Hello, everyone! Tonight, I’m reviewing The Prince Without Sorrow by Maithree Wijesekara, which will be released tomorrow, March 18, 2025. I was convinced to read this one by the beautiful cover and the suggestion of queer romance. Although, I really had no idea what to expect from the story. Do I recommend picking this one up? Read on to find out! 🙂

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.

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 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 to take it for themselves or risk losing it completely.

***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.

There you have it! My thoughts on the somewhat lackluster The Prince Without Sorrow by Maithree Wijesekara. Is this book on your TBR? Have you read it? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments!