*A Song to Drown Rivers* by Ann Liang is a beautifully written book with lyrical prose and a captivating world that pulls you in from the start. The characters were not richly developed, but the emotional depth of the story keeps you hooked. However, while the journey is powerful, the ending left me feeling bittersweet, as it leans toward the sad side. I was hoping for a more hopeful resolution, but the storytelling is great, It’s a poignant and immersive tale, just be prepared for some heartbreak.

More of a 3.5 maybe.

This was definitely one of my most anticipated books of the year and despite receiving the arc long ago, I kept putting it off. As luck would have it, I got the audiobook copy narrated by none other than the amazing Natalie Naudus and had to pick it up immediately. And as always, her narration is an unforgettable force of nature.

I went into this without knowing the original myth coz I wanted it to feel fresh in my mind and was immediately intrigued by the beautiful Xi Shi. The writing is also very lyrical, with a poetic flow to it, and listening to it made it much more interesting. But I have to say, the plot and characters didn’t live up to what I was expecting from it. Most of the plot happens off the page and we are told about it later, which made me feel very detached from the characters and I couldn’t root for them as much as I wanted.

Xi Shi and her love interest Fanli are also separated for most of the book, with just a few intense scenes between them all throughout, which makes the marketing of the book as a romance disingenuous. The spy part of the storyline also felt unsatisfactory because while I enjoyed the developing dynamics between Xi Shi and the enemy king Fuchai, I would have loved to see more of both Xi Shi’s training to be a spy and the way she applies her training to seduce Fuchai and make him do his bidding. What she actually does in the book felt too simplistic to be such a decisive factor in changing the fate of two kingdoms.

While it might feel like I’m only criticizing the book, it’s more just me venting my frustration because I wanted it to be so much better. But despite these issues, I never did get bored throughout and really enjoyed listening to the audiobook, and was quite heartbroken towards the end. If you are interested in the book, do go in noting that this is more of a historical fiction drama and not a romantasy, and it might temper your expectations. I still wanna see what the author writes next outside of her usual YA contemporaries.

More of a 3.5 maybe.

This was definitely one of my most anticipated books of the year and despite receiving the arc long ago, I kept putting it off. As luck would have it, I got the audiobook copy narrated by none other than the amazing Natalie Naudus and had to pick it up immediately. And as always, her narration is an unforgettable force of nature.

I went into this without knowing the original myth coz I wanted it to feel fresh in my mind and was immediately intrigued by the beautiful Xi Shi. The writing is also very lyrical, with a poetic flow to it, and listening to it made it much more interesting. But I have to say, the plot and characters didn’t live up to what I was expecting from it. Most of the plot happens off the page and we are told about it later, which made me feel very detached from the characters and I couldn’t root for them as much as I wanted.

Xi Shi and her love interest Fanli are also separated for most of the book, with just a few intense scenes between them all throughout, which makes the marketing of the book as a romance disingenuous. The spy part of the storyline also felt unsatisfactory because while I enjoyed the developing dynamics between Xi Shi and the enemy king Fuchai, I would have loved to see more of both Xi Shi’s training to be a spy and the way she applies her training to seduce Fuchai and make him do his bidding. What she actually does in the book felt too simplistic to be such a decisive factor in changing the fate of two kingdoms.

While it might feel like I’m only criticizing the book, it’s more just me venting my frustration because I wanted it to be so much better. But despite these issues, I never did get bored throughout and really enjoyed listening to the audiobook, and was quite heartbroken towards the end. If you are interested in the book, do go in noting that this is more of a historical fiction drama and not a romantasy, and it might temper your expectations. I still wanna see what the author writes next outside of her usual YA contemporaries.

a 2.5 read.

the plot was not interesting. there were no reason why the MCs like each other, and when did it start for MMC? like out of the blue he has this feelings for FMC, there were instances were some scenes were not practical, and most of the story was not even between the MCs.
FuChai does not have the intention of attacking the other kingdom, he deserved better, and the ending was so absurd.
but one thing i can say i really liked about this book is that there were no cuss words unlike other books by the author.

Voice wise I like it. The narrator did a great job woth the characters and I enjoy it.
Story wise was very good and I love the whole setting and background of the story . Can wait for the physical

I had high expectations coming in here, but I just didn't love it.

At times it felt tedious, the romance never quite felt genuine, especially for it being advertised as a romantasy. The characters didn't connect with me or have much personality in my opinion.

Ultimately this wasn't my cup of tea, which is a bummer.

4.5 stars! Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this advanced copy! You can pick up A Song to Drown Rivers on October 1, 2024.

This book was absolutely gorgeous from beginning to end. The writing was lyrical, but not too flowery, and I love how Ann Liang built this world and these characters. The story felt almost addictive, like when you binge a TV drama, and it had compelling interpersonal political and romantic conflicts.

The narrator did a fantastic job bringing Xishi, Fanli, and more to life. You could feel the emotion behind Xishi's words, just like you could feel the restraint of emotion in Fanli. Their forbidden romance was delicious and heartbreaking, especially when you're almost tempted to root for the villian of our story, Fuchai. But Liang reminds us time and time again how awful he is, tempering the times we want to sympathize and pity him with the moments when we hate him, like Xishi. Liang showcased how easy it is to place people into boxes like "enemy" when in reality we're so multi-faceted it's impossible to be only one thing.

The ending absolutely devastated me, and I did NOT see it coming. It did feel right, though, after everything that occurred. I wish we'd had a little bit more on-page romance, but the moments we did get had me kicking my feet giggling.

If you're looking for a historical drama with forbidden romance, political maneuvering, and a woman getting revenge, this is your book!

Not my typical genre and I am reminded why. This story fell short for me. Where is the romance? This is tagged a "fantasy", but I'm not really sure where that is either? More historical fiction to me, which I love but I know nothing about the "Four Beauties of Ancient China" and this book really does nothing to explain that. A song to drown rivers is marketed as adult, however I'd say it is more YA, which I am not a fan of.

I loved the premise of this book and enjoyed the execution for the most part. The only thing I wanted more of was detailed descriptions of Xishi's training. The fast pace of the plot may have hurt more than helped the evolution of the story, but enough was done in setting the political scene at court and the machinations of both concubines and advisors to maintain favour to keep me engaged.

Know thine enemy is the foundation of this read. For only then can you defeat them. Enough was done with character building for the reader to form opinions of each of the main characters and to follow their actions in the page. Definitely a read I'd recommend.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Ann Liang for an advanced copy of this book.

Xishi is one of the 4 great beauties of China. With that beauty, she can be a great weapon.

“So this is what it feels like… to be cut with your own blade.”

FIVE STARS. This was s beautiful and tragic. I was hooked from the beginning. Ann Liang writes in a gorgeous way it almost feels like poetry.
Do not skip this one!

I did really enjoy this book, although found it a little lacking. It was difficult to really get into, and I’m not a huge fan of love triangles. HOWEVER, will I be recommending this to my friends? Absolutely

Thanks so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the Audio ARC!

4.75/5 stars

First, Narration and Production: There is a reason Natalie Naudus is my favorite narrator...she's incredible. I will listen to pretty much anything she reads!

This book broke my heart in the best way - I love and hate the ending. It was beautiful and poetic and fitting, and I love that Liang didn't shy away from the difficult choice....but god my heart hurts. I'm not crying, you're crying...

The writing was stunning, the voice was clear and positioned perfectly, and the story was wonderful. I loved the characters, even when I hated what they were doing. It didn't dive too deep into every detail but I could still picture what was happening and feel fully invested in every aspect. If I had a complaint, it would have been that I wish the 10 weeks she spends in training could have had a little more time to see her changes, and the romance, blossom a bit more in real-time....but even that is not a big complaint.

I love that she made mistakes and then had to find ways around them - I love that characters died (I mean, I hate it but...) and faced real consequ4eneces for their actions....I love the lyrical writing and the beauty and pain laced together in an elegant and heart-wrenching story. I just loved it, truly.

I have been drawn to the beautiful legends and retellings found in more cultures outside of my usual wheelhouse, and I am so happy this one came across my dashboard. This beautiful novel is described to be inspired by one of the four beauties of Ancient China, Xishi, which is also the name of the main character of the book.

Xishi is a girl whose family has known great heart ache after the loss of her younger sister, and she blames herself for not being able to keep the young girl quiet when the soldiers invaded her home. Though no one would blame her for this, he blames herself and she carries this guilt with her but also a quest for vengeance against the invading forces which destroyed her family and life.

As Xishi is washing silks by the river one day, she stands up for a young girl being pursued, and is then, in returned saved by a man who turns out to be a military member of her own army. He devises a plan which would put her neck on the line and into the current ruling emperors bed, but she would have the opportunity to have her vengeance should the plan pay off.

This book was so incredibly good. It was beautifully written and Xishi was a force to be reckon with.

A historical fantasy retelling with an ending that will leave you with all the feels.

So this book is inspired by the legend of Xishi, one of the famous Four Beauties of Ancient China, which I am not familiar with. But I love that the story centres on Xishi, an uncommonly beautiful young woman who is selected to be a spy to get revenge for her sister's murder.

This book follows similar beats to other YA/new adult fantasy adventure stories. We have the training montage, the almost getting caught, the supportive side characters, the love interest she needs to deny in order to fulfil her plan. I'm not taking away from the story with this comment at all. These beats are used for a reason, because they create a compelling and fast-paced storyline.

Where the book really hits is at the end. I won't spoil anything, but I'd say the ending really elevates the impact of the book and I'm so glad Ann Liang took the story there.

Natalie Naudus is one of my absolute favourite narrators. She brings such a depth and soul to this book that I don't think I would have gotten had I just read it. If you love audiobooks, definitely opt for the audio version of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC.

This book is best read by a river, while your lover watches from the opposite side.

I didn’t expect to love this as much as I did! I went into it expecting a romantasy, and I feel like it kind of read as a romantasy, but much more as an epic fantasy with heavy political intrigue - which is much more up my alley! Don’t go into this one expecting the romance or fantasy to be front and center, because they’re not. There is also not really any spice. I also went into this not realizing how closely it was based on Chinese legends - and again, I’m glad - I avoided a lot of spoilers that way!

I really enjoyed the main character, Xishi. I felt like she was very flawed but also a very strong FMC. I thought her relationships with a lot of the other characters were incredibly interesting. Because she spent a large portion of the book among people she considered to be enemies or untrustworthy, I really appreciated how nuanced her views of them became. Despite not being aware of the legends, I did see the ending coming…but it still hit me in ways I wasn’t prepared for!

I also really enjoyed the audio narration, especially as someone who would not have known how to pronounce any of the character names.

I would highly recommend this epic historical fantasy. I’m always looking for great fantasy stand-alone books, and this was one of my favorites so far this year!

Okay, that’s it. Natalie Naudus is absolutely my favorite narrator. She kills it every single time. And I’m genuinely attracted to her male voice. I could not even like a book and she’ll still make it a 5 star experience. Thankfully, not liking the book was not the case here.

A Song to Drown Rivers was an excellent standalone fantasy novel. My only complaint is that it wasn’t at least 100 pages longer because I desperately needed more. Talk about the most heartbreaking ending ever. I might never survive the pain Liang handed on a silver platter. Beautiful writing, strong heroine, forbidden romance, and a smitten villain. The true villain here though is not a rival king, but the devastation of war. I really can’t recommend this book enough, it was fantastic.

This is a hard one to review because another reviewer ruined the ending for me (and I will never forgive your for that, NT!) So I wonder how much of this is the result of my tainted feelings while reading and how much comes from my true impressions of the book. There is another issue for me that comes in the form of a Chekhov's Gun. I cannot explain that further without going into spoilers myself, so I will have to just say that if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it should also hide during hunting season.
Anyway. A Song to Drown Rivers is a retelling of the Chinese myth of The Four Beauties, with the focus on Xishi. It is a complicated story of love and betrayal. It is relatively short in length, and the characterization misses some marks because of this. Still, the story is interesting and tragic.
This book would be great for fans of Nataly Gruender's Medusa, which came out earlier this year.
I also listened to the audiobook, and Natalie Naudus did an amazing job narrating.
True 3.5, rounding up to 4.
Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for this advanced copy to review!

Thank you, NetGalley, for an advanced audio copy of “A Song to Drown Rivers” by Ann Liang in exchange for a review.

When I saw Book of the Month released this in September, I was intrigued but hesitant, so I was thrilled I got the chance to experience it on NetGalley. I shouldn’t have hesitated. This has potential to be in my Top 5 books of 2024! It had a little bit of everything…love, mystery, strong women, suspense. The author did such a good job with character development and story.

You won’t want to miss this one! I’m planning to preorder a physical copy to have on my shelves.

The first book I ever read by Ann Liang was A Song to Drown Rivers. I didn't realize I had read it until halfway through the first chapter on audio, but I'm happy to report the narrator added something new by giving the characters a vivid voice, which made me even more of a fan of the story on my second reading. Even though I was aware of most of the plot's turns and turns, I still thought the story flowed nicely. I adore the story's femme fatale and forbidden romance elements. I love reading historical fiction, and this one captivated me from the beginning and kept me reading nonstop.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc to listen to!
First off I was hoping for a bit more from the author who normally writes rom-coms, debuting her new adult fantasy novel. I felt it was still quite YA with a lackluster romance in my opinion.
However, it was heart-wrenching and kept me wanting to listen more!