ARC Review: The Prince Without Sorrow by Maithree Wijesekara

Title: The Prince Without Sorrow
Author:  Maithree Wijesekara
Series: Obsidian Throne #1
Genre: Adult Fantasy
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Publication Date: March 18, 2025
Edition: Digital
Source: NetGalley
Pre-Order: Amazon US | Barnes & Noble | BAM | Bookshop | Kobo | Powell's |

Synopsis:

   A prince born into violence, seeking peace.
Prince Ashoka is the youngest son of the tyrannical Emperor Adil Maurya. Considered an outcast by his father for his rejection of the emperor’s brutal onslaught against the witches of the empire, Ashoka longs for change. When the sudden and unexpected death of his father leaves the monarchy in disarray, Ashoka is sent to govern a tumultuous region annexed by Emperor Adil that is terrorized by nature spirits—a task many see as doomed to fail. Suspected by a disdainful governor and evaded by distrustful witches, Ashoka must question his rigid ideals and fight against becoming the one person he despises the most—his father.
   A witch shackled by pacifism, seeking revenge.
Shakti is a mayakari: a witch bound by a pacifist code. After witnessing the murder of her aunt and village at the hands of the emperor, Shakti hurtles down a path of revenge, casting a curse with unexpected consequences. Posing as a maidservant in the famed palace of the Mauryas and armed with newfound powers beyond her imagination, Shakti attempts to dismantle the monarchy from within by having the royal progeny ruin themselves and turn their father’s legacy into nothing but ash.
   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.

Drawing on inspiration from the Mauryan Empire of Ancient India, debut author Maithree Wijesekara plunges readers into the first amazing book of the Obsidian Throne trilogy, a new fantasy series of hunted witches, romantic angst, and political intrigue. Perfect for fans of The Hurricane Wars and The Jasmine Throne.

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I enjoyed this book, and it has a lot of potential. It has a really interesting and unique magic system. Overall, I like how different the characters are to each other. The three siblings are very different from each other, and the mayakari (witches in this world) while they all live by the same code, more or less, are also very different. I don't know how old these characters are supposed to be though, they could be as old as 25, or as young as 15.

 

I do like both POV characters, Ashoka and Shakti, but I found myself switching between who annoyed me the most at times. Shakti is very impulsive, and while I do understand why I also felt that she should've already learned her lesson to not be impulsive from the curse she casts at the start of the book. I didn't really care for where her character ended up at the end of this book, it bordered on cliche in my opinion.

  Ashoka, started out as a very oatmeal character, but I enjoyed reading his chapters more than Shakti's. His character growth felt more substantial. Though I don't know where his character is headed from here. Things could really go either way for him. I don't know how many books this series will have, that will effect the trajectory of his character and the rest of the story.

 

 There wasn't a very clear through line of a plot in this book, and I think that hurts the book overall. Yes, Ashoka's goal is to end suffering but he doesn't have a plan to do that. And Shakti's plan is the same, and she could've used the collective more smartly, but she just uses it to yell at the emperor, and do some really rash dream walking. She had no clue if her dream walking would actually change anything. There is potential, in this book, but I feel that it could've used some more revisions first. There are some strange word/sentence choices that on reflection didn't make sense.