This is the kind of fantasy that reminds you why you love fantasy, from the worldbuilding to the politics to the magic system.

Avatar the Last Airbender spirit realm/avatar reincarnation cycle meets The Stardust Thief. Dual POV with MCs that are the perfect foil for one another. A visual spectacle and playground for the imagination. Messy sibling dynamics that at times were reminiscent of Zuko and Azula’s banter. Chaotic FMC (who makes a dangerous choice I think anyone in her position would’ve done and totally forwent “morality”). Loved the exploration of pacifism, karma, samsara
Ashokas moral quandary of to kill or not to kill
Sakhtis total girlbossing and using her powers to the fullest against the creed of the mayakaris
Got LGBTQ rep with Sakti being presumably ace or aroace and Ashoka being potentially gay or pan/bi

This was an interesting read with two main characters who rebel against being the type of person the authority figures in their lives try to mold them into.
This book was super heavy on the vibes and left me going "...and what else?" many times. The overarching themes of violence versus pacifism and when each should be the tool of choice were constantly addressed.
I will probably read the next book in the series (but didn't realize this was a series when I started it) due to the way this book wrapped up.

I enjoyed reading this book very much. I would rate it 4.25 stars and I will definitely be reading the next books in the Obsidian Throne series.

First of all, I loved the nature spirits and they reminded me of myth and lore from other culture and stories. Our righteously vengeful not-so-pacifist pacifist witch Shakti can see these spirits. After seeing her loved ones brutally murdered and as a pacifist witch meant to be in hiding, Shakti struggles with her violent thoughts on revenge until she gives in and seeks out those that harmed her aunt and her village. Of course it’s the emperor.

The violent and brutal emperor Maurya’s outcast son Ashoka, rejects and denounces violence in all forms. He wishes for a country at peace without violence and after his father’s untimely death he is thrust into a position of power and into a land tormented by nature spirits. Ashoka was sent there to fail and he does all he can to stick to his principals and not become his father.

These opposites come together, and this book delves deep into violence and pacifism. I enjoyed the nuances in this book that pushed boundaries and asked questions, some that are left unanswered as this dichotomy is obviously meant to carry through the series. This book reads very adult and has complexities to unpack. There’s definitely a set up for future books to come and I cannot wait to see the future for our gentle Ashoka and our impulsive Shakti.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the opportunity to read this arc.

This was the embodiment of “no thoughts, just vibes” so if you like that sort of thing then read it I guess

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Voyager for the ARC of this book!

There’s a lot of promise here, but I spent a lot of the book going “Okay, and what else?”

The conflict is the standard evil ruler who wants to eliminate a specific class of people because they feel threatened, and one person from each side has to come together to fix things. Absolutely nothing wrong with that as a central conflict. But that’s basically all of the conflict.

Everyone feels pretty one dimensional—Ashoka is all for peace and won’t kill anything. That’s his whole personality. His father and siblings are cruel. Also all we know about them. Shakti is all vibes and rage, no plan or history. Those are fine as traits, but there’s no real character growth or additional depth to really make me feel for them and feel invested in the story.

The fantasy elements were super interesting, and I wish they had been bigger components to the story—I think there easily could have been additional conflict or depth created from them that I was really missing.

I want to add more to this review, but everything felt so surface level to me that I don’t even know what else I can say. It was a solid book, but I don’t know that I’d read it again or will be rushing to pick up the second in the series.

this feels like a very hesitant and underconfident novice pulling at the string, experimental with a feathered touch and the result being a very unhealed bird lying on the grass. there's so much hesitation to stick to a narrative, I felt like even the author wasn't sure about what they wanted to say. not that complex narratives don't exist, but this is far from one. a book and plot that is stretched far beyond its tolerance but held together by other elements now and then.

it had great potential, but nonetheless, i enjoyed this world and the way the author presented it. just needed something more.

The Prince Without Sorrow was both my first 2025 read and my first time reading an ARC, and I'm so happy that it was. While the story didn't totally hook me from the get-go, once I was about a fifth of the way through I found myself more engaged and slipping into that I-need-to-know-what-happens-next-IMMEDIATELY rhythm that had me accidentally skipping lines and needing to backtrack.

Something that I really enjoyed was how Shakti found herself haunted by the voice of her aunt throughout the book while Ashoka's ghost was his father, and how they both struggled to reconcile their own ideas of self with what their respective relatives had tried to instil in them. Whereas Shakti remains largely steadfast in who she is—angry, impulsive, hellbent on revenge, and far from a pacifist—Ashoka, though still opposed to his father's way of ruling and persecution of the mayakari, drifts from diametric opposition and doe-eyed idealism to question his own capacity for violence and cruelty.
I also really liked Ashoka and Rahil's dynamic, and how the former was oh-so-slow to realize why his heart would pound whenever Rahil drew near or why exactly he felt so lonely when they were apart.

That being said, although I enjoyed the book and look forward to the sequel, I do think there is room to grow. There were more than a couple instances where I had to re-read a line to understand it or where I felt the prose was clunky. The premise of the book is very interesting, but it more or less felt like a preamble in terms of world building and character development. The foundations for what could be a great series are laid—and I do afford it some grace given that this is the first book in trilogy—however the sequel will definitely need to do some heavy lifting to really bring this story to its full potential. I also think that rather than being marketed as an adult novel, it would fit better into the YA category.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | ARC Review

Debut fantasy novel incoming!! The Prince Without Sorrow is easily my current top read for January. The world building and character development in just this first book has me so excited to see where Maithree continues to take this series.

Shakti is a mayakari (a witch) in an empire where the ruling family has decreed them a threat to the humans and needs to be eradicated. The mayakari are pacifists, yet Shakti finds pleasure in learning weaponry despite her aunt’s wishes.

Ashoka is the youngest prince of the Emperor, teased by his family for his gentle nature as he can’t even kill a deer, let alone make the call to kill someone if necessary for the empire.

The two find their paths crossed when Emperor Adil, Ashoka’s father, dies a sudden death after burning Shakti’s village. Ashoka and Shakti must now try to solve their own problems following the death, both trying to get the same goal: to stop the burnings and death of the mayakari.

Maithree created a FANTASTIC realm in this book while pulling inspiration from the Mauryan Empire of Ancient India. Ashoka and Shakti feel very yin/yang in their opposing positions among their people. The side characters are also absolutely lovely (I adore Sau and Rahil for what they do for Ashoka 🥹).

The Prince Without Sorrow by Maithree Wijesekara comes out March 18! Thank you to Harper Collins for the early read through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was very readable, and I didn't want to put it down. I really liked both Ashoka and Shakti and thought they were very interesting foils to each other. The ending of this was also very exciting, and I can't wait to read more in this series.

I came for the title and cover but stayed the the unique concept, world, and magic. But there was also interesting animals in this story I don't usually see and I loved that.

The Prince Without Sorrow takes place in a South Asian-inspired fantasy world in which the emperor is hell-bent on eradicating witches. The two main characters are Shakti and Ashoka. Ashoka is the emperor's son and a pacifist who believes in ending the persecution of witches, while Shakti is a witch with incredible powers.

The setup is really compelling, but the book unfortunately does not deliver on the plot, world, or characters the way I'd hoped, and I struggled heavily to finish this book. The world-building is not entirely coherent logic-wise, and it left me confused. The witches are being eradicated, and they have immense power, but they are reacting with nonviolence? I do understand the interesting moral implications of nonviolence or ahimsa, a defining principle of the Indian Independence Movement. That being said, there has to be logic to it. The witches are not fleeing, are not fighting, so how do they expect to survive?

In addition, the plot doesn't seem to have a proper structure of building stakes and conflicts. It feels like the stakes/conflicts/plot direction are a little all over the place, and when problems are solved, they're done by deus ex machina or some other solution that didn't feel earned. This is unfortunately a problem I've seen in a lot of recent romantasy books - the concepts are all there, but the plotting lacks any sophistication.

The book is also written in a very YA way, like it can't decide if it wants to be YA or adult, with too much dialogue that feels totally out of place for the setting and time period.

I was initially drawn to this book because of the way it was marketed and compared to The Burning Kingdoms trilogy by Tasha Suri, which is one of my favorite fantasy series of all time, which I think pulls off plot structure and progression, world building, societal commentary, romance, and character growth near flawlessly. However, the only similarities I see are that this is a South Asian inspired world, there's burning involved (though, of witches specifically), and there's a romance and a revolution. The similarities stop there. I wish books weren't marketed in this way, as it sets up false expectations.

Overall, I'm giving this book 3 stars mostly because it's by a South Asian author and features a South Asian inspired world, which I long to see more of in fantasy and romantasy, but it was not the read for me. I think it should have been marketed more accurately and for a YA audience, perhaps.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Voyager, and Maithree Wijesekara for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own!

DNF - 12%

The cover is absolutely gorgeous. That's about the only thing I liked about this book. The beginning of this was not terrible. However, the writing and plot just became confusing. I could not connect with the characters. I tried many times to pick it up, but I just gave up in the end. The summary sounded promising, but it was not for me.

I am so eternally grateful to have been given the opportunity to read this book. I first saw it on a Goodreads giveaway, and I have been *obsessed* with it since. Something in my heart told me this was a solid winner and I knew I had to read this book. So I am so happy to have found it on NetGalley because I was right. I loved this book. I adored it. I couldn’t get enough Once I hit 80% it took me forever to finish the book, not because of the book itself, but because I did not want the story to end. I have the release date saved in my calendar, which is something I haven’t done since the early 2000s.

The author does use a lot of metaphors to get their point across, I loved it, but in case it isn’t your cup of tea, I wanted to point that out. A quote that is stuck in my head is “To achieve peace, you must accept violence.” I feel like this book fits America’s political setting right now, and this book was a cathartic read that really helped me and made me feel like, as a lesbian, there is still hope.

SPEAKING OF!! I can’t believe I haven’t mentioned yet - The Inclusivity?!?!?! We have your gays, your bis, your People of Colour! The diversity is everywhere and I simply cannot get enough of it. I squealed every time someone was revealed to be NOT a white straight person.

Aarya?!?!?! She’s giving Princess Azula vibes, not in a copycat way, but in a “this character is written as well as Azula was” way. Every time I read her voice it was in Grey DeLisle’s voice in my head. I might have a thing for this type of character!!

I can’t recommend this book enough!!!

Here are some notes, I meant to write notes every quarter of the book, but I got so wrapped up in it that I forgot:

25% check in: Women are being persecuted and one has decided to fight back! “I like my men docile and my women hyper aggressive!” Ashoka is the third in line for the crown behind a cruel king named Adil who has massacred and continues a genocide of the Mayakari, a race of witches. Eventually he’s killed the wrong one and he got his dues. This book has been so action packed. We aren’t just staying stagnant here like a lot of other books I’ve read and I am loving it!!
80% Check-in - I am now in love with this book, to the point that I forgot to do quarterly check-ins. The characters have depth! The storyline and writing is intoxicating, I need the next book to be out now so that I can continue this series.
I have 20% left in this book and I don’t know what I’m going to d0 when it’s over. Everything is beautifully spread out, the characters’ have conflicting thoughts and emotion and depth to them. I love Shakti’s abilities and I LOVE how she uses them. I LOVE her rage, and I LOVE Ashoka’s struggles with pacifism. I need to see what happens, but I had to stop and write this before I forgot.

Last but not least, I did notice a few errors, I was reading an ebook so at location 5128 the name “Kaylani” was spelled “Kalyani” or the other way around I think. And then.. Just kidding that was the only error I found.

Sadly this wasn't for me, I felt the prose was clunky and I found myself quite confused at the plot, the concept is great but the execution didn't work for me

An absolutely enchanting read that had me on the edge of my seat and it’s just the first book! I will absolutely be continuing this series. I have to see what happens to the prince and the witch, as I’ve been calling them in my head. Absolutely dazzling, and great fairy tale vibes.

I was pretty hooked on this story from the start - I liked the concept, the immediate action, and the prose was pretty. Fairly quickly though the prose got clunky and the plot felt a but confusing. I wasn’t sure where this book was headed and most of the time I felt pretty lost. I really wanted to love this one but it just didn’t hit the mark for me.

What I did love…
- interesting concept
- unique world and magic
- winged serpents
- giant leopards for riding!

Overall this was a decent enough read, and I'm curious to see where the story goes from here.

Thank you to Net Galley and Harper Voyager for the ARC. I was so excited to be approved for this because I am a huge fan of fantasy books inspired by South Asian culture, and Ashoka's story is one that I loved hearing while I was younger. Alas, I was most disappointed while reading this book. Pacifism and nonviolence are important parts of many South Asian religions and philosophies so I expected an interesting thematic exploration of pacifism versus violence. Alas, there was barely any thematic depth to this story due to the characters being pretty one dimensional. Beyond pacifism being Ashoka's character trait, and revenge being Shakti's motivation, the two main characters had no personality, depth, or complexity. There was barely any moral grey, we just get bare crumbs. The world building is pretty shallow, there were some hints of the original tale of Ashoka with the stupas and a single reference to the middle way, annoyingly simplistic views of what karma is, and a lot of missed potential with the nature spirits. There was barely any tension or conflict, everything worked out in a convenient fashion for the characters. The villain, Emperor Adil, is so unnaturally helpful to his enemy Shakti, which reduces the weight of the tension between the Mauryas and the mayakaris. The dialogue was also lacking and unnatural due to none of the characters trying to hide their thoughts from their enemies. Also I don't know where the political intrigue and romantic angst are supposed to be.

This was a fun book if you sit back and enjoy the pure chaos. The characters operated on dreams and vibes alone, nary a thought in their brains. There was scant worldbuilding. Truly, the magic system and rules for everything were quite skeletal. Will I read book 2? Absolutely. But I hope the author spends more time developing the world and providing context.

This book was a very interesting and very fun read. I had a cursory understanding that Chandragupta founded the Mauryan empire, and vague knowledge of the fact that there was an Emperor Ashoka who was important enough to have one of his emblems on the Indian flag, so immediately Ashoka’s name piqued my interest once I began reading the book. The seems to be set in a fantastical version of this part of history, and while I don’t understand it well enough to understand the nuances that I’m sure exist, it didn’t impact my enjoyment whatsoever to not have all of the background knowledge.

The two main protagonists were both pretty interesting, though I’ll say I think Shakti outshines Ashoka in the narrative, especially with how interesting her dynamic with Aarya is. I’ve generally soured on books with multiple protagonists, but it was much more bearable in the book since the author did the narrative a big favor by letting Shakti keep the perspective when she’s doing important stuff and vice versa. A lot of other books I’ve read lately have suffered from strictly alternating perspectives every single chapter.

This book could’ve honestly been five stars if it was a little longer. Instead, certain parts with Ashoka felt very anticlimactic and rushed, which in turn leads the book to feel less like a self-contained story and instead feel like the rising action for the rest of the series. Despite this, I still think it was really good and I’m planning on picking up a physical copy once I see it in stores. Looking forward to the sequel!