishi had to remain naive for the story to move along.

In addition, I found Liang's adult debut to be much more enjoyable than her previous works (though that would make sense for a reader of my demographic). Liang takes intentional blocks of text to create descriptive imagery and world building; while I first found the title to be hit on the nose a bit too hard, I did find her prose elegant and something that stood out compared to her other novels.

Overall. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would love to read more similar works. Liang has crafted a beautiful tale set in one of my favorite eras, and I would recommend this to others who enjoy consuming similar media, and would like to see Liang's adult debut.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for this truly amazing book.

I have never in my life had a book that struck me so hard. I am not a cryer, but this book brought me to tears.

I was sobbing. The book will stay with me forever. I can not recommend this book highly enough. This book should be on absolutely everyone's must read list.

Amazing writer. Amazing characters. Just please read this one!

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

Ever since I read the summary of this book I desperately needed to read it and I'm super grateful for the opportunity to review an early copy. However, I found the book highly disappointing.

Because I was intrigued by the story, I went online and did some research about the legend it is inspired by and after reading the book I realised that it was just an extended version of the legend. No new plot twists, no high stakes. Everything flowed for the FMC, and even when complications appeared, they were solved within a few paragraphs.

The court intrigue aspect was extremely disappointing. There was nothing to be anxious over, and the FMC hardly tried. We're told she's unnaturally beautiful and apparently that's enough for her to make it to the top. No power play (which is expected when the words court intrigue are mentioned), no high stakes, no intricate schemes. The antagonists weren't as villanous as I was expecting them to be either. The evil emperor was just a petulant young king, not cruel at all and his ending, again, was just disappointing.

As for the romance, it happened too quickly. The FMC and her love interest went from strangers to developing feelings in the span of two chapters with just the description of "one year passed".

Overall, it was a 2/5 stars read for me, and that is only because the final chapter made me sob my eyes out and I love a book that makes me cry. But it still wasn't enough to outweigh the rest. For a historical (fantastical) novel, centred around court intrigue, it should have been more.