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Stain A G Howard Books

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Stain A G Howard Books

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!


Tags : Amazon.com: Stain (9781419731419): A. G. Howard: Books,A. G. Howard,Stain,Harry N. Abrams,1419731416,Fairy tales,Fairy tales.,Fantasy,Fantasy fiction,Identity,Identity (Psychology),Impersonation,Magic,Mutism,Mutism;Fiction.,Princesses,Princesses;Fiction.,Fiction-Fantasy,JUVENILE,Juvenile Fiction,Juvenile Grades 7-9 Ages 12-14,TEEN'S FICTION FANTASY,United States,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Fairy Tales & Folklore Adaptations,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Fantasy Epic,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Fantasy General,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Fantasy Wizards & Witches,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Romance General,Young Adult FictionFairy Tales & Folklore - Adaptations,Young Adult FictionRomance - General,princess; mute; disability; outcast; exile; witch; evil stepmother; memory; amnesia; enchanted forest; disguise; secret identity; life in hiding; dying prince; curse; wedding; marriage; true love; imposter; stolen crown; kingdom; save the prince; peace; identity; strength; voice; save the kingdom; modern princess; heroine; girl power; gender; feminism; strong female character; folklore; fairy tale; legend; magic; supernatural; fantasy; young adult,princess;mute;disability;outcast;exile;witch;evil stepmother;memory;amnesia;enchanted forest;disguise;secret identity;life in hiding;dying prince;curse;wedding;marriage;true love;imposter;stolen crown;kingdom;save the prince;peace;identity;strength;voice;save the kingdom;modern princess;heroine;girl power;gender;feminism;strong female character;folklore;fairy tale;legend;magic;supernatural;fantasy;young adult,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Fairy Tales & Folklore Adaptations,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Fantasy Epic,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Fantasy General,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Fantasy Wizards & Witches,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Romance General,Young Adult FictionFairy Tales & Folklore - Adaptations,Young Adult FictionRomance - General

Stain A G Howard Books Reviews

Howard is one of my favorite writers and I was thrilled to receive this beautiful novel. I dove into it and it really is a beautiful, gothic, romantic and mysterious retelling. Full of complicated characters and relationships, Howard creates a beautiful world and a captivating story. The relationships she creates are what truly draw the reader into this world of sun and shadow. I give this novel a 4.5 out of 5 only because the beginning moved a little slow for my taste. I realized after reading a quarter of the story the word building at the beginning was necessary for the reader to truly become immersed in the story. The second half of the story flew by. Well done and looking forward to the next book by this brilliant writer.
I love retellings. I grew up on Disney and fell in love with the darker, more honest stories from which they came. So I love fairytale retellings, but Stain is unique. This is the first novel I've read from A. G. Howard and I'm am impressed.

First, what do I mean by it's an 'Actual Fairytale'? It read like one. From the beautiful images that Howard painted with words, to her characters, both heros and villains, to the unfolding plot and the world she built, throughout it all, it was like stepping into an actual fairytale. The whole time I was reading, each word that dropped like rain onto my mind gave me a sense of mystic and fantasy, like I was a storyteller, walking alongside Lyra and Vesper through their journeys. Howard wove her words into a living, breathing fairytale, not only in substance, but in sense. It had been a long time since I felt the childhood nostalgia of discovering a dreamy fantasy. It was all the wonder of childhood with the maturity of adulthood. A perfect fairytale for a young adult.

As I've said, Howard's writing is beautiful, full of imagery. I love how detailed and dark the story was. It was like Disney's Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella, but with more in-depth and mundane details of Snow's trek through the forest and her time with the dwarves, with a longer, more exquisite journey of the prince through the briar garden sequestering Beauty in her tower, and with elaboration of the Stepmother's motives and actions along with Cinderella's fight from beaten daughter-turned-servant to strong-willed and brave queen. It was all I remembered in a fairytale as a child and everything else I didn't know I wanted as an adult.

Now to the meat of the matter (SPOILER AHEAD)
Second, I love how Howard wrote Lyra and Vesper, how they inevitably came together in the end. I liked the surprise of a reversal, where rather than the prince coming to save the princess, it is Lyra who kisses Vesper awake. There were times when Lyra's growth from timid princess to warrior queen seemed jarring, but I loved how each character played their role and how Howard fulfilled the prophecy with unexpected surprises.
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!