Reviews with content warning for Child death - A Song to Drown Rivers

Reviews tagging 'Child death'

A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang

40 reviews

libaistan's review against another edition

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adventurous dark sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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duiel's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

I approached this book as someone who had no familiarity with the story of Xishi, and had never read any of Liang’s books, and in general I enjoyed it.

Starting with the good, Liang made an easy-to-read page turner out of something that could have easily been a slog. Balancing on the inner emotions of the FMC, it did not bog itself down with details. It felt intimate and approachable, and Liang’s writing was pleasant, sensual and lyrical. I gobbled this up in a couple days and couldn’t put it down.

As the book was told in first person and focused mainly on Xishi’s internal struggles, I think that part was quite well done. Her simultaneous

affection and hatred towards the king

felt believable, and the king himself was painted as a complex, interesting character. Simultaneously her

pining for Fanli, her torn loyalty and internal realization st the end of the book made a poignant, moving read. And gosh, that ending.

Where the book faltered was the plot. Sometimes it felt like Liang had to get from point A to point B, but didn’t have any clever ideas, so that plot points often felt forced, handwaved, or sometimes downright unconvincing. There were weird romantic cliches and deus ex machina. Liang’s strengths are obviously with the internal rather than the external workings of the narrative.

I will also note that this book was marketed as both a romance and a fantasy. I can see why fans of either, and especially fans of both, may be disappointed. While this book does have a romantic focus, it’s both shockingly tame (especially considering the subject matter) and

heart-wrenchingly sad.

There is also very little in the way of fantasy, with no supernatural elements at all until about 95% of the way through the book.

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emherrick's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

The main plot is overall a little cliche, with a love plot that you can see from the very beginning but you are rooting for them. However, there is an interesting twist at the end, making you rethink who the real enemy is.

During the main character's mission, you get a sense that she is able to use not only her beauty but also her cleverness to her advantage. However, in my opinion, she does everything almost too easily. Besides a couple moments that I don't want to spoil, she does not really struggle with any of the challenges presented to her.

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booksandbujos's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I enjoyed this book, especially the ending and the message about who is good versus who is evil and how the side you are on can play a big part in that and not who the person is themselves. We start by not liking the Wu Emperor because of the war against Xishi’s people. But as Xishi spends more time with the Emperor, she learns her first impression may have been wrong and she experiences some really complicated feelings as a result. It was a really interesting discussion and I think it was done really well.

My one issue was that I felt this book had some pacing issues. The beginning, where Xishi is training to be a proper lady, seems very rushed. And then the middle, where Xishi is in the Wu kingdom, seems to drag a little but also rush at times. I honestly could have done with a few more pages to flesh out some of the parts that I wanted to learn more about.

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nina_elin's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I like how Liang shows both sides of war and manages to build sympathy for both sides equally by showing the pain of each kingdoms citizens. I also admire how she made both Fuchai and Goujian terrible people in the end. Fuchai reminded me of a petulant child for most of the story, so I pictures him younger than he probably was, which made me a bit uncomfortable with his deep-running love for Xishi. I don’t really understand his relationship with his father, but it heavily influenced the way he acted, so I wish that would have been fleshed out a bit more. But overall, his portrayal was really great and showed both his awful and caring side and I definitely understand why Xishi was so torn

when it came to killing him.

I did not care much for Fanlis and Xishis romance. It happened very suddenly and out of the blue and her tries at seducing him were rather embarrassing in my opinion. It truly made me cringe and want to skip these scenes. Plus, his constant coldness just wasn’t my thing. At no point before she left for Wu did he even indicate that he was interested in her. It really had me question his passion for her. I just didn’t feel like they had much chemistry. However, I am one for the dramatics and loved the end where

Xishis ghost/soul waited for centuries for them to be joined again

, even though they only ever spent a few weeks together. Very dramatic, and though it was different from the rest of the book to the point I felt like it didn’t really fit in (Maybe it was because Fanli was suddenly grieving her so fiercely, when he seemed mostly detached before), the writing was truly at its most beautiful in this last bit.

I liked the ending a lot, and I was very excited in the beginning, because the entire time Xishi was studying I was picturing a scene à la „Barbie- princess and the pauper“ and I was up for her learning both etiquette and political strategies. However, the middle lacked a bit of excitement for me. As soon as she was in Fuchais palace, there was not really any sense of danger or stakes. He read her every wish and I feel like it was just too easy for her to plan this entire attack and gain his trust. I must admit that I was a little bored in the middle there. I just wish there had been a bit more danger.

Overall, it was an okay read. Interesting, definitely, and I’m not mad I read it and had my fair share of fun. Will it be one of my all-time favorites, though? Probably not.

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queen_worm's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Boring. I think the characters were developed poorly, there was no sense of danger/excitement/challenge, and I didn't buy the love story.

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thewarbler's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

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mcbadger's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Wow.
The portrayal of the politics of war and many sides of it was incredible. The intricacies of the Wu Court and it's affect on Xishi marvelously described. I felt as Xishi felt, the dread and hope, hate and guilt.
I love Zhengdan and Xiaomin so much.

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fantasy_voyager98's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is my first read for 2025,and I absolutely loved this beautiful forbidden romance story.💙✨️
Mrs.Liang's writing style is poetically beautiful,and is truly memorable from start to finish.

The history throughout the story is very organized,and informative. Mrs.Liang's natural talent for storytelling truly shines in the best way,and I truly felt how much she loved writing this amazing retelling for one of the "Four Great Beauties" from Chinese history.

The forbidden romance throughout the story is beautiful,and bittersweet. The fmc,and the mmc are both strong because the love they have for one another never stopped it only grew as time went on.

The plot twist at the end of the story I definitely was not expecting,and I still remember that one moment that made me cry.😭

A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang is perfect for reader's who love:

1.Forbidden romance
2.Fierce warrior Mulan vibes
3.Found family
4.Womanhood
5.Stunning world-building
6.Love against all odds
7.Strong,and clever fmc

This is my first book from Mrs.Liang,and i will definitely be reading more stories from her.✨️

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ryxuu's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

I enjoyed the premise of the book as well as a lot of the syntax and imagery; the author paints many beautiful pictures with her words throughout. I read this pretty quickly, finding myself compelled to keep reading as the story unfolded, curious to know what would happen next. I read the last third of the book in a frenzy, genuinely shocked by moments as they unfolded. Ultimately, though, I think the book covers far too much time for it's own good, leaving the pacing to feel quite rushed and the relationships underdeveloped. I think this easily could've been a duology; the first covering xishi's training and developing her relationship with fanli, and the second covering her and zhengdan's time in the wu kingdom.

it's hard for me to be invested in xishi and fanli's relationship when they spend so little time together; it's one thing for her to have a crush on him and want to get back home so their relationship can grow, but she talks about him like they've been in love for decades and her desperation to get back to him feels incredibly undeserved. it doesn't help that in the time that they are together, he spends all of it being stubbornly stoic and unfeeling (i understand he's experiencing inner turmoil with this, but the point still stands).

i also don't think the book did a good enough job of making me feel conflicted about fuchai, because i was very endeared by him quite quickly when all he ever asked of xishi was her time and company. he's evil in some ways but it rarely feels like he relishes in that evil, moreso that he just does what has been asked of him by his birthright and father's looming shadow, and has simply grown indifferent to a violence he's known his entire life. he reads as a boy of circumstance rather than a genuinely tyrannical king, and so, I found myself hoping that xishi would soften towards him sooner, despite her understandable hatred for what she thinks he is/what he represents. it's also wild to me that she's able to kill him so easily and quickly? the most physically harm she'd ever personally caused another person was throwing that rock at the soldier in the beginning, so to think that she could simply stab this man who she'd grown to not completely hate through the heart within seconds of him handing her his sword felt very fast and very strange.

I really didn't like losing both zhengdan and xishi in the way that we did. it would've been so much more impactful had zhengdan killed general ma in that arena and been stricken down with her head held high as opposed to letting him frame her like that. and having xishi be literally tossed into into the river after all she'd achieved felt a bit like a slap in the face. i understand the historical context and truths that exist in their deaths but i'm very much of the mind that fictional stories need not be bound by the truths of our own realities. if these women must die, why not allow them a noble death, a death by their own hands, by their own choices? it's also interesting that fanli doesn't choose to meet xishi in the afterlife almost immediately, considering how deeply in love they both claimed to be. to think that she just sat in the underworld waiting for him when he could've been there instantly makes her death feel even more...sad? i'm not saying tragedy can't be just as good as a happy ending, i'm not even saying i wanted a happy ending, i just think the deaths of our two female leads could have been handled with far more agency than they were given.

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