Mar 23

Mar 23 Upon a Starlit Tide

About the book

Author: Kell Woods
Publisher: Tor Books

More info:
The StoryGraph | Goodreads
Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the review.

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My Review

Upon a Starlit Tide bills itself as The Little Mermaid mixed with Cinderella into a dark historical fantasy — and it delivers excellently. Kell Woods clearly knows and loves her fairytales and folklore. I had so much fun reading it.

The story is about a girl named Lucinde, adopted daughter of one of the wealthiest merchants in Saint-Malo, which is protected from attack by the magic of its resident fae creatures. Her two sisters spend their days dreaming of advantageous marriages, but Lucinde just wants to take to the sea. When she rescues a handsome, shipwrecked man from drowning, her family is invited to a ball at his estate — and of course, everything changes.

I ended up loving this book, despite the fact that I found the pacing of the beginning a bit slow. I started off intrigued but not quite pulled in — and then just as I started to get a little frustrated, the ball scene happened and the story really picked up, and I never looked back. It has just the right amount of romance, darkness, mystery, action, and folklore. It doesn’t take long to figure out where the story is going, but also, you have no idea how you’ll get there, and the journey is well worth your time. I especially loved how Woods evolved Lucinde’s sisters from their role of “wicked stepsisters” and gave them so much more nuance by the end.

If you love fairy tales and retellings, pick this one up!