I was enjoying this audiobook but sadly due to the Netgalley app crashing, I lost my copy and now I can't finish it as the archive date has passed.

From what I read, it was a great book so I'm disappointed to not be finishing it.

Thank you to the publishers for the ALC but Netgalley need to work on their app issues.

I feel like this book may be a let down to many readers, because the marketing sets up expectations that are not fulfilled by the book.

This is a historical retelling, not a fantasy – there are literally zero fantastical elements in this book.
I requested this book because I was expecting a romance – this is not a romance. There are some romantic elements to this story, but we barely get to see them. The connection between the ‘main couple’ is told, not shown, and we know nothing about the love interest. This resulted in me rooting for the antihero, with whom the connection seemed way stronger, but that was a letdown as well. I am just warning you, so you don’t get your heart broken like I did.

This story also reads a little like a YA fiction (apart from the killing and the war in the end) because the door is not only closed, s*x is never mentioned. We are meant to believe that a courtesan that sleeps next to the king every night, did little more than exchanging fleeting kisses.
The end of the story also made me think, “so what was the point of all of this again?

If you liked this book, please don’t feel offended by my review. As I said, my rating is hugely based on my expectations going into this book, which were not fulfilled. If you haven’t read this book and are thinking about it, this review is not to dissuade you from it, but to hopefully set more realistic expectations for this book than I had, which should hopefully improve your enjoyment of the book.
I listened to the audiobook and found that Natalie Naudus has a very pleasant and fitting voice. If you are interested in this book, I can recommend listening to the audiobook version.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan UK Audio for gifting me this ALC of the audiobook to review. All opinions are my own. I was not paid to leave this review.

a song to drown rivers is a historical fantasy that follows Xishi, who is known for being an extraordinary beautiful woman. her beauty captures the attention of king’s military advisor, Fanli, and recruits and trains her to become a spy and seduce the enemy kingdom’s king, Fuchai, to help them destroy it from within.
only problem is, there is undeniable attraction between Xishi and Fanli, an attraction that cannot be explored as she is being trained to become the woman who will steal Fuchai’s heart and help bring his kingdom down.

this book was everything i could’ve hoped for and more. it was beautifully written and paced. i was enthralled in it from the beginning and i loved the training scenes we got, watching Xishi slowly learn how to become a weapon.
Xishi and Fanli’s tension was everything and even though he is not present throughout half of the book as she is in the enemy kingdom to complete her mission, you could still feel the longing.

there is so much i want to praise about this book but i don’t know how without spoiling things😭 i will say that the tension of war brewing and the political intrigue with the court games brought that much more interest to the story itself. i loved seeing Xishi try to win the enemy king’s favour whilst also being careful of the dangers at court.

i’d also like to specially mention Fuchai, the enemy king. Ann Liang did a wonderful job at writing such a complex character and although he was immoral and seen as a monster, we also saw a different side to him, the more human side to him and it was really interesting. and i may or may not have fallen in love with Fuchai’s soft side…
she did the same with the Yue vs Wu kingdoms. Xishi believed for everyone in the Wu kingdom to be monsters after what happened in the war, but the Wu also found everyone in the Yue kingdom to be monsters because in war, the innocents always suffer.

anyway this was such a perfect book and one of my new all time favourite books ever. i cried for like 50 pages straight and will never recover from this story

thank you so much to macmillan audio and netgalley for the audiobook!! the narrator did an amazing job and helped me get fully immersed into it🖤

This was a lovely story. The plot was well paced and kept my attention while listening. The world building was just enough to set the scene but not too much to overcomplicate things.

The only thing I could have liked more of was the relationship between Xishi and Fanli. I felt like the chemistry between them was great but something was missing.

The narrator, Natalie gave a great performance and I really connected with the characters.

Definitely recommend.

A Song to Drown Rivers is a beautifully written story filled with love and intrigue. I found the plot captivating, even though it moves at a slow pace most of the time. The characters are complex and fascinating to follow. The romantic subplot is heartbreakingly beautiful in this book.

There is vast sadness or nostalgia in this story, which I found overwhelming. Still, I loved the writing style and will definitely look into the other books.

Don’t you love it when you go into a book without really knowing much, and end up absolutely obsessed with it?! This one was just one of those brilliant, sweeping epic historical fantasy novels that I struggle to put down once I start!

I’m a sucker for a guaranteed tragic ending, and this one feels doomed from the start. Two people in love who can’t be together for the sake of king and country etc etc?! Sign me up! I absolutely adored Xishi and Fanli, and the fact that they never consummate their love only makes it more compelling and romantic. I also actually really enjoyed watching her relationship blossom with the king, and the way it revealed a different side to him and only added more layers of complexity to the whole story - at times I wasn’t sure where her heart would end up leading her. Add to that some equally brilliant female friendship, plenty of betrayal, stunning writing AND an ending that will likely break your heart in two? What more could you ask for? Perfect for fantasy, historical fiction and romance fans alike.

A gorgeous tale, beautifully told, from start to finish. I thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself in Ancient China. I loved Ann Liang’s writing and I hope she produces more work in this vein. I especially liked the audiobook narration by Natalie Naudus. She does male voices so well!!! Truly wonderful book (and audio) and one that I would highly recommend.

I wanted to enjoy this a lot more than I did. It had a lot of emotion in the tragedy of Xishi and Fanli’s romance and the way it ended. It had heart. But for a lot of the book, the lack of action let it down.

There was plenty of political scheming from Xishi, but though I enjoyed that, it just wasn’t enough to excite me. It also left a whole big part of the book where Xishi was being trained where there just wasn’t much happening.

I liked how well thought out the characters were. The fleshed out, well roundedness of the spoilt king really went to show how pointless it all was for Xishi to be seducing him at all. The way she learnt, over the course of the novel, that there are two sides to this war and her side was hurting just as many people as the other. There was a poignance to it that the author captured really well.

Overall, it wasn’t a book for me. But I’m glad to have read it. It gave a message that I really enjoyed.

I really enjoyed A Song to Drown Rivers. It's pacy but emotional and keeps the balance of plot to characterisation really well. I found the narration of the audiobook so engaging that I had to stop other tasks to just listen at various points. Xishi is well-rounded and complicated, given that she's intially the focus of the story because she is devastatingly beautiful. Because I am unfamiliar with the story the book is drawn from, I was also really surprised and affected by the ending (in a good way). This is definitely an adult historical fantasy that is not too graphic but doesn't hide from various brutalities. Some readers may wish to check trigger warnings. I hadn't read an Ann Liang before but I will definitely read another again!

3.5 stars
Overall the pacing was uneven and I wish we got to see more of the Fun Li relationship develop on page. I feel like this would’ve made an amazing duology. But there were some great parts to it and I’m glad to have read it. And the audiobook narrator is great- Natalie Naudus never misses and makes the emotions and characters come to life!
More specific thoughts while reading:
• The stakes don’t feel high/ the plot isn’t super interesting until a third of the way in and then things pick up
• Don’t love that a lot of the relationship building is done in montage/ fast forward
• I do feel the tension when she put on her wedding robe and put the ointment on him. I was holding my breath. I wish he lost more control and just kissed her ahhhh
• Ughhh the foreshadowing (“in the future I would look back at this moment and XYZ”) already happened multiple times and it annoys me. Ruins the tension. I want to *think* and wonder, I don’t want to be told and spoiled as to what will happen. Happens multiple times throughout
• It’s so relieving hearing her escape that evil dude's machinations
• Pleasantly surprised by some of the punches that were not held back
• I wish we got to know the handmaiden lady better, she felt flat even though the idea of her (so great at fighting) was interesting. Made what eventually happened not have as big of an impact as it could’ve
• The pace is definitely picking up. I like her scheming
• Nuanced in its take on vengeance
• The king (Fu chi) is a layered character
• UGHHH brooooo don’t call her out in front of everyone!!! Why ya gotta blow her cover like that ffs
• Damnnn!!! He wants her to kill him 😨😱 I cannot believe she did it holy shit
• I was not expecting that ending what the heck
• Go Fun Li!!!
• You know what, I actually like the ending. I do wish it provided more closure about the kingdoms fate (it feels pretty pessimistic on that front) but otherwise it was really unexpected and fitting for the story. I can see it being polarizing but I think it feels realistic
Big thank you to Macmillan and Netgalley for an audiobook arc for review, as always all thoughts are my own :)

4.5 stars.

Xishi's beauty is seen as a blessing to the villagers of Yue - where the best fate for a girl is to marry well and support her family. When Xishi draws the attention of Fanli, the famous young military advisor, he presents her with a rare opportunity: to use her beauty as a weapon; one that could topple the rival neighbouring kingdom of Wu, improve the lives of her people, and avenge her sister's murder. All she has to do is infiltrate the enemy palace as a spy, seduce their immoral king, and weaken them from within.

First of all, it was so refreshing to see a legend I had heard of and watched on TV growing up captured as an English book!

Xishi’s story broke my heart in many pieces. She didn’t ask for the beauty she was born with, but she managed to use what she had, not only to survive in life, but also to influence the fate of a nation. And she had to endure mountainous sufferings for it.

I loved Ann Liang’s portrayal of Xishi in this book. Despite of having little control over her own life, she was far from being portrayed as a dainty, weak woman. She was assertive, smart and ambitious. I also loved Ann’s lyrical writing style, which made the storytelling felt ‘true’ to the Ancient China legend vibe.

A Song to Drown Rivers is a heartbreaking retelling of Xishi, one of the Four Beauties of ancient China. This beautiful historical fantasy had me tearing up on the train to work!!

The romanceS (yes plural) in this book had me absolutely torn! I had no idea who I was rooting for, my mind changed every few pages! I think that’s the romance was woven perfectly into the wider plot, which was filled with deception and political intrigue. The book is pretty fast paced and definitely had my heart rate acting up in some scenes!

A Song to Drown Rivers is a deeply emotional read and I would recommend it to anyone in need of a good cry 🤣

💙Read A Song to Drown Rivers if you love💙
🌙Political intrigue
✨Corruption arcs
🌙Vengeance
✨Female rage
🌙Slow-burn forbidden romance
✨Tending wounds scenes

I don't know how to feel about about this book. On one hand, I think the writing was beautiful, lyrical, undeniably well written, but on the other, I found the story slow. Time was taken to describe some things to the point I became bored while also skimming over things I was really interested in. The romance felt rushed, to the point where I just didn’t feel the connection strong enough to really root for them - yet the ending emotionally killed me. A real mixed bag, but I would gladly read more books by this author.

This book is something else! It sucked me in and tore me apart at the same time. The writing is gorgeous, and the characters are so real and complicated. I loved every minute, and I can't stop thinking about how it ended! This was my first time hearing about the legend of Xishi and its made me want to read other Chinese legends!

Ann Liang’s A Song to Drown Rivers masterfully captures the high-stakes tension of an undercover mission that hinges on lies, manipulation, and betrayal rather than romance alone.

The story follows Xishi, a beautiful commoner thrust into a deadly game of deception for her nation’s survival. Alongside her loyal friend Zhengdan, Xishi uses her beauty and cunning to serve her homeland, hiding her vulnerabilities beneath a composed facade.

Her forbidden love for Fanli is intense yet hopeless, contrasting with her complex, underdeveloped relationship with Fuchai—a historical figure who adds layers of intrigue (I could not help but root for him too).

This retelling of the Legend of Xishi, one of China’s Four Beauties, shows beauty as a powerful, often underestimated tool.
The ending was absolutely heart-wrenching but beautifully done.

4.4 stars

First up, the narration and overall the production of this audiobook enhanced my enjoyment of A Song to Drown Rivers. Natalie Naudus helped bring the characters and story alive, and I found hearing the names pronounced useful too.
Now to the novel itself. A Song to Drown Rivers was well-paced, I found myself immersed in the story from the opening encounter between Xishi and Fanli, and Lian’s use of language was breathtaking, the story absolutely devastating. The novel was advertised as a historical fantasy – on reflection, there was more of a historical than a fantasy feel to it in my opinion. So it’s perhaps something useful to know, but not something that influenced my overall enjoyment of the novel. I absolutely loved the ending, even if it hit me as hard as the ending of The Song of Achilles.

I didn't really know what to expect when I started this book, as I was not familiar with the original legend. in my experience, retellings work either really well for me or they just don't hit the same mark as the original story (or other retellings of the same legend), so it was great to start this with a clean slate.

I really loved the story arc, the character growth, and the writing, I think the author has a sensational grasp on her craft. I'd also like to note the pacing, there was never a dull moment, I found the balance between world-building and action impeccable.

the reason why I'm taking away one star is while it's advertised as a fantasy, there aren't many fantasy elements to it, and even then they only appear in the last 5% of the book. so I kept waiting for something fantastical to happen, and this did leave me a tiny bit disappointed in the end. I think if I would reread this book, I would rate it higher, but I couldn't fully enjoy it this time around due to this.

Thank you to NetGalley, Tor, and the author for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The story is an interesting premise, with a focus on Chinese legend, Xishi who is given a unique task to assist her country in gaining an advantage in the war.

This book is described as an epic historical fantasy with romance. I personally didn't notice much of a fantasy element apart from the stories of legends. There was very minimal world building and I was left trying to figure it all out myself as it went. Xishi role of a spy was severely underdeveloped and we were given hardly any information on the intricacies. Instead, we were given 'telling rather than showing' of how great of a spy Xishi was.

While this story does contain romantic elements, it's definitely not a romance book. The romance came across as instant love and I struggled to value their connection given how things transpired throughout the book. At some stage the story began teasing a 'love triangle' however, I couldn't entertain the morally grey character. I found it interesting how this perspective humanised the King.

Liang embraced a new writing style and delved into some darker themes. I appreciated the high stakes in this story and the FMC's devotion to her country, however, I just wish she didn't go into things so naively.

There's a heavy focus on female beauty, womanhood and the male gaze. Liang's poetic prose touched on these subjects in an insightful way. I believe the storyline is intentionally commenting on real world events and how war and sacrifice have two sides.

While, I did enjoy aspects of this story I did find the direction it took predictable. I wasn't emotionally invested in the characters which impacted my experience reading this when the events took a darker turn.

Overall, the narrators did a fantastic job of capturing the essence of this story.

Thank you Macmillan UK Audio for the arc in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to the publisher & the author for this arc. I opened this book thinking i was going to devoured it & all i found was a long introduction of a plan that only develops in a handful of paragraphs & a lot of things to fill in the gaps. This is my first time reading the author & honestly, i think is going to be my last because whatever attempt this was at a fantasy, a retelling or an adult novel failled miserably. It took me days, weeks even, to read past the first quarter of the book & only managed to finish it thanks to the audiobook (also provided by the publisher). The main character loses everyone & then her life at the hands of another character that has no development whatsoever, the characters surrounding her are pushed so far to the side that we can not really establish a connection with them to the point that when we lose them, it doesn't really affect the continuation of the story or makes a halt on the plan of our main character. The world is not even that well developed for such an introduction (that takes at least half the book) & half the 'plot twists' are explained so far ahead in the book that doesn't really take you by surprise. Adding more trauma to the story does not make it more appealing, or the fact that takes several elements from another stories we have read in the last several years & adds nothing different to them. While at some point i did like the romance, the ending of it just left a sour taste on my mouth. Especially how all the things end in the last 10%, how it attempts to touch the delicate strings at the heart of the reader but truly (& this is all my opinion), fails completely. It also attempts to leave a deeper message that there are no really good or bad side in war but everything ends up being horrible, like there is no bright side in any of this but doesn't go further than to a hint at a happy ending. All in all, i didn't like it.

I, however, did like the narrator of the audiobook & the voices they made for the characters. The pace was nice, their voice went along with the story & the feelings of the characters, and how it all came to be. So that is why i'm giving the audiobook a better star review than the book but my main issues are at the beginning of the feedback & why the rating is so low on the actual story.

Thank you so much for letting me listen to this audiobook. This is an incredibly beautiful and heart wrenching story.