Scan barcode
A review by laelyn
A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang
4.0
My very first novel by Ann Liang, and oh did I enjoy this one! "A Song to Drown Rivers" tells the story of one of the Four Beauties of Ancient China, Xishi. Trained to become the perfect spy, she is sent as a concubine to a rival king with orders to seduce him and manipulate him into the eventual destruction of his own kingdom. I was immediately absorbed in her story, which was aided by Liang's gorgeous prose. Xishi is a complex, wonderful protagonist with flaws and insecurities, and I was worried for her the entire time. I also really enjoyed the romance in this one, as it's beautifully slow-burn and the love interest - strategist Fanli, the one who trains her to become a spy - is just as complex and fascinating as she is. While we don't learn much about any of the side characters, I still felt especially for Xishi's closest friend and was intrigued by the Wu king Fuchai- and wow am I grateful that Liang managed to make him feel both rotten and despicable but also sweet and gentle, and she never shied away from showing us how conflicted Xishi is about this duality while never venturing into the dreaded 'woobifying the villain for love triangle reasons' territory. Yes this happens way too often, yes I am so grateful it doesn't happen here. Honestly, the way Liang writes the relationship between the two of them is masterful.
The novel is well-crafted and evenly paced, full of adventure and tragedy and several shades of grey. The ending hit hard, and after my follow-up wiki binge a part of me does wish that one of the other ending versions of the tale had been chosen, but another part still thought that the ending we got is kind of perfect and tonally fits the novel best. My only minor grievances would be that the way Xishi accomplishes her goals is at times a little too easy and that some of the minor characters could have been more fleshed out, especially on the Wu side.
All in all, loved it, will definitely look into Liang's previous work. As far as I know she's usually more a YA contemporary author which is not really my genre anymore, but her writing style is just amazing and I do hope she'll try her hand at yet another historical fiction piece at some point.
Many thanks to St Martin's Press and Netgalley for the arc!
The novel is well-crafted and evenly paced, full of adventure and tragedy and several shades of grey. The ending hit hard, and after my follow-up wiki binge a part of me does wish that one of the other ending versions of the tale had been chosen, but another part still thought that the ending we got is kind of perfect and tonally fits the novel best. My only minor grievances would be that the way Xishi accomplishes her goals is at times a little too easy and that some of the minor characters could have been more fleshed out, especially on the Wu side.
All in all, loved it, will definitely look into Liang's previous work. As far as I know she's usually more a YA contemporary author which is not really my genre anymore, but her writing style is just amazing and I do hope she'll try her hand at yet another historical fiction piece at some point.
Many thanks to St Martin's Press and Netgalley for the arc!