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.

A solid historical fantasy with a strong FMC. Can’t resist a heroine with some feminine rage, and whose outward beauty is superseded by her inner beauty, strength, and determination. Audio was very well done.

A Song to Drown Rivers is based on a retelling of the Four Great Beauties from Chinese lore. This story focuses on one, Xi Shi, in a kingdom that has been at war with the state of Wu. Xi Shi is a commoner who is found by Fan Li, one her kingdom's highly revered military advisors. Fanli recruits Xishi and her childhood friend in going undercover as a gifted bride and lady in waiting to the Wu Emperor. The plan is for Fanli to infiltrate the enemy and weaken the emperor by any means necessary. One thing that Xishi and Fanli did not realize would happen, are the feelings that develop between them (*shocked sarcasm*). Both Xishi and her friend both agree to risking their lives and being caught in this lie because of vengeance. For it was the Wu kindgom that killed their loved ones.

My apologies for the sarcasm. As someone who reads quite of books, it's hard not to see the fated lover plot line developing. I mean FMC NOT falling in love with broody, strong, and mysterious military advisor, that would be borderline sinful. Regardless. I do not necessarily agree with Fantasy being the first genre listed for this book on Goodreads. A Song to Drown Rivers definitely plays more into the romance, historical fiction than fantasy. There really is only one part of this story that would fall into fantasy, and is towards the very end. If other reads think otherwise, please show me where there were other fantasy elements that I missed.

Besides all the above, Xishi turns from an unexposed commoner into a graceful bride of an emperor, with all the skills, wits, and cunning brains that are expected of a lady. Her friend conveniently has the background of some martial arts skills, and only increases during their training period before entering the Wu Kingdom. There are plot twists (of course), simple political warfare and scheming, some death, betrayal, fated lovers and minimal romance/spice, The characters do lack a bit of depth, that's an understatement (especially Fanli, though I know this was written of the FMC POV). There could have been more world building, more fantasy elements, sort of not original, A Song To Drown Rivers is definitely a book outside of the normal fantasy vein I tend to run in. However, I will say that I did enjoy this ALC, and I can see others enjoying it as well (with the understanding that this really is not a fantasy book, and is more YA versus adult). 3.5 stars rounded to 4.

Thank you Netgalley, Macmillian Audio and the author for this opportunity in exchange for an honest review.

I will be posting to Instagram, Goodreads, and Storygraph.

This was so good. I was desperately hoping this would turn into an enemies to lovers type situation because Fuchai deserved so much better. The chemistry between Xishi and Fanli felt nonexistent whereas her banter and comfort with Fuchai felt so real at times. The ending absolutely gutted me that I honestly don’t know if I consider it an HEA 😂

Thank you NetGalley, Ann Liang, St. Martins's Press, AND Macmillan Audio for granting me access to this book and the audiobook in exchange for an honest review. Natalie Naudus' narration was sheer perfection, enchanting my love for the story even more. Her performance breathed life into the characters, making the experience so vivid and real.

What an emotionally mesmerizing, tragically heartbreaking, and utterly addictive historical fantasy, exquisitely written with stunning prose. This epic narrative intricately weaves mythology and romance, unfolding a captivating tale of womanhood, war, sacrifice, and love that defies all odds. Devastatingly beautiful and unforgettable! I wholeheartedly recommend this novel and cannot wait to add this gorgeous book to my physical collection. Additionally, I can confidently declare that this book has secured its place among my top favorites for the year 2024!!! 💙💙💙💙💙💫💫💫💫💫

Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the ALC!

I adore Natalie Naudus as a narrator, so knew I had to listen to A SONG TO DROWN RIVERS on audio... while also preordering a copy with the pretty edges as a shelf trophy.

This book is inspired by the legend of Xishi, one of the famous Four Beauties of Ancient China. She draws the attention of a military advisor named Fanli and is presented with an opportunity to use her beauty as a weapon to topple the rival neighboring kingdom of Wu, improve the lives of her people, and avenge her sister's murder.

Boy do I love a story with some good strong heroines, female rage, and revenge. Xishi's character is phenomenal and while her outside beauty is unmatched, it's her inward strength and determination that really shine through in this story. I loved the romance, betrayal, sacrifice, blurred lines, and politics. The ending really drove the whole story home to make this an incredibly powerful story.

I’m drafting a petition for Natalie Naudus to narrate all audiobooks.

There’s no better feeling than reading a book you were hoping would be five stars and rating it five stars. Everyone has been raving about this book, so I shouldn’t be surprised, but I was still holding my breath, hoping.

Xishi is known for her beauty, so when a military advisor, Fanli, suggests she use that beauty to infiltrate an enemy king’s court as a spy, she agrees. What follows is a tale of court intrigue, machinations, and such a swoony romance!

This book has so many of my favorite fantasy tropes: political intrigue, love triangles, espionage, revenge, I could go on and on. I’m sure I would have loved it even if I had read it with my eyeballs, but Natalie Naudus’ narration really took the reading experience up a notch. This is absolutely one of my favorite books of 2024, and I’m so excited it’s getting special edition first print run!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and to Netgalley for granting me an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review!