By Ann Liang
Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for giving me this book for review considerations! All opinions are my own.
A Song to Drown Rivers is coming on October 8, 2024!!! Pre-order now from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and more!! The link is below!!
What’s it about?
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.
Summary from Barnes and Noble (The StoryGraph isn’t posted yet!)
Why I Started This Book
So I got this book from Netgalley, and it honestly just looked and sounded cool! Yes, I did think the cover was beautiful and that was a major selling point.
My First Thoughts
I LOVE this!! Within the first 30 pages, I was in love!! Something about the main character was just amazing! Also, the Asian culture was simply amazing!!
My Rating
I loved so many aspects of this book!! Such unique and talented writing!!! I currently rated it 4.5 stars, but there is a chance it’ll become 5-stars one day!!
What I loved
This books has AMAZING THEMES and depth!! It’s basically a book that crushes some stereotypes and fights back against sexism! Like the main character is a queen! Also, love the Asian representation! Super well done! For a quick note on the themes, they are embedded through these different topics, which makes them even more powerful!!
Character time! I adored the characters! All of them were simple wonderful!! Xishi, the main character, is such an amazing, strong woman!! Also, the side Ann doesn’t skip out writing well-developed side characters!!! They are literally all amazing!
This book really challenged the prejudice we have towards certain characters. While this isn’t super obvious at first read, upon further reflection you can really see how the author insinuates how we may be quick to judge people! She does this through super little actions of the characters, also really well done!!
The ending. Wow. Literally all I can say is wow. I have never read an ending written like this one. You just have to read it to understand!! It is so unique, beautiful, and moving!!
What I Disliked
This isn’t necessarily a dislike, but time moves fairly quickly. I felt like I’d be reading the book and next thing I know a month has passed. This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s not something I’m used to. I was shocked by the amount of time that has passed, which kind of made me rethink some of the plot. Overall, not a bad thing, just unexpected!!
Book vs. Movie
There isn’t a movie for this book!
Should You Read It?
YES!! The characters, the representation, the themes!! EVERYTHING! It was all amazing! This book is great for anyone who’s looking for a medium-paced fiction novel!!
Conclusion
This book was unexpectedly AMAZING and I LOVED it! I honestly can’t wait to read more books by Ann Liang!! The characters, the plot, the writing style, the ending! This book is amazing!!!
Buy Here on Amazon!
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