This was a great fantasy. Wonderful characters and interesting word building made this something to behold.

4.5 rounded up. This is a solid debut that starts off an interesting story blending politics, royal intrigue, and personal vendettas. On Goodreads, this is incorrectly tagged as a "romantasy"-- it is the furthest thing from a romance (which I am totally fine with!). Our two POVs are not in love, and they don't interact much in this book. We have Prince Ashoka who has decided that the way his father and siblings approach ruling their kingdom is wrong, and he seeks to rule with compassion and conflict resolution rather than force and genocide of the mayakari-- a powerful yet pacifist witch sect. Then, we have Shakti, who is a mayakari who is absolutely fed up with the oppression of her peoples and decides to act outside of her sworn philosophies. Both characters are on separate trajectories, yet the side characters in both POVs overlap, as do larger world-building events, so they don't feel disjointed. I can totally see how in future books their story arcs will be closer. Having both characters in different places focusing on different things helped build the world for me and helped me understand the greater contexts and conflicts at play. By the finale, I couldn't put the book down and the cliffhanger had me wishing for book 2 immediately! Some other aspects I loved: the archillian-level pining between Ashoka and his bodyguard, and also the large megafauna like leopards and flying serpents and nature spirits ranging from tiny to giant. Overall, this is a solid debut and I'm very much looking forward to the remainder of the series.

A huge thank you to B2W Tours, the author, and the publisher for providing me with a copy of the arc in exchange for my honest thoughts and tour participation!

What a beautifully written, wholly unique debut fantasy!! I was drawn to this book because of the Mauryan Empire inspired world, including a fantastical retelling of the story of Ashoka The Great. These are things I haven’t seen much of in the fantasy world, so I couldn’t wait to dive in. And I was not disappointed- the author has created a lush, magical world, filled with gorgeous imagery, and a captivating story that had me hooked.

🦌Prince Ashoka is born into an empire that despises & hunts witches. However, he is able to hold onto his own values, which differ greatly from his tyrannical father. He wants peace, & seeks to make political choices based on his personal morals.
🦌Shakti is witch, whose people are pacifists, and live by a code that forbids such things as violence and revenge. But when a loved one is murd€red, she forsakes this code, and goes down a path that has her seeking vengeance- something that is in diametric opposition of everything her people stand for.
🦌The story explores these fascinating themes: can a person embrace peace when raised to be cruel and intolerant, and conversely, when a person born into pacifism chooses violence, can they live with the consequences of those choices?
🦌I found myself completely lost in this world, pondering these thought-provoking overtures, and reveling in the gorgeous world that the author created. She balanced the heavy political themes with an intricate magic system, fascinating characters, and fantastical creatures- & a dash of romantic tension to sweeten the pot. This is the first in a trilogy, and I’m completely invested in seeing where the story goes, and what becomes of these characters.

✨Thank you Harper Voyager US, Colored Pages BT & Maithree Wijesekara for my review copy!

This was a great read! I thought the premise was really interesting. It’s inspired by the Mauryan Empire from Ancient India, and there’s unique fantasy elements. I also thought the juxtaposition of the two MCs was really cool. One is born to a violent ruler but desires peace, while the other is born in pacifism yet declares vengeance.

Ashoka is the third child of Emperor Adil and is nothing like his father. I thought Ashoka’s development as a character was very interesting. As a prince, and as a governor, he is expected to make choices to benefit his people. But what happens when those choices go against his reluctance to use violence under any circumstances? I am intrigued by Ashoka’s growth and can’t wait to see the choices he makes in the sequel!

Shakti is a mayakari whose people have been constantly killed by Emperor Adil. When her own aunt is burned to death, Shakti vows revenge against the emperor. Unexpectedly, Shakti gains new powers that help her get close to the royal family. Throughout the book, I didn’t think Shakti’s character grew much. Her ideals stay the same, and she uses her powers in a narrow-minded way. But, then again, her impulsive nature is her charm. With the powers she has, I am excited to see where her story goes!

Story wise, I am completely intrigued. This first book does a great job of setting up the world. But, there’s a lot I am curious about. I want to learn more about Emperor Adil and Empress Manali. Their past is mentioned, but I’d love to know more. And since this is set to be a trilogy, I think this story can go in so many directions, and I’m very excited to see how it develops!

Thank you to Colored Pages Book Tours, the author, and the publisher for the gifted copy! All opinions are my own.

Shakti is a mayakari, a witch bound by a strong ethical code. Her people are feared for their power and hunted, and when she has the chance to take revenge against the emperor, she defies her training and curses him. Ashoka is the emperor's youngest son, and he's never gotten along with his father. He hopes that his father's death will give him a chance to create a new name for himself, but the emperor's will limits his access to power. As he pushes the limits in his new role, his older siblings work to increase power in the Maurya empire.

I'm glad I was able to access the audiobook for The Prince Without Sorrow, because I suspect I would not have been able to finish this book in print. While there are some clever components, there is no overarching plot, and I found myself more annoyed at the political machinations of Ashoka and his siblings than enthralled. This could easily fall the other direction for some readers, so if political fantasy is something you enjoy, I can recommend giving this a try.

This was a great fantasy inspired by the Mathuran Empire of Ancient India. I loved the court politics, the two differing POVs, and the underlying message of taking care of the nature that we have. While there a few things that I had some lingering questions about, I still enjoyed the characters and the world Wijesekara built. 🌿

The story follows Shakti, a mayakari/nature witch, who is more driven by her need for vengeance than following the edicts of her people; and Ashoka, the youngest pacifist prince who struggles with his fury over being belittled by his violent family for his beliefs and morals. I really enjoyed the contrasting personalities these two had compared to their upbringings. I really liked Shakti’s desire to let her violent tendencies speak for her and how she evolves over the course of the plot. The one thing that kind of confused me about her was why her aunt determined Shakti was unfit to learn the ways of mayakari even though she is one of them. 🗡️


I will have to admit that Ashoka was my favorite of the two. His contrasting views compared to that of his father and older siblings created for a fascinating family dynamic and at times it reminded me of the family dynamic of Ali, Muntadhir, and Zaynab but if they had not had the loving relationship that their mother, Hatset, had cultivated for them. I loved his determination to remain as far as possible away from his father’s violent disposition while still hoping to convince his family to take the least violent route to solve problems. I loved his pining for Rahil and how these two formed a lasting bond despite their positions. 🐍

As much as I loved the plot and the way that Wijesekara took the reader on so many twists and turns, I was rather left with some lingering confusion as to how the mayakari came to have their powers and really understand their persecution other than through systematic persecution by the Ran Empire. I’m hoping that this will be further explained in the upcoming sequel so I’m super intrigued now! 🧐

All in all, I had a great time with this and would definitely recommend this to those who miss the dynamics of Ali and Nahri but without the underlying romance and thought, this would do great in an Ancient Indian inspired world. Thank you goes to Harper Voyager and NetGalley for accepting my request to read this in exchange for an honest review (and for waiting for me to post this review a week late due to my international move), and to the author, Wijesekara, for crafting such an interesting world and group of characters! ❤️

Publication date: March 18 so go look for it at bookstores!

Overall: 4/5 ⭐️

The Prince Without Sorrow, a fantasy novel inspired by India's Mauryan Empire, enraptured me in the best possible way!

The story centers on Ashoka, a prince dedicated to non-violent philosophies in the midst of his family's tyrannical regime, and Shakti, a witch who rejects her pacifist code in the name of revenge after her aunt is murdered by the Emperor, whose mission is to hunt the kingdom's witches to extinction.

The exploration of whether pacifism is viable in a cruel, murderous world and whether power can be maintained without violence is deeply compelling here. I'm looking forward to seeing which direction these debates take in the upcoming books.

Another aspect I really enjoyed was the Ancient India-inspired worldbuilding and the seamless integration of the fantastical - particularly the nature spirits, mayakari (witches), and winged serpents!

This book has me fully invested in the trilogy and has effectively set the stage for the next installment. I can't wait to see what comes next for Shakti, Ashoka, and the empire!

I was really intrigued by the premise, but the execution just didn’t work for me. The pacing felt off, and the characters lacked the depth I was hoping for. I wanted to love this, but unfortunately, it fell flat.

I was really intrigued by the premise, but the execution just didn’t work for me. The pacing felt off, and the characters lacked the depth I was hoping for. I wanted to love this, but unfortunately, it fell flat.

This was an incredibly intracate story of loyalty, duty, and legacy. Shakti has been forced to watch her people die, and when it's someone closer to her, she decides that enough is enough. Releasing a curse upon the emperor goes further than expected, and the empire is thrown into turmoil with the three royal siblings squabbling over power.

Ashoka is the youngest son of the late emperor, and he's working to move past his father's reign and create something better. But there are many obstacles standing in his way, including his siblings. Unknowingly, Ashoka and Shakti have been working towards the same goal - saving the mayakari people from being killed.

They've entered into a complex political game with not only the power of an empire, but the power of the nature spirits as well. Ashoka is left with a letter that will change their fate depending on his response, and I cannot wait for th next part of this story!

I had the chance to read an ARC of *The Prince Without Sorrow*, and overall, I really enjoyed it. The characters are definitely one of the highlights of the book. They’re well-developed and feel real, with motivations that keep you invested in their stories. I found myself caring about what happened to them, which is always a good sign.

The world-building is also top-notch. The author does an excellent job of creating a detailed, immersive world that feels alive and complex. I loved how everything fit together once I got the hang of the setting and its rules.

That said, the plot took a little while to click. At first, I found it a bit hard to follow, with some twists and events that didn’t fully make sense to me right away. But by the end, everything came together in a way that I found really satisfying, and the payoff was definitely worth the initial confusion.

All in all, *The Prince Without Sorrow* is a great read, especially if you’re into fantasy with rich characters and a fully fleshed-out world. The plot may take a little patience, but it wraps up in a way that makes the journey worth it. I’m definitely curious to see where the author goes next!

I am sad to be writing a less than stellar review as this was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. The concepts were all really appealing to me: South Asian inspired world, witches, LGBTQ+ rep, and unique creature spirits (which did end up being one of my favorite parts of the story). What fell flat was the execution. After the first couple of chapters, there’s a lot of aimless wandering without any action, as well as a lot of political machinations that felt like reading business meetings instead of real moves contributing to the plot. The main characters don’t meet until like 30% into the book and hardly interacted after that which took away from my connection to their romance once it finally happened. I wanted to be emotionally invested in this, especially considering how much I liked the beginning and the concept overall, but I just wasn’t.

The Prince Without Sorrow, the first book in the Obsidian Throne series is a study in contrasts.

Prince Ashoka, born into a legacy of violence, wants only to be at peace. He rebels against the hard line instructions of his father and older siblings.
Shakti is a mayakari, a witch, who was born into a tradition of peacefulness and wants only to exact revenge on those who have hurt her family.

I'm interested to see where the paths of Ashoka and Shakti lead in future books.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

The Prince Without Sorrow by Maithree Wijesekara
Genre: fantasy
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I love political intrigues in books, and this book provided them. I found the magic system interesting; it included witches, natural spirits, collective consciousness, and animal companions.

I enjoyed the characters and following their journeys. I appreciated how they changed in response to their circumstances, rather than remaining the same throughout the story and were acting on the spot instead of having a clear plan. Prince Ashoka, for example, adapted to the challenges he faced, while Shakti was unpredictable, embracing whatever fate threw at her and striving to adapt to each situation.

I am invested in this story and looking forward to book 2.

Thank you so much @coloredpagesbt to including me into this book tour! And @harpervoyagerus for the gifted copy! #theprincewithoutsorrow #fantasyreads #fantasybooks #bookstagram

The Prince Without Sorrow was wonderfully written and is the first installment and debut novel of Maithree Wijesekara's Obsidian Throne Trilogy.
I was hooked and didn't want to stop reading it. The world building this author has done here was amazing, I loved the settings and the characters.

The Prince Without Sorrow (Obsidian Throne #1) by Maithree Wijesekara, 384 pages. Harper Voyager (HarperCollins), 2025. $19.
Language: R (10 swears, 13 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG13
BUYING ADVISORY: HS, ADULT - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
A woman in mourning of her pacifist people, Shakti (22yo) wants to fight back against the emperor for vengeance more than anything. Meanwhile, Prince Ashoka (22yo) wants to stand firm as a pacifist himself, despite being a son of the tyrant emperor raising his children on the path of conquest—making Ashoka the weakest and least listened to of the lot. When the emperor dies, Shakti and Ashoka move forward on paths that will change the empire—and themselves.
Both Shakti and Ashoka have firm goals, but they lack clear plans to achieve those goals. They struggle not only with outside opposition to their goals but also with their own moral standards—facing the age-old question of whether the ends justify the means. At the end of book one, nothing has gone as expected; everything has changed through crazy twists in both the protagonists and antagonists.
The majority of characters are implied Indian and described as having brown skin. Jaya is lesbian, and there are a couple other lgbt characters. The mature content rating is for mentions of alcohol, drugs, and brothels and for innuendo. The violence rating is for blood and gore, corpses, assault, mentions of genocide and suicide, self harm, and murder.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book. This book is a romantasy about a young girl who wants revenge against the emperor who killed her aunt & others in her community because they are witches/sympathizers.

Unfortunately, I ended up dnfing (did not finish) at around the 40% mark. While this book had protentional and a great storyline/blurb, the execution fell short. I struggled often in trying to follow what was happening, partly because things seemed all over the place- it felt like I was only seeing 80% of the picture, and partly because the grammar was difficult to follow- I found myself re-reading sentences and paragraphs, trying to figure out who/what was being referred to. It felt like I was having to overwork my brain to understand the scene.

Another thing that I struggled with was being pulled into the book. I was bored while reading, and when things finally started to pick up and get interesting, the next chapter would go to a different pov where nothing was happening and it would get boring again. It was very difficult to stay immersed in the book.

Like I said, it has great potential and an interesting plot- I just had difficulty following the storyline. This is the first in the series, so maybe the writing and pacing will get better!

4.5 / 5 ⭐️
0 / 5 🫑

Such a well-written story!
Political intrigue ✅️
Hidden identities ✅️
Persecution of witches and women ✅️
Unique magic system ✅️

If you are a Star Wars fan like me, this book might strike you as familiar. Ahsoka? Shakti? A pacifist race of witches (Jedi)? A fallen witch (bloodthirsty Jedi)? An emperor set on destroying these witches? It has it all!! But this is no space drama. Deeply set in Indian lore, this story is more unique than a Star Wars fanfic. Ahsoka is the pacifist prince, and Shakti is the fallen witch. Although these two are the main characters, this is not where the subtle romance in the book lies. I can't wait to read Book 2 and see what troubles these two get into next!

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for this eARC.

***Thank you to Harper Voyager for providing an advanced copy of the book via NetGalley. My review contains my honest thoughts about my reading experience.***

First things first, The Prince Without Sorrow was NOT a romantasy or even romantic fantasy. I have no idea why it is tagged as such on Goodreads. If you are looking for a book that leans heavily into romance, this is not it. There was actually hardly any romance at all, just some suppressed feelings. I do think that there could be the potential for more romance as the series goes on, but we’ll see.

The Prince Without Sorrow could have REALLY used a few more rounds of editing before getting into the hands of readers. I don’t usually complain about minor typos or other errors in an ARC, but this one had a lot of problems that were not minor. So many scenes were hard to follow because of how they were written. I’m also left wondering if the author understands the meaning of a lot of words. I was scratching my head at quite a few word choices because I don’t think they meant what the author thought they did. Overall, the writing just wasn’t that great, and I seriously hope the book was heavily edited before being sent to the printers.

That being said, The Prince Without Sorrow had some interesting ideas. The nature spirits were really cool, and I found the magic to be fascinating. The themes were also quite compelling. The story questioned whether pacifism is a suitable vehicle for revolution or whether violence is a necessary evil to prevent worse atrocities. Both of the main characters had to grapple with that question in different ways, especially since one of them was raised by pacifists and the other by a bloodthirsty tyrant. Their naivete and single-mindedness did muddy the overall exploration of the central theme, though, as did the inclusion of a mind control element.

The plot of The Prince Without Sorrow kept me seated from start to finish. I loved all of the family and political drama. There was always something going on, and I never got bored with the story. I actually ended up reading most of it in one day. A lot of things did happen a bit too conveniently, though, and so much was left unanswered by the end. I know that it was the first book in a series, but I prefer at least some resolution in each installment. Specifically, I really wanted more of an explanation for how Shakti got access to the Collective so easily. With it seemingly passed down from royal to royal, it made no sense to me that it would just jump to her because of a curse. Do the royals typically kill each other for access? Like, what was the typical mechanism of transfer. I just had a hard time buying the whole thing.

All in all, The Prince Without Sorrow had some good ideas. It just needed better execution of them. There was enough of interest here that I’ll likely pick up the sequel. However, I’m not sure that I can wholeheartedly recommend it, especially for those wanting a tale with significant amounts of romance. Therefore, I rate this book 3.25 out of 5 stars.

The third son of a tyrant Emperor isn’t supposed to be a peaceful man. Prince Ashoka’s pacifist ideals are a disappointment to his father and a sign of weakness to his two power-hungry siblings, each eager to continue their father’s legacy. Chief among their goals is the destruction of all mayakuri, innocent witches who swear to do no harm yet are hunted and burned under the emperor’s rule. But when orphaned mayakuri Shakti forgoes her oath and seeks vengeance for her people, she sparks a chain reaction that leads directly to Prince Ashoka. Together, they have a chance to change the empire—but how far can rigid ideals bend before they break?

Early reviewers are right to note that The Prince Without Sorrow’s character dynamics, central theme, and magic system echo Avatar: The Last Airbender—Ashoka is the Aang to his siblings’ Zuko and Azula, and the benefits, limits, and ultimate privilege of pacifism as a political strategy in the face of tyranny are explored with similar nuance. By the halfway point, though, Wijesekara’s plot truly comes into its own, deftly balancing Ashoka’s journey toward leadership with Shakti’s impulsive yet justifiable acts of revenge. As a male protagonist, Ashoka’s softness is rare, refreshing, and much-needed in the literary world, and I thoroughly enjoyed the (albeit very brief) hint of a M/M romance to come between him and another favorite secondary character.

I absolutely adore political intrigue in fantasy and The Prince Without Sorrow serves politics in spades, calling to mind favorites like The Goblin Emperor, Navola, and The Well of Ascension—though perhaps falling short of their literary prowess. Wijesekara never takes a firm stance on the pacifism the book explores, and though I don’t dislike a nuanced approach, the overall message feels slightly confused as a result. Some lines needed additional editing for clarity, and both age/maturity and character motivation occasionally felt difficult to discern.

Still, The Prince Without Sorrow offers a promising start to an epic political fantasy series I’m eager to continue, and is a great pick for anyone seeking closed door/no romance fantasy featuring nature spirits and magic, a quest for revenge, and a slow-building fight for the throne!