I enjoyed the narrator. And i mostly enjoyed the story, but the ending lost me. I lost interest when she died. I did. not know that this was based on a historical story

Inspired by the legend of Xishi, *A Song to Drown Rivers* is a beautifully written historical fantasy about womanhood, war, sacrifice, and love. Xishi, whose beauty is seen as a gift in her village, is given a choice far beyond what anyone expects—using her looks to infiltrate the kingdom of Wu, seduce its king, and help bring down an empire. But as her bond with military advisor Fanli deepens, her mission gets way more complicated. One wrong move could destroy both kingdoms.

This book really got to me. The tension, the longing, and the sacrifices the characters make just broke my heart. And that ending? Completely devastating in the best possible way.

Ann Liang’s writing is so beautiful, especially how she weaves poetry into the story. It made me stop and reflect on the bigger themes—especially how war impacts people and relationships. The imagery made this book & is equally incredible. You get totally lost in the kingdoms of Yue and Wu, and the characters are so layered and complex. I got attached to them so quickly, and watching them struggle was so emotional.

It took me a little to get into this book, but once I was drawn in - it was impossible for me to put this book down.
everytime - just when I thought I knew what was going on, a plot twist would turn everything upside down.

I also want to give a huge thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio. Natalie Naudus’ narration was stunning and really brought the whole story to life.

I was very excited for a stand alone fantasy and this was an interesting story. I will say though that I feel as though some plot and character development felt glossed over to get us to an outcome. The ending was absolutely not what I expected and I’m not sure how I feel about it. I would recommend this though for anyone who is interested in the premise of the story.

To set expectations: A Song to Drown Rivers is historical fiction - it's neither fantasy nor romance, and definitely not romantasy. It starts off feeling rather YA, with a teenage FMC, Xishi, who somehow manages to both learn everything a court lady would know in 10 weeks, and also fall deeply in love with the male love interest during that time. SONG captured my attention once Xishi is set up as the king's concubine, and I thought the portrayal of the king as a nuanced, morally gray character was well done. I had a lot of fun reading about Xishi and her manipulation of the king, but I do wish the romance that was there was either removed completely or given more depth; as it was, it just felt like a shallow distraction.

Audio: the venn diagram of the type of audiobooks I read and the type of audiobooks that Natalie Naudus narrates has a big overlap, which I'm very grateful for - Natalie is a great narrator, I love the level of emotion she brings in without the narration sounding overwrought or overacted, and she does great voice work differentiating the characters.

I went in blind & requested this book from NG based on the special edition cover. 😍

I know nothing about Ancient Chinese Mythology or the story of Xishi, however, this book was so beautifully written with a heartbreaking ending. 💔

love
betrayal
revenge

I do wish there had been a little more relationship building between Xishi and Fanli. I didn’t “feel” them falling in love as much as being told they had fallen in love. 🤷🏼‍♀️

I listened to this on audiobook and the narrator did a great job. Overall I enjoyed the book and would recommend.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this audiobook arc in exchange for an honest review.

With the outpouring of positive reviews, I unfortunately found that this book was not really for me. There were a few things I liked and disliked, for one I did not like the romances with either mc’s as their relationship to the fmc felt very shallow due to the emphasis on how beautiful she was, which was mentioned quite a lot throughout the book. In my opinion, I saw it as it taking away from them forming any actual feelings for her beyond superficial. We are also told almost nothing about the fmc besides how beautiful she is and her motivations for becoming a spy, which lead to almost no character development. Due to the lack of character development I found her to be kinda boring, but I did like that she was able to come to the realization that in becoming a seductress she can gain power in controlling men. I liked her progression of the relationship to the king but regardless of the ending, I still don’t believe that he truly loved her besides loving the fact that he owned her. I enjoyed the courtly intrigue, and the world building, due to me listening to the book, I felt like I was actually in the book with the beautiful descriptions. In other words, it is a pretty solid read if you can overlook some of the repetitive plot lines.

Xishi is beautiful and from a small village. Her sister was ruthlessly murdered as a child, and she has mourned her every day since. When Fanli, a prestigious military advisor, gives her the opportunity to use her beauty to win over the king and avenge her sister’s murder, she agrees. Fanli trains Xishi in everything she needs to know to woo the king - all Xishi needs to do is hide her growing romantic feelings and true intentions.

This book was incredible. The writing is absolutely gorgeous and I was totally engrossed in the story. It’s beautiful, heartbreaking, and just overall amazing. The forbidden love was heart wrenching and I loved that the characters were realistically complex.

The narrator, Natalie Naudus, did a fantastic job. Her voice was clear and I enjoyed that I was able to easily tell the difference between characters.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the advance copies.

I absolutely devoured this book, the storytelling kept me engrossed in the lives of Xishi, Fenli, Zhengdan, Fuchai, and others.

What really stands out is Liang’s ability to weave a seamlessly effortless tale that had my attention beginning to end. I made a comparison to the TV adaptation of Shogun, because it evoked similar emotions, and if I read this book before watching that show, I might have had a different experience. But this book was truly an experience. It’s not often a tragic or sad book makes me so happy, but here we are!

The characters were the heart of this story. Starting with Xishi as a young woman, then being trained as a concubine spy, the slow build of her connection with Fenli was the type of romance I look for the most (that ending!!!!!!!)

Zhengdan!!!!! My girl!!! Her shining moment gave me chills. Themes of sisterhood between the characters were everything. The dark history of war and death for both young women was gut wrenching. Much of the palace intrigue had me at the edge of my seat. It’s that understated drama that sneaks up on you, everyone is plotting something. It was amazing.

Natalie Naudus performed the audiobook and she was already one of my top favorite narrators. From the pacing, her delivery is so compelling, the way she adapts each voice to emotion is top tier. 10 stars!

I will be thinking about this book for a long time and I had a wonderful time crying in the finale. Highly recommend!

4.5 stars! I enjoyed this from start to finish. While there was an event near the end that really shocked me, I thought the actual ending was beautiful!

Wow, this story was compelling and so moving. I am so thankful for the ALC as I was able to listen to it almost nonstop while doing chores and walking. If I had been reading it, I definitely would not have gotten what I needed to do done.

The audiobook itself was so well done. The narrator clearly knew how to pronounce names and things properly, really helping to bring out the authenticity of the story.

The story itself? Well, I really hope you chose it as your BOTM. It was intense, tragic, moving, uplifting, and completely heartbreaking. Snag this book, better yet, snag the audiobook. You won't be disappointed if you're a fan of historic fiction.

Audiobook review:
Natalie Naudus with another win! This is far from the first audiobook I've listened to with this narrator, and they are always excellent. The different inflection and voices, the pauses, picking up the tempo when things get tense, it's all very well done. Production quality is excellent as well!

Ultimately the book itself fell a little flat for me sadly, I was really looking forward to it.

This book is beautifully tragic and skillfully done! Xishi is persuaded to use her beauty to spy against an enemy king. Trained by Fanli in the art of seduction and hiding emotions, Xishi struggles hiding her feelings for him while in the service of the king. This book is perfect for fans of historical Chinese dramas, or Korean dramas (as heartbreaking as Red Sleeve).

Narrator Natalie Naudus is exceptional once again. Her expression and pacing immerse the listener in Liang's spellbinding world of war, revenge, and heroism.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for my ALC!

What a beautifully told story! Yes, it's heartbreaking and emotional, but it's so captivating. I had a hard time putting it down once I started. This was a great look into court politics of Ancient China.

I rarely cry while reading but this story had me in tears. Heartbreaking, powerful, epic. I had no familiarity with the legend this is based on yet it had me hooked from the start.

Would recommend it to anyone looking for something deep, emotional, and challenging.

A Song to Drown Rivers reminds has all the vibes of a revamped Mulan, telling the story of a girl who gives up her life and love to fight for what she believes in. Make no mistake, fairytales don't always have a happy ending. Sometimes the battle isn't between good and evil, it's between bad and worse.

This story was way more than I expected it to be and I fell in love with the characters, just to have my heart broken over and over again. Such a fantastic read about how far people will go to do what they think is right.

Think Mulan but instead of a soldier she was a spy sent to the enemy to seduce him and yes it’s every bit as awesome as that sounds. The storytelling was beatitudes and raw. The story was packed with emotion and filled with powerful characters trying to face their fears and flaws in a deadly game.

I wasn’t sure what to expect which made me love it more and I still can’t get these characters out of my head.

In short this book was fantastic. I listened to the audiobook narrated by the ever amazing Natalie Naudus which only made me love the story more. This is the perfect book to listen to.

The ending of this book is pure bonkers! And I loved it.

A SONG TO DROWN RIVERS is based on the legend of Xishi, one of the four beauties of ancient China.

Xishi is trained to go to the enemy king to woo and seduce him and work as a spy for the Yue king to get revenge on her kingdom. But before that she must be trained by Fanli and a forbidden romance occurs.

Xishi and Fanli!! I loved them both. And the agonizing forbidden love affair hurt my heart.

I listened to the book on audio and the narrator was the perfect cast to play Xishi.

And the ending is one I’ll think about for a long time.

What You’ll Find:
❤️‍🔥A villain obsessed
🔥Slow burn
🖤Forbidden romance
❤️‍🩹Hurt x comfort
🗡️Some stabbing

Absolutely compelling!! I couldn’t pull myself away from this book and blew through it in a day and a half. The writing is lyrical, and the narrator brings it to life. The pace, though rushed at some points in the beginning, moves along nicely, making this a definite page turner. Though the ending gutted me, it felt 100% appropriate and in line with the overall tone of the story. I will now be on the lookout for more books by this author!!

I was completely surprised and impressed by this beautiful piece of historical fiction/fantasy. Xishe’s story begins slowly, to build up the world and turmoil around her, but it’s so worth continuing to read. It’s a story of vengeance, power, and the complexity of love and war, and right and wrong. No spoilers, but I was surprised by some of the emotions it pulled out of me. And the already great story was made even better by the incredible reading of the audiobook narrator, great inflections and pronunciations! 5 stars! Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to @NetGalley for letting me listen to the advanced audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

This was just not it, I wanted to DNF this book for majority of it, but it had to many good reviews to I wanted to give it a fair shot. There were some main issues I had, almost no character development, unoriginal plot and annoying comments about her appearance. Not a single character had any sort of development throughout the book. At least 90% of the predictable which made me want to DNF it. Lastly, the amount of times they say how beautiful she is and only go over her appearance was annoying more than anything. The ending is what made me give it a 2 star instead of a 1 star, the last 10% was a fantastic ending.

I know I am the minority within these ARC reviews, so there is a chance you with love it, even though I did not.