It's no secret around my blog that A.G. Howard is one of my absolute favorite authors. I fell in love with the Splintered series in 2014 and have loved everything she has written since. I also adore fairytale retellings! When I heard about Stain, I knew there was a good chance it would be one of my top reads of 2019, and I'm pretty sure I was right.
This haunting story is about Lyra, princess of the kingdom of daylight, and Vesper, prince of the kingdom of night. Each is a misfit in their own land, but are promised to each other in order to bring peace between the kingdoms. Lyra cannot speak, but has the voice of a songbird, and cannot go in the sun without being burned, while Vesper has daylight in his blood. After Lyra's father dies, her aunt schemes to take back the throne and casts Lyra into the Ashen Ravine, the place between the day and night kingdoms, where she's raised with no memory of her true identity.
I loved Lyra so incredibly much! Contrary to what you might think, Lyra is not a character who would feel a pea beneath a pile of mattresses. She is strong and scarred and powerful. This book begins with Lyra's childhood and I loved every minute spent with her, watching her grow into a strong woman willing to do anything to protect those she loved. Then there's Vesper, the handsome, mysterious, swoon-worthy prince of night and Lyra's betrothed. Their romance is extremely slow burn, but oh so worth it in the end! It easily could have fallen into instalove territory, but A.G. Howard did an incredible job of making it work without that terrible trope.
Of course there was a whole host of other fantastic characters. Two of these are Crony and Luce, a witch and wingless, shape-shifting sylph who raised Lyra for most of her childhood in the Ashen Ravine. I enjoyed them both, especially Luce, who had such an interesting backstory and a sly, snarky personality. But my favorite was Scorch, a fiery Pegasus and Lyra's unlikely friend in the Ashen Ravine! Their friendship was possibly one of my all-time favorites. The villainous evil queen and her daughters were delightfully evil - the exact kind that you cannot wait to see meet their demise!
While I absolutely fell in love with the characters, my favorite part of Stain was the world building. This book is long and I can definitely understand why after encountering such an intricate, well-written world. The mythology was thoroughly fleshed out and made everything feel that much more real. I felt like I could picture it all in my head! There were so many different creatures and magical details that all came together in a way that really worked. The kingdom of night was definitely my favorite. I would love to see some fanart of that stunning land of night and ice and thorns.
A.G. Howard really did an incredible job at creating a beautiful, gothic retelling that's an entirely new take on a classic. The writing was lush and felt like a fairytale. There were twists that I never saw coming and, although the beginning is a bit slow while detailing Lyra's childhood, I never became bored. And, like any good fantasy book, this one has a wonderful, detailed map that I'd love to have as a poster!
Stain was everything I was hoping it would be and more! The world and characters were incredible, and very quickly fell in love with the beautiful writing. Although this book does have a nicely wrapped up ending, I would definitely love to see more stories written in this fantasy world! If you're a fan of retellings or YA fantasy in general, you don't want to miss this book!
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About the author
THIS BOOK IS EVERYTHING!
That cover is so beautiful!!!This book was magical!!!*Once upon a nightmare, a princess was born in the kingdom of perpetual daylight-a fine-boned babe who killed her queenly mother upon her entrance to the worldNot everything is as it seems in this world. God, how I loved it. Lyra is different from all. Vesper is different from all. They must come together to bring their worlds together. Sound familiar? It’s not like that for they both have blessings and curses in this strange landLyra can draw anyone to her with her voice and she is beautiful but scary to those if they don’t hear her voice. She is moon touched. She is so much more. She can bring the shadows and all the crawly things to her. I won’t say anything more though.Lyra is supposed to marry Vesper so they can unite the world and become Queen and KingBut alas, things go wrong. Lyra must find her way with many different friends.There is a most happy ending. I think one of the best endings I, Me, Not You, have ever read!!Vesper has his own powers and hardships. Oh how I loved these characters and this magically, weird world.*He tipped his head back and poured the essence of daylight and flowers into his mouth, gulping it down until his body went to flame and his mind went to ash.Enjoy!Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2019
- Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2019
Top reviews from other countries
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- Micheala McClellandReviewed in the United Kingdom on December 31, 2020
he overall all message of this is of hope, found family and that we are so much more than our scars.
- LReviewed in Australia on April 6, 2019
A Fairytale that shows the exquisite beauty of scars
