Review: Stain by A.G. Howard

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Retelling

Pages: 512

Published: January 15th 2019

Synopsis:

After Lyra—a princess incapable of speech or sound—is cast out of her kingdom of daylight by her wicked aunt, a witch saves her life, steals her memories, and raises her in an enchanted forest . . . disguised as a boy known only as Stain. Meanwhile, in Lyra’s rival kingdom, the prince of thorns and night is dying, and the only way for him to break his curse is to wed the princess of daylight—for she is his true equal. As Lyra finds her way back to her identity, an imposter princess prepares to steal her betrothed prince and her crown. To win back her kingdom, save the prince, and make peace with the land of the night, Lyra must be loud enough to be heard without a voice, and strong enough to pass a series of tests—ultimately proving she’s everything a traditional princess is not.

My Thoughts

Fans of Uprooted by Naomi Novik & A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas will love this!

As a long time fan of A.G. Howard, I always expect something grand, and this book did not disappoint. The world-building in this story is on point! In-depth, beautiful, grim and whimsical, all things someone expects in a fairytale!

The plot, I know, was inspired loosely by Princess & The Pea, and gosh I loved the twist Howard put on it! She turned the classic fairytale on its head and spun it into something wholly unique and her own. I’ll confess the early part of the book was a little slow, but once it began to pick up I didn’t want to put it down. I savored this world and the story.

But what of the characters? Delightful, absolutely delightful. The story actually switches back and forth between FIVE points of view. It was reminiscent of a gothic tale, where it flowed from one person to the next and seamlessly so. Each character grew, morphed, and certainly had their own personality.

I’m not typically a re-read kind of gal, but I’d definitely re-read this beauty.