Author Kell Woods melds two fairy tales, "Cinderella" and "The Little Mermaid", together into a captivating story about a young woman who discovers who she is amidst an impending invasion.

Set in 1758 on Saint-Malo in Brittany, we meet Lucinde Leon, the youngest daughter of a wealthy merchant and shipowner. Luce longs for the sea and feels that the ocean is calling constantly to her. Luce has secretly befriended a British smuggler, Samuel, so she can learn to sail, and get out on the water whenever possible.

Luce was found years earlier by her adopted father, alone after her parents died of illness. Feeling pity for the baby, he brought her home and raised her as one of his own, frequently displaying a favouritism for her because of her interest in ships, and his work. Her stepmother Gratienne, from a noble family, has educated the girls to become good wives. Luce's two older sisters Charlotte and Veronique are eager to secure wealthy and influential husbands in Brittany Society, but instead of just making them evil stepsisters to Luce, Woods creates a more nuanced and complicated relationship amongst the three stepsisters: though jealous of their father's favouritism, they also realize that Luce has no interest in the balls and the wealth, and do support her occasional interest in attending balls and wearing pretty things, and Luce genuinely loves and cares for them all.

Kell Woods also weaves a variety of tales and superstitions about the fae into the daily life on Saint-Malo, which is later revealed to have had a population of fae on this island in the English Channel, or La Manche, as the French called it.

The story kicks off when Luce rescues a handsome young man from a shipwrecked ship. She later learns that Morgan is from an extremely wealthy family based in Brittany. Morgan is fascinated with her, while Samuel feels only disgust for a man who likely lied about his failed leadership of the downed vessel, and because Samuel does not trust any wealthy person.

When a chance for a ball comes up, and Luce is unable to attend despite her interest, she receives help from a fae, and gets a chance to dance, something she normally cannot do because of her deformed feet.

Luce proves to be an interesting protagonist; she's interested in travdlling around the world aboard a ship so she can explore, and has a nice streak of independence in her. Also, though she is not interested in the typical things the coddled young gentlewomen of the time were, she's still supportive of her sisters' and their aims and desires. Even her mother Gratienne, though frustrated by Luce's lack of conventional interests, does not forbid her visiting the shipyards with her father.

Luce begins her trek to real independence once she meets an old woman/otherworldly being, who helps her get to a ball, where she gets a chance to dance, something she normally cannot do because of her deformed feet.

When Luce is shocked by a new ability, she and Samuel travel in secret to speak to a witch in England, who lays some more shocking information on her. They also discover the English will be arriving in Saint-Malo soon, and the two must figure out what they can do to protect those they care for on Saint-Malo.

I loved how integral the folklore was to this story's action, as well as how interesting the supernatural beings in the story were.

There was a dreaded love triangle, but Kell Woods did not waste a lot of time with Luce waffling between her two love interests. Woods quickly has Luce realize that there's really no competition once she understands whom she really cares for. The romance is lovely, with mutual respect always at the heart of Luce and her love interest's interactions.

The family dynamics are in many ways the highlight of the story. The family bonds are strong with the Leons, and Luce's bonds with her sisters only grow stronger, something I particularly liked about this book.

And there's politics, with the English intent on invading, along with family revelations, disappointments, and love, and complicated characters doing things for complicated reasons. I thoroughly enjoyed this story.

I listened to this, and voice actor Esther Wane does an admirable job bringing Luce and everyone surrounding her to life. Luce's love for adventure and growing confidence in her feelings and abilities shine through in Wane's narration.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Macmillan Audio for this ARC in exchange for my review.

I really enjoyed this story. I loved how she weaved in and remade classic fairy tales. Original, creative, and fully-realized. Recommended.

Gorgeous setting and magic system, and I absolutely adored the characters! The romance was fire too — what a beautiful story. 5 stars. I like that this was inspired by famous fairytales, it shows, and it was done SO well!!

Upon a Starlit Tide—what a title, right? It’s got that dreamy, fairytale feel, and the story definitely leans into that. There’s magic, there’s sisterhood, there’s a little rebellion, and, of course, the ocean. And let me tell you, the writing? It’s gorgeous. The kind that makes you stop and reread a sentence just because it sounds that good.

But here’s the thing—I wanted to love this book, I really did. And while I liked parts of it, I never fully clicked in. The stakes just weren’t quite high enough to really pull me under. Luce is supposed to be struggling, but her life, even with its hardships, is pretty cushy. She’s got freedom, she’s got wealth, and while there are obstacles, they don’t seem to hold her back for long. I wanted to feel her struggle more, to really believe she was caught between worlds, but too often, things worked out just a little too easily. And when big emotional moments hit, they didn’t always land with the impact I was hoping for.

The characters, too, felt just a bit too safe. Even when bad things happened, there was always a quick fix, always a way out. And while that’s not necessarily a bad thing—hey, we all love a happy ending—it meant that the tension, the real weight of the story, didn’t always hit as hard as it could have.

That said, there’s so much to love here. The world is fresh, the twists on classic fairytales are fun, and the writing? Seriously, it’s stunning. I’d absolutely pick up another book by this author, no hesitation. While this one didn’t fully pull me in, I know plenty of readers will fall head over heels for it. If you love mermaids, fairytales, and beautifully written prose, this one’s worth a read.

This is a fantastic novel. It’s a masterful blending of genres that is nostalgic but reinvents Cinderella and The Little Mermaid at the same time. The prose is beautiful, and it is truly just a gorgeous book.

I really enjoyed the retelling elements inspired by Cinderella and the little mermaid. It made for a fun tale. However, I was extremely annoyed with the audio. I get our FMC is an adolescent but did the voice have to be so high pitched and grating on your ears??? I cringed everytime I had to play this. So I wouldn’t recommend the audio.

Thank you @macmillan.audio and @torbooks for the digital ARC & ALC. ♡

*ೃ༄*ੈ✩‧₊˚ The magic of regency-era ballrooms comes to life in this Cinderella reimagining about a girl who is called to the sea.

I ate this one up. In 1700s France and England are on the brink of war, but for now the men of Saint-Malo are content, fat and happy.

French trading ships have brought wealth and prosperity to their shores through the greed of men. There’s a brief mention of slave-trading ships, which sail for the Indies and return loaded with spices, rum and other wares.

I loved how this flips the traditional Cinderella script on its head, where the villains get their own depth of character arcs and the fairy godmother takes the shape of a hag-like tusked fae creature bound to the tides.

Lucinde, our main character, is a girl who longs for adventure, to sail beneath the starry skies.

⚓ Highly recommended for fans of atmospheric fantasy and seafaring with a swoony love story (one or two steamy scenes), and some graphic violence.

🎧 I loved the voice of Lucinde in this audiobook narrated by Esther Wane. The MMC sounded like a gruff pirate 😅🏴‍☠️

Being a Cinderella super fan, I’m always interested in Cinderella retellings but this novel is so much more!

With elements of The Little Mermaid as well, this story is an original tale of a beautiful young lady who is the youngest daughter of a shipping magnate in coastal France during the mid-1700’s.

Included in this story is disability representation, the Fae, a lovely seaside setting with political intrigue, betrayal, and an intriguing triangle which is nicely resolved with a satisfying ending.

I highly enjoyed this standalone story with its magical elements set alongside a historically rich setting with beautiful prose.

The audiobook, narrated by Esther Wane, is excellent except that sometimes her male voices sound very similar lending to some confusion but very enjoyable nonetheless and I’m very thankful to Macmillan Audio for my review copy.

I’m very excited to receive a hardcover copy from one of my subscription book boxes so that I can consume this lovely story in a visual format. This was my first book by Kell Woods but I now look forward to reading her “After The Forest” and any future novels she may write.

Wow. What an incredibly beautiful story. The characters are complex and relatable, and the writing itself is absolutely stunning. I loved the relationships between Luce and her family and how realistically complicated those relationships can be. While I did guess one twist, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this book surprised me multiple times.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing and ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a fantastic story. Kell Woods must be a sea maid herself to have created such a tale. I don't love a character who gives and gives and gives, and Luce is mostly that, trying to give everyone around her the benefit of the doubt. But as her story goes on she gets stronger and stronger and finds herself in the end (I don't consider this a spoiler). The Bretagne setting is so magical for me (one can't have enough books set in France) and the unique weaving of this story make this a five-star book for me. After finishing the audiobook I immediately sent it to a friend because I think she would love it. If you like France and/or fairy tales I think you would too. I think the audiobook narrator did a fantastic job.

This book is a wonderful retake on traditional fairy tales. Much in the same theme as The Lunar Chronicles. Familiar plot points, but a new story. I really enjoyed this one, I was worried when it began that it was going to be filled with Tropes: "secret, special main character", "love triangle" etc, and while there were some aspects of them, it was done well. The narrator of this audiobook had the perfect voice for getting the feel of a fairy tale, while pronouncing the many French words well. The variety of voices she was able to bring really brought the story to life. Definitely one to check out if you're a fan of the re-worked fairy tale genre. I listened to this audiobook through NetGalley.

A fascinating mashup of many well-known fairytales, yet uniquely its own story. I struggled to get into this one at first but truly appreciated the well-respected details of historical fashions and their place in aristocratic society. Once we passed the 1/3 point, I started to really enjoy the story and guess what and what would not carry over from the obvious inspiration. I always enjoy different representations of fae since we are overstimulated with all the sexy, broody shadow daddy alongside soft and lithe angels that walk the earth among us. While there is nothing wrong with either, I enjoyed the fae in this story like the breath of fresh air they are. If you enjoy historical low fantasy, this is a must-read for you and really any fantasy fan that grew up on fairy tales.

Esther Wane truly immersed me all the way back to 1758 in Saint-Malo, Brittany. Her voices, accents and command of language were just as great as the story itself. I don't know if I would have enjoyed the book as much if I had read it instead of listening to the audiobook. Even if you have read the book and loved it, I cannot recommend the audiobook version enough!

🌊Feminine rage
✨Love triangle
🌊From different worlds
✨Hidden power heroine

Thank you Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the ALC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Tor and Macmillan Audio for my review copies. My opinions are my own.

I started listening to this and was immediately grateful that I also had the e-review copy so that I could see the spellings for the various fae characters, but also glad that I tandem read this because the French is gorgeous and Esther Wane does an absolutely stunning narration of Lucinde.

Lucinde is the treasured youngest daughter of the Leon family, but she doesn't want to follow her sisters in being focused on society and getting married. She wants to sail and explore the world. This blends the Little Mermaid and Cinderella in the original versions, with the darker, grittier, less Disney-fied sanitized versions that most of us grew up with.

This story is slow building but there's enough twists, turns, and action to keep the reader engaged. I was upset to stop reading when I needed to concentrate at work, and when I had to stop listening when I started falling asleep. I also later looked up the coast of Saint Malo trying to find Luce's cove, because this is very much a real place on the northern coast of France.

This is one that I suggest doing a tandem read with, the two formats compliment each other.

Highly recommend.

4.75 stars rounded up

This is easily one of the best Little Mermaid retellings/fracturings I've read, and Kell Woods is quickly becoming one of my go-to authors. I loved this book so much, and I didn't want to put it down. Everything was so perfect, from the book's atmosphere to the hints and references to the original stories to the way the characters all felt like real, flawed people. I deeply appreciated the amount of nuance Kell Woods was able to incorporate into her characters. They had complex motivations, and that created real dilemmas that I enjoyed watching the characters sort through. This was beautiful and very cleverly done.

I also really appreciated Esther Wane's narration for the audiobook. She had the perfect voice and storytelling style for this story, and it was truly captivating.

My one complaint with this story (and the only reason it's not a full five-star review) is that there were a few scenes that crossed the line from steamy to spicy in the middle of the book. Given the 1758 setting, the spicy/steamy scenes felt very out of place. The contrast was jarring to me, especially since the scenes didn't seem necessary to move the plot forward and could have been edited out without the book losing much if any of its impact.

This book is definitely one I want to reread one day, and I humbly submit a request for Kell Woods to tackle Beauty and the Beast next.

Thank you to NetGalley, Tor Books, Macmillan Audio, and the author for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book! Mix of fairytale retellings, historical fiction and fantasy set at the sea. The superstitions, fae, family drama and magic that slowly grows stronger and stronger was so enjoyable to read. I also liked that it involves the political drama between France and England.

The audiobook was perfect and kept me so captivated like I was right there. The narrator brought so much emotion to the characters.

Narrator is fantastic! I loved her in other audiobooks. She always brings the story to life.

This story is amazing, I really wanted to listen to it consistently. Love the little mermaid meets Cinderella, and how it's not as you'd expect it to be traditionally.

Everyone should listen to this book.

Upon a Starlit Tide was a Macmillan Audio pick, and while I don’t usually go for mermaid stories, this combination of The Little Mermaid and Cinderella caught my eye! I am so glad I picked up this book. It was immediately immersive. It’s hard to describe exactly what I mean by that. It had the vibes, the plot, the characterization, a bit of mystery, romance, deception, adventure, and amazing world building of alternate history Bretagne (Brittany). This is the kind of book that I felt like I was inside that world while I was reading it. And when it was over, I felt bereft of the MCs whose lives I had been engrossed in. Luce’s life felt as real as my own, and I did not want to let her go.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys alternate history with magic, mermaids, sea-maids, or sirens, and those universal aspects of the Cinderella story that seem to call to all young women. This was five stars for me!

I also really enjoyed the narration by Esther Wane.

Luce is the youngest daughter of a wealthy ship owner living in Saint-Malo in Brittany with her two sisters and parents, though she was taken in by the family at a young age as an orphan. Luce spends her days secretly with Samuel, an English smuggler and her best friend, learning to sail and diving for storm balast, though that's not befitting a lady. She dreams of sailing the world. After rescuing Morgan, a young sailor of another wealthy family, she is swept up in a world of the fae. As Luce learns more, she struggles to determine where she truly belongs.

"You will think me strange, I fear."

Described as borrowing elements from The Little Mermaid and Cinderella, Upon a Starlit Tide is a magical historical fantasy all its own. The fae elements are so woven into Luce's world that they never seem obtrusive. Esther Wane as narrator does a lovely job bringing these characters to life. The audio book swept me away into this dark and dazzling world.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for an ALC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. This book is due to be published 2/18/25. I'll post to Instagram shortly

The story is a Cinderella and Little Mermaid combo retelling, but with dark twists, sea witches, fae, folklore, ghosts, pirates, superstition, and more - set in the backdrop of one of the many wars between England and France in the 1700s.

The premise is great, which is why I picked it up. But, early in the story, it was feeling predictable, and therefore, and was tough to get into …. Insert generic FMC with hidden magical powers. But, it quickly evolved and really surprised me with the depth of character development and dynamics, especially shown in the complicated relationships with her family. The story bloomed with nuance, originality, and gets increasingly dark. The setting was lush and atmospheric, making you feel part of the world. The prose is illustrious without being too over done. Highly recommend for readers across historical fiction, fantasy, and romance.

Narrator Esther Wane was excellent. The performance really makes or breaks audiobooks for me, and her narration easy to follow and engaging. She really brought the story to life, especially towards the end, capturing the emotion of the final scenes.

What started as a mini slump for the first couple weeks of February is shaping up to be a really great month of books. I’m definitely interested in checking out more work by the author and narrator.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an ARC copy of the audiobook for Upon a Starlit Tide - opinions are my own.

🌊 Upon a Starlit Tide 🌊

WOW! What a FUN adventure!! The vibes were perfection in this delightful historical fantasy adventure.

I was sold when I heard a Cinderella and Little Mermaid retelling combined. Curious to see how it would be done, and Kell Woods did NOT disappoint.

Luce is the youngest daughter of one of Saint-Malo’s wealthiest ship owners, who craves the sea, sneaking away any chance she can get with her English-smuggler best friend, Samuel. Luce’s world is rocked when she rescues the charming and handsome Morgan, a younger son of another wealth ship owner, from the sea. What follows is an adventure of romance, magic, betrayal and love.

I absolutely adored Luce’s adventures and following her coming of age and coming into her own journey. While this is billed as adult, and there were some adult spice scenes, some of the themes felt more new adult. The fantasy elements were easy to follow, and added to the magic of the fairytale.

The audio was absolutely enchanting. I loved the characters and voices, highly recommend the audio to pull you into the adventure!

Check this one out if you’re looking for:
🌊 New adult fairytale retelling
🌊 Cinderella and Little Mermaid crossover
🌊 Historical fantasy romance
🌊 Love triangle
🌊 Smuggling and pirate feels

Thank you to Macmillian Audio for the ALC! My opinions are my own.