Kell Woods does something really special with Upon A Starlit Tide. There are a lot of retellings out there right now, but I found this one to be something special as she seamlessly blends The Little Mermaid and Cinderella to tell a historical fantasy that is dark, mysterious, and emotional. Woods' prose is immersive and lyrical, and I really liked the way the family dynamics bled through and the depth of the relationships between the sisters, and the family overall. Rather than relying too heavily on storybook themes (like the wicked stepsisters, or the chosen daughter) Woods makes everyone feel very human, and makes what shapes them and their motivations very clear. I highly recommend this one for anyone who loves a bit of darkness in their storytelling and loved The Little Mermaid and Cinderella.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the eARC.

What a great historical fantasy with a touch of fairy tales, legends, and myth. There is so much in this book that I absolutely loved!

This is a beautifully written book that ultimately, for me, did not pay off. The author had a lot to say about the characters, the romance was well written, but some of the themes did not pay off in the end. I felt more could have been done with Luce's relationships within her family, which felt rushed and neglected towards the end of the story, when they were so well fleshed out at the beginning of the piece.
If you are looking for a fairy tale, retelling or not, this is a great pick for you. If you are looking for a book that has large themes and ideas, this would not be the book to read. Ironically, I've read two sea centered books in the past month and one hammered the themes to a fault and one neglected to wrap up any message.

Kell Woods can do no wrong for me and who wouldn't love a Little Mermaid retelling? Ethereal and atmospheric!

This was such a fun read. Luce has a curse, and she's trying her best to surviv and save others as she can. But fate has other ideas for her.

The Little Mermaid meets Cinderella, all wrapped up in a deliciously dark fairytale package!

Upon a Starlit Tide has SO much going for it! A picturesque backdrop of mid-18th century Saint Malo. Fae magic and mythology woven seamlessly into familiar fairytales. A fierce leading lady coming into her power. Gorgeous, atmospheric writing!

It took me a little bit to get into the story (quite a lot of exposition here!) but I do feel like the middle and end were totally worth the wait!

Thank you to Tor for the eARC in exchange for my review!

This book did not work for me. Maybe I'm too old, maybe I'm just extra grumpy, but it simply felt too long to me. I spent most of the book waiting for something to happen but when it finally did I swear I thought, "That's it??" Also the main character, Luce, is TSTL from beginning to end.

I've read very different reviews so this might work for you. If you like fairy tale mashups (Cinderella + The Little Mermaid), don't mind a meandering plot, and are interested in Brittany at the turn of the 18th Century, you might want to check it out.

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the audiobook.

This was a beauty!!! I was most excited to read this because the storyline sounded so incredible! I love fairytale retellings and it combined them in a creative way! What a spin on a little mermaid!

This was magical! Woods weaved the basic components from Cinderella (mean stepsisters, the ball, a prince) and the little mermaid (mermaid…) seamlessly. I was enchanted from the start. Lucinde has always filled out of place in her father’s mansion by the sea, even if she is doted on by him. Her mother and sisters, while well meaning, aren’t always the nicest to her. Luce spends her time at the sea with Samuel, a smuggler who she wishes was more than just a friend. When Lucinde saves a nearly drowned man, it sets her on a path there is no going back from.

Absolutely beautiful and wonderfully creative, I devoured this novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a digital ARC of this title!

Equal parts fairy-tale and historical fantasy, and all palpable atmosphere.

Set in Saint-Malo, Brittany, in 1758, we are thrust into a world separated into wealthy ship-owners and high society versus smuggles and pirates. The French and English are at war, and the local fae are leaving Brittany, taking their magic with them and leaving the area vulnerable. Lucinde Leon, the youngest daughter of one of the wealthiest ship-owners feels stifled by Saint-Malo’s walls and dreams of adventure on the open ocean. The only bright spot in her days is her best friend Simon, an English smuggler who secretly teaches her how to sail.

But one morning when she sneaks away to the beach, she finds a drowning man and saves his life. When he turns out to be Morgan de Chatelaine, the son of the city’s most powerful ship-owner, she finds herself enchanted by his good looks and rogueishly charming attitude. As she attends the glittering ball to celebrate his safe return and spends more time with Morgan, she also begins to discover long buried secrets and only some of them are about herself.

I adored everything about this book from the characters, to the pacing, to the plot. One of the elements that impressed me the most was the way the fae creatures and folklore were seamlessly embedded into every aspect of life in this world. Despite being common knowledge to the locals that Saint-Malo’s strength comes from the fair folk, seeing them and interacting with them is still rare enough that it holds a sense of mystique. The more I learned about the connections to these mythic beings, the harder my eyes were glued to the page!

Another aspect of this book that I particularly enjoyed is the mix of fairy-tale inspirations and the unique ways they manifested in the story. Various tropes or story hooks from both Cinderella and The Little Mermaid were recognizable but molded believably into this world. This made my reading experience so enjoyable because my theories were always part right but in an unexpected way. This book absolutely excels at playing in the sweet spot between familiar and strange.

I think that this book will easily find devoted readers in fans of Katherine Arden’s The Winternight Trilogy. Both are deeply atmospheric historical fantasies inspired by fairy tales and folklore. They both also contend with the consequences of the same specific tipping point in time. That of organized religion and modernization pushing away pagan ways of life, much to the detriment of the common folk. Not only is that comparison the best compliment in my opinion, but I feel the truth of it in the level of complete immersion they both gave me. Upon a Starlit Tide convinced me that Kell Woods is an author to watch; I will be trying to get my hands on her debut!

Thanks to Netgalley and Tor for the ARC; All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed Kell Woods' previous novel, so I went into Upon a Starlit Tide with pretty high expectations. Little Mermaid AND Cinderella inspired? Yes, please! Now, don't get me wrong- I love a good fairytale as much as the next reader, but there's got to be a hook.. I don't want to read an exact copy of the original tale, just in another setting, or gender swapped, or... I want the author to mix things up and Kell Woods delivered! This was Little Mermaid meets Cinderella by way of Blue Beard. It is historical and fantasy and romantic and exciting... everything I want in a good "retelling". If this is what Woods does as a sophomore novel I can't wait to see what she does next.

i heard cinderella x the little mermaid and came running

upon a starlit tide is a haunting historical fantasy that combines elements of the aforementioned fairytales with fae folklore to create a new and captivating story. the third daughter of a wealthy ship-owning family dreams of running away to sea. she is irresistibly drawn to the water, where her unlikely best friend—an english smuggler—teaches her to sail, but when she rescues the son of another wealthy family after a terrible storm, she finds herself torn between very different futures.

the way woods breathes new life into these fairytales, subverting expectations while still maintaining that familiarity and nostalgia, is just magical. i love fairytales and mythology because they are always evolving, ever-changing, and the lyrical writing and narrative choices in upon a starlit tide really set this reimagining apart. it is a love story, yes, but it is also a story of self-discovery, of loyalty, of betrayal, all set against the backdrop of an 18th century bretagne (brittany) where the fae are slowly disappearing and taking their magic with them.

perfect for fans of dark fairytales and historical fantasy!

I found this fantasy historical fairy tale by Kell Woods to be an enchanting read. Some familiar romantasy tropes and repetitive descriptions of the vengeful, mysterious sea were largely offset by a realistic depiction of the 18th century Bretagne setting as well as several fun twists on the traditional elements of The Little Mermaid and Cinderella that inspired Woods. Luce is Not Like Other Girls, but somehow she charms you into rooting for her relationships with her family, her two potential suitors, and the fae that linger at the edges of Saint-Malo. I enjoyed that the Woods' versions of the fae were a bit wild, rude, and untamed, more like their folklore counterparts than like taller, more austere humans that often show up in this genre. I especially liked the villains and their comeuppance, and the satisfying ending. Recommended for fans of adult fairy tale retellings.

DNF @ 30%

I was really interested in this one because I love fairytale retellings. However, I tend to like fairytales by way of Disney adaptions, where we get to know the main character and their motivations really intimately. Upon a Starlit Sea was beautiful and atmospheric, but at the 30% point I didn’t feel like I really KNEW the main character.

I enjoyed this unique fairy tale mash up that contains elements of Cinderella and The Little Mermaid into a new story of love and betrayal. Lucinde was the favored daughter of a wealthy shipping merchant in Saint-Malo, Brittany, 1758. The youngest of three sisters, Luce was adopted when she was a young child. While her older sisters are beautiful and looking for good marriages, Luce escapes to the sea and helps her friend Samuel, an English smuggler find magical stones in the waters off the coast. Full of fae, secrets, and betrayals, this book keeps you turning the pages to see if Luce makes the right choices in love and life. Secrets were not surprising, but I still enjoyed the book.

Upon a Starlit Tide was as magical a book as its whimsical title suggests. The story loosely follows a retelling of the Little Mermaid taking place off the coast of France when they were at war with England during the 1700s. I thought the conflict woven in with the storytelling was very well done and highlighted an interesting piece of history I previously knew nothing about.

The story also mixes in some light Cinderella elements, but I appreciated how Woods took the bones of that story and elevated it into something new. Our main character, Luce, had interesting magic that was predictable in where we were being led as readers, but still felt like a fun journey. I felt that there was a point in the story when Luce stayed a bit naive for a bit too long, but when she finally snaps out of it, I thought she was a strong character and a fun young woman to follow into this world of magic and malice.

Upon a Starlit Tide by Kell Woods is a lush and beautiful combination of The Little Mermaid and Cinderella. It combines vivid description and a compelling character in Luce to draw you into a gorgeous fantasy world where magic and wonder are fading but aren’t quite gone yet.
I love how the story draws on elements of fairytales to create a story of love and murder, where Luce is plunged into a world full of secrets. I love the way Luce vies with her desires and eventually embraces her rich power to break free of the constraints others would force her into. This is the ultimate story of a woman escaping the rigid rules of society and forging her own path.
If you like lush and beautiful fantasy with vivid description, emotional romance, and seductive secrets, this is the novel for you. It is glorious, powerful and compelling as it explores love and power.

this one is tricky to review, because i think it's a good book—it's well-written, and i see the appeal of it—but it's too romantic (hetero romantic, especially) for me, much more so than the other book by this author i have read.

the prose is really lovely, very specific to the setting (France) and the time (the 18th century), which i appreciated! Woods sets the scene very evocatively; i can imagine all the places this story visits so vividly, and i really loved the almost casual, matter-of-fact way the Fae are a part of life in this place. there's no question that they're real, it's not a surprise, they live in the garden and on the beach and in the water and all around, even though we come to understand that there are also not very many Fae left compared to the past of this coastline. the magic here makes sense to me and has a charming fairy tale quality, which is fitting, because it's a fairy tale mashup retelling!

i also very much enjoyed the POV character, Luce, and particularly her fraught relationship with her sister Charlotte. Luce trying to make her way through a world that sees her as not only lesser and unimportant because of her gender, but also "damaged" because of her deformed feet, was very moving and compelling, as plotlines like that almost always are for me. her cleverness and determination were very charming too!

i think where i struggled was, as i said above, the romantic elements—and a bit with the fairy tale elements, which to me are related. from the beginning of the story, we're introduced to the two main love interests: handsome rich sailor, and handsome poor sailor. neither of them compelled or interested me, or seemed like whole people, until at least halfway through the book, and the beats of Luce's relationships with them felt very predictable. In a similar way, many of the beats of the fairy tale plotlines also felt predictable; i don't think it's a spoiler to say that there are elements of "The Little Mermaid" and also "Cinderella" (among other things), and the "Cinderella" pieces in particular didn't offer anything particularly different or new. but as i've said in reviews before, predictable stories just aren't to my taste, and i know that a lot of readers—especially readers of romance—DO really like that! there are readers who love knowing where the story is going, and find satisfaction and comfort in that journey. if you are one of those readers, then this one is for you!

so tl;dr, this book wasn't for me, but i think it's a good book for the right reader, and i'll be reccing it to friends who will enjoy it!

Oceanic. Melancholic. Ethereal. Basically everything I have ever wanted in a Little Mermaid retelling!

I am obsessed with the world Kell Woods has built here and everything in it. Luce is a girl with a mysterious foot deformity that makes walking unbearable. We first meet her on the shore, having just found a handsome man who seems to be the only one to have survived a devastating shipwreck. She saves him — but the sea wanted him dead for a reason.

There were so many fun twists AND so many creative uses of the original story. The ONLY part I didn’t enjoy so much was the inclusion of the Cinderella-type ball but only because I’m so sick of Cinderella retellings that I wanted this to be purely Little Mermaid. However, it worked for the story Woods was trying to tell.

The ending was possibly my favorite part, although I’m not sure how readers will feel about it. Please give me more books about mermaids, I beg you!

I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC of this book from NetGalley, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to dive into this unique fantasy novel. If you’re craving something fresh and different in the fantasy genre, this book is a solid pick. With a creative blend of Cinderella and The Little Mermaid, it offers an intriguing and somewhat unexpected take on classic fairy tale elements.

From the get-go, the title and cover art give away that one of the protagonists is a mermaid, which is hardly a shocker. However, the real charm of this story lies in how it unfolds. The narrative keeps you guessing, with plenty of twists and turns that make it engaging from start to finish. I found myself hooked, constantly wondering what would happen next, and that’s something not all fantasy books manage to do.

While I thoroughly enjoyed the story, the beginning was a bit of a struggle. The author uses a lot of French terminology, as the story is set in France, and at first, it felt slightly disorienting. It took some time to acclimate to the language and context, but once I did, the book became much easier to follow. While not overwhelming, the occasional French phrase added a layer of authenticity that eventually became part of the book’s charm.

The last 50% of the book picks up the pace considerably. What starts as a slow burn gradually transitions into a fast-paced adventure. The lush history of Saint Malo, the French coastal town where much of the action takes place, was beautifully woven into the story. I appreciated the depth this added, making the setting feel more vibrant and integral to the plot. The historical context really helped enhance the fantasy elements, grounding them in something real and tangible.

The love triangle was another highlight of the book. It’s a trope that can often feel overdone, but here it felt fresh and compelling. The emotional tension was palpable, and the way it played out kept me invested in the characters and their journeys. One of the things I appreciated most was that the story didn’t fall into the trap of a clichéd, picture-perfect ending. It wrapped up in a way that felt satisfying without being overly idealized, and I was pleasantly surprised by how the plot resolved.

Overall, I highly recommend this book if you’re looking for a different style of fantasy. It offers a unique twist on familiar fairy tale themes, and the author’s ability to blend elements of magic, history, and romance makes it stand out from the current trends in the genre. Despite a slow start and some initial confusion, it’s well worth sticking with for the rich world-building, intriguing plot, and satisfying conclusion. If you enjoy stories with a bit of depth, love triangles, and a dash of historical flair, this is definitely one to pick up.