Using her beauty as a weapon to improve her people's lives, Xishi gains the affection of the enemy king and plots from within to bring him down. Xishi falls for the military advisor, Fanli, who trains her to enter the enemy court. Fanli also falls for her leaving them both vulnerable behind enemy lines. Sad ending.

I was willing to give A Song to Drown Rivers a chance because I’ve been a fan of Ann Liang’s writing since This Time It’s Real, plus the cover and all the promotional material drew me in as they have been exceptionally gorgeous. Alas, it pains me to admit that A Song to Drown Rivers is my least favourite Ann Liang book. The pacing of the story was slow, and the plot doesn’t pick up until the characters get to the Wu palace. The story had potential, but unfortunately, most of the political intrigue and espionage that could have made it compelling happened off-screen. I realize that A Song to Drown Rivers is a retelling of Xishi, which emphasizes dynasty politics. Yet, I was left feeling disappointed because the marketing emphasized a “love story” that ultimately lacked the romance I anticipated. Sure, there is some UST between Xishi and Fan Li, but they were barely together, and Fan Li was an enigma of a character, so I didn’t care much about the relationship between the two. As for the other key relationship in the book, I found it refreshing that Xishi didn’t fall for the enemy. Yes, she does gain a better understanding of the king, to the point that she feels a bit bad for him but unlike most other characters in her situation, Xishi doesn’t fall in love with him. I also appreciate the fact that Xishi’s story showed how difficult and restrictive it was for women in ancient China as well as how very few truly benefit from war. Ultimately, I admired how A Song to Drown Rivers highlighted the tragic bloodshed that often accompanies war, illustrating that those who ascend to power through violence are frequently no better than the leaders they replace, even if they profess to be different.

3.75/5

A Song to Drown Rivers is a story with adventure, heartbreak, and love that I found engaging and stunning in many aspects but in other parts fell a bit flat.

I wish there was more character development or backstory behind a few of the characters, specifically Zhengdan. We needed far more! I also felt that the pacing was off at times but for fear of spoilers I won’t give specifics.

Overall, I enjoyed the newest novel from Ann Liang and look forward to what comes next!

I LOVED this book. The audio is phenomenal. Natalie Naudus adds so much to the story, she is truly a brilliant narrator. The tension throughout the story had me wondering what was going to happen the whole time. It's such a heartbreaking book. I wanted more from the very end (Xishi and Fanli's story). I wish Xishi got justice. I need to read the myth this book is based off of. Highly recommend listening to this book!

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this ALC!

A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang was a fascinating yet devastatingly tragic tale of love, betrayal, and sacrifice. The plot is well thought out, and the characters are well developed. You not only see the development of the characters and their feelings, but you FEEL it. I listened to the audiobook version and was memorized by the narrator's (Natalie Naudus) voice! Perfect choice for this story.

Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, for an advanced copy of this audiobook. I adored it!

Wow! I was pleasantly loved this book! And the audio was the way to go! It was a little slow at times, which is why I found audio worked best. I kept waiting for the love scenes, but found none. Xinshi was a great character and I think thats why I pushed thru.

I honestly thought I was going to give this book 5 stars up until the end. A thrilling story of a woman who uses her beauty to get revenge for her family and kingdom, who have suffered greatly at the hands of their rival neighboring kingdom.

Xishi was a great character, and I really loved her story. She was very believable on her journey, as she shows rage towards those who caused her family/kingdom suffering, but also struggles to keep that same rage when it comes down to the more human elements of her rivals (namely, the neighboring king).

My only real grievances with the books are twofold: first, I wish we saw more of her time training, It felt as though it passed very VERY quickly, which was slightly unbelievable and took me out of it for a minute, My second complaint is my biggest, and what made me take off a full star, which is WHAT WAS THAT ENDING??? I was so mad. I won't spoil anything but I do think that some people will appreciate the ending, but just as many will hate it the way I did. TRULY SO DUMB!! Overall though, this was a really good book and I enjoyed it!

I enjoyed this story a lot. I've been on a fantasy kick and this book was exactly what I wanted. It was fast-paced and full of different characters and action. The audiobook was really enjoyable too and the narrator was amazing. I believe this story is a standalone and the way the author wrapped everything up was perfect. I felt like there were no plot holes left unfinished and the ending was really sweet.

I was drawn to this book because I’ve enjoyed the author’s YA novels and was intrigued by its inspiration from the legend of Xishi, one of the famous Four Beauties of Ancient China. Having never heard of these legends before, I found it fascinating to explore a story rooted in such a rich historical and cultural backdrop. The narrative pulled me in immediately, and the romance completely hooked me. This retelling of an ancient tale felt fresh, captivating, and wonderfully unique!

I enjoyed the audiobook. I recognized the narrator and I like her story telling style. It worked well with this tale.

Thank you to Ann Liang, NetGalley, and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Xishi is an easy heroine to root for. Her journey from poor peasant girl to spy trainee to glamorous royal concubine had so much strife and growth, and all I wanted was for something to finally go her way. This book is so beautifully written, which makes the numerous gut punches all the more devastating. I love novels based on folklore, and this particular legend wasn't one I was familiar with so the plot was all new to me and kept me on my toes. The story continuously surprised me and there were multiple times I thought I'd predicted a twist only to be thrown in the opposite direction. This one is a heartbreaker, in the most beautiful and satisfying of ways.

The narration of the audiobook is also wonderful, and I would love to listen to more audiobooks narrated by Natalie Naudus.

All in all, I would definitely recommend this one.

3.5 stars rounded down.
This book was okay but had a few problems, as much with marketing as it did with the story. First, this is not a fantasy book. Though it is technically speaking the reimagining of a myth, its really more of a historical fiction extrapolated on real characters from real history. Even if the characters were fictional, there is not one shred of otherworldly, fantastical, or magical existence in the book. There is also virtually zero romance in the story, which is fine, but manage your expectations accordingly.
Breaking down the plot further, Xishi was a difficult heroine for me to love. In most of the major plot developments, Xishi is a character whom things happen to, not one that takes control of her environment and destiny. She does have some moments of cleverness and quick thinking, but for the most part, she is along for the ride in her own story. When makes some grave mistakes along the way that cost her and her loved ones dearly, I was frustrated with her instead of sympathetic.
Some parts of the story were faster paced than others, so the pace was a little disjointed overall. I was surprised by the ending. The audio was well done with a great performance from the narrator. All in all, this is not a book I wouldn’t rush to recommend to most readers, but I wouldn’t discourage anyone interested from reading it either. Thank you to MacMillan audio for the ARC in exchange for my honest review of A Song to Drown Rivers, which is available now.

Thanks, Macmillan Audio, for the ALC!

I’m a fan of Ann Liang’s writing, and I’m a fan of Natalie Naudus’ narration. To have them combine on Liang’s new book, A SONG TO DROWN RIVERS, for its audiobook was very exciting for me! The book is inspired by the legend of Xishi, one of the famous Four Beauties of Ancient China, which I know nothing about. For me, this was a gorgeous fantasy novel filled with love and hate, war and traitors, sacrifice and hope. There’s no surprise that lots of tears were shed.

I found some difficult and sad to read, while others were full of joy and light. The pace was strange, but then again, it was a different type of tale, so it made sense. I think having Naudus as the narrator helped a lot. They are one of my favorites because they are so skilled in their profession, bringing stories to life that I forget I’m listening to one person and not a full cast.

This is a book I can’t wait to reread because of the beauty of it!

Content warnings: child death, grief, violence, war, animal cruelty

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for a digital advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

On a positive note, the prose is gorgeous and I will definitely read something else from the author. The narrator was wonderful and I felt the she embodied the main character's strength and capability in a situation where she could have easily become a victim. On the negative side, the relationship between the characters all felt surface level and the plot felt disjointed. It felt very YA at times as well. Overall I probably won't think much if this story in the future.

A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang was such a beautiful story. It made me so emotional. This book is written so well and it kept me locked in the entire way through. The narrator did a fantastic job with this book and I can't wait to read more from the author. Thank you for the opportunity!

This book is NOT a fantasy, it's wild to me that this is in the fantasy category for anything including the Goodreads choice awards (sidenote: the two books i've read in the historical section of the choice awards have more fantasy in them than this book). This is a pretty straightforward retelling with a pretty generically pretty writing style. I found the style to not be compelling, it used flowery language for almost everything in a way that made me kinda bored, and it was constantly overexplaining its emotional details. Like something bad would happen she would say something like "I have to pretend that this is the best thing that has ever happened to me... instead of the worst possible thing" Like the second part was kinda implied. And this was ALL THE TIME. I did find enough to enjoy in the plot, and even though the emotional development wasn't the best, I did find myself invested in the emotional beats of the climax. Read if you like retellings of history/legends, angst, love triangles-adjacent relationships, and espionage.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the audio to review!

I want to shout from the rooftops about how much I loved this book! I went back and forth between the ebook and the audio. Usually I am not a big fan of historical mythology fantasy. But I absolutely adored this book. The m/c is so bad a**, she made such a good character!

Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the chance to read a copy in exchange for a honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this audiobook for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Such a beautiful and tragic story! I really enjoyed the plot and writing style of this novel. It was a flowery and bittersweet tale, and it made me more interested in the stories of the other three beauties! I hope Ann Liang adapts their tales as well, because she did a wonderful job with this one.

I was not the biggest fan of how Xishi, Fanli, and Fuchai were characterized, as their characterizations seemed to lean a little heavily on tropes (damsel in distress/femme fatale for Xishi, hot sympathetic villain for Fuchai, and ice-cold love interest with a secret soft side for Fanli). If you're a fan of these character tropes, then perhaps you would enjoy this trio of characters more than I did. Fortunately, I love so much of the rest of the book that the characterization of the main three characters was not a blockade to my reading enjoyment.

I would also like to note that this is NOT a fantasy book and is far more in the realm of historical fiction. Those expecting fantasy from looking at the tags and the cover design will be disappointed.

Publication date: 1 October 2024.

Not the ending I was expecting or wanted, but overall this book was amazing. The writing was beautiful, and the story flowed. It was heartbreaking, somber, and beautiful.
This is loosely inspired by the legend of Xishi, one of the famous Four Beauties of Ancient China. It follows her story and what could have happened when she was presented to the King of Wu as a gift and how she charmed the King and brought down his rule as well as what happened to her afterward.
I adore the narrator for the audiobook, she does an excellent job.

I branched out of my usual genres to try this one on the recommendation of a friend, but was underwhelmed. I think there's a generational thing going on in the book world with styles of writing. Even when I like a concept or story, the writing style of this book, along with Fourth Wing and some of the other IT books of the moment, is shallow and grating for me. Pretty sure it's me and not the authors! Another thing - for a story so rooted in ancient Asian myth, I was disappointed with the very Western, flippant tone here.

4 1/2 stars

This book is a bit of historical fiction blended with some magical realism. I don't know if I'd classify it as fantasy, yet I truly enjoyed it and inhaled it immensely. It's beautifully written even if also has some tragedy flowing throughout.

In ancient China, there are two main factions (or kingdoms), The Wu and the Yue. The Wu kingdom has conquered the Yue, and it was brutal and bloody. They believe that they've conquered them, and all is good but what they did was leave behind a group of people who have a thirst for vengeance. This is where our main character, Xishi comes in. She watched Wu soldiers kill her younger sister. She wants nothing more than to avenge her. She's recruited by Fanli to go undercover as a concubine to the Wu king. Fanli is the adviser to the Yue king and is responsible for training Xishi to function in the Wu court.

During their time together, Xishi and Fanli find themselves connected in a way that can never be. As she is destined to go to the Wu court and he has to deliver her there, their feelings can never be acted upon. The author does an outstanding job of writing Xishi's character. Her feelings are so confused at times as she connects with some of the people at the Wu court. She comes to slowly realize that things are often a matter of perspective. The Wu people viewed the Yue as violent monsters when she and her people had always thought of the Wu that way. It just depends on which side of the battle you're on.

A Song to Drown Rivers delivers several messages and also shows that events are unpredictable. It's an excellent book.

I was also fortunate enough to receive an early copy of the audiobook and it was outstanding. The narration truly made the book feel as if it came alive. I enjoyed it even more because of being able to listen to the story at times. 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for both of the early copies. I chose to read and listen to them to be able to review them. The thoughts and opinions in my reviews are my own.