Stain

Hello everyone!

I’m was so excited to read this new book, Stain, from one of my favorite YA authors, A.G. Howard. I absolutely fell in love with her Splintered Series, which is re-telling of Alice in Wonderland. I couldn’t wait to see what was in store in this whole new stand-alone story! As always there will be no spoilers, so read on in confidence and find out if this book is calling out to you. Let’s dive right in!

Stain

By A.G. Howard

YA Fantasy Fiction

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

The first thing that drew me to this book was the beautiful cover art. It depicts a lovely young woman with white/silver complexion and hair. It is similar to the Splintered Series cover art, which I love, so I was hopeful that the story would just as awesome.

The world the author has built is a fairly simple one, consisting of two kingdoms; the Day Kingdom of Eldoria and the Night Kingdom of Nerezeth. The two kingdoms are opposites in every way. Eldoria is the more prosperous of the two, with everlasting sunlight and a people of bronzed complexion. Nerezeth is seemingly underground with the moon and darkness reigning. The people of Nerezeth are of a white/silver complexion, are able to communicate through mind speak and can see in the dark.

The story mostly follows Lyra, the princess of the Day Kingdom of Eldoria. Her story begins when she is born, and her mother dies. Although both parents are Eldorian, she is so different from everyone else in the kingdom, having the while/silver complexion and eyes of the Nerezeth people. Her most unique quality is her voice, which is only heard by others as a beautiful singsong melody that basically hypnotizes anyone within range. She is unable to communicate to anyone through talking so most of her dialog is done through sign language.

We get a short backstory of the first 12 years of Lyra’s life, which is full of love and loss. Then she becomes a new person after she is left for dead in the Ravine, a dangerous place full of witches, murderers and thieves. Having no memory of her previous life, and no voice at all, she calls herself Stain and tries to live her life as best she can.

Meanwhile in the Nerezeth, a prince, Vesper, was born and raised. Although seemingly cursed with the bronzed skin of the Eldorians and the inability to see in the dark, his parents love and cherish him. After the same 12 years goes by, the king and most of the Nerezeth people are now dying. Fifteen year old Vesper takes reckless action to save his people and ends up nearly killing himself in the process.

Now, 5 years later, an incomplete, cursed prince and princess with no memory or voice must find each other to save both kingdoms from destruction.

Although it seems a bit slow and not very exciting at the beginning, it really picks up momentum as Stain completely rediscovers herself and Vesper realizes he must go with his heart above all else. The two main characters don’t even meet until halfway through the book so you really get to know each of them individually first. And the connection they have during their moments together are so intense, you can almost feel it! There are so many amazing characters in this book, each having a crucial role and their own motives throughout the story.

I had extremely high expectations for this book and I was not disappointed! And, although this is not a traditional fairy-tale re-telling, I found hints of all my favorite classics hidden in the pages. Elements of The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, The Princess and the Pea and Snow White were slipped in here are there. It might not have been intentional but it was easy for me to make the connection.

Don’t waste any time in starting this book! It’s a wonderful story in a mystical world with amazing characters! What more could a book lover want?

[Stain]