This book is a rough read to what promised to be an interesting fantasy world.

You have two protagonists on two different sides: a girl who's kind is being targeted for their magical powers, ; a guy who is too soft, kind, and supports these people while being the son of a man who is out to kill those magic users. The book begins where the girl watches her aunt get murdered by the boys father, she curses him and in turn it curses her. The curse has caused them to be linked via dreams, and there is a possibility of them remaining like this. She is told to seek out the boy to change this all.

I got to 20% before deciding not to go further. The writing was clunky, it didn't feel like the world, it's magic vs politics was conveyed with any sort of strength to the plot. The book felt torn between YA and adult in terms of prose and feel. The dialogue also was clunky and due to the half-baked world / magic building, it left me with confusion than understanding.

Power to those who enjoy it, I just couldn't get it.

This one took a bit for me to get into--I'd say, I didn't start getting invested until almost halfway through--but it's not really for lack of action. In fact, I'd argue that the action happens a bit too quickly, at least in one POV. What I struggled with in the beginning was the characters. It was a bit difficult to get too invested because the action happens so quickly. I see now why the author did it this way, but I do wish that, especially in Shakti's POV, the author had given a few chapters to introduce Shakti and her powers a bit more. Ashoka got a little bit more of a character introduction, I think, though he still felt a bit one-dimensional until his part of the plot got moving a bit more.

Another issue I had (and, honestly, this might be a more minor, nitpicky type of issue) is that there was some usage of anachronistic language that felt out of place in the world the author was trying to create. It definitely read, to me, like an author that wasn't quite fully immersed in the established world. Given that this is a debut, that does make sense; it's just that when it happened, it did tend to throw me just a bit.

That being said, once the plot started to come together, I did get a lot more invested. I thought the direction the author went with the plot felt interesting. There were also some character moments that I'm curious as to how the author will expand upon them in the next book. While the pacing was definitely an issue, I don't think was a bad debut by any means. I think the author shows a lot of promise and I hope the writing grows and expands in the next book.

This was a pretty middle-of-the-road read for me. I liked the mythological elements, as well as the animals. But while I didn't actively dislike the main characters, they didn't capture my attention the way that I hoped they would. The pacing was a little bit off, too.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the arc! I feel uncomfortable rating this, and this is a very personal dealbreaker which lead to me DNFing <50 pages in, but Jesus. There were so. Many. Fucking. Similes. Just so many. I do love purple prose, but good god. Stop spamming a single literary device. Just stop.

As someone who reads A LOT, I'm always on the lookout for new fantasy series and authors. Especially with ones that have influences from other cultures (I have been devouring those). I've had some debut series be disappointing, this was not one of them. The cover was really pretty and I was intrigued by the description, so I HAD to put in a request. I was excited when I got the approval and almost started it immediately. 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. I really can't wait for the next book even though this one isn't even out yet, but it will be something to look forward to. I highly recommend this book! I already pre-ordered a physical copy when it gets released it was that good.

I did not finish this book. Right away, the mythology was very intense and difficult to get into. I felt that it was too hard to understand and didn’t continue.

Really, really enjoyed this story! The magic was fascinating, the characters relatable, and the world intriguing. I can't wait to read the second book and the first isn't even published yet. *cries*

The story alternates perspectives between two main characters and I did find the chapters from the perspective of Ashoka to be confusing at first. About 15% in I started to fall into the flow and understand a little more about the world and that helped. By 50% I was sucked in and read the last 30% in one binge sitting. There's enough action to keep the reader hooked but there's also lots of character growth and world building. Definitely a fantastic debut!

This was a strong start to the Obsidian Throne series, it had a great concept and worked in this world and setting. The fantasy element worked well overall and enjoyed the way the world was weaved together. It gives you a taste of what was going on and glad everything worked together. I wanted to read the next book and whatever Maithree Wijesekara writes next.