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laurenlolson's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, and War
Moderate: Chronic illness, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Sexual content
elliott_the_clementine's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
reposefulreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
With beautiful and evocative prose, A Song To Drown Rivers is an enthralling and tragic novel that teems with intrigue, yearning and the heartbreaking consequences of ambition and war. Peasants, women and those who simply lose favor with a king are depicted as potentially disposable and the the precarious nature of Xishi’s position as a concubine within a court that mistrusts her adds to the tension of the story. For even as she seems to win King Fuchai’s affections, there is always potential for a deadly misstep.
Present throughout most of the novel, Xishi and King Fuchai’s relationship receives much of the attention, though there are still brief moments where her longing for Fanli and his own restrained desires serve as a source of pining and even danger for the characters. As I am not very fond of love triangles, I appreciated that A Song To Drown Rivers depicts the complicated aspects of these relationships without becoming tedious.
I did find myself wishing that there were more scenes with minor characters, especially since one was given such an abrupt departure and that Xishi was able to exercise her training beyond acting elusive at times and merely requesting that Fuchai did what she wanted. I also felt that the story leaned more towards historical fiction than fantasy, but that may simply be my own impression.
But, oh, the ending! What is the reward for those who sacrifice everything? While I harbored some suspicions regarding how things might unfold, I was slightly disbelieving of what I was reading nonetheless. Days have passed and I am still contemplating it, which is a credit to its effectiveness.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for access to this ebook. All opinions expressed are solely my own.
Present throughout most of the novel, Xishi and King Fuchai’s relationship receives much of the attention, though there are still brief moments where her longing for Fanli and his own restrained desires serve as a source of pining and even danger for the characters. As I am not very fond of love triangles, I appreciated that A Song To Drown Rivers depicts the complicated aspects of these relationships without becoming tedious.
I did find myself wishing that there were more scenes with minor characters, especially since one was given such an abrupt departure and that Xishi was able to exercise her training beyond acting elusive at times and merely requesting that Fuchai did what she wanted. I also felt that the story leaned more towards historical fiction than fantasy, but that may simply be my own impression.
But, oh, the ending! What is the reward for those who sacrifice everything? While I harbored some suspicions regarding how things might unfold, I was slightly disbelieving of what I was reading nonetheless. Days have passed and I am still contemplating it, which is a credit to its effectiveness.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for access to this ebook. All opinions expressed are solely my own.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Sexism, Grief, and War
btwnprintedpgs's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
No one talk to me.
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Okay, I've taken a breath. Review below.
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No one is more disappointed than me that I didn't absolutely love the heck out of this book. Ann Liang is one of my favourite authors, but this just didn't work out for me for a few reasons, which I'll get into.
This is sold as an adult historical fantasy romance. I'm not sure which part of this book qualified it as adult other than the ages of the characters (which was more New Adult than Adult, and I wonder why the cast was so young for what they needed to do), but it felt more YA in its overall storytelling and themes. To temper expectations, this is 80% historical, 15% romance, and 5% fantasy. The historical aspect was really interesting. I feel like she set up the war and the political theory side of the story really well. The two fighting kingdoms are well established, the impact of the war on our MC's village was clear, and the message at the end was really effective. Everything was pretty solid in that area, though it did get a little lost in the middle.
The romance is something I had a lot of issues with. I cared more about the unhinged villain king than I did the LI, and that's because the LI is basically not in this book, which is a wild choice. I did feel the tension when he was in certain scenes, but as a whole, he was forgotten by the MC and by me as a result. Fuchai, on the other hand, was absolutely unhinged, but his story arc was extremely interesting and I loved how everything played out for his character. That packed such a punch for me, that everything that happens with the LI felt inconsequential to Xishi's life and journey.
The last piece, fantasy, was barely present. However, it is the key to understanding why much of the story feels a bit disconnected. I can't say much else without spoiling, but while I found it interesting, it felt too little too late by the time that reveal happens, and by then I was already fully disconnected from the MC.
As a whole, the pacing of the story was off, the world building itself was very limited, and the relationships just weren't developed well enough for me to be invested in everything (outside of Fuchai), and it just left me disappointed. That being said, maybe this book will be for you as I've seen so many people absolutely loving it. However, it just didn't work for me in the end.
TW: death, blood, death of a child, war, violence, injury detail, sexism, alcohol consumption, suicide; mentions torture, murder
Plot: 3/5
Characters: 3/5
World Building: 1.5/5
Writing: 3.5/5
Pacing: 2.5/5
Overall: 3/5
eARC gifted via NetGalley by St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review.
---
Okay, I've taken a breath. Review below.
---
No one is more disappointed than me that I didn't absolutely love the heck out of this book. Ann Liang is one of my favourite authors, but this just didn't work out for me for a few reasons, which I'll get into.
This is sold as an adult historical fantasy romance. I'm not sure which part of this book qualified it as adult other than the ages of the characters (which was more New Adult than Adult, and I wonder why the cast was so young for what they needed to do), but it felt more YA in its overall storytelling and themes. To temper expectations, this is 80% historical, 15% romance, and 5% fantasy. The historical aspect was really interesting. I feel like she set up the war and the political theory side of the story really well. The two fighting kingdoms are well established, the impact of the war on our MC's village was clear, and the message at the end was really effective. Everything was pretty solid in that area, though it did get a little lost in the middle.
The romance is something I had a lot of issues with. I cared more about the unhinged villain king than I did the LI, and that's because the LI is basically not in this book, which is a wild choice. I did feel the tension when he was in certain scenes, but as a whole, he was forgotten by the MC and by me as a result. Fuchai, on the other hand, was absolutely unhinged, but his story arc was extremely interesting and I loved how everything played out for his character. That packed such a punch for me, that everything that happens with the LI felt inconsequential to Xishi's life and journey.
The last piece, fantasy, was barely present. However, it is the key to understanding why much of the story feels a bit disconnected. I can't say much else without spoiling, but while I found it interesting, it felt too little too late by the time that reveal happens, and by then I was already fully disconnected from the MC.
As a whole, the pacing of the story was off, the world building itself was very limited, and the relationships just weren't developed well enough for me to be invested in everything (outside of Fuchai), and it just left me disappointed. That being said, maybe this book will be for you as I've seen so many people absolutely loving it. However, it just didn't work for me in the end.
TW: death, blood, death of a child, war, violence, injury detail, sexism, alcohol consumption, suicide; mentions torture, murder
Plot: 3/5
Characters: 3/5
World Building: 1.5/5
Writing: 3.5/5
Pacing: 2.5/5
Overall: 3/5
eARC gifted via NetGalley by St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Blood, and War
Moderate: Child death, Sexism, Violence, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Torture and Murder