3.75/5 stars
In an empire where witches are burned and the lands are defiled on the whims of a powerful few, what are the limits of pacifism? Ashoka, the youngest son of the fanatical and immensely powerful Emperor Adil, is determined to stop his family’s bloody legacy. But with those around him bent on conquest, peace seems impossible- unless, perhaps, he sacrifices his moral code.
The mayakari, witches performing magic in careful balance with the natural world, keep their powers in check through a strict code- they do not harm. However, when Emperor Adil’s genocide claims her aunt, Shakti breaks this rule and is saddled with a strange magical burden. Despite the danger, she infiltrates the palace, hoping to end the killing of her people and to understand the ancient curse (blessing?) now thrumming in her mind.
When the crown passes hands, the teetering balance of the empire is ripe to be toppled, but both Shakti and Ashoka struggle to define the future they desire, let alone how to reach it. In a world knocked out of balance by bloodshed, is bloodshed inevitable to set things right?
Things I loved:
- The angst! One of my favorite things to read about is when a character who is trying to do the right thing is put into a situation where they need to grapple with more complex ideas of right and wrong. Both Ashoka and Shakti are put into tough situations- for example, for Ashoka, is it better to enact violence for a chance at peace, but the possibility of further bloodshed, or to retain his morality and watch others suffer? - and it’s compelling to watch them struggle towards an answer they can live with. I connected especially strongly with Ashoka on a personal level.
- Arya is just a really interesting character- she’s hurt and hurting others, she’s smart but reckless, just a ball of contradictions that make sense together. I’m interested in where she takes the ending of this book.
- The setting- I’ve been on a streak of really enjoying fantasy that pulls from Ancient or Medieval Indian mythology, literature, and history- I think in large part because the themes around morality in the corresponding epics are interesting to me- but this was the first thing I’ve read I believe that pulls specifically from the Mauryan Empire. Wijesekara does a good job setting up both specific, grounding everyday details and the large scope of the world- it’s a place I’m excited to see explored further.
- The magical creatures! I think my cats think they’re akin to the leopards in this book. The winged serpents were so neat and I loved Ashoka’s closeness with them.
Things that were a bit weaker:
- Ashoka and Shakti’s journeys don’t intersect satisfyingly. The thematic parallels are interesting, and I think if there were a third narrative, this wouldn’t bother me as much, but as it stands, I was holding my breath for something the book kept feinting towards but that would never happen.
- It’s incomplete without its sequel. I’m a firm believer that books in a series should contain complete stories. This doesn’t mean no cliffhanger, and there should be dangling threads to get picked up by the next book, but I think a book should contain a full plot. Unfortunately, this felt more like the first half of a complete story than a complete arc that slots into harmony with its sequel(s?). I really liked what we got, but I’d rather this was more tightly paced and had a stronger narrative arc. I think we’re pretty much there with Ashoka, but Shakti’s story especially felt cut off rather than taper.
Anyways, still a strong debut and I’m excited for the sequel. I feel like I may alter this review based on how that book goes (see above re: incomplete story), but judging this alone, 3.75 is perfect.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I struggled a lot with how to rate this book, because I almost DNF'd it twice (after chapter 2 and at the midpoint), but I stuck with it and was so rewarded by the later half.

Things I loved:
-the dual POVs and the fact that (spoiler) they do NOT interact romantically. I kept waiting for it to happen and hoping it didn't, because so often in dual POV fantasy stories lately, the two POVs get together. Instead, romance is kept to a minimum in The Prince Without Sorrow, with hints at one M/M couple and one F/F couple (?) towards the end.
-the mythology and worldbuilding was very unique and beautifully done. I will always stan non-Western fantasy, and I loved the lore of the mayakari (witches), nature spirits, and The Collective. The fact that it was based in the Mauryan empire was really interesting as well - I know little to nothing of the Mauryan empire, so I loved being exposed to a history not usually seen in Western fantasy
-the politics were great! At times, especially towards the end, I was reminded of She Who Became the Sun, because of the complexity of the politics that main character Ashoka gets involved in.
-the main characters in general are well done. I liked the fact that both Ashoka and Shakti must wrestle with their own ideals throughout the story, with both becoming more morally gray by the end. Ashoka was my favorite, and I really enjoyed his interactions with his siblings, the royal family

What I didn't love:
-the writing is rough even for an ARC. Lots of typos, sentences that just do not make sense (the "round body atop round head" quote that's been circulating here was unfortunately in my copy as well), and some very awkward phrasing and dialogue. As someone for whom prose is everything, this one hurt my heart just a little to read
-the plot was rather meandering in the first half. After Shakti curses Emperor Maurya (not a spoiler, btw, it happens quickly), she doesn't really do...much? Things happen to Shakti rather than because of Shakti, turning an active character into a rather passive one. I did not enjoy her chapters in the beginning, though once the midpoint passed and Shakti begins using her newfound powers, I did find myself getting invested in her story. Ashoka is somewhat more active, but is constrained by a rather muddling beginning due to the necessary intertwining of his and Shakti's POVs.
-for as much as I grew to like the characters, the first chapter in Shakti's POV needed another few editorial passes imo. Her emotions seem to flip-flop in a way that did not feel natural (maybe it was the writing? As mentioned, it was not great) and I could not find any consistency regarding her feelings towards the curse she inflicted. It didn't feel like natural indecisiveness, but rather that there were words/paragraphs/connecting thoughts missing
-the explanation about why the emperor hates the mayakari was so short and then never quite mentioned again, leading me to wonder quite where the issue was in the beginning. It becomes clearer after the midpoint, but again, I felt there were paragraphs of exposition missing here

Given the things I loved and also the things I struggled with, I cannot rate this higher than 3 stars. But, really, it's more like 1 star for the beginning and a solid 4.5 for the ending. An unbalanced but promising debut.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Avon & Harper Voyager, and Maithree Wijesekara for gifting me this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review! I do intend on picking up Book 2 and I'm hopeful for this trilogy, but maaaaaan that first chapter in Shakti's POV was rough. If I'm right, this is gonna be one of those trilogies where, by Book 3, I'm shoving this series at everyone I see while simultaneously swearing "it gets better!"

A truly wonderful start to the series! I can't believe this is Maithree Wijesekara's debut novel, it was incredibly polished. The worldbuilding was excellent and I especially loved the interactions with the nature spirits. The mythology that was enmeshed in the plot felt fresh and utterly unique, I can't wait to see how the next book develops the lore.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one for both the well-executed technical elements and the immersive reading experience. I will absolutely be picking up the next books when they're out in the world and I offer my heartfelt congratulations to Maithree Wijesekara for a fantastic debut!

I was sent a complimentary review copy by Avon & Harper Voyager US through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. OUT NOW! This epic fantasy inspired by the Ancient Mauryan empire of India is a tragic, yet incredible tale of love, loss, and retribution about an witch, and a prince hellbent on revolution. 🧡🏹

First of all, compliments on the beautifully-illustrated cover! It intrigued me so much because the meaning behind it will never be understood unless you read it. I’m so excited that this is a trilogy! It was my very first south Asian fantasy ever, so the folkloric elements that played into the world-building and structure of the story were fresh and unique. Not only that but the queer rep was amazing, with one asexual female lead and one gay male lead. Witches have always fascinated me, but it was first time reading about the mayakari of Ancient India. This book is very plot-heavy, and leans toward the intricacies of the monarchy’s court politics. Told in two alternating, very slow-paced POVs, we ultimately see the story come together in the most beautiful way (absolutely worth it!).

I loved how this book doesn’t incline towards the romantasy genre, but is rather a high fantasy novel that discusses abuse, genocide, and the intergenerational trauma of ethnic cleansing. It focuses on the characters’ wrath, the yearning for freedom, and highlights that resistance is born from oppression and unlawful persecution. Additionally, the mayakari’s magic system was very interesting! I’m still looking forward to where the story is headed and the pacing was very slow which is why I understood why some readers might not have liked it. Thanks again to the lovely publisher for the complimentary copy!

The Prince Without Sorrow was an excellent read. The writing was propulsive and the character development was rich. I would read more from this author.

3.75
While I enjoyed this, it isn't the most revolutionary fantasy novel. On the one hand, we have a witch who is trying to escape being burned for her magic like her aunt. On the other, we have the heir to the throne who is sympathetic to the witches. I really liked the rich Sri-Lankan inspired setting and the nature spirits. Not sure I will continue the series though.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for the early arc of this book. This unfinished series had great potential. It is a cool world and magic system. I really like the chemistry between Ashoka and Rahil. I hope they are endgame. Shakti really annoys me. The big bads are very hate-able. Overall looking forward to the next in the series.

prince ashoka is the youngest son of the tyrannical emperor adil maurya, who has considered his son an outcast due to his rather pacifistic views. when the emperor suddenly dies, ashoka is sent to govern an annexed region terrorized by nature spirits. many believe he is doomed to fail, and ashoka has to work hard against becoming his father throughout this assignment.

shakti is a mayakari bound by a pacifist code, though she won’t let this stop her from getting revenge for the annihilation of her people at the emperor’s hands. she sets out to disguise herself as a maid and dismantle the monarchy by having the royals ruin each other.

i requested this after seeing so many people talking about it and being intrigued by the plot, and i’m so glad i did! this was such a cool fantasy dealing with themes of genocide, power, and revenge. i loved our main characters so much. as they had separate storylines, they didn’t interact much, and i thought that choice made sense for the book. overall, this was such a captivating book. i’m looking forward to the sequel!

3.5⭐️
Spice: YA

I’ll be honest, I struggled on what to rate this book. I almost DNF’d several times at the beginning of the book because I was just bored and it was not capturing my attention the way I thought it would based on the overview. The plotline felt like it was a little stagnant and took longer than expected to get to the point where things were happening. I ended up doing this as a combined e-book/audiobook To see if I could power through it because I felt it had potential. I am glad I stuck with it because I started to enjoy the story much more once we got to the capital.

I liked the political intrigue and the sibling dynamics of the royal family. I think Shakti’s POV was more difficult for me to get into, and I believe it’s because a lot take place in a mind/dream/spiritual realm for her. However they got more entertaining as the story went. Ashoka has an interesting character arc and I’m definitely interested in seeing how that develops. Both characters seem to deal with achieving their goals and how it fits with their morals.

I do wish this were a standalone novel or duology rather than a trilogy, but I’ll be continuing when the next book releases either way. I’m very curious for some answers after the ending.

Thank you to Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. After witnessing the Emperor Adil brutally murder her aunt, Shakti sets on a path of revenge by cursing the Emperor and turning against her pacifist mayakari way of life. The Emperor’s youngest son, Ashoka, longs to rule differently from his father’s cruel ways and grapples with how to gain more power while remaining true to his nonviolent ways. This first novel was definitely setting the stage for the sequels. We end the novel with a lot of unanswered questions - why the Emperor hates witches, why the Emperor dislikes his youngest son, what magic creates the collective, etc. Overall, 3/5 stars. I am curious though where the author plans on taking the story.

In The Prince Without Sorrow, a bloodthirsty emperor—Emperor Adil Maurya, Prince Ashoka’s father—persecutes mayakari (witches) like Shakti. Mayakari are traditionally pledged to pacificism, except Shakti can no longer stand idly by, and the curse she unleashes brings her and Prince Ashoka into an unstable alliance.

Shakti’s impulsiveness is the primary driver of the plot, which made a lot of events feel a bit too convenient. It was frustrating, too, because I felt like we never got to see Shakti or Ashoka use their cleverness fully, or their relationships with friends and family developed before they are completely upended. And despite being opposites, extremes, neither Shakti or Ashoka seem to teach each other a lesson about being moderate. Maybe this will come in the sequel, but I was hoping their alliance would prove a bit more formative from the get-go.

The world-building, as it stands, also feels surface-level. We don’t know much about the history of the mayakari as a people other than them being staunch pacifists and the victims of Emperor Adil’s relentless oppression, which also paints him rather two-dimensionally. There are nature spirits and a spiritual connection called the Collective that Shakti accidentally becomes privy to and other countries that are more tolerant of mayakari yet don’t seem to contest Emperor Adil in any meaningful way? A lot of these details felt thrown in as the story progressed rather than truly integrated into the characters’ lives and environments.

I think The Prince Without Sorrow laudably tries to tackle moral quandaries like the justification of violence, group identity in the face of oppression, etc., but gets these themes muddled with other unclear aspects of the plot and worldbuilding.

Do these characters have plans? Errr, loosely. Sort of. There are consequences to their actions at least.

The world here has a fascinating take on nature magic and how karma ties into the ability to curse.

Wijesekara bring so many interesting topics to the fore in this book: persecution, pacifism, vengeance, ambition, honor. There is a whole host of characters touching on these topics too, and they don't bother being circumspect.

The characters (Shakti, Ashoka, the other Maurya siblings, the host of mayakari we meet) all have opinions, and our two main characters, Shakti and Ashoka, are driven and flawed. We don't have much dimension for the big bad character yet, but there were some hints dropped that there may be more to his story that will add some dimension to his character. This is the beginning of a promising story, but I am hoping for a deeper dive into what's at stake and a little more thought on consequences from the main characters in future books.

It was marked as adult, but even with that I struggled not to class it as YA.

This book was a delight to read--it scratches the epic-fantasy-feeling itch, but clocks in at under 400 pages, making it far more manageable (and less vulnerable to narrative bloat). It is full of political scheming, yet the narrative is truly a character-driven one, spurred forward by two sharply contrasting characters who both want the same result and must grapple with how far they are willing to compromise their values to reach that goal. At the heart of the story are classic questions like the cost of revolution and the necessity of violence, but reframed through a world and magic system that incorporate Buddhist concepts like karma, an intriguing phenomenon involving a collective consciousness of long-dead souls, and the mayakari code that forbids violence despite their ability to curse. The nature spirits also lend an environmentalist slant to the story, which I appreciated. And, for those who just want more cool magical creatures, this world has winged serpents and giant leopards, which are pretty darn amazing.

I will say, there were quite a few places where the prose was just a tad awkward--where I could tell what a sentence was going for, but the way it was worded didn't make grammatical sense or conveyed something that didn't match what was seemingly intended. This isn't a slight on the author (this was totally on the editors), and for some, it may not be an issue at all, but for me, it was jarring every time it happened, especially because I was otherwise thoroughly engrossed!

The only other thing I wanted to point out, since y'all know I love some ace rep, is that based on one specific paragraph, Shakti seems to be written as aromantic (and likely also ace). I sincerely hope that she remains this way throughout the series and doesn't get subjected to the trap of "she's never felt romantic attraction...until she [meets the right person/heals from trauma/other problematic ace stereotype]," because (a) we aroace girlies would like more visibility, (b) it's honestly refreshing to read a story where you can be confident that romance isn't going to derail the revenge plot, and (c) I'm too busy caring about Ashoka's feelings for Rahil to get invested in (and possibly hurt by) a SECOND potential relationship in this series.

All told, this was a very strong series starter, and with the huge revelations in the final few pages, I can't wait to see where the story goes in book two!

I was provided an ARC via Netgalley, all opinions are my own. In full transparency, I borrowed the audiobook from my local library after publication date and listened to the audiobook while following along with the ARC.

This is the first book in a trilogy and follows Shakti, a witch whose order follows pacifist teachings, but when the emperor orders her village and everyone she loves brutally murdered she breaks that code. Shakti seeks revenge with a curse upon the emperor, but as with all magic it takes an unexpected turn she never expected. She seeks to overthrow the new emperor from within, but she has also discovered new abilities that will either aid her cause or get her killed. Our second point of view is from the emperor's son Ashoka who practices pacifist ways, despite his father being a violent tyrant. His siblings follow his father's tactics and Ashoka is shunned for his peaceful ways. When Emperor Adil unexpectedly dies, Ashoka must not only find his way under his brother's rule, but he seeks to make changes within the empire by bargaining with his brother and sister for power.

Shakti and Ashoka's paths only briefly cross despite their goals being similar. They both want to save the witches from persecution and violence. They both want the the new emperor to rule with a more peace minded approach, but they both are going to have to break some rules to get to their desired outcomes. I enjoyed the magic and the lore woven into the story and look forward to seeing how that evolves over the rest of the series. I also look forward to seeing where Shakti's revenge arc and Ashoka's pacifist takeover arc take them. There is clearly alot more story to be told.

This book poses quite a few questions about morals, politics, and societal norms. Many of the characters are set in their ways one way or the other, so discussion about change is often not well met or leads no where. I'm expecting as our main characters continue on their chosen paths, we will see these questions and conversations come up again and our characters will begin to sway the masses to their causes, but this book feels more like it is setting the stage for more to come. I can't tell if they will aid each other in the future or become enemies, but I look forward to finding out as the story continues.

A prince born into violence, seeking peace.
A witch shackled by pacifism, seeking revenge.
In a world where nature spirits roam the land, and witches are hunted to extinction, Ashoka and Shakti will be forced to grapple with the consequences of power: to take it for themselves or risk losing it completely.

I loved the premise of the two main characters wanting the opposite of what they were raised to believe in. I loved the Indian folklore setting. The magic system is interesting witches are pacifist who have the ability to curse others, raise the dead and talk to nature spirits. The magic starts a a huge center point of the book but easily fades to the background and isn't throughly explained to understand why the emperor hated and persecuted witches so much. The "collective" is intriguing idea that will have a impact on the series but alot is yet to be seen and i feel like it could be used more. Both main characters have in there own way lived sheltered lives and have yet to mature to realize that their actions have consequences. Both blindly more through the book with a very thoughtful plan to achieve their goals

This book does not mess around. The Prince Without Sorrow is packed with political intrigue, rich worldbuilding, and characters who make you want to yell at them (in the best way). Ashoka is a prince trying not to be like his father, while Shakti is a witch ready to burn the empire down—put them in the same palace, and you just know things are going to get messy.

The tension, the stakes, the slow unraveling of secrets are all sooo good. The setting is lush and immersive, and the magic system feels fresh and fascinating. If you love morally complex characters, slow-burn rivalries, and fantasy that makes you feel something, this book is 100% for you. I need the next one yesterday.

"How typical — The Powerful fearing Power they didn't understand."

"Giving up is still an act of courage, little bird."

"Hatred was not born, it was made."

GENRE: Political & mythology Fantasy
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
FORMAT: eBook Arc

Would I recommend to others?:
Yes, The Prince Without Sorrow is a multi POV (two characters in this book) that follows along with Ashoka and Shakti and is a more character, vibes and following gut instinct rather than a fixed plan and plot. After reading through some reviews, I can see that this book would not be for everyone but I quite enjoyed the folklore in here, the view of pacifism and the way certain characters are influenced by outside factors to stick to their beliefs. I think if you enjoy a middle paced, Multi POV, character based plot, this book is for you.

Who is this book supposed to be for:
The Prince Without Sorrow is an Indian inspired Political or Epic fantasy. I did not think there was much romantic angst as mentioned in the synopsis/blurb but otherwise, I'd fully agree that this is a political fantasy book.

I did have a look through the reviews before deciding to partake in a book tour for this book and after finishing it, I am mildly surprised that a lot of people did not like it but I think it ended up in the wrong audience. This book is not for those who dont enjoy EPIC FANTASY because that's what this is: a political book with witches being prosecuted and heavily based on an Indian folklore. If you dont like Folklores or mythology AND epic fantasy, you most likely won't enjoy this book.

And again, this book has like maybe 0.5% romance and nothing more in the romance department. (I love Romantasy and enjoy them but this book is not Romantasy or Romantic Fantasy in any way.

Long Review:
Okay now, let's dive into my actual review. I enjoyed this book thoroughly and in the beginning, I was worried I wouldnt due to the reviews I have been seeing. It captured my attention quite easily, the multi-POV was done naturally in my opinion and we see character growth + development throughout the book and isn't that how reality is? How politics and killing spree done by emperors or rulers really works?

The Prince without Sorrow dives into how we have idealism and concepts we stick to but in a time of war and killing persecutions, can a whole race stick to their codes (which are pacifist in nature) while they are being killed off one by one? This book very much reflects reality in terms of the fact that if the Mayakari, who are known for having pacifism codes, decide to fight back because they can no longer tolerate the elimination of their race that has been happening. And, make no mistake, this happens in real life, we are always coming down with the fact that: If attacked, are we, the opposition and the persecuted side, not allowed to defend ourselves?

It gets even more interesting in The Prince Without Sorrow: the multi-POV that we have are dual characters who are political alliances because they HAVE to be. They are opposite in everywhere and the contradiction between them is as clear as night and day. Shakti is a Mayakari witch, who grew up with pacifism ideals from her family but has taken to violence because she cant condone standing still and allowing others to harm her and hurt her loved ones or her people. On the other hand, Prince Ashoka is the son of the Emperor who is in charge of starting the persecution against Mayakari people. He grew up with violence ideals shoved down his throat, aside from his mother, who taught him ideals belonging to Mayakari or pacifism. He refuses to hurt and kill anything.

Throughout the story, what happens is we see both of these things challenged: Shakti's tendency to violence is challenged and just how far she will go is another concept we see her deal with and grow through it. We also watch Prince Ashoka try to adapt and combine the needs to protect the persecuted and his pacifism ideals. We also see how he tries to not change and become more like his father and siblings.

This plot is very fitting with an epic fantasy, we see world building, character growth and everything set in a place to give us book two and book three (meant to be a trilogy). We watch Shakti balance both parts of her morals: Mayakari Pacifism versus the need to retaliate and seek revenge:
"She wanted to curse him. To use her abilities to gift misery to the Ran Empire's ruler. But she could not. It was not the mayakari way. They were women who used their power to maintain peace, not sow seeds of destruction, it was their code, a mark of their livelihood."


The way the contradiction in Shakti's personality exists throughout the book is one of my favourite themes of The Prince Without Sorrow and I quite enjoyed seeing this fully:
"Why did she leave her late at night to fight?
Because not fighting would have had me end up like you, aunty."


And something that is brought up quite often in The Prince Without Sorrow is how people try to hammer either Shakti or Prince Ashoka based on what they THINK they both should be. This is a continuous theme that is seen throughout the story of how Shakti should be a peaceful, do no harm female and Ashoka should be the prince who is violent, following in the step of his father. What was lovely to see was the fact that Prince Ashoka had a few of his people, who supported him no matter what and isn't that what unconditional love is about?:
"Sau's voice wasn't filled with vitriol. Like Rahil, she never teased him for his softness. He was a weed growing among sunflowers; they had long since understood that he lacked the ferocity of his siblings."


And this brings us into the next theme of the book: Prince Ashoka versus his siblings: Arusha & Aaraya. Arusha and Aaraya are both similar to their father, one more than the other. However, Prince Ashoka being the pacifist, is nothing like either of them. Even in the small things, such as dealing with their winged serpents, Ashoka has to deal with their opposing way of living:
"Arush's apathetic curiosity had hurt something and now Ashoka had to fix it. Typical."


And not only that, but in fact, the sibling who has a tendency to lean more towards violence, addresses killing Mayakari citizens the same way one would address the weather:
"Aarya talked about genocide the way Saudamini talked about the weather."


And let's end this review with one important quote, about a theme we see in many books: how humans and humanity will be the ending of nature, of the world as we know it:
"Ashoka understood then that humanity was a horror beyond anything else he could imagine, and the nature spirits suffered because of it."


Okay, now we will need to wrap up my longer than usual review but please do give this book a chance if you are into epic fantasy and folklore fantasy. You might be surprised as this lovely book one in a trilogy and explore themes we do not commonly see in other fantasy books.

Thank you to Colored Pages Book Tour, NetGalley, the author and Avon & Harper Voyager for the eArc in exchange for my honest review.

Ugh I was expecting so much more from this which is a me problem. This read YA for me and didn't feel finished. I'm going to check out the next book and hopefully it explains everything better.

I'm calling this at 50%. I might go back someday - this was not offensive in any way to me - I simply keep finding other things to read instead and after spending a lot of time with these characters in this world, I'm not interested in continuing at the moment. I always thought I was a character-based reader, but I also need plot. I think it's possible that both of these things could develop, but the pacin is so slow that I don't have a handle on either characters OR plot as of yet.

I will say that the world building is interesting: in this South Asian-inspired world, there's an oppressed class of magic users whose belief system focuses on pacifism and balance; the ruling class has scapegoated them and is actively trying to destroy them all.

There are 2 POV characters: one, the emperor's son who hates his father's violent ways; two, one of the "witches" who has strayed from her pacifist teachings to curse the emperor. I think there's a political plot brewing, but honestly I'm not sure. This might work for someone with more patience, but it is not a good fit for me right now.

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the nove.

My stop on the @b2weird tour. I thought she fit the orangish hue of the animals on the cover of "The Prince Without Sorrow" by Maithree Wijesekara. The other orange animals I've worked with would not be so accepting for book pictures.

Shakti is a mayakari, a witch, despite being a pacifist in practice, enjoys the art of combat. When Emperor Adil puts her aunt and village to the sword, she places a curse on him, which is against the tenets of he powers and has consequences. Prince Ashoka, son of Adil, hates violence. He can't hunt, won't kill, and desires the empire to change from its warmongering ways. These two will meet and change the course of the land.

Thank you, Harper Voyager, for the copies for the B2Weird book tour.

Reasons to read:
-Sahry has never done anything and is perfect
-That's a fun way to have an antagonist stick around
-Siblings doing sus stuff as control and direction of the empire is up for grabs
-Can literally have folks interact with the embodiments of nature
-Big cats that seem chill, unlike reality

Cons:
-Can talk to the land and still folks won't listen, curse the parallels to reality!