As a pawn in the follies of kings, Xishi must play both sides carefully if she hopes to survive…
We’re thrilled to share the cover of Ann Liang’s A Song to Drown Rivers, a reimagining of the legend of Xishi, one of the four great beauties of Ancient China. A Song to Drown Rivers publishes October 2024 with St. Martin’s Press.
Mirroring the story of Helen of Troy, A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang is a feminist reimagining of Xishi, one of the four great beauties of Ancient China.
Since her birth, Xishi has always been told her extraordinary beauty is a blessing. But when she’s presented with the rare opportunity to help topple the neighboring kingdom that destroyed her village, Xishi sees her beauty can also be a weapon. She is tasked with infiltrating the evil kingdom’s court to seduce their leader and bring down his empire, but before starting her mission she must endure weeks of training by the rogue warrior who recruited her. What neither of them expect is the doomed attraction that ignites between them. And even worse, as Xishi finds her place at court she grows close to the leader and so her task becomes harder. As a pawn in the follies of kings, Xishi must play both sides carefully if she hopes to survive.
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A Song to Drown Rivers
Ann Liang is a graduate of the University of Melbourne and author of the critically acclaimed YA novels This Time It’s Real and If You Could See the Sun. Born in Beijing, she grew up traveling back and forth between China and Australia, but somehow ended up with an American accent. When she isn’t writing, she can be found making overambitious to‑do lists, binge-watching dramas, and having profound conversations with her pet labradoodle about who’s a good dog.
