𝓢𝓣𝓐𝓘𝓝
Stain by A.G. Howard is a fascinating fantasy with touches of familiar fairy tales. Found on shelves in 2019, old and new A.G. Howard fans flocked toward this grim tale, enchanted by its world building, characters, and romance.
This frightful fable features an orphaned, mute princess of day, Lyra, prophesied to wed the prince of night, Vesper, to merge their divided kingdoms and sky back into one. However, there’s more than physical barriers separating those two. A conscienceless aunt called Griselda disposes Lyra into the Ashen Ravine, while her cousin takes her place. The poor girl, now ensnared by thorns, is saved by a harrower witch with secrets and an elemental being now stuck to the ground by his sins. This odd duo raises Lyra, forcing her to identify as a boy called Stain. The prince faces troubles of his own, succumbing to a self-inflicted disease, slowly turning his body into gold. As the prince awaits his faraway princess, the only one who can heal him, part of his fiery soul roams free in the woods, hidden until later found.
The narrative spins into a spectacular show packed with sorrowful stories and wonderful world building that will immerse you into the complicated coatings of this chronicle from the first page. The extent of the descriptions embodies the popular phrase “Show don’t tell.” However, readers who prefer fast-paced plots may not enjoy these lengthy descriptions A.G. Howard often provides. In spite of the slow pace, the story doesn’t seem to stop, hints and foreshadowing for new characters hidden in its paragraphs. These subtle hints or call-outs are sprinkled throughout the book, which is truly appreciated on a second read, similarly like the character development. Certain events may be shown through another character’s eyes, revealing their motivations and morals, or at least a hint of them. These often put the characters in a sorry light, helping the reader sympathize with them.
In terms of themes, this story may seem like it jumps from one to another. The first page has quite a slow rate of revelation, but in exchange of time the author promises a tale of two princesses; “one who lost her rose, and one who gained her thorns.” Using the word princess, it’s easy to determine that it’s Lyra, the main character and the princess of day, and her cousin, Lustacia, the cousin one to overthrow her. For part 1 of the book, it focuses on both of them, yet in the following parts, it seems to stray from the original idea.
I certainly enjoyed the depth of world building, given that fantasy often has such meticulously structured world design. The author may have taken their time to describe everything, yet that allowed the perfect opportunity for foreshadowing, which was written well. However, the seemingly lack of consistency confuddled me, similarly to the characters. Each character has its own rightful backstory and personality, yet some minor characters feel like they’ve been expanded too much. Additionally, at certain points I forgot who a minor character was when reintroduced in the story only with their name.
Overall, as a book under fantasy, I thoroughly enjoyed this book during the first read and the second. Its deep world building and realistic romance impressed me, making up for a few of the book’s shortcomings. Despite its slow pace, those with a liking for lengthy descriptions and a poetic writing style may enjoy this book from its start to finish.
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