Stain / A.G. Howard

 

4/5

Stain is marketed as a retelling of the Princess and the Pea, but the story that A.G. Howard paints is much larger than that. 

Howard is naturally skilled at world building. The kingdoms and settings she creates feel natural in her writing, and her scope covers everything from the environment to the industry to the culture. In Stain, she creates intergenerational storylines and beautifully ties them all together. I was interested in both the past and the future of the individuals in the ensemble of a characters, because Howard gave each of them a developed backstory that explained his or her motivations. The only flaw with having this many characters is that it's harder to grow too attached to a single one. Although I liked reading each of their stories, I didn't feel particularly emotionally tied to any one character. 

The biggest downside to Stain is the pace. It is slow but consistent. I knew what was going to happen even if I didn't know how, and I spent a lot of the novel impatiently anticipating the future and wishing Howard had felt the same urgency. And once the prince and princess finally met, I felt that Howard didn't stress or stretch out that moment as much as she should have, especially given how long I had waited for that moment. But overall, the plot and characters are engaging enough that despite the pace, I never considered putting the book down.

I love when a story has multiple components that all tie together, which is what happens in Stain. Howard builds a beautiful story and world, and I would highly recommend Stain to fans of dark fairytales and storylines with fate.