Author: Ann Liang
Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Book Release Date: 2024
Pages: 327
Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: 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.
My Review: Consort Xishi was one of the most beautiful women in China. She was sent to Wu to seduce its king and destroy its kingdom. In this historical novel, Xishi’s kingdom of Yue is conquered by its enemy kingdom, Wu. Xishi is a peasant girl who makes her living washing silk. Because of her beauty, she is sent as a spy to become King Fuchai of Wu’s concubine. Her mission is to seduce and ruin him. However, Consort Xishi learns that this mission is dangerous and it could cost her everything, including her life.
I am very familiar with Consort Xizhi's story. I have even written a history article on her, which you can read here. I was very excited that there was a historical novel about her. I wanted to see how Consort Xishi would grow from a peasant girl to an imperial concubine. However, I was very disappointed with this novel. Consort Xishi is a very paper thin character. She stays the same throughout the novel. She is not given much depth. I did not find her to be a realistic character. She barely faces any hardships or experiences any emotion. She is perfect and seems like a Mary Sue. She is not fleshed out and does not seem very realistic. Therefore, I was very disappointed in her character. I could not root for her, and I did not care about her problems.
Overall, this book is about revenge, love, and sacrifice. I thought all of the characters, except for King Fuchai, were very flat. They were all very stereotypical and were not given much depth. I thought the love story was very undeveloped and was infatuation at first sight. I did not care for the love interest because he had no character. I thought it would have been better to have eliminated the love story altogether. I did like the writing. I loved the vivid descriptions in the book. I thought that the book was very slow-paced. I kept wanting to put the book down. When I did, it took all my effort to pick it up again. Nevertheless, I was glad that this book focused on a legendary figure in China, but who is unknown in the West! I hope that there will be more novels about Chinese historical figures! I recommend this book for fans of The Duke and I: The Princess of Blackmare, Moon in the Palace, and Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea!
Rating: 2 ½ out of 5 stars
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