DNF Review – Stain by A.G. Howard (3/5 stars)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 512 pages
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
Release Date: January 15, 2019
ISBN-13: 978-1419731419
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 3/5 stars
“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.”
Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book that I borrowed from the library.
Story (3/5): I am setting this one aside after reading the first 100 pages or so; I’ve actually tried to read this twice and failed both times. This is a very classic fairy tale like tale with a bit of a gothic twist to it. I enjoyed the beginning of the story where we meet Lyra, a princess with nighttime attributes stuck in a kingdom of daylight. From there things go downhill. We are introduced to a witch who Lyra is instantly supposed to love, this seemed improbable to me. Then ~70 pages in we are finally introduced to the Prince with daylight attributes who dwells in the nighttime kingdom. Then back to the witch. So while I enjoyed Lyra, I saw very little of her after the first couple chapters.
Characters (3/5): I liked Lyra with her unique looks and her inability to speak, however it’s hard to really engage with her because of this muteness. I didn’t really like any of the other characters introduced. They just seemed childish and shallow.
Setting (3/5): This book is set in a fantasy world where daylight and nighttime are separated into two halves of a spherical world. It’s an interesting concept but also feels a bit forced and contrived.
Writing Style (3/5): While there is some beautiful description in here and I enjoyed the fantasy setting, I just don’t have the patience for this book right now. The chapters are incredibly long. Many POVs are introduced, most of which I could care less about. The writing style feels antiquated and is hard to really engage with. When I look at how long this book is and how long it’s taken me to read the first 100 pages I just feel like the time investment isn’t worth the payback for this one.
Summary (3/5): Overall this book has some beautiful descriptions and an interesting concept; but you also have to deal with incredibly long and wandering chapters, and many characters that are not well developed. While I really loved Howard’s “Splintered” series, all of her other books have been misses for me. I DNF’d “Roseblood” and didn’t enjoy “The Architect of Song” much either. I think I am done with Howard as an author for now.
