Okay, so I really wanted to love this book - it sounded right up my alley with its mix of Indian-inspired fantasy, palace intrigue, and witch magic. The basic story follows Prince Ashoka, who's trying to be different from his witch-hunting tyrant father, and Shakti, a witch who sneaks into the palace for revenge. Cool premise, right? But honestly, I had such a hard time getting into it. The writing kept going over the same points, and I never felt like I really got to know the characters or their world well enough to care about what happened to them.

Maybe I had my expectations set too high since it was compared to books like The Jasmine Throne and The Hurricane Wars, but everything felt rushed and underdeveloped. I kept waiting to feel invested in the story or connect with the characters, but it just didn't happen. The magic system with nature spirits sounded interesting, but like everything else, it wasn't fleshed out enough. I hate to be harsh on a debut novel, but this one just didn't work for me. I probably won't continue with the trilogy unless I hear the next books are dramatically different.