DNF after 20%.

The pacing is absolutely insane, you never really stay in.a scene for a while and everything feels extremely rushed. Things just happen without any rhyme or reason but just because the plot needs it to happen.
I basically know nothing about any characters except the FMC and the Love Ineterest are both extremely good looking, the FMC lost her sister and doesnt have a poker-face and the LI is extremely good at everything. They don't really feel like people and the dialogue is very to the point and without much personality in my opinion.
Everything just feels very shallow and while there are a lot of flowery descriptions they too feel empty and like they don't mean anything.

This book will find it's audience in people who enjoy an easy, fast read with nothing much to think about but it's not for me.

I couldn't push myself to read further. Due to a flowery prose and a lacking characterization, I didn't care at all for the protagonist nor the story. The romance was lackluster and there was barely any fantasy element to deserve to be tagged as fantasy. It's a pity that I didn't reach the end, because I know that I would enjoy an anti conventional ending, but I didn't care for the characters.

the mind destroys, the heart devours

I am devastated. What a story, what an ending. I'd be crying rivers if it weren't for the very last paragraph.

But let's breathe and start with the beginning. This is a retelling of the Four Beauties of Ancient China with Xishi at its centre. The core plot is rather straightforward, with Xishi being sent into the enemy's palace - and bed - to spy and topple kingdoms.
However, the way this is executed is so so well done and will leave you with all the feels. We are deep in Xishi's POV, and from the very first chapter my heart was aching for her. She's a tool, a pawn, but she's also given the chance to achieve greatness....or become a monster.

The story is super tight and there is not an ounce of fat, as every word and sentence is deliberate and masterfully placed.

The people around her - most of all Zhengdan, Fanli und Fuchai - are well formed, but they're serving to heighten Xishi's tragedy. Which is not a criticism at all, because this book might be about war and kingdoms, but it is Xishi's story.
Don't expect romantasy or even a lot of fantasy elements - because this book is not about that. And it doesn't need it.

Be ready to get your heart devoured.

5/5 stars

Thank you @netgalley and @panmacmillan for the eARC!

#ASongToDrownRivers #Netgalley #Bookstagram

A song to drown rivers is a retelling of the story of Xi Shi, one of the legendary "Four Beauties" of ancient China, and known for her role in a tale of espionage to weaken king Funchai and defeat the Wu kingdom.

The story is mostly aligned with what I know of it, except for the training time Xi Shi endured with Fanli (3 years vs 13 weeks in the book). I wish the author have kept the timeline, showing us more of Xi Shi training to become a spy. I believe this would have had a great impact on character development, which feels a bit poor in the book, adding layers and angst to the main characters storyline. Also, though her beauty was a great asset, only combined with other skills could she really tilt the balance. This could have also worked to give us more historical background, which I consider relevant in the genre.

I loved the writing style, which drew me in the story immediately after I started reading it. The ending was very emotional and it was my favorite part of the book. I’m sure it will break many readers hearts.

Recommended for YA and new adult historical fiction readers.

<i>I would like to thank Pan Macmillan | Tor and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.</i>

Thank you to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for providing an ARC of this
book. Overall, this adaptation of the retelling offers an intriguing premise
and showcases a distinct writing style that I appreciated. However, I found
some portions of the narrative to be rather slow and unengaging. Had this
not been an ARC, I might have struggled to finish it.
Additionally, the pacing of the story was challenging throughout, leaving
me only fully invested towards the end. The genre classification as
historical romance fantasy seems misaligned, as the book read more like a young
adult novel.
Thank you again for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was not a bad book, but it was definitely not great. Whenever it comes to fantasy I have high expectations, so naturally I expected a lot from this book. I expected a brilliant plot, beautiful prose, heartwarming romance, in-depth political themes and historical background, and cunning plot twists. This book struggled to deliver most of them.

First, this book was marketed as New Adult, but it was mostly YA. The only adult-ish stuff was the slight violence but combined that with the slightly juvenile dialogue and basic plot, it seemed off. Our MC is a concubine, set to seduce our King, yet all they did was talk and cuddle? See I'm not a fan of smut, but this is one of the books where smut scenes felt necessary to aid the plot. Even if they're faded to black, or just casually mentioned. It also seemed a bit too easy too, how he trusted her.

Second, the plot was original enough, but overall there was nothing special about it. There weren't other plotlines weaving through our main one and adding depth, so the story felt flat. I wasn't bored, the book was too fast-paced for that, but this wasn't the most interesting book I've read.

Third, speaking of pace, this book seemed rushed. The writing was beautiful, I'll give Ann that, but there was definitely a lot of telling and not showing, especially when it came to describing the passage of time. We're told that several weeks pass at a time, and but we're not shown any of it. Every phase of the book passed like this so quickly, that it came off as rushed and unrealistic. For example, Fanli and Xishi spent ten weeks training, but this was only around 50ish pages in the book.

Fourth, now for the romance; it was cute. Nothing special, we don't really get a lot of Xishi and Fanli content, but what we do get, I enjoyed. It also seemed a bit rushed, but for once I'm not complaining, I had fun with it. I also have a lot of things I want to say about Xishi and Fuchai, but for the sake of not leaking spoilers, I'll keep my mouth shut.

Fifth, I have issues with the political background. The world building and the history of the two kingdoms we're told felt threadbare. It was an important part of the plot, but we're only told the bare outlines. There was so much potential to build up depth, to bring in parallels from history, to show us the truth about war and its side effects. We had segments where Xishi learned that it's not all black and white, and that both sides suffer. But we barely linger on those moments, and that felt like a huge loss to me. It all felt flat. Ann's specialty is romance, I don't think she was equipped enough to build up a proper Fantasy world and background. Which is to say, the political themes felt amateurish, I don't know if Ann is the right author to handle it.

Sixth, the ending. I won't spoil it, but it was definitely my favorite part. It also seemed slightly rushed, but after how predictable most of the book was, the twist caught me completely off guard. I know most people won't be happy with it, but I was glad to see something original and exciting. It was probably one of the only saving graces of the book, my rating would've dropped to two stars otherwise.

To conclude, I've read worse books. But I was still disappointed. I think Ann should stick to romcoms and contemporary books, they're her speciality. I'd recommend this book to a new fantasy reader, but if you've been reading fantasy since day 1, you can save your time and pick up a better book.

Xishi , if people have ever been into the Chinese books they may heard the beauty xishi who seduce fuchai of wu kingdom. The original plan was a scheme to win the war against Wu's. So much the book actually written base on this script. The story start how when xishi went to wash silk in the river he saw some Wu's guys chase a girl to cause harm. it seems like she take one pear from them so the guy decided to kill her when xishi heroisem worked and she throws a stone and broke the pursuer to become the new target to be killed when suddenly Fanli the adviser of the goujian great army showed up and scare the Wu guy. As the story goes, fanli decided that xishi is a good candidate to be sent to the King of Wu fuchai who is known to only care about woman and drinks so she could spy and also interfere in the affairs of Wu and also if possible seduce fuchai so he become corrupted and wouldn't be able to conclude a good decision and lose the war.

The story is xishi pov and from the start we only have the view of third person and xishi. Her opinion in the book is somehow mixed up with modern girl like " how could one don't know she is beautiful when been told all her life , and be expected to act shyly?" So I think it's kind of foreign to think like that when it's completely shows the old Chinese don't look at woman more than a tool of marriage and follow up. Specially when xishi sent by fanli to be prepared for the kind of thing the noble girls should learn for their future as wife or concubine, you understand that the woman technically were seen as insignificant, they should only serve well , bow well and compliments well 😑. And even be thankful to be treated like that. So yeah minus for the guys behavior . Also there is this bravery that look far when you compare her with reality, if people seen Mulan they would know if a girl interfere in military thing they would be killed and so but it's completely shows the heroics attitude from both xishi and zhengdan , her best friend who accompany xishi in the mission as her maid cause she couldn't bare to marry some lousy guy. And also the fact they both have the courage to retaliate and don't back up both in speech and actions, another traits when you compare the due with other girl in book cause mostly all the ladies are timid, shy ,and tender 😑.xishi and zhangdan consider feisty and furious.

Fanli and xishi hit up from the start , but the guy really act as hero , sacrifice you for the world cause fanli was the one to suggest the operation seducing fuchai and also it was him who goes around to find a girl to go as tribute and perform the role. At the start he only said interesting and suddenly said ," your pretty, go and spy fuchai by seducing her in bed and let us win the war and conquer, be our hero" . And xishi also be like " yes my destiny is doing exactly that " and the story proses . I say yes their attraction spark whenever they are with each other but somehow it's like just a fluke .fanli was attractive, ambitious and smart , based on xishi knowledge for herself , he also should know how he influences others as well , unless he couldn’t be an advisor in a supposed great army. I sometimes thought he is manipulat but when you continue you understand he was also a young man who tend to be oblivious, though the also woken up and found out what a wrong mistake he did but still if the cost foe awakening is to losing someone it's not worth it .

I rate the book 3 , don't like the spice it's sound too clichés so 1 , not gonna lie I appreciate many things , the death and some reality that add the touch of emotive side is working really good , I myself getting emotional over some occasions in the book but I think why the sad simulation. Why not the happy kind of bubbles cause the main story is during a war and something is really near the reality, the people losing their dear ones , the losing of one themselves, the pain the survivors feel when they face the fact they will miss the one who left , it's making me speechless. there is this sentence circulat during the war " I wish there was never a war " and suddenly when I read this book I thought about it alot

I had the highest expectations for this one, it was one of my most anticipated reads of the year
Unfortunately it was not one of the best, at least for me
The premise of the book was amazing, but the fact that the book had insta love made me less interested in other things
Also it was not that much fantasy?? Or maybe im blind??
I do think that if you like insta love you’ll enjoy this more.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the arc

This was fine, it's not a bad book but it's not for me. The writting is beautiful but the romance was lacking. It has insta love wich i hate and a stupid love triangle wich i hate even more

Instant 5 stars honestly. I will never get over how captivating Ann’s writing is and the thrill you feel while reading. I felt like i was being stabbed in the heart repeatedly throughout this book but the pain was heaven. This story was so unique and i love how it explored different perspectives of love and war. The female lead, Xishi, was so painfully realistic, not perfect but still strong, becoming more so with every heartbreaking experience, which is why her relationship with Fanli, her love interest, and how it fell through hurt me that much more.

This book was not entirely what I expected it would be, but it absolutely blew me away!

I thought the writing style was excellent, and it really drew me into the story. It was also such an emotional story, and the emotions were really brought to the forefront of the story by the writing.

The characters were all formed so well, with strengths and flaws which made them all feel so real. I particularly liked Xishi and Zhengdan, and the relationship between the two of them was wonderful to read.

I will definitely be recommending this book to people!

I’m so grateful to NetGalley and Pan MacMillan for offering me the opportunity to read an ARC of A Song To Drown Rivers.
As a lover of both historical fiction and high fantasy, this book is the best of both. An epic tale based in ancient Chinese legends, this is a beautiful, tragic story of hearts and kingdoms conquered alike.

Ann Liang brought the Wu Palace to life as Xishi serves as her enemy king’s prize concubine, as a spy for her people’s king. She weirds her beauty, and her intellect, as a weapon to ensnare her enemy.

This story felt so alive to me, I was enraptured by the setting, I could hear the birdsong and war screams, I felt the love and the pain as if it were my own.
Not only is this an epic tale of war and legends, but it includes some of the most authentic banter and court games I’ve read in a long time - not to mention a love triangle with the highest stakes.

Thank you to NetGalley, Tor & author Ann Liang for the eARC

So on the one hand I flew through this book. On the other there was nothing really special about it.
I liked the writing style, however I did not connect with any of the characters or relationships. They all felt a bit hollow and underdeveloped.
There is a lot of telling instead of showing. The “romance” came out of nothing imo and to the end I didn’t understand how/why these two fell in love.
Also, this is tagged as fantasy, yet there are no fantasy elements until the last like 5% of the book…
And lastly this is classed as adult, yet it felt very YA - the FMC is supposed to be the concubine of this womanising King, yet all they do is cuddle and talk? Everyone at court is supposed to be cunning and back-stabbing yet there is only one instance where our MC has someone truly plot against her? It just felt very juvenile and convenient.
All in all I did enjoy it while reading but the more I think about it the more I find it’s faults… 3 stars

For a debut novel in the adult fantasy genre, Ann Liang proposes an impressive introduction. From the very first pages, I found myself drawn in, expecting to discover a typical (perhaps slightly predictable) romantasy.... I have been mistaken: this book was so much more!

The first part of the book intrigued me. I never quite knew which direction the plot will take, and I enjoyed every second of it. This uncertainty, carefully maintained, kept me eager to see where Ann Liang would lead us. I have to admit that halfway through the book, a particular (kiss) scene left me somewhat perplexed... But the second half of the book quickly erased any doubts. It turned out to be a true emotional rollercoaster, gathering everything I love (and love to hate) in a romantasy: betrayal, despair, grief, madness,... I LOVED IT. Ann Liang knows how to navigate deep and strong emotional scenes. Tackling such a complex and sensitive theme was no small feat, but she handled it perfectly. The last pages, both surprising and disorienting, left me shaken, yet they perfectly made sense.

I have been truly impressed by Ann Liang's writing, by her ability to make us feel all these complex emotions with such brilliance. I cannot wait for her future books, confident that they will at least be as good as this one (and her previous YA books that I also truly, deeply enjoyed)!

I'm writing this review a few day's after finishing, and I'm still not sure how I feel about this book. There were elements of it I enjoyed, and others that just didn't work for me at all, so I have a feeling this is going to be a mixed bag kinda review.

A Song to Drown Rivers is told solely from the POV of Xishi, a beautiful girl who has always been told her looks were more of a curse than a gift. She is someone who has never wanted grand things, simply enough food to feed her family, and for the Kingdom of Wu to fall into disrepair. When Fanli, the King's young military advisor comes to her with a plan to bring about the fall of the Wu kingdom, Xishi knows she will help, even if it means using her looks to worm her way into the Wu King's bed and whisper thoughts in his ears as she tries to seduce him. Xishi may be beautiful, but that does not make her weak, lesser, though a lot of the men in the court certainly view her that way. Instead she uses this curse, her beauty, to beguile the King, until he believes she is the only person he can trust. It was certainly intoxicating, seeing her have that power and use it to benefit her own Kingdom, and I enjoyed how Liang let her be this calculating without having her fall into the trap that so many other female characters do in this situation, and fall in love with their enemy.

It's a story that is incredibly fast paced, something that both worked for me and didn't. I liked how the story never dragged in anyway, even with the descriptive and flowery writing style we usually get with a slower paced story, this one kept the pace throughout. Something I feel is incredibly rare, and I did really enjoy how there never seemed to be a good place to put the book down (I read it in one sitting). The way it fell down for me was with the romance, and with this being described as a romantasy, we are all here for the romance. The two love interests spend very little time together, in fact for the majority of the book they are separated, and it's very much an insta lust/love kind of situation. So, I didn't really feel the romance as much as I would have liked.

However, where this story really shone was in watching Xishi seduce the King of Wu. This is where Liang really shines as a writer, not falling into the trap so many others before her did and have her fall in love with him, the enemy. Instead she makes her a woman on a mission, one she will not deviate from, which is understandable when you learn her backstory. Even when she starts to see his humanity, even when he becomes so charming she can't resist a smile, she reminds herself of the atrocities that happened in his name. Their story could only really head one way, and I felt that their ending was incredibly satisfying. She does maybe start a little naive, thinking that all Wu are monsters, all to blame for the murder of her people, but as the story progresses, and she get's more involved with the King, she see's these people as the simple human beings they are. Yes, there are monsters, but they don't only lurk in the Kingdom of Wu.

So it didn't overly feel like a romance to me, more a story of a woman using the one thing given to her, her beauty, to try and bring down the Kingdom that waged war on her people and killed her sister. It's brutal, despite the beautiful writing style, and I enjoyed how the author never shied away from the darker side of being a concubine. The fickleness of men, how Xishi had to fight to gain his attention and then fight even harder to keep it. But it also shows how easily people can accept and believe a pretty face. She worms her way into the Kings bed, his heart so easily, uses her beauty as a weapon, the only one she has available, and it really was spectacular, watching her bring this Kingdom down, piece by piece, until the King was so firmly wrapped around her finger, he could never once believe her of treachery.

The ending certainly shocked me. Knowing this was written by a romance author I expected it to head in a very different direction than it did, but I was pleasantly shocked at how, probably, realistic she kept it. It was definitely heartbreaking, but also seemed almost fitting to the story, as well as the time. Maybe this is how the story it's based on ends, I'm not familiar with the text so I can't say for sure, but I definitely think readers will be mixed in their reception of it. Overall, I did enjoy this one. I think calling it a romantasy is a slight leap, it's more a tragedy, and I think had I gone into it expecting that I might have liked it more. But I think lovers of beautifully written stories, featuring women with vengeance in their blood and a smidge of political intrigue will enjoy this one.

*thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review*

This was absolutely amazing!!!I devoured this! loved plot ,characters and the world building this was so much more than what I expected . I ran to preorder this! I mean look at the cover it's stunning and those edges !!
Can't wait to have this beauty on my shelf! Amazing read, definitely recommend! 5 stars

The most tragic book of 2024 is here and I am not okey. Ann Liang ripped my heart out, stomped on it and squeezed it thru a meat grinder. The last 10% I was thinking 'It can't be all, surely it won't end this way', but it did and it was so tragic and beautiful, I'm drowning in my tears rn.

"Her beauty hides a deadly purpose."

Xishi has a mission - she must go to enemy kingdom, seduce their king and get revange on her people. It is no way easy task, court games are so tricky and dangerous, one wrong move can be a death sentence. I'm in awe how she navigated this and plots she came up with.

First, she must be trained. While she is travelling from her village with Fanli, Yue king most trusted advisor, he teaches her everything she must know to survive in Wu kingdom. But he can't help the attraction that's sizzling between them.

I need this book injected in my veins, it was everything I wanted and more. Xishi and Fanli are so dear to me, I don't know how I'll ever recover. This book is unlike any other I have read, I have gazillion quotes highlighted and already can't wait for my physical copy to arrive so I could annotate it and go thru that emotional damage again. Ann Liang literally shattered me and I'm like 'thanks, let's do this again'😀

I’m utterly speechless after finishing A Song to Drown Rivers. What a powerful and gripping story! From beginning to end, I was deeply invested in the narrative, unable to put the book down.
Before I go into the plot, can we just take a moment to appreciate how stunning the cover is. I am completely obsessed with this cover.

Ann Liang has delivered something refreshingly different from her previous works. While I’ve always appreciated her other books, this one stands out with its unique and interesting approach. Set in the lush and intricate world of ancient China, the book immerses readers in a vividly portrayed historical setting that feels as though you’re watching a period C-drama unfold.
The characters in this novel are remarkably well-developed and complex. Each one is portrayed with depth and nuance, adding layers to the narrative that make it all the more engaging. Xishi was an inspiring and unforgettable protagonist. Fanli the dashing male lead and King Fuchai - who i was so conflicted on how to feel.

And the ending. I am not ready to talk about the ending. It left me in tears (of anger and sadness) is all I can say now. A Song to Drown Rivers is in conclusion a breathtaking journey that will stay with you long after you’ve turned the last page so I highly recommend everyone pick it up once it is out.

Thank you #Netgalley, Ann Liang and Pan Macmillan for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC.

I absolutely loved this book , this might be bias since I love Ann liang alot and re read all her books at least a hundred times but genuinely this book was splendid.

One thing I loved about the book was how Ann described the setting and surroundings , the way Ann describes the surroundings gives me a clear idea of what is around them , etc the weather , the textures of the walls...Everything was so detailed . It made me feel as if I was in the book witnessing everything happening.

I also loved how the fmc character personality was shown clearly , Ann showed why the fmc wanted revenge as well as her desire for the mmc fanli in the book . Ann never disappoints with the character development of her characters !

Ann always manages to write a charming mmc that steals my heart aka fanli , I loved his witty personality and how inlove he was with xishi melted my heart . Good job Ann !


Although one thing I felt needed more improvement on was the plot when xishi entered the wu castle , we read from the beginning that xishi was trained in many different things like politics, poems and a instrument but she never used any of those skills while she was in the castle . I felt like the enemies to lovers part was not very accurate since they technically never became actual lovers . Fuchai was in love with xishi but xishi never felt the same way , there wasn't much seduction between Fuchai and xishi since Fuchai seem to fall for xishi very fast without her actually needing to put in much effort .


I felt like xishi life in the castle was quite easy as I expected the other concubines to bully xishi since I don't think they will sit there idly and watch xishi win the kings affections .

I also think that the romance between fanli and xishi could be better in a way since they are madly inlove but barely have any interactions in the book compared to fuchai and xishi . The most time they spend together was during the 10 weeks used to train xishi. The love between fanli and xishi was like insta love which didn't make me too invested in their relationship.


Overall the book was such a fantastic read that made me cry ESPECIALLY AT THE END . I was shedding tears , poor fuchai 😭 he didn't deserve that kind of ending. I would definitely recommend this book to people who love watching historical c drama since the plot of this book is similar to a cdrama . Thank you netgalley for this arc !!

First and Foremost, thank you Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for the eARC!!

Secondly, this is my first book I have ever read of Ann Liang. A Song to Drown Rivers is also her first time venturing in Fantasy genre. I’m not an expert but I do read a LOT of Fantasy books and paranormal ones than the contemporary books. So, when I learned that she will have a Fantasy book, I grabbed the opportunity to request this in Netgalley. I know of the author because my friends speaks highly of her books. That might be the reason why I have high hopes for this new book even though it is her first time writing Fantasy.

I am not familiar with the Legend of Xishi in China. So this was an interesting storyline for me. The story have so much potential into becoming a great novel. However, it falls short with how it was presented to us readers. One, there’s no backstory on how the two kingdoms came at war with one another. Why are they fighting? Is it just the normal war reason of wanting to conquer the other land? I don’t know because there is nothing about the backstory of how the war came to be. Second, what is Xishi’s name? She mentioned that Xishi is NOT her real name in the first few chapters. I mean why mention it in the first place if you are not going to divulge about it later on?

Third, what is her sickness? First chapter mentioned she has a faint heart or something. I just don’t understand on how she have the illness BUT when Fanli comes around, she doesn’t feel it anymore? and she only felt it again in Wu Kingdom. It’s like just once?

Fourth, Ann Liang mentioned in her Instagram post and I quote “I’ve gotten a few questions about the UK release of my adult fantasy debut A SONG TO DROWN RIVERS…” and sadly this is definitely not adult fantasy. Because in my definition, adult fantasy have some smut, even just a little. Has much gore. This book, does have gore and action scenes, but it’s NOT IT.

Fifth, Liang destroyed Fuchai. Fuchai was created and portrayed as a monster by the Yue Kingdom. However, what Liang showed us was that Fuchai was a by product of people expecting great things from you because you are the Crown Prince. Because your parent is the great King. He has some issues, which honestly I would love to learn more. I wanted to know the history of Fuchai. I don’t want the descriptions of the palace or how beautiful Xishi is. We already know that. What we don’t know is what really happened with Fuchai and his father. Again, the history is quite lacking. Backstory almost non existent.

Sixth, oh we all know the instalike (I say like because I don’t know it doesn’t feel like love to me at the time) between Fanli and Xishi. He trained her for 10 weeks. But in that time, it doesn’t feel like something evolved between them. And yet even after being in Wu Kingdom for years, she still wants Fanli who she haven’t seen for a long time.

Seventh, okay this should have been the first one but… she was basically recruited as a spy, right? As they planned they should have discussed on how she will give some message to the home kingdom. But she don’t know how to give the informations back to Yue. Like what? Lol. She only did transfer info like towards the end. Which, I don’t know. It feels weird not to know that first hand. Either they don’t have an intensive plan or she was not informed of it. Which is weird! You put her in that kingdom, you should have known how to leak info.

Eight, Zhengdan is one of the characters I liked. But her death feels rushed. I was so ecstatic that finally some fight scene! And it was a bit decent. Fight scene can be improved more though. More on describing the actual fight rather than how she moves beautifully? Or something. Lol. Her death though. It is definitely rushed. It could have been like she gloats her win to General Ma and idk, something more to it. I do know it was like a catalyst for Xishi but Zhengdan’s death shouldn’t been rushed like that.

Nineth, there is always two sides of the coin. This is why I wanted to know the history of both kingdoms. Why they were at war. Because on each side, there are always people who didn’t do anything wrong, who viewed the other kingdom as monsters. Who is really at fault here? I mean obviously it’s the Kings. Lol. So, I know at some point Xishi was going to have regrets on her choices. Because she learned to like them even a little. SHE LIKED FUCHAI. Even if she doesn’t confirm with words. I knew at one point she started to like him even though she hated him. Because Fuchai only shows genuine care for her. All he did was so gentlemanly that one wouldn’t know he was supposed to be a monster. Yes, he is a bit morally grey. But aren’t some people too? Fanli is one. He also killed, it just depends on the circumstances. Even when he learned Xishi is a spy, he just gave his life. Just. Like. That. Fuchai deserved so much more.

Tenth, what kind of ending was that? Is that how the original story went? She was drowned because she is a future threat to Goujian? What? And then it became like a paranormal story because she became non corporeal. And visited Fanli in his dream and Goujian to torment him? Like what the actual fxk? After all the sacrifices she made, after she killed Fuchai with her own hands, that’s how it ends? Though if I think about it like it’s how the originally goes then maybe? But this is fantasy!! One can bend anything and make the story her own though.

I have so many questions about it that this is such a long review. I was left with nothing but questions on what why and another why? I feel the story can evolve more. But since this is just a 300 something pages, it is rushed. It should have 600 pages if this is a standalone, which according to the author is. And please, if you are doing fantasy, give us a background on the history of kingdom even just a tiny bit. I was left trying to understand what happened. I feel like the potential of the story was wasted. And please, if you’re also gonna say things like how Xishi has illness and that her name is not her name. Make it make sense in the middle or last part of the book, I don’t care. Just make it make sense.

If this will be rewritten, I might read it again. I do hope that if Liang tries to write about the other three, she gives it justice. And not try to rush how it will end. Readers like substance. There is substance here but lacking. We don’t care about the pages as long as the story telling is good. No matter how many pages there are if it’s not engaging us, it will just feel like dragging. This is me for the first 60 percent of the book. I just powered it through so I can have a decent review.

I do hope this does not affect on how I am approved of future books. I am merely expressing my opinions about the book I have read. I would still be reading another ARC of her which is I Am Not Jessica Chen. Hoping that that book is much better because it is her usual genre. Again, thank you for the ARC. And hope it is not my last one from Pan Macmillan. ❤️