Upon A Starlit Tide by Kell Woods – Book Review

Book Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Genre: New Adult Historical Fantasy

Spice: Medium

Summary:

Set against the backdrop of Saint-Malo, France in 1758, Upon a Starlit Tide is a historic “Cinderella” and “The Little Mermaid” retelling where magic and the creatures who wield it are disappearing from the French seaside. Lucinde Leon is the youngest daughter of a hugely successful and wealthy shipowner whose use of the increasingly rare Storm Stone has made him rich. Despite not being his daughter by blood, Luce is undoubtedly her father’s favorite, his “Treasure”. While her mother and sisters spend their time thinking about fashionable dresses and advantageous marriages, Luce dreams of setting sail across the sea, like her father when he was young. One problem with this dream is her feet; they are horribly disfigured and bring her pain every step she takes. The only relief she feels is when she’s swimming in the ocean.

One morning after a terrible storm, Luce rescues a young man from the wreckage drifting near shore. Before he falls unconscious, he passionately kisses Luce on the beach. When a group of fishermen, including her friend Samuel, deliver the young man to the Leon household to recover, he warns Luce that she should be careful taking what the sea has claimed – superstition says the sea must have it’s due. The rescued man turns out to be Morgan de Chatelaine, the son of another wealthy Saint-Malo ship owner, who was returning home after spending some years in Spain. To celebrate his return, and survival of the wrecked ship, the de Chatelaines will throw a ball, and Luce is eager to attend and learn more about the handsome Morgan, and whether he remembers their fateful kiss. But when her dress for the ball is destroyed, a Tide Crone will step in to provide a magical solution that will lead Luce on a journey to discover her own power.

Reaction:

This book was billed as a retelling of two classic fairytales but turns out to be a more intricate and original story that was perfectly paced and drew me in slowly like the tide. The beginning of the story pulls familiar plot elements from “The Little Mermaid” then “Cinderella” that make the reader feel comfortable with a bit of knowledge around what will happen next. But once those plot points play out, the story really took off for me and became filled with tension, betrayal, heartbreak, and through it all Luce is learning about herself. The book is so choc-full of plot, character, and setting that I couldn’t even get to the magic without making my summary an entire page long. I adored how the author tied traditional superstitions and legends about the sea into a host of different magical characters and items. The way Storm Stone, for example, is tied into magic, seafaring, and economics makes it seem even more realistic to the reader, like the idea of a Storm Stone to protect ships isn’t a fantastical element, it could be true. Lastly, the book surprised me, which is not an easy thing to do. I suspected some of what was revealed, but the final betrayal I did not see coming. I enjoyed this book so much, I was crossing my fingers that it would be a series, but alas that does not seem to be the case. Regardless, I’ll be looking forward to what Kell Woods writes next, and I may be hoping it’s a return to this world.