Cirrus@Austlit

'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 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.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Sadie doesn't have to hold back in her email drafts because nobody will ever read them ... that is, until someone sends them out. Seventeen-year-old Sadie Wen is perfect on paper. It’s a reputation she’s fought hard to earn at the highly prestigious Woodvale Academy, and one she’s determined to maintain until graduation. The trick to keeping her model-student-smile plastered on her face at all times? She channels all her petty frustrations into her email drafts. One for the math teacher who refused to round her eighty-nine-point-nine percent up to ninety; one for the girl who blatantly copied her science project and took the credit for it. But most of her vehemently-worded emails are for her smug, infuriating co-captain, Julius Gong, who’s been the sharpest thorn in her side ever since they were kids. Sadie never meant for these emails to get out ... but now her whole life is about to change... From the author of THIS TIME IT'S REAL comes another own-voices love story with a high-concept twist Perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Crazy Rich Asians Gorgeously page-turning and endlessly readable, I HOPE THIS DOESN'T FIND YOU is perfect for BookTok and the Netflix generation' (Publication summary)

'Get ready to fall in love in this hilarious romcom about a girl who begins a fake relationship with the famous actor in her class, perfect for fans of Meg Cabot and Jenny Han.

'When seventeen-year-old Eliza Lin's essay about meeting the love of her life unexpectedly goes viral, her entire life changes overnight. Now she has the approval of her classmates at her new international school in Beijing, a career-launching internship opportunity at her favourite magazine ... and a massive secret to keep.

'Eliza made her essay up. She's never been in a relationship before, let alone in love. All good writing is lying, right?

'Desperate to hide the truth, Eliza strikes a deal with the famous actor in her class, the charming but aloof Caz Song. She'll help him write his college applications if he poses as her boyfriend. Caz is a dream boyfriend -- he passes handwritten notes to her in class, makes her little sister laugh, and takes her out on motorcycle rides to the best snack stalls around the city.

'But when her relationship with Caz starts feeling a little too convincing, all of Eliza's carefully laid plans are threatened. Can she still follow her dreams if it means breaking her own heart?' (Publication summary)

'Alice Sun has always felt invisible at her elite Beijing international boarding school, where she’s the only scholarship student in a sea of uber-wealthy classmates. But she has a plan: be top in the class, attend a prestigious university, secure a killer job, and finally lift her family out of poverty.

'Then her parents drop a bomb — they can no longer afford her tuition, even with the scholarship. But that’s the least of Alice’s problems, because she has started uncontrollably turning invisible. As in completely, physically invisible.

'Alice realises there’s an upside to her strange new power — unparalleled access to the secrets of China’s most rich and influential teens. Soon, Alice has a new plan: offer her invisibility services to find out what her classmates want to know — for a price.

'But between balancing schoolwork, a growing relationship with academic-rival-turned-business-partner Henry, and stealing secrets, things start to fall through the cracks. As the tasks escalate from petty scandals to actual crimes, Alice must decide if helping her family is worth losing her conscience — or even her life.'  (Publication summary)