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!

“A Song to Drown Rivers” by Ann Liang is a gorgeous atmospheric that tossed me into a rich and beautiful world. I enjoyed this retelling of the traditional legend of Xishi and liked learning her story.
That said, this is a solid 3 star read for me. The romance between Xishi and Fanli feels sudden and unconvincing, and I had a hard time getting on board with their insta-love. It felt like we were missing a chapter or two of their story after she met Fu Chai. In general, I thought the character development fell short, and I didn’t have a ton of emotional connections with either the main or supporting characters.
I also saw this marketed as an adult fantasy romance book, but apart from a whisper at the end, there were really no fantasy elements. This also read strongly as a YA novel, and I think it would be better classified as a historical young adult romance.
In the end, did I enjoy this audiobook (with a stellar narration from Natalie Naudus)? I did, but I would have enjoyed it much more if I had been expecting a YA historical romance.
*I received an ARC copy of this audiobook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Absolutely loved my heart being smashed to bits by this incredible story. I loved the character progression and the concept. It was so hard to know where it would end and honestly, that was incredibly hard to predict! The depth in such a short time is incredible. I enjoyed the pace of the story. This will be one that stays with me for a while. Now I need to preorder it!! Do not sleep on this book!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review!

Many thanks to Macmillan Audio, author Ann Liang, and NetGalley for providing me this ALC in exchange for my honest review.
Publication Date: October 1, 2024

5 STARS

The fmc is forced into a political arranged marriage with the “horrible” king of the Wu Kingdom. In truth, she is infiltrating the enemy kingdom as a spy. One woman becomes the hero of her nation, not with a sword but with her survival instincts in a palatial prison and a life she did not choose.

This is lyrical, elegant historical fiction. There’s no magic. The only reason it might be shelved as fantasy is because it’s mythology retelling. It's also adult. There's no explicit content but themes, emotional nuance, and maturity of the characters seem like they'd land better with adults.

Reasons I Loved the Book:
1. THE AUDIOBOOK: No complaints regarding sound production and quality. Also, Natalie Naudus is an expert narrator of whom I’ve long been a fan. Her performance is versatile and natural, not overly dramatic and she uses subtle voice changes to cue different characters. She articulates the words clearly; I was easily able to listen at 2.5-3x speed and not miss a thing.
2. THE WRITING: The prose style falls in between simplistic workman’s style and purple/embellished prose. The flow is smooth and readable. Imagery is present and enhances the setting and vibes of the book but is not overly detailed.
3. THE ROMANCE: ohhhh my heart💗 This book has such a pure, slow burn love. The mutual longing is so beautifully angsty! You also get the forbidden trope—because the fmc and her trainer/spy handler indicate mutual attraction early on, even though she’s about to enter an arranged marriage with high stakes in a dangerous environment. They love each other more than anything else yet do their best to be honorable.

The story is deceptively simple. It is devastatingly beautiful.

I 100% recommend this title as one of my favorite reads of 2024.

Natalie Naudus is probably my favourite audiobook narrators. Loved her narration in this one.

The story was beautifully written, but with a heartbreaking ending. Looking forward to reading/listening more from this author.

I absolute loved the pace of this story and felt engaged throughout. It was a beautiful story with nuanced characters. There was no black and white characters; everyone had good and bad elements and it was interesting to see the main character struggle with that throughout her journey.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #MacmillanAudio for the ARC of this fantastic audio book.

4.25/5 stars

I have really been enjoying retellings of legends and histories (She Who Became the Sun, Circe, Stone Blind) lately and I absolutely loved this re-imagining of the legend of Xishi.

Xishi, the most beautiful woman in her village, works washing silks with her mother to supplement their meager income. The only child of her parents after younger sister was murdered by the Wu army, she is haunted by the loss and guilt of being left behind. One day at the river she sees a girl running from the trees, bruised and being followed by a soldier. Xishi, possessed by the ghost of not being able to protect her sister, throws stones at the soldier to distract him. Finally, when death seems all but certain, she is saved by Fanli, a famous young military advisor.

This chance meeting leads to Fanli offering Xishi an opportunity to avenge her sister by infiltrating the Wu kingdom in the form of a beautiful new gift to the Wu king. Xishi accepts the offer and begins training as a spy with the hopes of bringing down the entire kingdom.

So much happens in this one-shot fantasy and I'm still destroyed by the ending. Not a full 5 star rating at this point because I do much prefer for a happy or a sad but hopeful ending where this book straight up ended super sad. I reserve the right to change my mind once I have a little distance from finishing.

Anna Liang has written an incredibly lush historical fantasy novel that retells the myth of Xishi, one of the famous Four Beauties of Ancient China. Driven by her own personal vendetta against the Wu Kingdom, Xishi is recruited by Fanli, the Yue King's brilliant and enigmatic advisor to become a spy in the vise of a concubine for the Wu Kingdom. Renkowned for her beauty, loyalty and sacrifice, Xishi has become a legend and this story has done her justice.

Liang has created complex characters who become alive on the page. No one is who they seem from the "villains" to the "heroes". There was plenty of court intrigue to kept me listening to this fabulous audiobook narrated by one of my favorite narrators, Natalie Naudus. Naudus presents Xishi's conflicted feelings so acutely as she navigates the Wu court and learns how far she's willing to go for revenge. Her relationship with Fanli is bursting with yearning and desire through furitive glances and light touches that will make readers scream (in a good way) and will appeal to fans of forbidden love. While some readers might complain about the bittersweet ending, I found it fitting for the characters and the story. The story reminds us of the costs of war and what we lose in our tunnel vision of attaining power.