A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang
Narrator: Natalie Naudus
Rating: 4 stars
Pub date: 10/1

Thank you so much to St. Martin’s Press for my advanced copy, and to Macmillan Audio for my complimentary audiobook! #macaudio2024
Xishi is a rare beauty born into extreme poverty in a kingdom broken by war. When she catches the eye of the king’s advisor, Fanli, she’s given the chance to change her fate and the fate of her entire people.

There is a lot to love about this one! Liang takes a familiar setup—using beauty to infiltrate and take down an enemy kingdom—and turns it into something fresh. This story is less about romance and more about survival, power, and the tough choices Xishi has to make as she plays a dangerous game between two kingdoms.

Xishi is such a relatable, raw character. You feel every bit of her pain, anger, and guilt as she struggles with the weight of her mission. Her relationship with Fuchai, the king she's sent to seduce, is one of the best parts of the book. It’s sweet at times, but there’s always an undercurrent of tension and danger that keeps you on edge.

The pacing is spot-on too. Aside from a few slow spots, the story moves at a steady pace, with lots of action and emotion. The politics and stakes are intense, and you can feel how much Xishi has to lose if things go wrong.

I had a few minor issues with the story, one being that it’s not really a fantasy. It’s more historical fiction since it happens during a real time in Chinese history, and the only fantastical elements come at the very end. And the ending? Not happy. At least, not at first. It’s a sad ending that ends up being happy later on. Which actually made sense for the story, but as a standalone book marked as ‘romantasy’ I expected a happy ending.

I still enjoyed this one and had a hard time putting it down! I highly recommend it if you’re looking for a story with strong heroines, complex relationships, sacrifice, and a bit of heartbreak.

DNF at 22%

I felt like I walked into a movie, an hour late.
There's virtually no depth to any of the characters, setting or politics.
I've read all of this before. Nothing new or original, out of all the genre's, fantasy has incredible freedom and yet I get the same gorgeous people, the girl comes from nothing, is used as a spy, learns years' worth of technique, education and etiquette within weeks and her motivation is.... revenge. No one is surprised. The writing feels inexperienced, and I don't have the time or fortitude for it. I'll leave that to other patient readers.

“Heroes always have tragic endings.”

This was my second reading, and I’m still captivated by the beauty of this book. It’s both a heartbreaking tragedy and a touching love story. Each time I read it, I find myself in tears. The writing is exquisite and flows effortlessly, making it impossible to put down.

The narrator truly enhanced the experience. Her voice and character pronunciations were spot-on, and she perfectly captured the tone and pace for each character.

Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Ann Liang for the ALC of this incredible book. It’s truly one of my favorite reads of the year.

There is something about Asian lore that just hits different. It is brutal and intense, suspenseful and very romantic. As a cultureless white girl I revel in the beauty of Ancient Chinese traditions and societal ways. So I knew I was going to love A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang. And I certainly wasn’t disappointed.

Not only is this story riveting and romantic, but it is also incredibly well narrated. The audiobook is narrated by Natalie Naudus and she did a beautiful job with dictation and pronunciation. There is nothing worse than trying to get into a new story through an audiobook and the narrator becomes a distraction. I will actively be seeking out other audiobooks narrated by Natalie in the future.

This story is a romantic, historical fantasy that is based on an ancient Chinese legend. I can’t imagine many readers of the general genre of historical romance to be disappointed by this book, but be warned; as many of the world’s old fairytales and legends play out, this story does not have a Disney movie ending. Is the ending terribly romantic and moving and tissue-reaching worthy? Most definitely yes. But is it cozy and easily satisfying, leaving you feeling comforted and cheerful? Absolutely not. And it is all the better for it! I promise. The fate of our main characters make the story epic and one that you will never forget. I will be rereading this on my own (not the audiobook version) one day, but in several months once my wounds have healed.

My only hang up with this story was the intense yearning of Xishi for Fanli that recurred over and over again. Listen…I am all for devotion and undying love and being completely smitten with a beautiful man. I get it. And I love to read it. However, the way her feelings for him are described throughout the story feels conflicting. She’s a strong, capable, brave, intelligent woman that has suffered and withstood so much, so to hear her lamenting over a solemn, quiet man’s beautiful face and stoic mannerisms makes her seem like a love sick, swooning, emotionally dependent teenager. It feels like another case of a story whose main romance wasn’t fully developed enough before we are fed the extreme devotion of one person to another. I love Xishi as a character. And I love Fanli as a character. But I needed more romantic relationship development before reading/listening to her pining.

I hate giving much away in reviews and this story should be dived into with as little information as possible. So trust me when I tell you that this is a book to own and return to year after year. It is a story to have us all questioning love, devotion, ties to country, and implications of war throughout the ages. Enjoy!

As always, a big thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Macmillan Audio, for allowing me the privilege of listening to the audiobook ARC of this fantastic book.

A Song to Drown Rivers, by Ann Liang, will be published on October 1, 2024.

Breathtaking!

"A Song to Drown Rivers" is a retelling of the legend of Xishi, one of the Four Beauties of Ancient China, a myth that has its roots in ancient Chinese history. According to the legend, Xishi was a real person who lived in the fifth century B.C.E, when the Chinese empire was divided and multiple kingdoms were at war with one another. She is said to have been born in a small Yue village that is now part of Zhuji, the capital of the Ancient Yue Kingdom and today a city in Shaoxing, Zhejiang.

For the reader unfamiliar with Xishi, it is advised to enjoy this book without any further research into the myth beforehand so as not to spoil it. For the one who already knows Xishi's story, I can imagine the author's splendid prose and magnificent world-building will still add new layers to a familiar tale.

At the outset of "A Song to Drown Rivers", the kingdom of Yue has been conquered by King Fuchai of the kingdom of Wu, and Goujian, Yue's king, is planning his revenge. When King Goujian's military advisor, Fanli, comes across the ethereally beautiful Xishi, he seizes the opportunity to use her as a weapon. Knowing King Fuchai's weakness for women, Fanli will train her, and the king of Yue will then offer Xishi as a tribute to King Fuchai in the hope that Fuchai will become infatuated with her and distracted from his official duties, allowing her to spy on him so the kingdom of Wu can be defeated and Yue can regain its independence.

Against this backdrop, the Ann Liang weaves a magnificent, epic tale of power, revenge, courage, betrayal, and the cost of war. Her world-building is magnificent, and her poetic words transport the reader directly to ancient China, from poor, war-torn communities to royal palaces. Stunning, engrossing, thought-provoking, and utterly heartbreaking, this book absolutely ruined me, and I was sobbing my eyes out by the time the last 20% came around.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Natalie Naudus, who did an absolutely outstanding job voicing this story.

Side note: as far as genres go, there was no discernible fantasy element to the story, and the romance angle - while present - was not overwhelming, so the "Romantasy" label seems rather misleading and not doing this wonderful book justice.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

"A Song to Drown Rivers" is slated to be published on October 1, 2024.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for an audio ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was a highly anticipated read for me, and I was very excited to be granted a chance to listen to it before publishing!

A Song To Drown Rivers by Ann Liang is full of beautiful prose, wonderfully morally grey characters, and enough intrigue to have kept me listening despite the flaws I found in the book's structure. I was very invested in the story, even if I was not completely drawn into the world. The story diverges in interesting ways from the original "Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu and Yue" story and presents a softer story in some respects and a far more tragic one where it matters most.

As one of the historic Four Beauties of Ancient China (Xi Shi, Wang Zhaojun, Diao Chan and Yang Guifei), we find our FMC Xishi living as a poor peasant girl in the war-torn Yue kingdom, living under the constant threat of invasion by the nearby Wu kingdom. Tragedy in her past has fueled her hatred of the Wu, and when given the opportunity to take them down from the inside, she does not hesitate. Her extraordinary beauty will be used as a weapon inside the Wu court when she is presented as a concubine, alongside her best friend turned court Lady Zhengdan, "gifts" from the Yue king to the Wu's. The Yue king's beautiful advisor (as beautiful as a woman, they say), Fanli, trains her in the arts of court etiquette, art, history, politics, and most importantly, "sexpionage." Their proximity and his beauty lead to Xishi falling for Fanli, and he for her, and this forbidden romance drives much of the angst and tragedy in this story. It is, however, not a very traditional love triangle.

In the palace, we find the Wu king is both exactly and nothing like she expected. Xishi sets their plan into action and slowly but surely seduces the Wu king Fuchai, all the while finding that he is a rather misunderstood figure with an entire personhood she had not expected to find, yet still a brutal monster.

Throughout the story, Xishi learns to cope with tragedy, learn the true role of women in her position, and how to manipulate the court to her needs. We see her realizing that perhaps the Wu and Yue cannot be divided into good and evil, people, and monsters. Tragedy continues to follow her, breaking her down and building her up. She learns hard truths and the realities of war, revenge, "the wheel of kings" and heartache/break. I followed her to the end, wanting to know just where her character ended up, and how she coped with the aftermath of her role in the war. I also have a similar heart condition to our leading lady, so maybe I was a little biased towards her. I found myself able to clearly see the imagery that was laid out and how scenes were built layer by layer as sights, sounds, and feelings were described. I felt that there were too few moments of that, though, and I wish I could have been even more enmeshed in the environment.

I really loved our side characters like Zhengdan, who might have been the main character in her own story. I would have loved to read that novel, too! At times, I loved their friendship and their secret communications, and the way they plotted together. At other times, I thought Xishi treated her like a little sister and it felt patronizing. She was at once a serious character with a revenge plot, and a silly, pretty girl without a hint of seriousness.

There were a few other things that kept me from really falling into the world. There were a some anachronistic things (corn and chilies in 5th century BCE China when these crops were not brought from North America until the 16th century, and canopy beds before they were used in China, for instance), some unrealistic pacing and character development, and so much telling rather than showing. The first quarter of the book felt rather rushed, and I wish I had been shown more of Xishi learning all of these things to be a court lady more specifically; instead, I was just told she had. Not to mention, the timeframe felt incredibly short for her to learn politics, history, seduction, art, music, dancing, etc etc to such a degree she was practically an expert. Her character development felt unrealistic, though I'm not sure we had a very stable idea of her character in the first place. It made her a bit of a blank canvas for this transformation into a cunning spy. Additionally, it felt like the Xishi/Fanli romance really came out of nowhere on his part, and while Xishi talked about how beautiful he was, I feel I rarely saw what other qualities of his she found so attractive.

Another element that really took me out of it was the complete lack of sex/sexual desire. Not that I wanted to see it necessarily, but Xishi /is/ a concubine. When we first meet her, she mentions she has not even been kissed before, and I expected this to lead to her learning how to be seductive, sexual, and even how to have sex. It might have even been a point of angst for her with the Wu king Fuchai. But there was none of that. We have a few instances that feel like perhaps they will become hot and heavy, or that there is some physical desire rather than just soft poetic romantic desire, but it never goes farther than a few words and touches. I found it incredibly unrealistic that a king who is known to frequent brothels does not so much as hint at wanting to have sex with his concubine, even when she has been around him for long over a year. I appreciate the lack of explicit scenes and the way that it shows Fuchai's authentic desire for Xishi, but it made this feel far more YA than Adult and almost romanticized her role in a literal harem, where there is no mention of physical relationships between Fuchai and any of his other numerous concubines.

Overall, it still feels like a YA story in an Adult/New Adult. Our leads are all in their very early 20s, barely out of the YA age group. I think that a harem setting and the idea of sexpionage really just didn't get played to its fullest because it was completely de-fanged. Xishi might as well have been just a pretty girl who happened to live in the palace. There was just enough to keep me invested in the characters and their arcs despite, and the prose really kept me listening despite the things that threw me off. I think that if I were reading this, I would have put it down. But that may be because I am an overly critical reader. Fortunately, the audiobook format saved this book for me.

All in all, I did enjoy this book, for all the criticism I had. The character arcs, the tragedy, the triumph, and the beautiful prose were highlights. I really love the growing genre of Chinese fantasy, and I was excited to see endorsements from Shelley Parker-Chan and Samantha Shannon, whose work I have enjoyed in the past. I would actually love to see Ann Liang tell the stories of the other three Beauties of Ancient China. Because Xi Shi is chronically the first, it would make sense to see Wang Zhaojun, Diao Chan and Yang Guifei following. I have not looked to see if this is in the works for Liang or not.

respectfully, wtf was that ending. ann liang you WILL pay for your crime.

that was captivating from the beginning. a young woman with an extraordinary beauty was asked to be a spy, under a cover of a concubine for the rival neighbor's king. during her training, she caught feeling for the young military advisor instead. but for the sake of her own kingdom, she must put aside her feelings and do her job well.

and so she became a seductress that mastered the art of passive aggressive. it was interesting, seeing the story unfolded. the time period covers more than 2 years but it felt like mere months because it's really page turning. BUT THE ENDING!!!!!!! it's either should be cut short OR extend to cover more ending because what the hell T.T

about the audiobook, i didn't pay much attention to the narrator when I requested the arc but when I started listening i was so happy to realize that it's Natalie Naudus!!! i'd recognize her voice in any books and I'm such a big fan of her. she never failed to deliver incredible storytelling.

so overall it's a nice fantasy debut from a well-known contemporary romance author. written very well. but i won't forgive her for that ending until unforeseeable future.thanks.

I noticed this title in the September Book of the Month selections. It far exceeded any expectations I had.

Disclaimer, as always: I listen to audiobooks on 2x speed and can only comment from this perspective. The narrator was fantastic. I particularly enjoyed all the pronunciations of the beautiful names in this book, especially the main character, Xishi.

This is so basic, but think Mulan. A beautiful woman becomes a weapon and a key component of a plot to overthrow an evil king by winning him over with her charm and beauty. Xishi's time with the evil king had me on the edge of my seat due to the constant threat of danger she faced. She was quick thinking and one step ahead, even when others inside the palace attempted to cast her out of favor within the court.

This book will break your heart, in the best way. The last 30 minutes are in the style of Song of Achilles (IYKYK).

Narration was delightful. Listened at 2.5x speed with no issues. Easy to follow + audibly pleasing.

This story gripped me from the beginning, and I never quite knew what was coming next. There was depth, emotion, action, humor, chaos, and romance. The characters were well-developed and leant uniqueness to the story. And the ending...whew... I did not see it coming. Was it what I wanted? Hell no. But that makes me respect it even more.

I completely understand the hype around this one.

Overall: 5 stars (I loved it)

**Thank you to NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for the free ALC. All opinions expressed are my own.**

"The mind destroys, the heart devours"

I chose A Song to Drown Rivers for my Book of the Month the day before I was approved for the audio version on NetGalley. I ended up electing to read it as an audiobook mostly because of the pronunciations of names and cities. This book had several traditional romance tropes and read like a cross between a war drama and an epic legend/mythology. Beautifully written, emotionally charged, strangely relatable and overall a stunning piece of literature. 4 stars instead of 5 because the pacing was wildly inconsistent--sometimes I couldn't bear to put it down, sometimes the story dragged. It also was lacking in the fantasy department for a book that's labeled as Historical Fantasy.

I don't know how to feel about this book without giving this book away. I just wish it would of ended in a better way. I'm not a fan of tragic love stories, because I'm more of a happy ending kind of person. If you are a fan of tragic tales than this is the book for you. Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan audio for the opportunity to review this book.

This book was perfectly written and narrated. I hear that this story was inspired by the legend of Xishi, one of the famous Four Beauties of Ancient China, I have never heard of this story but, I am now intrigued to find and read it.

In this historical fantasy, we see how a woman's beauty can be a deadly gift. The world-building was executed well, every character had a purpose and aided in moving the plot along. The conflict was illustrated well, you could understand and empathize with the motivation behind the feelings for the Wu Kingdom and the unexpected love triangle was beautifully tragic.

The ending...OMG... the left me shattered, with my mouth agape! Xishi deserved better than what she got.

You want to read a story about the strength of women, war, and a love that transcends the grave. Please go pick up this book.

Thank you Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, and Ann Liang for this beautiful ALC. I am giving this review honestly and voluntarily.

If Natalie Naudus narrates it, I'll be reading it. She is a fantastic narrator. I appreciate the way she characterizes voices, making the characters' and narrator's voices distinct without being over the top. She does both the men and women's voices very well. Not only is this narrated by the great Natalie Naudus, it is also endorsed by Shelley Parker-Chan among many other of my favorite authors. So my expectations were very high for this book, and they were absolutely met! I highly recommend this book for those who enjoyed The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, Daughter of the Moon Goddess, She Who Became the Sun, and Kaikeyi.

The story is very well-written and I enjoyed the often lyrical storytelling. It's a very vivid book, the kind where you can almost see the setting as you read. I enjoyed the plot and I think that this is one that I will be thinking about for a long time. Especially because of that ending.

I am a bit confused by the marketing choices for this. I don't quite get why this is getting the romantasy treatment. Is it me or was there no fantasy here? It is a historical, political, retelling of a legend. I worry that some readers will not enjoy this book because they are expecting something else. I happen to like stories like this but I think marketing might make this one miss it's target audience.

Side note that I love the cover art and the print deluxe edition promises to be stunning with sprayed edges and end paper art!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing an eARC of this book!

This new adult tragic romantasy retelling from New York Times bestselling author Ann Liang, previously known for her YA romances, will fly off library shelves where Sue Lynn Tan’s DAUGHTER OF THE MOON GODDESS, Axie Oh’s GIRL WHO FELL BENEATH THE SEA, C dramas, and court intrigues like A MAGIC STEEPED IN POISON do well. Natalie Naudus continues to be one of the best narrators in the business.

This is another case of high expectations and disappointing results. I’ll start by saying this book is beautifully written. The writing has a lyrical flow and pulls you into the setting. For me, the pacing seemed uneven. There were long stretches of prose where literally nothing happened, followed by short bursts of frenetic activity that ended abruptly.

The book had many characters and I found it helpful to read along while listening to the audiobook. The narration by Natalie Naudus was superb and kept me going through the challenging parts. Her ability to infuse each character with life was remarkable. I highly recommend the audio version of this book for the production quality. It is excellent.

This is not really a romance, though there is a romantic thread. It is more a tale of historical espionage where a young woman of uncommon beauty is recruited to spy on a corrupt leader. I felt the character development was lacking and never reached its full potential. Considering the lushness of the prose, this felt like a missed opportunity.

I’m glad I read this book. The time period and setting were fascinating and the intrigue provided suspense throughout.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and St. Martin’s Press for the advance copies in exchange for my unbiased review.

I was very much enjoying this lovely Chinese story until the end happened and then I was not enjoying the story at all. I was so disappointed by what happened to the female main character. Xishi gets sent to the Wu kingdom to be a concubine for King Fuchai due to her extreme beauty. She was really going as a spy and did very well on her mission. I don’t want to spoil the end but it is not happy. I really enjoyed the characters and the diversity of the story. All in all I’m glad I read this book.

I thought the narrator was fabulous and the accents were perfect.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of this book.

4.5 Stars
I loved this book even though it broke my heart with how it ended lol. I was rooting for Xishi the entire time, she was such a great FMC and she truly deserved so much more. I actually wouldn't have minded if this was longer - I would happily take more of these characters (they all really deserved better)! Also, I know I wasn't supposed to ride so hard for Fuchai since he's technically the enemy king but I just loved him so much (but also loved Fanli of course lol). I felt the audiobook narrator embodied Xishi well and kept me super invested in this story.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC!

I read this book nonstop until I had finished it. It was so so good. I just don’t even know what to say other than that. Tragic.

I read this and listened to the audiobook to compare the two. Honestly, reading it was amazing but the audiobook truly made this book 100 times better due to the amazing narrator! I throughly enjoyed this story. The mystery behind the the king and the character development of Xishi was interesting to watch play out throughout the story. I loved that the Xishu was chosen to become the weapon to help her people and take down the Wu kingdom. It was intriguing how the story turned after that (chapter 2 so not a spoiler). But it truly picked up after that point and had so many twists and action packed moments throughout to keep you interested. And that ending.... yall. I have no words!! I loved this one, especially the audiobook format!

I received the ARC in Audiobook format from Mcmillan Audio as well as a book ARC from St Martin's Press and NetGalley to listen/read/review both formats. All of the statements above are my true opinions after fully reading and listening to this book.

This book had great potential as a historical fiction and retelling of the legend of Xi Shi, one of the Four Beauties of ancient China, renowned for her Honeypot espionage mission to bring down the Wu Empire. This is a romantic tragedy based on the legends.

The positives first: The world building and scene setting is beautiful. Much of the story is dedicated to describing the world in great detail. I love a good story set in Ancient China, and the detail is wonderful. The narrator for the audio book does a great job of expressing emotion and timing in her narration.

The novel is largely focused on the beauty of everyone - our protagonist, her trainer, the King she is supposed to hate. Everyone is beautiful and everyone is madly in love with each other very rapidly.

The legend includes 3 years of training to turn Xi Shi from a rural girl into a trained lady and spy, but this novel reduces the training to mere months. This felt like a major missed opportunity to show the build up of her skills as well as the budding romance between Xi Shi and her trainer Fan Li, which would be far more believable. There is no real discussion of her actual training, it is more about being beautiful and Fan Li being handsome. Once in the presence of the Wu King, Xi Shi is able to put her remarkable 3ish month training to great work and make the King fall madly in love with her. Years go by before any spying happens, and the assumption the King is neglecting his politics duties is there but I expected it to be more prevalent.

The ending lost me a bit.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.