A Song to Drown Rivers
Ratings13
Average rating3.5
15
Ratings13
Average rating3.5
Inspired by the legend of Xishi, one of the famous Four Beauties of Ancient China, A Song to Drown Rivers is an epic novel steeped in myth about womanhood, war, sacrifice, and love against all odds as the fate of two kingdoms hangs in a delicate balance.
Her beauty hides a deadly purpose.
Xishi’s beauty is seen as a blessing to the villagers of Yue—convinced that the best fate for a girl is to marry well and support her family. When Xishi draws the attention of the famous young military advisor, Fanli, he presents her with a rare opportunity: to use her beauty as a weapon. One that could topple the rival neighboring 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.
Trained by Fanli in everything from classical instruments to concealing emotion, Xishi hones her beauty into the perfect blade. But she knows Fanli can see through every deception she masters, the attraction between them burning away any falsehoods.
Once inside the enemy palace, Xishi finds herself under the hungry gaze of the king’s advisors while the king himself shows her great affection. Despite his gentleness, a brutality lurks and Xishi knows she can never let her guard down. But the higher Xishi climbs in the Wu court, the farther she and Fanli have to fall—and if she is unmasked as a traitor, she will bring both kingdoms down.
"Stunning and heart-rending." —Chloe Gong, #1 bestselling author of Immortal Longings
Reviews with the most likes.
I have two major pet peeves in storytelling: instant love and telling instead of showing. Unfortunately, this book contains both, though the latter in a different form than I’m used to. To avoid spoilers, I'll use an analogy.
Imagine I tell you a story about a child who trains for years to become a master swordsman. I assure you that his training is complete, that he’s now skilled enough to compete with warriors who have spent a lifetime honing their craft. But when the moment comes to prove himself, his skill is never truly shown. He fumbles, he falters, yet I still insist he is a master. Despite never demonstrating his abilities, he somehow goes on to defeat the greatest swordsman of his time.
That’s what reading this book often feels like. The prose is strong, the plot itself is engaging, and I loved the ending, but the overall execution leaves much to be desired.
A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang
★★★☆☆ 3.5/5
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ARC received on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
A Song to Drown Rivers was a beautiful novel to read. The prose is captivating and lyrical, quite reminiscent of traditional Chinese poetry. The questions and ideas posed by Ann Liang within the story were thought-provoking and interesting to read. With this alone, I'd recommend A Song to Drown Rivers for anyone to read.
There were however, many things that made the book fall flat for me. What I loved about the novel was also its downfall. The excessive amount of poetic descriptions made the pace of the story feel rather slow. Xishi's concubine training in 10 weeks from the poorest farmer girl to a snake in human flesh was simply unrealistic and glossed over. The romance between Xishi and Fanli was not compelling. Similar to the issue of the concubine training, it occurred off screen, and I would have found the tension and yearning more convincing had there been more development during their time living together. I would have been interested in reading a potential love develop between Xishi and Fuchai in comparison, despite how the legends go. Fuchai felt like the second-most fleshed out character in the story, apart from Xishi. There were a few more gripes that I had, but for the sake of avoiding spoilers I will omit them here.
This is not to say that A Song to Drown Rivers is a bad book by any means. While it is not a book I would re-read, I plan to read Ann Liang's other stories in the future.
I just finished A Song of Drown Rivers by Ann Liang and here are my musings.
What do you say when your face, your incredibly beautiful face, could be used to win a dangerous war but you will be in more danger than you can ever know..
Xishi has the chance to become the concubine to a powerful king, the same King who is responsible for the murder of her sister. She must learn the ways of seduction and how to spy without detection while trying to keep her heart safe from a man she cannot have...
I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy this book but I am pleased to report I was wrong. It was a beautifully written masterpiece. Xishi isn't just some girl with a face that can launch 1000 ships; she has the wit and charm of a siren without knowing the weapons she wields. It was good, it was damn good.
I loved that no matter what she felt, the hatred for a King who kills without thought, she couldn't help but get to know the young man behind the crown and you can see she starts to waver ever so slightly with the humanizing of a monster.
The book was so tragic. So much loss in the pretty words and I listened to the audio as well as the kindle version and both hit their mark. It was truly a stunning piece of literature and if you haven't grabbed a copy yet... You should do that today!
There wasn't anything I didn't love. Do I wish it had a HEA? Yes but I understand the need to end things the way the author did even if it did break my heart.
5 stars
Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for my gifted copy
Rating: 4.5
Ann Liang's writing beautifully reflects the immense journey of a deep undercover mission, with its outcome being a life or death for the people of its nation. This is not a simple love story, but one that revolves around lies, manipulation and betrayal.
Xishi is a commoner but with immense beauty. With this beauty, she becomes a pawn in a dangerous game of deceit. Her character is pretty straightforward - for the sake of her family and the greater good of her nation, she will use her wiles and beauty to distract and manipulate, alongside her dearest and feisty friend, Zhengdan. She has flaws and isn't perfect, yet she cannot let this reflect on the surface.
The intense yearning between Xishi and Fanli was almost torturous, a forbidden love between the two with no expectations it will ever come to fruition. The relationship with Fuchai was also complicated, and I wish his character was developed more, despite his place in actual history.
A short but concise retelling of the Legend of Xishi, one of the Four Beauties of Ancient China. Beauty can be underestimated, and in this instance it was used to its fullest.
