A Song to Drown Rivers

A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang is a historical fantasy novel inspired by the legend of Xi Shi, one of ancient China's Four Beauties, about a woman who uses her beauty as a spy to infiltrate an enemy kingdom, leading to a complex love story and political intrigue. The book follows Xishi as she is trained to become a concubine to the King of Wu to weaken his kingdom from within, but finds herself falling for her mentor, Fanli, and questioning her mission as she gets to know the king. It's a story of love, sacrifice, war, and duty, praised for its lyrical prose and emotional depth, and was a New York Times bestseller and Good Morning America Book Club pick.