This book was beautiful. The story, the characters, the world… I fell in love with it all. The book is beautiful and lush, and I really enjoyed it.

Inspired by the legend of Xishi, one of ancient China's Four Beauties, this mesmerizing novel intertwines romance, palace intrigue, and the dangers of war. With gorgeous prose, author Liang crafts a riveting narrative.

Thanks to her beauty, Xishi is taken from her village of Yue and trained by military advisor Fanli to be a spy. She'll infiltrate the enemy kingdom and seduce its king. While he's preoccupied, her kingdom will attack.

I really liked the characters of this story--no one is all good or bad, just like in real life. Xishi and Fanli forbidden romance is also very well-done. Their connection was palpable.

Natalie Naudus does an amazing job narrating the dramatic and romantic moments of this story. The situations Xishi had to deal are presented in an engaging yet suspenseful way--I had to sit in my car to finish listening to certain parts (when I was supposed to be in work!).

If you enjoy historical novels with a dash of fantasy mixed in, you'll love this one. I really enjoyed it!

Rating 2

"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."

Unfortunately this book missed the mark for me. I will start off by saying that Ann Liang's writing is beautiful and the prose of this book was so intriguing, which is the only redeeming quality I can give this. The characters felt flat and one dimensional, I never got to a point where I felt connected to them and by the end, I could care less what happened to them. The romance between Xishi and Fanli came off as instalove and felt out of place. There was great potential for drama, tension and an epic, devastating love triangle but the opportunity was fumbled.
Not only did I dislike the characters but the plot plateaued for me around 30% (I am being generous here) and never picked back up. I almost forgot the kingdoms were fighting or that Xishi was sent to act as a spy.

This book had the potential to be absolutely incredible but sadly, it was a disappointment.

Unique storyline - loved the narrator - held my attention - likable characters - definitely would read others by this author

Short synopsis: Ixshi is one of the Four Beauties of Ancient China. Approached by the military man Fanli, Ixshi is going to use her beauty as a weapon to defeat the King of the rival Kingdom of Wu.

My thoughts: I was immediately drawn into this sweeping tale of revenge, forbidden romance, and strong women!

The strength portrayed in this one, was remarkable. I’m a huge fan of a strong female character but I absolutely adored how the author used Ixshi’s beauty to hide her real identity and true mission.

The ending in this is one that you just might need tissues for. Luckily for me, my box came equipped with some. But definitely came unexpectedly and one I won’t forget anytime soon.

I adored the audio narration of this! The narrator told the story so beautifully, and I can’t get the way Fenli says Ixshi’s name out of my head!

Read if you love:
- Chinese Legends
- Forbidden romance
- Strong female protagonist
- Revenge
- Slow burn

I love Natalie Naudus and her narration, she always does a spectacular job with anything she narrates.

This story is based on the Chinese tale of Lady Xi Shi, one of the Four Great Beauties of Chinese history, who trains and goes undercover to infiltrate the enemy kingdom and help win the war for her people. I love the cover art for this book and I really wanted to love the book so much but it fell flat for me. There were parts where I was truly engaged and empathizing with the characters… I was really rooting for Xishi and Fanli throughout but it also seemed to drag on with only some excitement or plot/character development here and there. I did keep reading as I was drawn in and wanted to see what happened at the end but it is a sad story and many of the outcomes I was hoping for never came to fruition, leaving me feeling disappointed. I was also hoping for more fantasy elements, based on the cover and synopsis. I liked the premise of the story but feel the execution could have been better. I did enj0y the narrator a lot and was engaged throughout. Thank you to NetGalley, Ann Liang, and St. Martin’s Press for the gifted audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm always very wary of historical fiction, as I find it can get generic and boring. There have also been a lot of special edition books released lately that were pretty, but otherwise disappointing. Let me assure you, A Song to Drown Rivers is nothing like those books. It blew me away. From page one, I loved the author's writing. The prose is beautiful, the plot is immediately compelling, the main character is written with expertly balanced moments of lightness and darkness, the themes regarding war and feminism are grounded and touching, and the romance is fascinating. Both love interests have tender moments of yearning with Xishi, but neither is a perfect, or even good person. And towards the end of the novel, Xishi realizes her actions may have been equally callous, even if she had good intentions. This book was so bittersweet and beautiful. The ending managed to wrap up all the character work and themes perfectly. I can't recommend this story highly enough! I will undoubtedly be reading more from this author.

This was a beautifully written story. Thank you so much for this ALC opportunity the narration was beautiful, I likely wouldn’t have picked this up otherwise but I’m so glad I did because it was a great read and even made me cry

I just finished A Song of Drown Rivers by Ann Liang and here are my musings.

What do you say when your face, your incredibly beautiful face, could be used to win a dangerous war but you will be in more danger than you can ever know..

Xishi has the chance to become the concubine to a powerful king, the same King who is responsible for the murder of her sister. She must learn the ways of seduction and how to spy without detection while trying to keep her heart safe from a man she cannot have…

I wasn’t sure I was going to enjoy this book but I am pleased to report I was wrong. It was a beautifully written masterpiece. Xishi isn’t just some girl with a face that can launch 1000 ships; she has the wit and charm of a siren without knowing the weapons she wields. It was good, it was damn good.

I loved that no matter what she felt, the hatred for a King who kills without thought, she couldn’t help but get to know the young man behind the crown and you can see she starts to waver ever so slightly with the humanizing of a monster.

The book was so tragic. So much loss in the pretty words and I listened to the audio as well as the kindle version and both hit their mark. It was truly a stunning piece of literature and if you haven’t grabbed a copy yet… You should do that today!

There wasn’t anything I didn’t love. Do I wish it had a HEA? Yes but I understand the need to end things the way the author did even if it did break my heart.

5 stars

Thank you to @netgalley, @macmillanaudio and @stmartinspress for my gifted copy

2.5 rounded up. I really wanted to like this one more, and there were definitely parts that I did, but overall a miss for me. I didn't buy-in to the romance, and most of the book I was just a little bored? I did really like the narrator though!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ALC and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang. All opinions are my own.

In this historical retelling, Xishi finds herself as a spy undercover in the king’s palace to use her beauty to gain the affection of the king. This is a story of sacrifice, betrayal, and loyalty. Xishi learns that her situation isn’t as black or white as she expected and must make difficult choices that could hurt the people she’s come to care for.

This was the first book I’ve read by this author, so I didn’t know what to expect. Before going into this story, know that this is not a book that’s supposed to make you happy. It’s heartbreaking and honestly hard to read at times because of how tragic the story is.

The story was interesting, and I really grew to love the characters. I liked that many of the characters were morally gray in the types of decisions they had to make. I also liked how I didn’t know what would happen next.

Without spoiling what happens in this story, I really enjoyed the first 90% of the book and had no issues with it. It’s the last 10% of the book that made me only rate this four stars instead of five.

I listened to the audiobook, and I really liked Natalie Naudus as a narrator. Her voice fit Xishi, and she was able to differentiate the characters well. I would recommend this format. This format is especially great if you don’t know how to pronounce the names in this story.

I would recommend this book for some people, but it’s definitely not a book for everyone because of some of the content and the futures of some of the characters.

First of all, the audio narration was wonderful. Natalie Naudus did an incredible job.

The writing style/prose was really well done. It kept me hooked the entire time, and I would definitely read more by the author. The pacing, however, felt rushed. There were large time jumps that, to me, detracted from the sense of importance or urgency of the plot. The narrator's habit of referencing future tragic events also sort of ruined the moments when they did happen. There was less emotional poignancy than there could have been. I would also not call this a fantasy novel - historical fiction, certainly, but there weren't any fantasy elements present.

This was a surprising read. It’s historical fiction with a sprinkle or magic and romance. The romance portion of the story was developed in an unexpected way that I found unique and intriguing. And the story itself is more of a cautionary tale against revenge and taking care of not repeating the same mistakes. It’s gripping, enchanting and wise. I loved all the unexpected journeys this story took me by.

This book tore me apart! I’m still not whole! And the narrator p’s voice left me sitting on the edge of my bed just hanging on her every word, I will seek out her voice work again. Though the story she told me left heartbroken
Warning for those who like novels to end in a nice well tied bow….this is not for you.

The narration of this book was flawless, the character depth was beautiful and the story was engaging. I thought it was a little slow to dig in with the world/civics building aspects but once they were established it was smooth yet dramatic sailing straight through. The end was a perfect mix of bitter and sweet, devastating and beautiful. I really enjoyed this book!

I am so happy I got to listen to the audiobook! The narration was absolutely fantastic. It truly made listening to this book an experience. The story was… well just wow 🤯 it left me speechless. I have felt numerous things while listening to this audiobook. Mainly, this book broke me in more ways than one 😭

Based on a legend, this fantasy story is multifaceted and entertaining. Xishi is a woman known for her beauty but also demonstrates intelligence, quick thinking, passion and loyalty. She persists in her role as a spy against the enemy of her people in spite of the odds against her. I really enjoyed the personality of Xishi and felt like the author did a great job with development of her character. She faced impossible situations but found ways to fulfill her role. Of course, the relationship between her and the king was unrealistic but the book is a fantasy and I found Xishi’s vacillation between tenderness and hatred towards the king really added depth to the story. This book really delivered with strong female characters who used both wit and strength to help defeat the enemy. The tragic love story between Xishi and Fanli added another dimension but did not make it an overwhelming romance novel.
I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was good for the most part except for minor “weird” voice inflections at times such as anytime a male character spoke to Xishi by name.

This book hurt my feelings, the end was not what I expected, and I may have had to rant about it to my Partner. But it was a really solid story, I thought the world building was done really well, I felt like I was walking around the palace with the FMC worrying about how to save her kingdom.

There were a lot of aspects of this story that I liked, the pace, the plot, the banter between the love interests, and of course I liked the “Villain” love interest more than the “Hero” one, which isn’t unusual for me.

Even though the FMC has been through terrible things, this story shows that during a time of war, both sides are hurting, and both sides see the other as monsters. That is a big theme in this story, I think often we come to find out that the people we see as enemies, might have more in common with us than one might think.

The romance could have been better, I feel like there was a lot of build up with both of the MMC’s, but it ended up being kind of anti-climatic, I appreciate the plot twist at the end, I truly did not expect it, but I felt like the build up should have led to something bigger. 4 ⭐️‘s

Thank you to the Author Ann Liang for sharing your story with me, and to the
Narrator Natalie Naudus for your excellent work.

Big thank you as well to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for my audiobook copy of “A Song to Drown Rivers”

I received an advance review copy at no personal cost and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a book that makes you stop and pause. This is a book that makes you think about it when you are not reading it. This is a work of art. Even though my first encounter with this book was an audiobook, I will be buying the physical copy of this book. That's how good it is.
The audiobook version was such a wonderful experience. Natalie Naudus captures the essence of the book and characters perfectly. The author, Ann Liang is truly a lyricist in her own right. The landscape and characters are palpable as you venture deeper into this story.The way the Ann Liang has crafted a tale of love and sacrifice amidst turmoil. This book is for everyone. I can't recommend this enough.