3.1 stars

I was very excited to start this book, I mean the plot sounds awesome, a gorgeous woman who shall seduce the enemy king and win the war that way.

What I liked:
First of all, the narrator. Like always Natalie Naudus did an amazing job of bringing this story to life.
I enjoyed the beginning of the story, a glimpse of her life in the village and how she is as a person. I liked the idea of the plot, or what it was supposed to be.
The ending was a bit unexpected and besides one certain very stupid moment around 90% I hated with my entire soul it had me pleasantly surprised with this flip. Another show of how war is just little boys fighting with each other and using lives of thousands to prove a point.

What I disliked;
The writing. I feel like the idea was very good and intriguing but it just lacked in the end. It feels like something that could have been so good but just kind of fell flat.
The romance was rushed and I didn’t really like it? It felt like if they added a few more weeks or months in the “training “ the romance would have bloomed way beter. It went from zero to let’s die for each other way too quickly for my liking.
All the side characters didn’t really have any development for me to get really attached ? And some things they did are so obviously just writing cause the author wants something specific. Which is fine if it just wasn’t so horribly obvious.
I’m kind of disappointed cause this could have so clearly been more and beter and perfect it just feels slightly rushed and even a bit childish somehow.

Reasons for people to die or for the plot to go forward feel invented on the spot for most convenient instead of intriguing and logical. It literally doesn’t make sense to do some of the things the characters did.

I would still recommend this, cause it might as well just not be something for me.

One of my favorite booktubers sometimes picks up books if an author she likes blurbs them. I realized I had never done it and when I noticed Shelley Parker-Chan (aka the Quing of Chinese historical fantasy) had blurbed this, I went for it. A Song to Drown Rivers it’s a historical fantasy and a retelling of Xishi’s story, one of the Four Beauties of ancient China. Unfortunately, Parker-Chan’s praise made me think this would be a feast of cajun french fries and it turned out to be potato salad with extra mayo (I don’t eat mayo). Anyways, this is a 1.5 stars.

Xishi is a beautiful village girl who is approached by Fanli, a military advisor, one random day. He asks her if she’d be willing to marry the ruler of the neighboring kingdom - the enemy of her people, a drunk who only worries about having women around every night. But not as a wife per se... as his spy.

I hate describing things as “very YA” but I don’t know what to call it otherwise. The main character just came out of the same cookie cutter than 95% of YA books I’ve read: Mary Sue main character who’s only flaw was being so perfect and naive she seemed stupid at times. Xishi was, by definition, more beautiful than your regular YA MC girlie, of course (and she knows it, but she’s not proud about it, of course). The romance and just story overall asked me to suspend my disbelief too often. The writing was fine, I liked it. Simple and nothing too flowery. The story was just okay.

I think this is supposed to be adult and not YA, but I’m considering it YA because Xishi is supposed to be a concubine and this was embarrassingly PG-13. Don’t get me wrong, I usually hate sex in books, but this was a bit nonsensical and unrealistic. My other beef with the book is just how stupidly cheesy it was. I do appreciate the feminism but somehow the story is narrated as if everything was tough, and hard, and heartbreaking… while nothing really goes wrong at any point? Like, if you ever go to war, don't forget to pack a plot armor that's as thick as the one the characters in this book wear. ([I mean sure, sure, the last chapter, the very last moments. But she was insufferable so I’m counting it as a happy ending.])

This is a shitty review but I’ve got nothing to say. It was just not for me. Someday I’ll read a YA book and not want to lobotomize the main character, but today isn’t the day.

Sadly, this did not work out for me. I attempted to try immersive reading approach with this one by listening to the audiobook and reading the eARC at the same time but it was excruciatingly boring. The narrator had a dull voice too.

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'😀

Thank you Netgalley for providing digital advanced copy in exchange for honest review.

This was absolutely STUNNING!!!! I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did- wow !!! The characters were great, the amount of complexity in each character let alone their relationships was phenomenal especially considering this is a standalone!
The story was GUT WRENCHING! The way good and bad was blurred and it was,, my god it was so good, so devastating, so completely heartbreaking. They won but did they? The plan succeeded but at what cost?? My god- I’ll be thinking about this book for such a long time, and the narrator was FANTASTIC!!

A Book to Drown Feelings.

Xishi’s unnatural beauty sees her recruited by a mysterious, beautiful stranger to become the warring kingdom’s King’s concubine. The King who had brought blood, destruction, tears, and death to her very door. She is to be a spy, glinting and shining like a treasure, but only truly because she was a weapon.

Only thing is, the stranger is Fanli, her kingdom’s political and military advisor and her heart seems to beat easier in his presence. And all the stories tell that heroes only have tragic endings.

I cannot believe how beautiful the writing is.how much gut wrenching, evocative emotion and imagery packed into the standalone that had me holding my breath from page one.

Not to mention, the slow burn, the angst, the rage, the description… all fit into one fairly short fantasy book whilst never feeling rushed?! Liang is truly magical.

The contrast of the two kingdoms are less clear as Xishi had first thought and who was truly an enemy or deserves to be named such becomes twisted and confused.

I had imagined empty, crooked streets squeezing in together like dungeons, and houses with jutting roofs like teeth, swords and skeletons lining the yards.

You may know Liang from her contemporary romances like: You Could See the Sun and I Hope this Finds You Well, but this book made me pine for the romance and the characters with a longing unable to be captured in contemporary books.

When it came down to it, the choice was this: a kingdom, or my happiness. And how many people under Heaven were really fortunate enough to know happiness? Happiness was a side dish, like the sweet, sticky rice cakes Mother made during the festivals, or the glutinous balls stuffed with rich sesame paste. But revenge that was the salt of life.
Necessary. Essential.

This book was just beautiful. In writing, content, and delivering gut-wrenching emotions!

Thank you to Tor for providing me an arc in exchange for a review!