The Prince Without Sorrow really left me wondering and looking forward to later books in the series to see where the story will go. Sometimes I feel like I lost the plot a bit, and the pacing was off but the book is written in a very realistic and luscious way. The descriptions are lovely, and both Ashoka and Shakti have rich innerworlds that I enjoyed getting to know. I love the Mauryan Empire inspired setting, the witches and spirits. Overall, a very solid debut and I look forward to seeing what comes next from Maithree Wijesekara.

2.75⭐️ I read this book over a month ago and it has taking me so long to write a review because I can't come up with a single thing to say good or bad. I don't think this book was bad, but it wasn't good neither. It is totally missable and forgettable. The plot was very bland, I think it needed more. It had many elements and character developments that could have been exploded and weren't. There was not a good foundation nor motivation. I hope the next books are better.

Thank you Net Galley, Avon and Harper Voyager for an e-galley of this book.

Prince Without Sorrow by Maithree Wijesekara is a richly imagined fantasy debut that tackles themes of legacy, redemption, and the high cost of vengeance. At its heart are two compelling protagonists: Prince Ashoka, the youngest son of a ruthless emperor, and Shakti, a pacifist witch turned reluctant avenger. Both characters are caught in the throes of moral conflict as they navigate a world of hunted witches, wrathful nature spirits, and political unrest.

Wijesekara's worldbuilding is evocative, blending mythology and magic with political intrigue. The tension between tradition and change, violence and peace, is a constant hum beneath the surface. Ashoka’s journey from idealistic exile to uncertain leader is compelling, especially as he confronts the monstrous legacy of his father. Shakti, meanwhile, provides a darker mirror, her pursuit of vengeance clashing tragically with her pacifist upbringing.

However, the novel doesn’t quite deliver on all its promises. The pacing falters in the middle, bogged down by dense exposition and underdeveloped side characters. While Ashoka and Shakti are emotionally complex, their arcs occasionally feel rushed or uneven, and the moments where their paths intersect—though powerful—don’t fully reach the emotional crescendo they aim for.

There are glimpses of brilliance here: powerful prose, thematic ambition, and a world teeming with potential. But The Prince Without Sorrow often feels like it’s trying to do too much at once, and the result is a story that’s thoughtful and imaginative, yet not entirely satisfying.

This was a very interesting read! First I loved that this story focuses on two characters who come from completely different worlds. Shakti, a mayakari or witch, is trying to survive in a world led by an emperor who wants to kill all of her kind. Then we have Ashoka who is the third child of the emperor. However, Ashoka wants peace and is determined to be nothing like his father and siblings. Throughout the book we see their differing personalities and how they plan to achieve their goals. Over time we begin to see major changes to who they are deep down and I am so interested to see what they will do to get what they want.

Second I thoroughly enjoyed the writing style. The writing made the story flow perfectly and added to the storytelling and lore in this book. It was beautiful writing that I couldn’t stop reading!

Finally I loved how this book ended! It ends with a cliff hanger that sets up the next book perfectly. I can’t wait to see what comes next for these characters and this world!

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Harper Voyager for this incredible ARC!

I enjoyed the fantastical aspects of the world building but struggled to understand the characters and plot. It felt like the FMC and the royal siblings were so young and making decisions based on whims and the plot too simplistic and repetitive (i.e., where were all the other adults?! the tension/nuances?!). More integration of the dual perspectives and exploration of the FMC’s cool abilities would also have been great, but maybe this is done in the sequels!

thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Prince Without Sorrow is a fantasy book with a largely political plot - while there is fighting and war, it's not your usual adventure fantasy in my opinion.

content warms for genocide, death, burning injuries/death, serious injuries

Prince Ashoka is third in line to the Maurya throne, a pacifist who is skilled in self defense but refuses to harm an innocent. He is openly critical of his father's policies towards the mayakari, women with the ability to understand and speak with nature spirits (as well as a few other abilities).

Mayakari are, as a general rule, strict pacifists. Their powers mean they're capable of great destruction. Shakti has wanted to fight back for years, training in secret with a weaponssmith in town. One night, Emperor Adil visits Shakti's home town and kills her aunt and 2 other mayakari. The one voice holding Shakti back is suddenly gone, and she's determined that she will have her revenge against the emperor that has killed her family and oppressed her people.

What happens when a reluctant pacifist is let loose? What happens when a strict pacifist is faced with situations that pit his ideals against a harsh reality?

find out in The Prince Without Sorrow.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for an eARC of this title in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I wanted to DNF this book so many times, but I pushed through hoping it would finally click. Spoiler alert, it did not.

I was excited to read The Prince Without Sorrow because the premise sounded incredible and the cover is freaking beautiful. Unfortunately, the exterior did not bleed through to the interior story.

My biggest issue with this book was the dreaded telling instead of showing. Everything- every emotion, every plot twist, every character's thought- was spoon-fed to the reader. It’s like the author didn’t trust that the reader is able pick up on any of the intricacies or even the most basic thought process of the character unless it was explained multiple times over. I lost count of how often we were told of the main character's beliefs, their past, and current struggles.

Honeslty, the characters were such a letdown. I really wanted to care about Shakti and Ashoka, but neither of them ever felt like real people. Both felt one-dimensional, and a lot of their actions didn't track. Even the side characters suffered. There were moments that should have been emotional or powerful, moments where I thought okay we're onto something here, and then it would just fall flat.

The political complexity felt like something similar to The Daevabad Trilogy, but this book just didn’t deliver on that level. A lot of elements reminded me of S.A. Chakraborty's books in theory — powerful kingdoms, magic, betrayal — but where Daevabad is rich and layered, with characters that you could really connect with, this felt shallow and lackluster.

I think the author had a strong vision, and maybe with tighter editing and more character development, this could have been something really great.

Unfortunately, there wasn't enough to make me want to continue this series. The only reason this book has more than one star is for the scenes with Ashoka's wickedly delightful winged serpent, Sahry. So preciousssss.

The start was a bit slow, but I really started to get into it after switching to the audiobook about halfway through; I feel like the narrators really brought the story to life! I loved the ways this book explored themes of power, violence, oppression, and so much more. I'm already looking forward to the next one!

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for providing an eARC of this title. All thoughts share are entirely my own!

3.75 stars

While it had longer moments, this book made many of them very worth it.
The Prince without sorrow played the reader making us believe it was going for the usual traditional paths for certain tropes and then spun us around, literally a breath of fresh air! I loved the fact that the princess is the villain but not in the way we are used to. She gives Avatar Princess Azula vibes because she has been raised and taught as the golden child that her father's beliefs are corrected and while we don't arrive, her character layers make for a good threat to the story.
The flow of the two main characters and the magic was also very surprising and while usually I don't love when the characters conspire so fast, this made a lot of sense to the story and where their paths went.

We see some character corruption in a way as Shakti uses her abilities to get revenge and influence minds and people to her desire, which goes against her witch beliefs. Then we have Prince Ashoka would wants peace but his position, outside influences and what needs to be done are making him hate who he is as he enacts things that goes against his morals.

This is a very layered story and I look forward to book 2!

Thanks to HarperVoyager for an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

DNF’d at 34%! Even though I am in a reading slump, I could not push myself to continue reading. There is nothing wrong with this book, but it is not doing anything interesting with its plot to motivate me to keep reading. The writing style was also fine but kinda bored me as well. Unfortunately, I am not the target audience for this debut fantasy novel.

This book was a little puzzling for me. It starts out strong with the introduction of two main groups of people: the mayakari (witches) and the non-witch ruling class. The ruling class is militaristic and violently opposed to the mayakari, to the point where they murder the mayakari for simply existing. The current emperor at the beginning of the book has a pacifist son, who is so staunchly against violence that he won't even participate in hunting and is therefore the black sheep of the family. We are then introduced to a young mayakari whose closest family and friends have been murdered by the empire, which causes her to have a vengeance against those who rule and oppress. This sets up an obvious pathway for the story to take, however, it simply doesn't. The characters are all one-dimensional. They do and say exactly as they feel, without the capability, it seems, to have any sort of depth or deception. There are many instances where it would make sense to lie or at least not give away everything, but the characters instantly tell all of their secrets. It's wild and honestly makes for a pretty boring storyline. Nobody seems to have any plan and there's just an overall sense of naivety from everyone.

Other random things I noticed:
- Everything is easily solved by itself. There are no major points of contention that come to a satisfying conclusion due to the characters' actions. Everything just happens to work out.

- The magic system is not well-developed. I would think I had a grasp on it, and then new rules would be introduced randomly, which is one of my biggest bookish pet peeves. It also goes along with the "everything just happens to work" theme.

- The emperor's son being a pacifist and the witch wanting to be violent (even though the mayakari are supposed to be pacifists) had so much potential and it really drove me nuts that it ended up not making any sense. There's no explanation for why the son is a pacifist and honestly it doesn't make sense why he would be with the information we are given. I needed more back story and more backbone from him. His morals just seemed to crumble under any scrutiny. The mayakari, on the other hand, are staunchly against violence and curses and claim to be pacifist, but it turns out that if they perform a curse then there is backlash. So, are they really pacifist or just scared of the consequences? Relatedly: annoyed by how often I use the word pacifist? Me too. It is extremely overused in the book to the point that I became sick of the word. Same for the word "innocent".

Unfortunately, this book wasn't really for me. It had a lot of potential with the overall idea and theme but was poorly executed. I might give the next book in the series a chance, but I'm not super hopeful at this point.

2.5/5 stars rounded up to 3.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I liked the female main character but not the male main character. He was arrogant. She was all vibes which was enjoyable to follow.

Prince Ashoka is the peaceful youngest son of a violent ruling family. Shakti is an angry witch bound by a pacifist code. When Shakti breaks her vows in order to curse Ashoka's father they both end up making decisions that will irrefutably change who they are and the world as a whole. It's been a while since I've read the first book in a fantasy series and actually found myself excited to see what happens next, but that's exactly what 'The Prince Without Sorrows' did. While a bit of the plot was what you'd expect from a fantasy novel the characters and heavy south Asian influence made this book stand out from the rest. I'm a huge fan of diverse own voices fantasy and this is one I'm going to be recommending again and again.

I was hoping to really enjoy “The Prince Without Sorrow” from the inspiration for its setting alone, but like other readers I have some qualms with it, which I’ll share generally below. (Very light spoilers)

The beginning of the book is quite violent: it opens on a grisly scene of a few unresisting women being burned to death by the Emperor and his soldiers, as the military presence has interrupted this small rural town with this express purpose in mind. Emperor Adil, leader of a tyrannical, expansionist government is particularly focused on eradicating witches (women w/magical powers, who are capable of lethal magic but are famously sworn to pacifism and commune w/nature spirits to keep the balance in the land, or focus on healing and philosophy) are being brutally hunted by the bloodthirsty emperor—a outlier development in the area’s history under his reign. One witch is the aunt and sole guardian of 22-year old witch Shakti (one of the main characters whose narrative swaps throughout the book). Already quick to anger, dubious of her aunt’s pacifism and studying swordplay, the horrific trauma that Shakti endures in her first chapter leads her to largely abandon the pacifist teachings of her beloved aunt and choose revenge instead. Overwhelmed by her rage and devastation, she breaks one of the most important rules of her order by cursing the Emperor, and Shakti is left navigating the unintended consequences of her actions throughout the story. She escapes unsuspected, finding work in the palace through another witch, where she meets the story’s other main character, Prince Ashoka. Ashoka, the youngest son of the Emperor, is the same age as Shakti and the lone voice against his father’s genocidal campaign against the witches, and in all ways seems completely opposite from his father and his power-hungry siblings. Ashoka embraces the vegetarianism and pacifism of the witches, refusing to obey his father’s demands to hunt and kill, and secretly tries to study more about the witches’ history. When Ashoka catches onto Shakti’s identity, he brings her under his protection at the palace, and it seems that we’re poised for character development to come from their opposing outlooks as these new allies work more together.

Instead, Ashoka’s war hungry, witch-loathing sister conspires to have Shakti put into her own service in the palace directly before Ashoka leaves to govern a chaotic southern region, and Shakti is left with danger on all sides along with access to a completely new, secret power and knowledge as a result of cursing the emperor. That’s where I slowly went from liking Shakti’s determination and strength to becoming frustrated at her (confusing) naïveté, incaution, and frankly annoying incuriosity. The villains (the emperor and his children) have slivers of humanity that could make for a more intriguing, nuanced story, but it’s lost on Shakti’s general bull-in-a-china-shop approach to just about everything. Most obnoxious, her new powers give her access to destroyed and unknown history, and instead of sharing this resource with Ashoka (which she could conceivably do), she ignores it—even in the face of pointedly obvious clues to there being more at play driving the genocide then just bigotry. Through Shakti we learn royal family secrets (which she seems to shrug at), and she and Ashoka each see hints that the emperor had deeply personal secrets (possibly involving his gender) driving his vengeance against a class sworn to peace that may be helpful for their present/future. I assume the next book picks up these threads, though it was frustrating to have these hints and deeper revelations introduced and then abandoned.

The story trades POVs back and forth, happily for me as I found Ashoka’s struggles governing, reaching out to witches, and uncovering secrets of his father’s crimes to be more interesting to follow. Ashoka struggles to reconcile his pacifism (and urge to oppose his father in every way) with the occasional need for violence that comes with fighting brutal injustice—while separated from his personal guard/BFF/ slow-burn love interest, Rahil. Overall, I found Ashoka’s character development interesting and well-paced while Shakti doesn’t have much or any growth to speak of despite the plot providing opportunities for it. The book ends with several cliffhangers, and I do hope the second delves more deeply into details and questions left by the first, and the main characters mature more. It’s a debut novel, and while I think it could have benefitted from more development and some edits, I’m interested to read the next book. I did mostly enjoy it—the story is compelling (if dark) and I loved that the characters were clearly south Asian, the clothing colorful, and both the temperamental flying snake dragons and oversized jaguar steeds were delightful additions. It reminded me some of books with similar themes that I enjoyed—it just wasn’t done as well—so I’ll keep an eye out for its sequel.

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.