Perfection!! this was absolutely amazing!!!I devoured this! this was so much more than what I expected!
OMG I'm literally speechless. when I tell you I ran to preorder this! I mean look at the cover it's stunning and those edges !! chef's kiss!
Can't wait to have this beauty on my shelf! Amazing read, definitely recommend! 10 stars!!

*thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review*

A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang
★★★☆☆
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ARC received on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A Song to Drown Rivers was a beautiful novel to read. The prose is captivating and lyrical, quite reminiscent of traditional Chinese poetry. The questions and ideas posed by Ann Liang within the story were thought-provoking and interesting to read. With this alone, I’d recommend A Song to Drown Rivers for anyone to read.

There were however, many things that made the book fall flat for me. What I loved about the novel was also its downfall. The excessive amount of poetic descriptions made the pace of the story feel rather slow. Xishi’s concubine training in 10 weeks from the poorest farmer girl to a snake in human flesh was simply unrealistic and glossed over. The romance between Xishi and Fanli was not compelling. Similar to the issue of the concubine training, it occurred off screen, and I would have found the tension and yearning more convincing had there been more development during their time living together. I would have been interested in reading a potential love develop between Xishi and Fuchai in comparison, despite how the legends go. Fuchai felt like the second-most fleshed out character in the story, apart from Xishi. There were a few more gripes that I had, but for the sake of avoiding spoilers I will omit them here.

This is not to say that A Song to Drown Rivers is a bad book by any means. While it is not a book I would re-read, I plan to read Ann Liang’s other stories in the future.

This book was the equivalent of being stabbed in the heart with a bejeweled dagger by someone who you called a friend. It was beautiful and heartbreaking and I don't know if I will ever recover from that ending. Ann Liang's contemporary novels are amazing, but they don't hold a candle to what she can do with fantasy. Liang weaves a breathtaking tapestry of star-crossed love, sacrifice, betrayal, and the reality of how blurred the lines of war are. I don't know if I have ever read a novel that tugged at my very soul like this before. A Song to Drown Rivers exceeded all of my expectations-- I cannot recommend it highly enough.

First, I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher that I was able to get an arc in exchange for an honest review.

We enter the Wu and Yue kingdoms, where a war has taken place and the Yue have fallen but want their revenge. We then meet Xishi, who is elegantly beautiful and can use it as a weapon. We then meet Fanli who recruits her on their mission to avenge the Yue kingdom and defeat the Wu. Xishi must captivate the king, Fuchai, and have him consumed by her while she takes the kingdom from the inside.

Ann did such a beautiful job with the writing style where she was able to express the background and different details of the characters and keep you hooked still on every word.

This is one of my first works by her and I am excited to see what else she has and has planned.

This story was a beautiful tragedy and I have no words to describe how much it broke me but how much I love it.

The only comment I want to make on this book is it left me feeling utterly destroyed in the best way possible. Immediately reading the rest of the authors catalog but also slightly concerned with what I may be getting myself into.

I received this book from NetGalley. Like all the other books I have read from NetGalley, I am not obligated to write reviews. I liked this book so much I preordered a copy for my shelves.
It is inspired by one of the famous Four Beauties of Ancient China.
Readers who enjoy historical fiction, strong female, and male characters, slow burn clean romance, Ancient China, and Chinese legends will love this book. It is about what it means to be a woman, a person. Where your value and worth lies. It is also about duty, war, revenge, and seeing both sides of a coin.
I truly enjoyed it.

Description
Preorder now and receive the stunning DELUXE LIMITED EDITION while supplies last―featuring a gold foiled cover, gorgeous sprayed edges with stenciled artwork, as well as exclusive metallic ink patterned endpapers and unique foiled front and back case stamps. This breathtaking collectible is only available on a limited first print run, a must-have for any book lover.

“Exquisite and devastating. It won’t fail to move you.” —Shelley Parker-Chan, #1 bestselling author of She Who Became the Sun

Inspired by the legend of Xishi, one of the famous Four Beauties of Ancient China, A Song to Drown Rivers is an epic historical fantasy about womanhood, war, sacrifice, and love against all odds as the fate of two kingdoms hangs in a delicate balance.

Her beauty hides a deadly purpose.

Xishi’s beauty is seen as a blessing to the villagers of Yue—convinced that the best fate for a girl is to marry well and support her family. When Xishi draws the attention of the famous young military advisor, Fanli, he presents her with a rare opportunity: to use her beauty as a weapon. One that could topple the rival neighboring kingdom of Wu, improve the lives of her people, and avenge her sister’s murder. All she has to do is infiltrate the enemy palace as a spy, seduce their immoral king, and weaken them from within.

Trained by Fanli in everything from classical instruments to concealing emotion, Xishi hones her beauty into the perfect blade. But she knows Fanli can see through every deception she masters, the attraction between them burning away any falsehoods.

Once inside the enemy palace, Xishi finds herself under the hungry gaze of the king’s advisors while the king himself shows her great affection. Despite his gentleness, a brutality lurks and Xishi knows she can never let her guard down. But the higher Xishi climbs in the Wu court, the farther she and Fanli have to fall—and if she is unmasked as a traitor, she will bring both kingdoms down.

"Stunning and heart-rending." —Chloe Gong, #1 bestselling author of Immortal Longings

Wow! What a rich, beautiful story!
This was truly an experience and I could not put down my kindle.

The world building is exquisite. From the smallest of details to the overarching plot... It was just perfect.

Liang does an excellent job reimagining the Legend of Xishi. You feel Xishi's emotions, the rawness and the anger.
And what absolutely broke me was her acceptance at the end. How unfair and tragic was that ending.

That said, there were some issues with the pacing/timing in a few places, that caused me to do some back reading. The time that threw me off the most was when it was implied that about a year has passed in one spot, but then Xishi refers to it only having been a few weeks. This was mildly distracting, as her interaction with another character would have made sense with the time only being a few weeks, but not it having been a year.

This was still a solid 5⭐ read for me though!

I'm withholding my review in solidarity with the St. Martin's Press boycott and will be happy to post my review once the #SpeakUpSMP demands have been met.

This was genuinely one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever read!

I haven’t read many other historical fantasies but this has convinced me that I need to read more because of how much I loved it.

The writing was absolutely stunning . It made the story so much more impactful and really made me feel connected to the characters and their stories. The characters she wrote were so complex that I couldn’t tell who I was supposed to love and hate at times.

The romance in this book was done so perfectly!! There was soo much tension and longing. I felt more through one of their glances than I have through some entire romance books. I also appreciated how the love story never took away from the important messages in the book but it was also never overshadowed by them.

Thank you to Netgalley, Ann Liang, and St. Martins Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I finished A Song to Drown Rivers less than five minutes ago. I am broken and I am healed and I am changed. Xishi -the girl who becomes the blade- has carved her name into my heart. This is my first Ann Liang book and I am absolutely blown over by the beauty, the tenderness, the soul tearing heartache of this story. The ugliness of war is perfectly balanced by the delicate gentleness of love -between mother and child, lovers real and counterfeit, long-lost fathers and their daughters on a bloody journey for vengeance. The Asian representation I've longed for is so present throughout the entire book. Xishi's mind is so vivid, handled with such care -from the details of the food she eats to the description of the silk threads she washes in cold river water. I can only hope that we are lucky enough to meet these characters again in another story from Ann. I will think of Fanli and Xishi and Fuchai and Luyi and all the rest fondly until then, or until we meet them again on the other side of the river.

Ebook received for free through NetGalley


An incredible with characters and scenery and everything that grabs you and doesn’t let you go. I’m so glad I came across it.

I absolutely love Ann Liang’s books, and it was cool to see her writing a different genre! I will say, I don’t think the genre is really for me. But, that being said, there were still moments I enjoyed, and I think the overall story has a lot that can be taken away from it.

“I would burn this kingdom down into ashes, turn all its men into smoke”

‘A Song To Drown Rivers’ is a gripping tale about politics, war, sacrifices, and brutal yearning. It is, without a doubt, in my mind that Ann Liang is a brilliant writer. Her prose was vibrant and dreamlike — I was lost in the world she designed. This book was an utter, irrevocable gut-punch, filled with furtive glances and clandestine touch.

It makes me sad that I didn’t enjoy this as much as I hoped I would. While the writing was intricate and captivating, for 80% of the book, there was never enough suspense or stake. Xishi always wins in everything she plans: she managed to drew in the King from the first moment they met, and turned her court enemies to allies with one conversation.

Many Thanks to netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC! <3

4.5 stars

I really love this book. What well written and beautifully flawed perfect characters. The whole story just flows, and the prose is pristine. I really want this special edition for my shelf ❤️

I’ll be honest, I was sucked in by the look of the special edition. I cannot help myself.

The writing for this was beautiful. Every character is multidimensional and flawed, with a lot of morally ambiguous choices to go around. The entire tone is dark and heartbreaking all the way up to the bittersweet ending.

I will say that I think the politics & characters were better developed than the romance, which I did not buy into as much as I would have liked. Pacing wise, this starts off so strong and gripping but gets a bit muddled towards the middle.

Overall, a great book and I would pick up more by this author for sure.

A Song to Drown Rivers is a well told story reminiscent of a folk tale. A beautiful young woman is recruited to seduce and then betray the king of the conquering kingdom. Along the way she finds love, duty, and betrayal.

Can she complete the mission? And what of the cost?

It's a very compelling story! The pacing and dialogue works well, and the characters are well developed. I also really enjoyed the writing style!

Of of the books i ever read , the chracter are well develloped , the romance was like the best one i ever seen and i would never prepared my self for this kind of tension between the two lovers . The book universe is well built too
I SAID WHAT I SAID 2024 IS ANN LIANG YEAR

This book is a beautifully told retelling of the story of Xi Shi, one of the mythological Four Great Beauties of China. A heartbreakingly romantic tale, peasant girl Xishi is chosen because of her exceptional beauty to be used as a tool of revenge for her people. Trained in both royal etiquette and espionage, she is sent to become the concubine of a king whose army had brutally conquered her people. The tragic ending is both heart wrenching and poetic. I devoured the book in one sitting, and I felt heavily invested in the outcomes for all of the main characters.

I did read this book through an eARC graciously provided by NetGalley, but the preview pictures of the special edition with sprayed edges looks absolutely stunning. I will definitely be buying a copy to display on my shelves, especially because I know I will want to revisit this story again. There is a timeless feel to the way Ann Liang reimagines this legend that is highly re-readable and accessible.

Ann Liang's A Song to Drown Rivers is an enthralling tale of longing, sacrifice, and a beautiful woman's quest for vengeance against the nation that murdered her sister. I read it in one sitting, but this story will haunt me for days.

Xishi is well acquainted with loss and sacrifice. Her sister has been dead for several years when she crosses paths with Fanli, military advisor to the defeated Yue king Goujian. Fanli is known for his brilliance in strategy and in battle, and he presents her with a unique opportunity to enact revenge against the kingdom whose soldiers killed her sister.

Despite the danger that she knows will await her, she agrees to be trained in the ways of the court so that the Yue king can present her as a bride to their conquerer, King Fuchai. She will make him love her while she works to destabilize his kingdom from within the palace.

I cannot say enough good things about this book. The pacing was perfect for me as an ADHD reader. Ann balanced moments of urgency with moments of quiet reflection in a way that kept me engaged from start to finish. She managed to weave an unreal amount of longing and romantic tension between Fanli and Xishi without a single touch between them.

She handled each character's journey and development with care, ensuring that the villains have gentle, loveable qualities and the heroes have frustrating faults. I especially loved the way she characterized the Wu king Fuchai. I could feel Xishi's growing conflict as she spent more time with the Wu king and his people and realized that they do not have to be monsters in order to do monstrous things.

I highly recommend this book to readers who enjoy historical fiction, legend re-tellings, slow-burn romance, and heart-aching conclusions. This is the kind of book that will absolutely wreck you, but in a good way.