Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins publishers for providing me an ARC for this book! The views expressed are my own.

The book follows two characters on completely different sides of an ongoing ethnic cleansing. Shakti, a mayakari witch who’s own kind is being ethnically cleansed for stuff they did hundreds of years ago, and Ashoka, a prince of a king who’s sole motive is to kill any mayakari on sight.

And unfortunately, that is pretty much the story in a nutshell. King doesn’t like mayakari, king kill mayakari, king dies by mayakari and the rest of the book fails to have a coherent plot. One of my biggest gripes about this book is that I WISH the king didn’t die so early? I felt like I completed the book by page 80?

The 2nd half of the book involves Shakti trying to rid herself of a curse that the king put on her when she killed him and Ashoka trying to persuade his brother and sister to not kill mayakari. That goes on for about 400 pages and it was so truthfully hard and boring to read :(

I truly think that this book could be so much better in so many ways, but it unfortunately left such a bad taste in my mouth that I doubt I’ll ever pick up the 2nd book in this series

The narrative is divided into alternating chapters of Shakti and of Prince Ashoka. Shakti is a mayakari (witch) in hiding seeking vengeance for the burning of her village. Prince Ashoka Maurya is a pacifist and a mayakari sympathizer, the son of the man responsible for the ruthless persecution and execution of the mayakari throughout the empire, Emperor Adil Maurya.

There is little to no romance, and the plot is centered around the main conflict of the murders of the mayakari, and the events leading to Shakti and Ashoka's discovery of power and its price.

I'm intrigued that this was inspired by Ancient India's Mauryan dynasty. I always am appreciative of fiction, including fantasy, in a historical setting (similar to [book:The Familiar|133286777]), it's often a fun way to learn a little bit about history which leads me to dig a little deeper into the subject. Not so coincidentally, the male MC shares the name of Ashoka the Great, who is widely considered as one of the greatest rulers in Ancient Indian history. <spoiler>This especially makes sense at the end when Ashoka comes to the conclusion that he can only accomplish his goal of saving the mayakari through the power of the throne as emperor.</spoiler>

The title can be a bit confusing taken out of context, but somewhere in the text it was noted that "Ashoka" which is the male MC's name (who is a prince) literally means "without sorrow."

I'd really like to see where this goes, so I'm quite sure I will be continuing with the series!

TW: fire/burning, violence, murder, blood, graphic

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for review!

The Prince Without Sorrow, inspired by the Mauryan Empire, with a focus on magic and political intrigue, had potential, but ultimately fell short due to clunky writing style, and a story that failed to live up to expectations. The side characters had more depth than the two protagonists, and I would have loved to get their POVs instead of Ashoka and Shakti.

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Voyager for the ARC.

Immediately I was intrigued by the consequences of power in The Prince Without Sorrow. We have characters who grew up with power, who feel like their hands are tied, and those who are afraid of their power. They know the consequences their power has on their future. It's a culture of fear, of being accused of being a witch. And The Prince Without Sorrow is about the pace of change. We can want change to happen overnight, we know the system is rotten. But how can we go about actually making that happen? The Prince Without Sorrow is a promising series starter. In some ways, it felt very much like a series starter. There's this sort of large exposition feeling as well as a, at times, plodding pace.

Thank you Netgalley! I was SO excited for this book, but unfortunately it’s just…a total mess. I feel genuinely bad for the author because there is *something* really great here—the worldbuilding is very interesting, I love the mayakari conceptually, and the thought behind what she’s trying to do is really compelling. Unfortunately, the execution wasn’t there. This reads like a draft and if it was just a draft it would be a good one, which just makes me all the more sad this is the state it’s being released to the public.

The characters are like interesting on the surface, but they are incredibly one-dimensional and confusing. Oftentimes, characters will make choices to advance the plot with zero logic behind why the character is acting that way. While I think Ashoka and Shakti are definitely the biggest victim in this, I constantly found myself a little confused with Aarya. I think Aarya is a very compelling character, but the respect she demands and the way she views others seem to pivot depending on what scene she’s in (ie she demands respect and values her status as a princess, but interacts with commoner Shakti in a very casual way.) I think humanizing a villain character is a cool idea and she reminds me a lot of Azula from Avatar the Last Airbender it’s just…flopping in execution. Conversely, if Arush wasn’t the emperor I would forget he existed. He is an important character, but he has the personality of a rock there’s just nothing there that makes him memorable or distinctive.

Beyond their inconsistency, instead of actually developing characters, they establish things about themselves by repeating them over and over. Not like the traits are being reinforced, like Ashoka has to repeat the same internal monologue about peace and not wanting to be like his father over and over again just in case we missed it the first time.

What really kills it for me is the plot. There is zero coherence to what’s going on in this book. Plot points are picked up and put down faster than I can figure out what’s going on and consequently every plot point ends up breezed over. I have finished the book and I confidently cannot tell you what the main plot line is. I can guess, but I don’t think it’s a good thing that you reader has to guess which plot line is the one actually going somewhere. Going back to I cannot believe the book is being released like this because I genuinely cannot. Genuinely it reads to me like the author was making up the plot as she wrote and then nobody ever went back to edit.

There is so much that could be good about this book, but not only is none of it allowed to shine, it all just gets overshadowed by the bad stuff.

Overall, I had a really good time with this book. I adored Ashoka and Rahil, and the friendship between the two and Sau. The setting, the mayakari and their magic, the sibling rivalry and the theme around violence/pacifism were other strong points. The choice of the dual POV of Ashoka and Shakti also worked really well and I enjoy both perspectives. It was also refreshing to have a dual POV where the two were not love interests.

However, there were several instances where things were just way too conveniently solved, and the characters read younger than their stated ages. Based on this, and some of the writing, I think the book could have benefited from being marketed as YA instead of adult, as it would have set other expectations going into the story.

I will continue this series, mainly for the likely romance and to see how far the main characters are willing to go.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the eARC.

I really liked the premise and the cover! The yearning was something I always appreciate, and the queer rep was good. Overall, I struggled with this one unfortunately.

The writing suffered from an overuse of metaphors, dialogue that just never flowed well, and not being clear enough at times.

None of the characters in this book seemed to ever think more than one day ahead, they never had plans or thought their actions through. They also all spoke far too candidly, especially Shakti, a witch hiding in plain sight at constant risk of being burned alive. It was frustrating to read. Everyone who had "strong" morals or a code ended up breaking it by the end, and I also ended up disliking them all by the end. Most of the characters lacked depth. A lot of unanswered questions that hopefully will be addressed in the next book.

I finished it, and it was a quick read. I do plan to give book 2 a chance, so I am giving it 3 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon, and Harper Voyager for this advanced copy! You can pick up The Prince Without Sorrow on March 18, 2025.

Maithree Wijesekara built a stunning world and fascinating magic system in this debut fantasy novel. I enjoyed the lore around the mayakari and sympathized with Shakti, one of our main characters, in her struggle to fight against the injustices against her kind. She and Ashoka, our second lead, were definitely two sides of the same coin, pursuing justice through VERY different paths while believing their actions to be righteous. Throughout the book, you're really forced to confront the different uses of violence vs pacifism and how both can lead to great and/or destructive change.

All in all, a good start to a new fantasy series!

“Hatred was not born, it was made.”

The mayakari, witches bound to a pacifist code, know no peace within the Ran Empire. Once great scholars, the mayakari studied within the Golden City itself, and worked with the nature spirits to maintain the wild lands. Now, under the rule of Emperor Adil Maurya, the mayakari face persecution and the nature spirits displacement, as the great forests are ravaged and the land dies. That is until Shakti, a young mayakari seeking revenge, does what no other before her was willingly to do. Curse the Emperor. But of course, curses have consequences. With the death of the Emperor, the Maurya children are thrust into power. Prince Ashoka, the Emperor’s youngest son and known mayakari sympathizer, must learn how to wield his limited power wisely.

The Prince Without Sorrow follows Shakti as she seeks to dismantle the Ran Empire from within, and Prince Ashoka as he seeks to deliver it from tyrannical rule. Both must play their parts, but there are no guarantees either will succeed.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4/5

I would rate The Prince Without Sorrow 4 out of 5 stars. The story draws inspiration from the Mauryan Empire of Ancient India and Buddhist beliefs, which makes for a unique magic system and beautiful storytelling! As of lover of history with a specific interest in religion, I was immediately hooked. I found the world building interesting, especially the powers of the mayakari, their matriarchal structure, and their dedication to doing no harm. While there is some insight into their history, I’d love to see more information on why they’re so dedicated to pacifism and why the Emperor turned against them. I’m hoping for more on this in book two.

I enjoyed the dual perspective of the story. It gives insight into the motivations of the main characters, and highlights potential for future conflict between the two. For now it seems like they have the same end goals, but I anticipate that may change. I found Shakti’s perspective to be more interesting, but that’s probably because she’s a witch hell-bent on revenge after decades of persecution. Overall, this was a great read that left me wanting more. I’m excited to see where this story goes!

(Thank you to Net Galley, Harper Voyager, & Maithree Wijesekara for this opportunity!)

I really enjoyed this book. All the characters act on pure impulse, which makes the plot move forward constantly and turns this into a quite addictive read, even if it can lack some depth at times. I loved both POVs from Ashoka and Shakti, how different yet similar they are, how the former is reluctant to violence and the latter almost craves it while they’re both extremely determined in achieving what they believe is right. The world building was okay, not overly complicated or original, easy to catch up with as the story goes along. What I appreciated the most, besides the concept of the witches and their magic, was the conflict between the siblings and the struggle for power, as well as the contrast between their father’s legacy and their own power (or lack of) over the empire. I’ll definitely be reading the 2nd book as soon as it comes out.

I wanted to like this so much, the premise and world building was so interesting but unfortunately it just fell flat. There was so much telling and so little showing, despite all the metaphors it still felt clunky.

I could only read ideas and preaching of non violence and pacifism repeated so many times. It just stops being a metaphor at a certain point with constant over explanation. It really made the character of Ashoka one dimensional.

Speaking of one dimensional most characters unfortunately were just that. The Emperor and his other two children, Arush and Aarya, were just evil to be evil I guess. There was a lack of any true reason besides “powerful empire that hates witches.” Every character felt like a distorted version of stereotype, that had no idea what they were doing. There’s so much based on politics/political intrigue but like no one actually understands court politics because they’re too busy being dictionary definitions of their stereotypical roles. I feel like there’s a time for “no thoughts, just vibes” and this just is not it, it just feels like there’s no real stakes to what anyone is doing (despite the literal murder/genocide of witches.) It just wasn’t able to find a steady balance between a large cast of characters (or literally even the two dual pov characters) and their motivations.

This is the first book in the series and I’m hoping with time (and the other books) questions are better answered, characters are further developed, and the ideas shine through more. I did not expect everything to be tied up neatly within this book, nor should they have been, but I do expect for the first book in a series to get my hyped for what’s to come.

I think this book set up many questions and explored some interesting thoughts about violence and pacifism and who/how can oppressors versus the oppressed benefit from each (or if they even can.) But it is done in a way that feels surface level and pedantic. This book may have benefited from being marketed as YA instead of adult, the readability was quite good and certain scenes could have been tailored towards a younger audience.

2 stars, an unfortunate start to this series but not the end.

Honestly I don't love that I'm dnfing this book, but I just really struggled with the prose. I absolutely love the overall premise, the setting, and the ideas for the characters, but just couldn't settle into this. Every time I put it down I didn't feel particularly drawn to picking it back up to the point that I'm just giving up on it.

In The Prince Without Sorrow we follow Shakti, a mayakari witch who was raised under a pacifist code currently fixated on violent revenge, and Ashoka, third in the line for the throne and doing his best to stand firm in his pacifist beliefs despite a world that demands violence at every turn. Shakti and Ashoka are on a collision course, as the empire that is built on the hunting of mayakari turns a new leaf and sweeps the two of them up in the political machinations to come.

This world was so lush and beautiful. The depiction of the mayakari’s relationship with nature and the spirits that inhabited the world was my favorite part. All of the creatures, mundane and fantastical, that were described really helped breathe life to this story.

A house of cards is unfortunately whats standing on this very solid foundation. The story is very well paced and is always moving forward, but I found it being piloted by some paper-thin characters. Everyone is exactly who they present themselves as, to the point where I can’t tell if we’re supposed to be surprised by reveals in this book and some the series feels like its building toward. The mayakari code of ethics really not developed and implemented well and the coherency of the story really suffers for it. There’s a lot of interesting ideas being set up, especially about what makes someone innocent, that just get completely abandoned. What makes anyone deserving to die? Where to animals fall in this? Is there a meaningful moral high ground for the pacifist mayakari when they have tangible proof that using their magic to harm causes bad karma? I understand that this is setting up a series, but I really don’t think this book gives you any answers to chew on at the conclusion, just plot beats to push you towards book two.

I was also shocked to find out that this isn’t YA. The majority of the characters are in their early twenties but the tone and voice felt very young to me while I was reading it. I don’t know if a single character other than maybe Rahil does any meaningful reflection before they open their mouth. It works better for some of the characters than it does ever. Shakti truly never has a plan. Girl is just coasting on vibes and a dream and I kind of love that for her.

If you’re looking for a gorgeous world and a fast paced fantasy, I think The Prince Without Sorrow will scratch that itch.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for the eARC.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperVoyager UK for the ARC!

The Prince Without Sorrow is the first installment and debut novel of Maithree Wijesekara's Obsidian Throne Trilogy loosely inspired by the Mauryan Dynasty of Ancient India.

The book follows two protagonists, Shakti and Ashoka Maurya, two characters with lives and stories of their own who have different outlooks of the world they live in. The Prince Without Sorrow is a blend of a magical story with political intrigue with subtle references to the Mauryan Dynasty of Ancient India.

Shakti, a mayakari who is set on a journey, determined to extinguish the hate of her kind -- the mayakar, and Prince Ashoka, the third-born child of the Emperor, on his journey to right his father's wrongs and to change the 'legacy and fate' left by him.

The world building of the book was well established, with subtle nods to the source of inspiration. The characters were prominent and well developed where every character has their own minds and thought processes. The political intrigue of the book was the central plot which was amazingly done.

The development of certain characters in the book was well fledged. The morally greyness of these characters were truly shown towards the end of the book. The pacing for this setting was perfect and never felt out of place.

As someone who was educated and told tales about Ashoka the Great, this was an intriguing and heartfelt retelling of the original tale.

While the book does not have any romance or spice yet, it is subjected and deals with darker themes.

Overall, the book deals with themes of self-realization, pride and subtleness which should not be tempered with. It was an amazing read with no romance and more political intrigue. I cannot wait to read the next installments in the series!

I was intrigued by the premise—magic, political intrigue, and a pacifist prince in a brutal empire—but the execution fell flat. The writing felt clunky, making it hard to stay engaged, and the characters lacked depth. I expected more from the story, but it never fully delivered on its potential. While the world-building had promise, it just didn’t work for me.

⭐⭐⭐ | 🐍 Fantasy & Magic | ⚔️ Political Intrigue | 🤷‍♀️ Lacking Depth

I thought this was a solid debut and if you like books like The Poppy War by R. F Kuang then you would probably enjoy this book. The problem I had was there was too much focus on the journeys of the two main characters and not enough world building.

This book is a dual POV, and chapters oscillate between Ashoka and Shakti. Each has their own hero's journey, and I found their characters to be relatable. You have a son who opposes his father at every turn and doesn't believe the genocide of innocent people. Then you have Shakti, a witch raised as a pacifist who goes against her code and curses the Emperor. It seemed strange to me that the magical class in this story had like 3 basic powers, but one of them they are told to never use and to remain pacifist. It's like a don't push the shiny red button plot device.

The world its self needed more building. I get that the Emperor had burned down the library that contained the most knowledge and research regarding the mayakari. I also get that the Emperor essentially used the mayakari as a scapegoat to unite his people against a common "enemy". I just don't get that there could be so much knowledge lost in what seems to be a 25-year period. Mayakari are not hunted in other countries, and I just find it strange how much lore seems to be missing. I had so many questions about the world that I wasn't as invested in the story of Ashoka and Shakti.

I'm not sure that I would continue the series, but I did think this was a good start. I think I just wanted more fantasy and more magic.

Thanks to Netgalley and Avon Harper Voyager for the advanced copy, all opinions are my own.

Set in a magical world inspired by the ancient Mauryan Empire, two young people fight to change everything. Shakti is a mayakari (witch) whose family was just killed and whose home was destroyed by the Emperor Adil. Ashoka, a dedicated pacifist, is the youngest son of the emperor responsible for Shakti’s tragedy. Both are determined to save the rest of the mayakaris from the Empire’s wrath.

Despite a lot of promise, I didn’t enjoy this enough to want to continue the series, and I find it difficult to recommend. I love the idea of setting inspired by the Mauryan Empire, but we get so little scene-setting here (do an image search for Mauryan art– it is extraordinary). There’s next to no tension throughout and awkward language that should have been caught during editing.

The characters are my biggest gripe. Ashoka (the pacifist) and Shakti (the pragmatic witch who cast a death curse) are clearly set up as opposites, perhaps to address when violence is necessary or can ever be justified, but we don’t really get any exploration of this, at least in this volume. I found the characterization quite limited too. Ashoka’s desire to avoid killing is clear, but there’s next to no justification why– someone with such deeply held beliefs probably would have a lot to say on the subject. Shakti is a loose cannon. Her impulsivity could be an interesting character trait, but her actions appear almost random and usually work out to her benefit, which misses out on some opportunities for reflection and character growth and makes it feel like the character is just wearing plot armor.

Firstly, thank you Netgalley and Harper Voyager for the digital arc.

This is a great fantasy debut novel with ace/aro, bi, lesbian, and gay representation set in a fantasy Mauryan Empire. It was almost reminiscent of Princess Mononoke with the nature spirits, but more brutal and even worse villains.

The book follows two protagonists: Shakti, a young mayakari (a.k.a. Witch), and Prince Ashoka, third child of the violent Emperor Adil, as they fight for justice and their moral code in a mayakari hating society. Mayakaris are being burned under the order of Emporer Adil for being dangerous and unnatural, ignoring the mayakari’s pacifist principles. When Shakti’s aunt and village is burned by Emporer Adil himself, she goes against mayakari code and curses him, resulting in his fast death and gaining his conscious. Believing the youngest child will help her rid herself of the former emperor, she heads for the palace. Prince Ashoka is the very opposite of his father and siblings. He despises his father and his violent legacy of killing innocents, but when he is in charge of his own governmentship and being helpless of the cruelty against mayakari, he struggles between his code of pacifism and not being his father or righting wrongs with violence.

The characters, to me, were well developed and their challenges were well planned out. They had their flaws, which made them very real, such as Shakti being impulsive and Ashoka stubborn. I loved the relationship between Ashoka and his guard Rahil, it was a good reprieve from the political conflicts.

The world building was also intriguing and descriptive. Learning about the spirits and animals was most interesting to me.
However, this was mostly plot focused so there wasn’t much world building past the first quarter of the book.

The plot was clear and well planned out. There is still a mysterious aspect that I think will be more prevalent in the next book, and even if you caught on to what was to come, there is still that sense of “how will this play out?” It was also interesting seeing the duality of the trolley problem, except with the one person not being innocent.

(Somewhat but not really spoilers ahead)
As for critiques, I felt that Shakti’s ease with her new mental gift was too easy and her immediate trust with the old Emperor didn’t make sense, especially when he was cryptic and she isn’t entirely sure what he did to get this mental power in the first place. Doesn’t even question if it is a curse. This might be because of his character development but with his whole life not liking the mayakari murders, Ashoka didn’t didn’t come up with anything to help ease it even if he was afraid of and powerless with his father. He was mainly idealistic, but I feel like someone that angered and righteous would come up with ideas throughout their life. Additionally, I find it impossible that the mayakari would continue to stay helpless and passive against the violence and only retaliate with petty inconveniences, when they can do more to protect themselves. Like out of all of them only two mayakari used a curse? And how is it mayakari are only granted three powers? I wish that was explained more.

Overall, solid debut.

The Prince Without Sorrow" by Maithree Wijesekara is an impressive debut that introduces readers to the Obsidian Throne trilogy, drawing inspiration from the Mauryan Empire of Ancient India. The narrative centers on two protagonists: Prince Ashoka, the youngest son of the tyrannical Emperor Adil Maurya, and Shakti, a mayakari (witch) bound by a pacifist code. Ashoka, disillusioned by his father's brutal persecution of witches, seeks to reform the empire's violent legacy. Following the emperor's sudden death, Ashoka is tasked with governing a tumultuous region plagued by nature spirits, challenging his ideals and leadership. Conversely, Shakti's life is upended when her aunt and village are destroyed by imperial forces, propelling her on a path of vengeance that tests her commitment to non-violence. Disguised as a maidservant within the royal palace, she aims to dismantle the monarchy from within.

The novel excels in its intricate world-building, presenting a realm where winged serpents soar and giant leopards roam, while witches face relentless persecution. Wijesekara's prose is both intelligent and evocative, effectively conveying the internal struggles of characters grappling with moral ambiguity and ethical dilemmas. The dual perspectives of Ashoka and Shakti serve as compelling foils, each challenging the other's beliefs and motivations.

However, some readers may find certain aspects underdeveloped. The motivations behind Emperor Adil's persecution of the mayakari and his particular cruelty towards Ashoka are not fully explored, leaving gaps in character backstory. Additionally, while the narrative is fast-paced, some plot developments, especially concerning Ashoka, may feel rushed or anticlimactic, potentially impacting the story's cohesion.

Despite these minor shortcomings, "The Prince Without Sorrow" lays a solid foundation for the series, offering a rich tapestry of political intrigue, ethical quandaries, and character development. Fans of epic fantasy with nuanced characters and moral complexity will find much to appreciate in this promising debut.

This book could have been really great. The bones are there for it to be something unique and special, but it missed the mark for me. I felt like there wasn’t a clear plan to the book. I found myself so lost when I was reading.

I did really like the setting and some of the lore that was happening. I think if the plot had been more linear and coherent, it would have been a better book for me. I do think other people may really enjoy this book though, so I still recommend it if you enjoy unique setting and atmospheric writing.