ann liang is an amazing author... this is devastating and beautiful and i will always be thinking about xishi and fanli

“What a bittersweet fate we shared, balanced so precariously on the fine line between life and death, union and separation, joy and despair.”

Fantasy is a genre completely outside of my wheelhouse but a fellow reader suggested I give this new novel a try. Inspired by an Ancient Chinese legend, Ann Liang provides stunning imagery with her prose and after one chapter I was hooked.

Xishi has a rare and exquisite beauty and a thirst for revenge. A young minister to her king recognizes her exceptional elegance and makes her a pawn in a dangerous game. After rigorous training, Xishi is embedded into the court of a rival kingdom, to seduce their king in hopes of gathering intelligence to regain her kingdom’s independence. The minister Fanli guides her through lengthy training and delivers her to the den, setting into motion an entangled plot where life hangs in the balance for multiple characters.
Xishi’s beauty is a blessing and a curse as she navigates a minefield of duty, affection and guilt, while she is confronted with blurred lines about heroes vs victims.
The Helen of Troy (the face that launched a thousand ships) undercurrent is just one aspect of what made this an appealing read for me, and those who enjoy Madeline Miller mythology retellings, may find this to be their ideal fall book.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Net Galley for the early copy in exchange for my honest review!

Generous 3 ⭐ - until the end I was really rating it 4-4.25 ⭐

<b>GOOD:</b>
Don’t get me wrong, I binged the audio hard and adored 75%. The audio was extremely immersive and I loved the narration by Natalie Naudus. There were so many parts of this book I loved. The setting and the writing were some of my favorites. Espionage, power games and court politics in a warring kingdom? YES PLEASE. I loved when Xishi started to realize she had her own power even if it was different than that a man has.

<b>BAD:</b>
Where was the fantasy? Other than being a world loosely based off a Chinese myth, there is absolutely no magic or fantasy elements. Our FMC was just a random village girl with immeasurable beauty & her friend felt like a knock off Mulan even though we forgot about her quickly.

<b>UGLY:</b>
The ending made me rage - a few days later I'm still pissed while writing the review. I cared for the relationship and interactions with the king, not her insta-love wannabe romance. We never saw any of the pining and tension between Fanli and Xishi. The relationship that Xishi built over multiple YEARS with the Wu King Fuchai was more impactful to me than the 10 week relationship she decided she had with Fanli.


Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio & St. Martin's press for the eARC & ALC of A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang

I had a decent time reading A Song to Drown Rivers. My favorite part of the book was Xishi's character development. I enjoyed her character's journey and watching her grow into her role as a spy. The book focused primarily on her journey. I am surprised that this book is being advertised as a romantasy. This did not feel like a romantasy. The romance in this book was very backseat. I struggled with Xishi and Fanli's relationship. It was a lot of telling instead of showing. I wish the author showed more of their characters together. I had a hard time justifying their love with so few scenes together. I thought Fanli's character was severely underdeveloped. I didn't really feel one way or another about him. I actually had more feelings about the enemy! I thought the author did a fantastic job creating a layered character in Fuchai. I found myself feeling bad for him. There were some things that bugged me. I felt like the whole heart thing was never fully explained. I also thought the ending of the book could have been less rushed. I wish there was more climax at the end. The fight scenes could have been better. I didn't like how Xishi's story ended. The author's writing was strong and compelling. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

A moment of silence for this gorgeous cover, please...

This book is filled with excellent world-building, compelling characters, interesting eastern mythology and is both beautifully written and heartbreaking at the same time.

I can't wait to see what happens next!

Tysm for the ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC.

A Song to Drown Rivers gave me so much more than I anticipated. Grab all the tissues. Wow.

🌊 Book Review 🌊

A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang
🌊
This is a captivating, poetically written, stunningly tragic book filled with yearning, heartbreak, female rage, and vengeance. It’s an epic tale about war, duty, sacrifice, and love. I adored the characters, especially Xishi, Fanli, and even Fuchai. This book was intriguing, fast-paced, and almost hauntingly beautiful. Natalie Naudus does an excellent job with the audio. She truly embodies Xishi, and brings her character to life perfectly. I was completely unprepared for the ending; it absolutely destroyed me, and I may never recover. I will be thinking about this book for a long time.
🌊
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice level: 🌶️
🌊
Read if you like:
▫️Chinese legends
▫️historical fantasy
▫️warring kingdoms and court politics
▫️arranged marriage
▫️forbidden love
🌊
Thank you to St. Martins Press, Macmillan Audio, NetGalley, and Ann Liang for the ARC. I received an advanced copy for free, and am leaving this review voluntarily.

O.M.G. Ann Liang just reached into my chest, ripped out my heart, stomped all over it, tore it to pieces, then threw those pieces into a fire.....all in the very best possible way.
Where do I start? The writing of this book is BEAUTIFUL. Not fluffy, just absolutely beautiful.
Liang made the characters to where you would fall in love with them regardless of their alliance in the story as well as giving life to side characters.
This book goes so far beyond a simple enemies to lovers (or not) troupe and really makes you sit with the realization of the humanity of enemies. It smears all of the black and white lines into an ugly muddled gray.
I cannot sing enough praises for A Song to Drown Rivers. Definitely 5/5 stars.
Thank you NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

A Song to Drown Rivers is beautifully written. The prose flows well without being so flowery that it’s difficult to follow. I really like the main character and found that this did a great job of pulling me to finish the story. The one downside is that I felt this was a bit too rushed. You don’t really get a sense of the time that’s elapsed and takes a bit away from the impact of how things play out.

Note: ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This books was my first book by Ann Liang and it is far from my last. I loved everything about this book, from the characters to the writing, it was perfect. It was a slow start, but I promise you, it is worth every moment that you spend reading. I loved everything about this book and if I had the ability to read this for the first time again, I would!

A harrowing tale of bravery and sorrow. Xishi is a young women who embarks on a difficult journey. She finds herself in a situation where she is able to help her family and nation. She is working with those she more allies with to spy and give information to bring down the Wu, who have wreaked havoc on her nation. Beautiful story that has you at the edge of your seat waiting what happens next

<i>One could live with almost anything, so long as they had something to live for.</i>

Moving, ethereal, and beautifully told. Plucked from obscurity in her rural village due to her unmatched beauty only to be trained as the ultimate weapon, Xishi knows she must succeed at her job to seduce the neighboring kingdom’s king in order to save her people. But her heart is torn and the path is treacherous - will she become a hero, the kind of legend remembered centuries later, and will she agree with the assessment after all is said and done?

While the modernization of the dialogue and mannerisms was sometimes jarring knowing this story took place in ancient China, it didn’t ultimately detract from this beautiful story about love, revenge, and sacrifice.

Pub Date: 10/1/24
Review Published: 10/1/24
eARC received from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This is a captivating historical fantasy based on the legend of Xishi from ancient China. I love fantasy books with descriptive imagery that make me feel immersed in another world. This is a suspenseful story about a beautiful village girl who goes undercover during a time of war. It is a story of love, betrayal, grief, family, friendship, and sacrifice.

A Song to Drown Rivers is a beautiful and heartbreaking novel about duty, sacrifice, and love.

Xishi is a rare beauty. Tucked in a small Yue village, Xishi lives a simple life with her parents , and tries to avoid the Wu who are invading their home. When the Yue King’s minister Fanli arrives and proposes a secret mission that could save Yue, Xishi is hesitant but accepts. She agrees to become a spy in the Wu palace, to seduce the king and learn his secrets. While training the ways of courtly life, Xishi and Fanli grow closer to each other, but doing so could put everything they’ve worked for at risk.

A Song to Drown Rivers is a beautifully written and emotional tale. I enjoyed reading about Xishi and her courage and growth. She nobly put her duty to her kingdom before herself and before her own happiness. I loved her interactions with Fanli. The court intrigue was also exciting to read, and how Xishi had to carefully balance both worlds. I was a little surprised at the ending, though in hindsight it does make sense for the novel and I probably should have known it would end this way. It is heartbreaking yet beautiful. I felt it was also a pretty short read and easy to fall into.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and to St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own..

I initially dove into this book expecting a historical fantasy, but it leaned more into historical fiction with some magical realism. While I read through it in a few days, I found myself not entirely hooked by the story. There was a certain distance I felt from most of the characters, making it difficult to become fully invested in the relationships or to truly feel the emotional punch of the twist at the end.

I believe the story could have benefited from more character development to really draw readers into those connections and intensify the impact of the ending. That said, the writing was beautiful, with some truly memorable lines scattered throughout.

Though this particular book didn’t entirely resonate with me, I’m curious to explore more from this author and see where their other works might lead.

A Song to Drown Rivers sadly didn't work for me. All of the elements were there…a heroine we could root for, a kingdom we wanted to see thrive, a hero we would fall for, political intrigue, and a retelling that will hold us in the palm of its hand. Yet sadly I wasn’t able to connect to any of the characters. and that unfortunately plays a huge part of my enjoyment in a book. So many other people absolutely love this book, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you love as much as them!

This is the second book this month that has definitively broken my heart. Like ripped it out of my chest, stomped on it, and then cut it up for good measure. The odd thing - I’m not complaining. lol I’d like to thank the author for shattering my heart by writing such a brutal and emotional read.

I knew nothing about the legend of Xishi before reading this book. The story follows Xishi as she trains and becomes an enemy king’s concubine in order to infiltrate his kingdom, send intel back to her kingdom, and potentially usurp his throne. It's an immersive and suspenseful read that's beautifully written. The author uses tons of beautiful imagery, personification, and pathetic fallacy, and I like how nature often parallels the turmoil happening in the plot or the tumultuous feelings of the main characters.

Xishi is extremely beautiful and often treated differently because of it. But hiding behind that beautiful facade is an intelligent spy who uses her talents to woo the King and fulfill her tasks. What she doesn’t expect is to become so emotionally invested, first in her trainer’s life and then in the King’s. Both men are so much more than Xishi initially realizes, and it causes her to reevaluate all she knows about her kingdom, her enemy, the people who rule, her role in the mission, and the bigger pictures that affect the people in both kingdoms. I found all three characters fascinating and enjoyed how layered and complex they and their relationships were.

There is a bit of a love triangle, which isn’t my favorite trope, but totally makes sense contextually. One thing I really liked about the triangle is how conflicted Xishi is. Though she doesn’t love the King, she sees more than a ruthless killer and unthinking lover. He shows her a more tender and thoughtful side that belies the public persona he embraces. I think there are some thought provoking messages about love, regret, seeing both sides of a terrible story, and sacrifice.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am so glad I buddy read it with Leslie at Books Are the New Black. We had some great conversations about the characters, plot, writing, and themes. Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.

This was EXHILARATING. A historical fantasy retelling based on a Chinese Legend, Xishi. We follow her, a young woman who is picked to train and become a spy for her kingdom with the goal of seducing the enemy King. This is peak political intrigue involving multiple kingdoms and a quest for vengeance. Recommend for readers who enjoy historical fiction, legend re-tellings, and slow-burn romance. I’m sure this one is going to pop up for a book of the month selection if it isn’t already.

A historical fantasy that tells the legend of Xishi, a famous beauty of Ancient China, who infiltrates the rivaling Wu kingdom, to spy for her people and save her country. There’s war, there’s deception, there’s love, and there’s even a bit of wit and humor. Overall, a well rounded story that kept my attention throughout.

I was not familiar with the story of Xishi or any of the Four Beauties of Ancient China, so it was fun to learn a bit of mythology from another country. The characters were strong and I appreciated their unique and sometimes complicated personalities. While labeled a historical fantasy, it leaned more towards a historical fiction romance, so if you’re interested in a story with talking dragons that’s dripping in magic, this isn’t it. If you like complex characters, messy love triangles, and unexpected endings, go buy this book now.

A couple critiques, though minor… I might mark this more a YA than Adult novel. It was well written, but sometimes a bit simple and in particular glossed over romance scenes that could have used more - not that the book needed smut, but for context and better understanding of our characters and their relationships. Second, there was a small plot hole I’m still curious about. Did Xishi’s heart magically heal? Was that the fantasy element? What happened there? We never find out.

I’ve seen a few reviews that say the story got a bit slow at times, but I was fortunate to have received an advanced digital and audio copy. Having both mediums might have helped elevate this issue for me, but not once did I feel like stopping from boredom. In fact, it was rewarding to be able to both see and hear certain word and name pronunciations and the narrator was exceptional with their pacing, articulation, and voicing of a wide variety of characters.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the advanced digital copy.

This book was St. George and I was the dragon when it came to reading this. I don’t have the words for how absolutely amazing this book was. Steeped in legend, I found the writing made the story so vivid and engaging. There’s intense longing and I can’t write any more without spoilers.

Although I wish that the characters were more fleshed out, I think this was still one of my favorite reads of the year ❤️

10/1/24 - ***coming back to say that this story has stuck with me


Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the DRC