I've reviewed this book as a part of an event I am hosting in September 2021 called GeekDis. GeekDis is a collaborative event for members of the disability community to talk about disability representation in pop culture. You can learn more about GeekDis here!

Originally posted on Just Geeking by.

I fell in love with Stain from the moment I started reading it. The fantasy worlds that A.G. Howard has created in this book is incredible, and yes, that’s right; I said world plural. A catastrophic event turned one kingdom into two, pushing one down into the earth where night and the moon permanently reigned, while the other stayed topside where day and the sun reigned. Born into each world are two characters with characteristics from the other world – not through any adultery, but by magic.

Princess Luna, is born into a world filled with everlasting sun, however, she is born with the physical characteristics of someone from the kingdom of night and this means her skin is extremely sensitive to sunlight. It burns at even the slightest touch of it. She is also mute, meaning that she is not able to communicate to the people she will one day rule, something that becomes increasingly vital as Luna’s physical appearance which is so strikingly different from everyone else is used by bigots to alienate her.

In the other kingdom, their prince does not suffer the same difficulties as Luna because he is accepted by his family and his people. However, an accident results in a horrible disease that plagues his body and will result in his death. The only cure is Luna, for prophecy says that she can save him, and together they can save their kingdoms from everlasting day and night to rejoin them again.

The disability representation in Stain is a bit hit-and-miss because everything is tied to magic and prophecy. It falls into the trope of magic as a cure, although without giving a major spoiler away I will say that one disability remains at the end and is not cured. The book itself is wonderful, but the good disability representation moments, such as Luna/Stain struggling with her pain and her identity or the inclusivity of people learning sign language, are completely undone by the bad representation of it all disappearing quite literally by magic. Disabilities and chronic health conditions don’t just disappear in a puff of magic smoke or as soon as a prophecy has been completed, and tropes like this are extremely harmful.

So 5 stars for being a fantastic fantasy book, but for disability representation this gets a 2.5 star from me.


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This story is classified as a fairy tale, though it comes across more as a traditional fantasy genre story to me. I think this is because fairy tale retellings tend to be based off of pre-existing stories with specific elements we expect and then elaborate on. This is a fairy tale, but it's not based on a traditional story, so watching it play out in its elaborated version, means that I almost have to think backwards to get back to the fairy tale at its heart. It's there though, a princess and prince each meant for the others' kingdom, the princess stolen, nearly slain, and replaced with an imposter, and a prince who is rescued by her kiss. Yes, the elaborated story is even better. ( )

First off can we say ‘Cover Art’! Gorgeous. I appreciate how Howard pays attention to detail when it comes to the covers as well as the interior of her books. It may not mean much to others but for me it can be the thing that really beckons me to a book before I even know anything about it.

This book was a tad intimidating when I first held it. Such weight and substance. I started reading it and found I wasn’t in the right mental space to thoroughly immerse myself into the story. But a year later I was in the mood for an adventure and picked it back up. Admittedly it took me a hot minute to get into the rhyme, the back stories and explanations of kingdoms at times gets my head spinning.

However, once I digested the first bit it was page turning goodness there on out! I truly loved the world Howard has woven in this book. The landscapes and creatures both beautiful and gruesome captivate the imagination. I was endeared to the characters and found such comfort in their company whilst reading. Her subtle nodes to various other fairytales was a delight as well. All and all I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. From the theme of perseverance in the face of hate and loneliness, to family is the people you choose and finally to true love being born in friendship first. This novel ranks as one of my favorites. ( )

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. ( )

I loved the fairy tale feeling of this book! ( )