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A review by tej_reads
A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang
3.0
A Song To Drown Rivers was a wild ride.
ASTDR was engaging from start to finish and I respect Liang for the ending she gave but I do think my man Fuchai deserved better.
It read like a YA fictional historical romance to me, and I think it worked as a YA novel but not a an adult novel for that I think more detail could have been added in during the 'battle' scenes - as short as they were, more exploration of the military history/history in general, just something could've elevated the story more. I'm glad that the initial instant love between Fanli and Xishi was developed through her training, that natural progression stopped the romance from being totally insta-love. Although, there was a lot that didn't make sense in some of the actions of the characters that made me think the novel was more YA than Adult. For example, Zhengdan's Inigo Montoya moment going totally against her training. I'm not sure what the fantasy elements were supposed to be if that categorisation referred specifically to the last few pages but I thought it was misleading in that sense. I also like Fuchai and whilst I am aware that ASTDR is inspired by the legend of Xishi, I think Liang could have done something more with his character who was in a way pathetic, perhaps a redemption.
The ending was brave and Liang hit home with the emotional torture I just went though.
Thank you to Ann Liang, Pan Macmillan, Tor and Netgally for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
ASTDR was engaging from start to finish and I respect Liang for the ending she gave but I do think my man Fuchai deserved better.
It read like a YA fictional historical romance to me, and I think it worked as a YA novel but not a an adult novel for that I think more detail could have been added in during the 'battle' scenes - as short as they were, more exploration of the military history/history in general, just something could've elevated the story more. I'm glad that the initial instant love between Fanli and Xishi was developed through her training, that natural progression stopped the romance from being totally insta-love. Although, there was a lot that didn't make sense in some of the actions of the characters that made me think the novel was more YA than Adult. For example, Zhengdan's Inigo Montoya moment going totally against her training. I'm not sure what the fantasy elements were supposed to be if that categorisation referred specifically to the last few pages but I thought it was misleading in that sense. I also like Fuchai and whilst I am aware that ASTDR is inspired by the legend of Xishi, I think Liang could have done something more with his character who was in a way pathetic, perhaps a redemption.
The ending was brave and Liang hit home with the emotional torture I just went though.
Thank you to Ann Liang, Pan Macmillan, Tor and Netgally for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.