fiction

Babylonia: Exploring the Legacy of a Warrior Queen

by Stefani

Babylonia by Costanza Casati

Published: January 14, 2025 by Sourcebooks Landmark

Buy this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Synopsis:

When kings fall, queens rise.

Nothing about Semiramis’s upbringing could have foretold her legacy or the power she would come to wield. A female ruler, once an orphan raised on the outskirts of an empire – certainly no one in Ancient Assyria would bend to her command willingly. Semiramis was a woman who knew if she wanted power, she would have to claim it.

There are whispers of her fame in Mesopotamian myth- Semiramis was a queen, an ambitious warrior, a commander whose reputation reaches the majestic proportions of Alexander the Great. Historical record, on the other hand, falls eerily quiet.

In her second novel, Costanza Casati brilliantly weaves myth and ancient history together to give Semiramis a voice, charting her captivating ascent to a throne no one promised her. The world Casati expertly builds is rich with dazzling detail and will transport her readers to the heat of the Assyrian Empire and a world long gone.

Rating:

Review:

I picked this book up as an audiobook from the library on a whim. The cover was interesting and I like historical fiction in general. I have had good luck recently with retellings of ancient myths and legends, so jumped right into this Assyrian myth. Before I listened to it, I looked up the myth just so I had a good footing for the basis of the story. The source material is just as interesting as this book was.

This book was beautiful. The writing, the atmosphere, the settings, the characters, all of it. They are pieced together with such care and eloquence that it is really exquisite. I was instantly pulled into this story with the story of Semiramis’ birth and the death of her mother. It was such a tragic start to life for this little girl. And meanwhile you know that she is on a journey to becoming the Queen of Assyria, but how does she get there? From an adopted orphan to Queen and ruler of one of the biggest empires in world history.

I loved the love story of Semiramis and Onnes. He didn’t want to get married, but knew that he needed to get married. She wanted to be given a chance to escape the life she knew in her village and make a future for herself. It is mostly a marriage of convenience though they are attracted to one another and attracted to each other’s intelligence. Along the way they become desperately devoted to each other and love each other fiercely. They bond together after a war and the horrific things they both saw and experienced. Unfortunately this is also the moment that led to Onnes’ downfall. That made me very sad. I knew it was going to happen but I didn’t want it to. This was also one of the bigger pitfalls of the story. I think Costanza really wanted Ninus to be a good guy here, he can’t help it that he fell in love with his brother’s wife! But in reality, Ninus is the bad guy here. He starts an affair with his brother’s wife and then tries to convinve him to give her up in exchange for being allowed to marry Ninus’ daughter. Gross. I was actually quite pleased that the marriage of Ninus and Semiramis wasn’t sunshine and puppy dogs, they didn’t deserve it after what they did to Onnes.

The only other pitfall of this book is that it started to drag after Ninus and Semiramis got married. She’s the queen now, we know that she will become the ruler at some point. But it dragged a bit to get there. Overall though this book was incredibly enjoyable. I have heard that her first book is even better so I will have to check it out.

The Haunting World of Kree: Themes of Death and Rebirth

by Stefani

Kree: A Post-Exotic Novel by Manuela Draeger

Published: October 22, 2024 by University of Minnesota Press

Buy this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Synopsis:

A warrior struggles through an apocalyptic landscape and the world after death

Kree Toronto has been raised as a warrior in a ravaged postapocalyptic, posthuman world, the population decimated by wars and civilization long since collapsed. After her attempt to avenge the death of her dog, Loka, goes horribly wrong, Kree finds herself lost in a world after death and wanders into the city of the terrible mendicants.

Under the Brothers’ totalitarian rule, Kree can lead a quiet life and forget her violent past, even if needles grow in her skull and hallucinatory blood rains pour down now and then to remind her. She can make friends: a shamanic healer with a shaking tent, a mysterious stranger hatched from an egg, and a gruff Tibetan electrician in a world without electricity. And she can have her Loka, as long as she toes the Party line and does as she’s told. When she can’t—when her friends start to disappear and the Brothers turn against her—Kree sets out on a quest, searching for a new way forward.

Rating:

Review:

**Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review. All thoughts and opinions are mine. Thank you Edelweiss and University of Minnesota Press!**

This book has to be one of the most confusing books I’ve ever read. So let’s start with the fact that the author’s name is a pseudonym. Manuela Draeger is a character in this author’s larger “post-exotic” world. So a character of this world is telling us a story within that world. I really loved that idea. And based on the synopsis I expected a story of a woman looking for revenge for what happened to her dog. Sort of like a combination of John Wick and Omega Man. I got what I expected but also an awful lot of stuff I didn’t expect. Also, the story uses the word “what” in a strange way. It is used interchangeably or “that”, “what”, “when” and several other words. I am not sure if this is an artifact of the language translation or is just part of the writing style. Regardless it was easy to overlook once you realize the pattern.

This book introduces us to Kree. She lives in a post-apocalyptic world where humanity exists only in little groupings of survivors. Someone steals her dog to eat and Kree goes to kill them for it. The revenge goes badly and so we follow Kree on a journey between being alive and unalive. We follow her as she is reincarnated into various locations and existences that may be a layer of the underworld or another reality altogether, and every time she dies she is reborn into another scenario in this eternal quest to find her dog.

This book was beautifully written. It is atmospheric and gritty. The writing style was quite unique and carried me along for the ride wonderfully. Even though the timeline can be very jarring the writing style made it easier to follow along. After awhile I got used to turning the page and all of a sudden we were in a completely different place and time with completely different characters. Turning the page and all of sudden we have people hatching out of eggs in the middle of a mass grave. Honestly, this book made me feel like it was a hallucination. Ultimately maybe that was the point. Kree’s afterlife is spent desperately searching for something she will never find, but she can’t stop searching. And so we, as the reader, search with her.

I was so torn with how to review this book. On one hand I wanted to give this book 2 stars and a mediocre review and never read anything from this world again. Because it was confusing. And I felt like a moron while reading. But on the other hand, it intrigued me so much that I want to give the book 5 stars and read everything else this world has to offer. So, I settled with 4 stars. Because this book is weird and confusing, but it’s also pretty amazing.

Intermezzo Review: A Disappointing Narrative by Sally Rooney

by Stefani

Intermezzo by Sally Rooney

Published: September 20, 2024 by Farrar, Straus and Glroux

Buy this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Synopsis:

Aside from the fact that they are brothers, Peter and Ivan Koubek seem to have little in common.

Peter is a Dublin lawyer in his thirties—successful, competent, and apparently unassailable. But in the wake of their father’s death, he’s medicating himself to sleep and struggling to manage his relationships with two very different women—his enduring first love, Sylvia, and Naomi, a college student for whom life is one long joke.

Ivan is a twenty-two-year-old competitive chess player. He has always seen himself as socially awkward, a loner, the antithesis of his glib elder brother. Now, in the early weeks of his bereavement, Ivan meets Margaret, an older woman emerging from her own turbulent past, and their lives become rapidly and intensely intertwined.

For two grieving brothers and the people they love, this is a new interlude—a period of desire, despair, and possibility; a chance to find out how much one life might hold inside itself without breaking.

Rating:

Review:

This book caught my eye before it even published and Sally Rooney has a great reputation for writing compelling literary fiction, so I was excited to pick this one up. At first it piqued my interest because I was interested in Ivan. But that initial interest peaking and then faded really fast. Soon I found myself wondering exactly when the story of these brothers dealing with their grief was going to happen.

Like a lot of literary fiction this book is long. 454 pages. I made it halfway through and I gave up. In more than 200 pages, nothing happened! We talk a lot about chess. We complain a lot about how unfair life is. And both brothers sleep with a LOT of inappropriate women. That’s it. That’s all that happened in 50% of the book. The brothers didn’t even see each other! They spoke over the phone….once…for a few paragraphs. I have never been more bored in my life. I decided to stop waiting to see when something would happen and just accept that it wasn’t going to happen at all.

Dragons and Destiny: Exploring Ragar Or’s Mysteries

by Stefani

The Prophecy of the Yubriy Tree by Ben Spencer

Published: October 19, 2024 by Knock Knee Books

Buy this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Synopsis:

Every year, prophecy leaves fall from the Yubriy Tree. And every year, the Dayborn king sends his most trusted servants to collect the leaves and return them to the capital.

Only this year, one of the leaves drifted into the forest unseen.

Three lives will be forever changed by the undetected prophecy leaf.

The strong-willed daughter of a powerful family. The mysterious and reviled half brother of the king. And a talented but unlucky musician, desperate to write the song that will bring him good fortune.

Looming in the background are reports of the first dragon to appear in Ragar Or in over sixty-five years. And, as anyone familiar with Ragar Or’s history knows, when dragons appear, royalty dies.

Rating:

Review:

**Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest feedback. Thank you Net Galley and Knock Knee Books!**

I really loved this book. The very first chapter captured my attention and the book didn’t let go until the last page. The first chapter details the process of collecting the Yubriy leaves and it follows the journey of the three leaves that get carried away. Then we jump straight into meeting our main three characters, around whom I presumed that the lost prophecies would revolve. It was a perfect introduction into the story.

So because we have these three main characters that means we have three ongoing narratives that revolve around different aspects of this world. Johanna is the daughter of a high lord whom the king is asking for assistance in squashing a rebellion. She was amazing. I loved her character, her story and her spunk. The first time we’re introduced to her was unforgettable and I loved her for every page after. Silas is a musician who desperately wants to get a patronage somewhere, but he gets caught up with an unexpected ally while running from soldiers who are trying to murder them. He was a little harder to enjoy, he’s a sullen musician after all. But eventually he warmed my heart too, and his story turned out to be incredibly important to events that happen later in the book. And Gregor, the bastard half brother of the king who acts as his counsel and his sage. Gregor’s story was probably the most compelling of the bunch. He introduces us to so many beautiful and important parts of the story.

I couldn’t get enough of this book. I dreamed about it a few times, trying to work out how it would end and what the missing prophecies were. The world was wonderfully crafted. The characters were realistic and likeable. The magic of this world was fascinating and unique. I just loved it. This is definitely a series I will be following.

Progress Update Friday – 2/14/2025

by Stefani

It’s been a minute since I did a progress update post. I am working my way through a few things, so let’s jump right in.

Kree by Manuela Draeger

Published: October 22, 2024 by Univerity of Minnesota Press

Progress: 156 out of 280 pages

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

A warrior struggles through an apocalyptic landscape and the world after death

Kree Toronto has been raised as a warrior in a ravaged post apocalyptic, post human world, the population decimated by wars and civilization long since collapsed. After her attempt to avenge the death of her dog, Loka, goes horribly wrong, Kree finds herself lost in a world after death and wanders into the city of the terrible mendicants.

Under the Brothers’ totalitarian rule, Kree can lead a quiet life and forget her violent past, even if needles grow in her skull and hallucinatory blood rains pour down now and then to remind her. She can make friends: a shamanic healer with a shaking tent, a mysterious stranger hatched from an egg, and a gruff Tibetan electrician in a world without electricity. And she can have her Loka, as long as she toes the Party line and does as she’s told. When she can’t—when her friends start to disappear and the Brothers turn against her—Kree sets out on a quest, searching for a new way forward.

How it’s going:

This book is very odd but I have to admit that I’m enjoying it. Before I got it I didn’t realize that this is a side novel that takes places in an established world that have had other books written in it. The author’s name is a pseudonym and is a character in one of the other novels. Which is an interesting idea. The translation also seems to replace the word “that” with “what” almost all the time. But translations can be tricky and once I realized what the intended word likely was I stopped noticing it. It’s an interesting book. It’s beautifully written, but it’s incredibly difficult to follow.

Pride’s Children: Netherworld by Alicia Butcher Ehrhardt

Published: September 19, 2022 by Trllka Press

Progress: 20 out of 540 pages

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Every decision he makes from here on will hurt someone .

Is his happiness even in the equation any more?

In Book 1, Pride’s PURGATORY , rising Irish megastar Andrew O’Connell embarked on a beautiful friendship with reclusive author Dr. Kary Ashe , and committed to his stunning costar Bianca Doyle ’s directorial debut film Dodgson , a Lewis Carroll biopic.

He never imagined either would shatter the impenetrable wall he built between his professional and personal lives. His future as a leading man depends on being an bankable obsession in the lives of the women he seduces, on and off screen. But a past regret makes his gorge rise when offspring are on the way and he’s suddenly responsible for their very existence.

How it’s going:

Clearly I have a long way to go on this one, but I am excited to be back in Andrew and Kary’s world. So far this one has the same tone as the first, a narrative that carries you on a winding river journey, looking at all the passing scenery. It’s a fun ride and I am happy to be back on this boat.

Exploring Dystopia: A Review of ‘All the Water in the World’

by Stefani

All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall

Published: January 7, 2025 by St. Martin’s Press

Buy this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Synopsis:

All the Water in the World is told in the voice of a girl gifted with a deep feeling for water. In the years after the glaciers melt, Nonie, her older sister and her parents and their researcher friends have stayed behind in an almost deserted New York City, creating a settlement on the roof of the American Museum of Natural History. The rule: Take from the exhibits only in dire need. They hunt and grow their food in Central Park as they work to save the collections of human history and science. When a superstorm breaches the city’s flood walls, Nonie and her family must escape north on the Hudson. They carry with them a book that holds their records of the lost collections. Racing on the swollen river towards what may be safety, they encounter communities that have adapted in very different and sometimes frightening ways to the new reality. But they are determined to find a way to make a new world that honors all they’ve saved.

Inspired by the stories of the curators in Iraq and Leningrad who worked to protect their collections from war, All the Water in the World is both a meditation on what we save from collapse and an adventure story—with danger, storms, and a fight for survival. 

Rating:

Review:

My reading is not off to a good start this year. Most of the books I’ve read haven’t been very good, so I wanted to grab a dystopian novel about a family working to save exhibits in a museum from a flooded world. Unfortunately, this one was just not good.

The main narrator, Nonie, is completely flat and devoid of any emotion. Her tone and temperament don’t really change throughout the story, no matter what action packed or traumatic events are taking place around her. It made it difficult to connect with the story because the narrator was entirely disconnected from it. I’m not sure if this was done on purpose or not, but it was a bad choice. I wanted to feel something for these people. I wanted to feel something about what they were experiencing. But I couldn’t. Because Nonie didn’t.

The narrative felt very fractured. We switch back and forth from the present to the past, but all of it is written exactly the same and in the same past tense tone. So it was really difficult to determine when we were flashing back to the past and when we were in the present. Or perhaps all of the book was in the past and being told as a memory. I have no idea. It was very confusing and I got tired of trying to follow it. Eventually I just tuned out because I couldn’t keep up.

As a side note, I don’t understand what the point was of Nonie’s “superpower”. She has a “deep connection” to water. But the book doesn’t really explore this at all. It’s mentioned once in the beginning of the book, and once at the end. That’s it. We don’t explore it or discuss it at all. So, what was the point?

Unfortunately this book is a case of lots of potential that wasn’t realized. Which is disappointing.

The Hitchcock Hotel: A Suspenseful Reunion Gone Wrong

by Stefani

The Hitchcock Hotel by Stephanie Wrobel

Published: September 24, 2024 by Berkley

Buy this book: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Synopsis:

A Hitchcock fanatic with an agenda invites old friends for a weekend stay at his secluded themed hotel in this fiendishly clever, suspenseful new novel.

Alfred Smettle is not your average Hitchcock fan. He is the founder, owner, and manager of The Hitchcock Hotel, a sprawling Victorian house in the White Mountains dedicated to the Master of Suspense. There, Alfred offers his guests round-the-clock film screenings, movie props and memorabilia in every room, plus an aviary with fifty crows.

To celebrate the hotel’s first anniversary, he invites his former best friends from his college Film Club for a reunion. He hasn’t spoken to any of them in sixteen years, not after what happened.

But who better than them to appreciate Alfred’s creation? And to help him finish it.

After all, no Hitchcock set is complete without a body.

Rating:

Review:

I cannot begin to tell you how disappointed I am about this book. I went into this book with high expectations. After I thoroughly enjoyed Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel (review found here), I was really excited to read this one. Once I reached the end however it was….meh. I can’t say anything too great about it. Nor can I saw anything too bad about it. It was just mediocre.

The idea of the hotel was a great once. I am a fan of Hitchcock and so the ambiance and reference to his films was perfect. I loved the setting. It felt like a Hitchcock film. The characters were very Hithcockian, the setting, the plot, the intrigue. It was all lining up to be an absolute joy to read!

The setup to the murder and the beginning of the reveal of the story was wonderfully done too. I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat to see where things went after the great set up. Unfortunately that’s also where this story took a downturn for me.

Alfred does so much monologuing. So much. He monologues to us as the audience, he monologues to his friends, he monologues to the housekeeper. Honestly, at a certain point I had decided that whatever his former friends did to him in college was probably deserved. He was just insufferable after awhile. But, his former friends weren’t much better. They were equally as unsufferable. But, unlike with the author’s previous book, these were not bad people that you could feel a bit of sympathy for. They were just bad people. And then I was certain that whatever Alfred did to them was entirely deserved also. This entire story was a story of insufferable people getting what’s coming to them.

After the initial set up of the mystery, things got a bit too predictable in my opinion. It wasn’t hard to figure out what was going on, the only question was who the culprit was. And once the villain was revealed I expected some fireworks, a grand finale, a final ah-ha! But alas, the villain monologued too. The entire last quarter of the book was one big monologue. And it was so desperately boring.

I liked Darling Rose Gold enough to give Stephanie Wrobel a shot in the future, but this one was a miss. And I couldn’t be more upset that it was. I really wanted this one to be a home run.

Exploring the Dark Fae World in ‘Servant of Earth’

by Stefani

Servant of Earth by Sarah Hawley

Published: November 12, 2024 by Ace

Buy this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Synopsis:

In the underground Fae realm, only the strongest and most ruthless have power—but a young human woman forced into a life of servitude is about to change everything.

Kenna Heron is best known in her village for being a little wild—some say “half feral”—but she’ll need every ounce of that ferocity to survive captivity in the cruel Fae court.

Trapped as a servant in the faeries’ underground kingdom of Mistei, Kenna must help her new mistress undertake six deadly trials, one for each branch of magic: Fire, Earth, Light, Void, Illusion, and Blood. If she succeeds, her mistress will gain immortality and become the heir to Earth House. If she doesn’t, the punishment is death—for both mistress and servant.

With no ally but a sentient dagger of mysterious origins, Kenna must face monsters, magic, and grueling physical tests. But worse dangers wait underground, and soon Kenna gets caught up in a secret rebellion against the inventively sadistic faerie king. When her feelings for the rebellion’s leader turn passionate, Kenna must decide if she’s willing to risk her life for a better world and a chance at happiness.

Surviving the trials and overthrowing a tyrant king will take cunning, courage, and an iron will… but even that may not be enough.

Rating:

Review:

This book wasn’t really on my radar at all when the new year started, until I saw it listed as a newly available audiobook from the library. So, always keen on starting a new romantasy series, I dove in. And, I was pleasantly surprised!

The characters in this one were very good. I found them nuanced and realistic. Although some of their interactions and motivations were a little predictable, the narrative was interesting enough that I didn’t mind the predictability too much. The handsome charming Fire prince, the cold and distant Void prince….if you’ve ever read a romantasy series you know exactly what that dynamic is setting up. And I had trouble with why Kenna was drawn to one of the princes, but such is the way of a love triangle right? There is always one leg of the triangle that you want to yell “Girl, what?!” about. At least in my experience.

The portrayal of the fae court was absolutely amazing. The visualization of it was lovely and dark and cruel, I absolutely loved it. I could read stories about this world all day long. This is also definitely NOT a young adult book, though the cover and synopsis and love triangle make it feel like one. There is a lot of violent content in this, but seems to be aiming at the typical young adult romantasy crowd with the cover and synopsis so I hope it will find its audience. I also enjoyed the conflicted nature of some of the fae. Some of them seem to understand why the cruelty of their world should be changed, but at the same time they are immortal and in power so they struggle to find the will to change anything. I really enjoyed the conflicts this presented between the characters and it added a really interesting dynamic to the plot. Also let’s not forget the sentient homicidal dagger. I found that absolutely delightful every time it started whispering to Kenna.

Some of the plot was very well thought out and original, some of it was a bit predictable. It telegraphs where the story is going very early on. But, in the end, even though I knew where the story was going I enjoyed the journey and Kenna so much that I didn’t care. This was a worthy start to a romantasy series and I’ll be tuning in for what happens next.

Josh Malerman’s Latest Thriller: Family Secrets and Horror

by Stefani

Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman

Published: June 25, 2024 by Del Rey

Buy this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Synopsis:

A chilling horror novel about a haunting told from the perspective of a young girl whose troubled family is targeted by an entity she calls “Other Mommy,” from the New York Times bestselling author of Bird Box
 
To eight-year-old Bela, her family is her world. There’s Mommy, Daddo, and Grandma Ruth. But there is also Other Mommy, a malevolent entity who asks her every day: “Can I go inside your heart?”  
 
When horrifying incidents around the house signal that Other Mommy is growing tired of asking Bela the same question, over and over . . . Bela understands that unless she says yes, soon her family must pay. 
 
Other Mommy is getting restless, stronger, bolder. Only the bonds of family can keep Bela safe but other incidents show cracks in her parents’ marriage. The safety Bela relies on is on the brink of unraveling.  
 
But Other Mommy needs an answer. 

Rating:

Review:

After two books by Josh Malerman, and two disappointments, I think maybe this author just isn’t for me. When I read Bird Box it had problems that severely impacted how much I enjoyed the book. But the horror aspects of the book were superb, and so I hoped that a different story would incorporate those good elements and be a much better story. But alas, another letdown.

The biggest asset this book had was the horror. The descriptions of Other Mommy were downright terrifying. Legitimately sent a chill up my spine. I also really enjoyed the changing narrative as the parents discover what this entity is capable of. At first they think Other Mommy is tethered to the house, then to their child, then she’s just everywhere. That was great.

There were also a few things that I may not have minded if the rest of the story was as good as the horror and suspense. I don’t mind never finding out what a supernatural entity is. From a logical standpoint it makes sense. If my child was being terrorized by some kind of paranormal entity, I wouldn’t give a single shit what the thing was or the origins of it. The only concern I would have is how to get rid of it and save my child. So, the fact that Malerman doesn’t tell us exactly what Other Mommy is was fine with me. He did something similar with Bird Box. So clearly this is a horror element that he enjoys and he uses it well.

I also don’t inherently mind a child narrator. For obvious reasons a child narrator can be limiting to the narrative. There are things that adults understand and can explain that a child cannot. Some authors use this to their advantage, like with Room by Emma Donoghue. But, in this case, I don’t think Malerman understands children. We are told that Bela is 8 years old. She speaks like a 4 or 5 year old child though. Her short, clipped sentences were really distracting and annoying. I’ve had an 8 year old child, I know how they speak. I’ve seen her speaking with her friends, I know how they interact. I find it hard to believe that an 8 year old wouldn’t be able to remember the word reincarnation, and would mispronounce it repeatedly. Many 8 year olds can spell reincarnation and use it in a sentence. I found it really irritating.

I found it hard to understand why Bela trusted Other Mommy. When we start the story, Other Mommy is already terrorizing her. We get no lead up to how this entity earned her trust. Bela tells us that she trusts and loves Other Mommy, and tells her things that she can’t tell other people. But I have absolutely no idea why because the author didn’t bother to show me that relationship at all. I completely understand why Bela would want another mommy, her parents are absolutely insufferable. The only thing her parents seem to do is placate her, not comfort her concerns and refuse to directly answer her questions and then argue about who’s fault it is that Bela is scared. And they both have highly inappropriate conversations with their 8 year old child.

For example, Bela’s mother has a whole conversation with her about why married people sometimes cheat on each other. An why she’s unhappy in her marriage to her father, without saying it’s about her marriage but still this was a highly inappropriate adult topic that had no business being discussed with a child. And Bela’s father likes to sit on her bed when he thinks she’s asleep an have long winded chats about his existential crisis and other pedantic philosophical topics. That was so bizarre. Who does things like that? Who has long philosophical conversations with their apparently sleeping child? I hated them both so much. This entire book convinced that this author doesn’t have children and probably hasn’t spent any time with children in his life.

The ending was also really confusing. I have no idea what happened. In the end this was a book with a good premise and really poor execution. I think I will pass on the next Malerman book that comes my way. He gets a lot of hype but I seem to be reading entirely different books than everyone else.

A Song to Drown Rivers: Unveiling Xishi’s Epic Journey

by Stefani

A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang

Published: October 1, 2024 by St. Martin’s Press

Buy this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Synopsis:

Inspired by the legend of Xishi, one of the famous Four Beauties of Ancient China, A Song to Drown Rivers is an epic historical fantasy about womanhood, war, sacrifice, and love against all odds.
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.

Rating:

Review:

Whew, it’s been a minute since I posted on here. Sorry about that. I rather had a tsunami upend my life for the past month and I did not have the brain power for writing or reading. From some very complicated and emotional things going on in my relationship, and difficult decisions to be made. Then my children kindly shared a stomach bug with me and so collectively there was someone in my house vomiting for about 4 weeks. Then obviously Thanksgiving. My oldest won her class Spelling Bee so we’ve been practicing for the school-wide Spelling Bee. She also had a percussion concern and a choir concert. I don’t know how such introverted parents ended up with such a social butterfly. Anyway, that’s enough about me, on to the book…as lackluster as this one may have been.

I will not claim to be an expert on this Chinese legend, but I was familiar with it before reading the book and read about it further since reading the book. And I have to say, this book could have been amazing. It could have been epic. But instead it was just alright. While the synopsis describes this as an “epic historical fantasy” there is zero fantasy in here. None at all. It’s just a retelling of a legend, written as historical fiction.

The first thing that let me down in this story was the romance. Xishi and Fanli spent a grand total of 13 weeks together, they apparently fall in love during that time. We see hardly any of what happens in that 13 weeks. We rush through it in about 40 pages. Mostly we get a recap from Xishi about all the things they learned. We see the two of them interact only two or three times before they profess their love. And then five minutes later, Xishi is gone. And she’s gone for YEARS. Literal years. And yet she’s still so deeply in love with guy that she almost ruins a plan that was years in the making. What? I just didn’t buy into their epic romance.

The entire beginning of the book felt rushed. Initially I thought that the reason we were rushing was so that we could get to the main portion of the plot. The part where Xishi has to woo the Wu king and set him up to be conquered from within. Once we got there though, nothing happened. We spent so many pages on Xishi smiling demurely and asking the king curious questions that it felt like we were doing nothing. Also, for a book about a concubine this book was very chaste. All sex scenes happen “off screen”, so it felt like they did a lot of laying together chastely in bed and that was about it. Maybe this was because the author typically writes Young Adult, but it felt odd in an adult book about such an adult topic. Ultimately we spent most of our time watching Xishi seduce a drunken idiot, who didn’t seem to be as terrible of a human as the book wanted me to believe.

The ending of this book was really its saving grace. Even though I did not care about the conclusion of Xishi and Fanli’s romance, the ending did have some other excellent moments. The lessons about politics and war were great. I found myself nodding in agreement with every single one of Xishi’s revelations. This was the moment I wanted through the rest of the book. This was the action that I was missing! And the conclusion was as tragic as expected. If the ending hadn’t nailed it then this might have been a 2-star book for me.