First I want to thank NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with an audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oh my gosh, does Kel Woods know how to tell a story! She paints a tapestry with her words, and snares the reader in their beautiful and tragic embrace. Upon A Starlit Tide is a very unique Little Mermaid/Cinderella retelling, with all of the grit of original fairytale stories, and none of the shine that has been placed upon them in movies. This story was beautiful and tragic, hopeful and heart wrenching. Sometimes all within one chapter. It was really well paced, and I always found myself eager to get back to it when I wasn’t reading. Woods has also created such incredible characters. I very quickly became attached to Luce, Samuel and Bones. I was invested in their story, in their lives and their wellbeing. I cheered, I cried, I gasped, and I felt everything that Luce went through. I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator was fantastic. I highly, highly recommend this book!

4.5 stars! This is a wonderfully crafted fairytale that is 85% The Little Mermaid with a sprinkle of Cinderella and a dash of originality. Absolutely gorgeous historical fantasy!
Lucinde de Leon is the youngest daughter of a wealthy ship merchant. While her sisters are busy trying to arrange advantageous matches and sleeping until noon, Lucinde is combing the shores and wishing to sail away on adventure. Only her best friend, Samuel, an English smuggler knows of her desires. One day, Lucinde rescues a sailor from a shipwreck, setting into motion unforeseen consequences and a wonderful story that will have you wishing it was 500 more pages long.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this digital audio e-arc.*

Thank you so much to MacMillan Audio, Kell Woods and Netgalley for the opportunity to enjoy this ARC/ALC. I am a sucker for a good fairytale retelling and I really loved this one. I found myself intrigued and trying to guess at the connections to The Little Mermaid and Cinderella from very early on in the book. Though I will say the pacing was a little slow at first, I'm so glad I stuck with this book. I wish very much that Sam had more character development early on because I wound up absolutely adoring him later in the book but felt like his character was slow bring to life.

4.5/5. Thank you to Ms. Woods, the publisher, and Netgalley for the audiobook ARC/ALC.

I have heard of Kell Woods from her novel, After the Forest, which I haven't had the chance to read yet. But I love the seamless way she weaves on the magic of fae world right into our modern world. Or, in this novel's case, historical world. I'm now super excited to read After the Woods because this novel was fantastic.

Set in France in the 1750s, Lucinde (Luce) is the last daughter of one of the best (an wealthiest) sailing families in Saint-Malo. A family with all daughters means making good matches, but Luce has two main problems: her malformed feet and her yearning to go onto the sea herself, wanting to sail instead of wait at home. I think she is a very well-written character in that regard, both of those aspects affecting all the choices she makes. Because of this, she finds herself caught between two futures (and men) that are all together influenced by the revelations that come after she truly gets to experience the sea.

I do love the way Ms. Woods has taken the gist of Cinderella and twisted it around a bit of Little Mermaid. But don't think this is the Disney-version because there are some very dark scenes (and death). I enjoyed the way Luce grew as a character, coming to terms with her past and letting it not affect her present in such a way that her own story turns too dark.

The writing is wonderful. So many good lines that had me jotting them down. So many scenes that I could see as I heard them. And the narrator, Esther Wane, was wonderful. Her voices for each character were distinct and I didn't have any questions about who was who. Overall, a wonderful read/listen.

This audiobook was a pleasure to listen to. I enjoyed the fairytale reimaging aspect of this story with the evil but not completely evil step-mother and step-sisters, and the not absent father. Plus, the mermaid rescues the sailor, and he tries to win her heart and make her a part of his world. I enjoyed the strong female lead character and the internal and external she battles throughout the story. The forbidden romance aspect is also a trope that I enjoy.

I have grown wary of fairytale retellings, but I have to admit that this historical fantasy caught me right at the start. We know from the first page that this is a Little Mermaid retelling. However, instead of a mermaid longing to see the land of humans, we have a young girl wanting adventures on the sea. We get a bit of Cinderella and folk tales from Bretagne sprinkled in there and it feels like an entirely new story, while also feeling like this is an homage to stories we know well. Totally refreshing!

As a French speaker, I appreciate the use of grammatically correct French by the author and a narrator capable of making it sound natural. She also reads the story in a manner that makes us feel like we are truly reading a fairytale, and this added to the general experience of this audiobook.

I highly recommend this book to fans of "Half a Soul" and "Fable"

Thank you Macmillan Audio for this ARC

Public review:

⭐️⭐️⭐️

The description held true — a magical Little Mermaid meets Cinderella retelling. The narration is good and keeps me into the story.

((I listened to the ALC via NetGalley.))

If it weren’t for wanting to review the book, it likely would’ve been a DNF. It took me a while to warm up to the characters. The last 35% of the book was soooooo interesting. I wish the beginning matched the strong ending.



Private feedback:

I wanted more character development for Samuel.. I couldn’t tell that he was the love interest to root for because he felt like just some guy who was around often. By the end I liked him but it took a long time for me to warm to him. I also wish the info about how terrible the villainous MMC was came from another source besides Samuel. I also wanted to see more foreshadowing to the terrible MMC vs it seeming like a flip switching.

I really love all of the reveals at the end and I love the FMC at the end…. But throughout, it felt like things were happening to FMC rather than ~her~ leading the story with her choices.

Overall I enjoyed the vibe and the ending was worth getting through the slow beginning. Thank you for the opportunity to listen!

Upon a Starlit Tide is a story with hints of Little Mermaid + Cinderella woven into Kell Woods's original tale of Luce, the youngest daughter of the Leon family, renowned in her French town for being the wealthiest ship-owners. We have riffs of familiar fairytale elements with elder sisters and mother being obsessed with preening and procuring the most extravagant dresses for an upcoming ball thrown by the family of an eligible bachelor while the youngest Luce is "not like the other girls," is disabled and muses longingly about a life on the sea.
I enjoyed the author's prose, as her diction aptly matches the fairytale vibe a la 1700s France that you would imagine, without being too overly stuffy and overwrought. However, I think where Woods could improve on is the plot itself upon which her pretty words can be strung. Two-faced friends changing from affable and wonderful to be around to very starkly suddenly rakish, full-of-hubris villains felt a bit exaggerated. And the other parts of her story that did add a bit interest, weren't executed in a way that completely cinched trapping my attention:
• Luce's search for her kith and their powers came about rather conveniently
• I didn't find myself particularly rooting for any of the potential romances really. I did feel a general sense of "I just want Luce to be happy" but not the type of shipping I felt towards other book couples.
• After the ball, lots of action started to amp up, however the ultimate goal/reason/motivation behind all felt frenetic rather than cohesive and satisfying
I think a better example of romantasy with grim fairytale vibes would be One Dark Window or, if you're looking more in the realm of historical fiction with fantastical magic, then maybe The Pomegranate Gate by Kaplan or The Familiar by Bardugo are better bets for more maturely developed plots.
Overall, though, I did find Upon a Starlit Tide an enjoyable read, just rather forgettable. I'm sure once Woods gets more books under her belt, she'll probably create something I'd love in the future.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Kell Woods’ Upon a Starlit Tide is a mesmerizing blend of romance, adventure, and magic, set against the windswept shores of 18th-century France. With lush prose and an irresistible seafaring backdrop, Woods crafts a story that feels both timeless and fresh, weaving together elements of Cinderella and The Little Mermaid with a bit of a twist.

Luce is a heroine full of heart and determination, desperate to break free from the life society has planned for her. Her world is shaped by the sea, smuggling routes, and the whispers of the fae, but it’s her own choices that ultimately define her path.

Woods’ writing is as enchanting as the story itself, painting vivid scenes of masquerades, ship decks, and moonlit tides. The audiobook narration was very well done, and I had the best couple of days listening while on my commute!

If I had to nitpick, the ending stretched on a bit longer than I felt it needed to—if tightened, it could have been perfect for me!

Even so, Upon a Starlit Tide is a fun time, and for anyone who loves fairy tales with a twist, this is one to pick up!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC!

I am not going to review this book on Goodreads because I do not want to discourage anyone from checking this book out because it just ended up being so much not my thing. This is definitely going to be for fans of Bridgerton and historical fiction with fantasy elements. I could not get on with the lyrical writing style but I can see it being very popular with others. I also HATE the cover art but now knowing it's historical fiction, it makes sense. All in all, not for me but at no fault of the book's.

In a fun, atmospheric retelling of The Little Mermaid, Upon a Starlit Tide tells the story of Luce, who feels stuck in her small coastal village. She saves the life of an important businessman in town and now finds herself off on a course of events that Luce couldn't have imagined in her wildest dreams.

Equal parts exciting and tender, Upon a Starlit Tide is a great piece of historical fantasy. Immersive and beautifully written, the audio version makes the story jump off the page. I really enjoyed the narration and would highly recommend that version.

I love that Kell Woods incorporated familiar elements of Cinderella and the Little Mermaid while also crafting a totally unique story. This wasn’t so much of a retelling as a reimagining. I liked not being sure what I was rooting for in the beginning, though I was very committed to specific outcomes by the end. Woods did a good job showing how cruel favoritism disguised as “doting parenting” causes harm to sibling relationships, I’m happy that this story didn’t frame the step sisters (or step mother) as irredeemable caricatures. Instead the are flawed people who sometimes cause harm, but still hold a lot of love for Lucinde. I enjoyed reading this one and thought the ending was satisfying.

I'll admit, I was drawn to this book because of this beautiful cover. Then, when I heard that it was a remix/retelling of Cinderella and the Little Mermaid, I was intrigued to give it a try. I'm happy to say, I was not disappointed.

This story is a historical dark fairy tale (as all best fairy tales are). It does take some of the best pieces of Cinderella and The Little Mermaid and weaves them together to create something unique and refreshing (yet still feels familiar). The story follows young Luce in France during the late 1700s. She's grown up along the shores and wants nothing more than you escape from the traditional roles of women and sail the open seas in search of adventure. One day, after a violent storm that destroys a passing ship, she rescues a man and that sets off a chain of events that leads to love, secrets, betrayals, magic, and fae.

I thought this book was beautifully written. The prose was lyrical and poetic, and the historical setting with touches of magic sprinkled throughout was woven together nicely. However, it's a very slow-paced book so I am not sure that everyone will appreciate the story, but I enjoyed how it slowly opens up and reveals itself. Lastly, I listened to the audiobook and thought the narrator was fantastic. She brought the story and the setting to life (and honestly, I think I may have enjoyed this book more because of the audio rather than reading it from the page). Overall, I am not sure if this book is for everyone, but if it does sound interesting to you then I would recommend it.

Thank you to @Netgalley and @MacmillanAudio for providing me with an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Really, really lovely. I love a good fairytale retelling, and this hit the spot exactly. It had fanciful vibes while still feeling grounded and real. I loved our main character, Luce, and I really enjoyed all love interests.

I predicted enough of the book that it felt well grounded, and I was also surprised at the right times.

Thank you NetGalley for this audio arc.

This gifted audio arc from @macmillan.audio was amazing!!

@esthermwane is possibly one of the best audiobook narrators I have ever listened to. She is also just the perfect match for @kellinthewoods writing style. She has such a soft and soothing voice that really just entrances you into the types of stories that Kell writes. Her slight accent was perfect for the 1920s themed story of  "Upon A Starlight Tide"

If I were to sum up Upon a starlet tide in one sentence it would be the perfect mixture of Ariel, Cinderella, and Gothic selkies in a 1920s era. The character development of Luce is one of the best I've ever read. Luce was adopted by her father who found her in the ocean after a shipwreck. He took her home to his other two daughters and wife and raised her as his own. When Luce falls in love with a man of the sea, she discovers treachery, backstabbing, the true meaning of love, and the true meaning of herself. She discovers that she has invested her love in all the wrong places and in order to make it right she must give up a part of herself she didn't even know existed. 

I am forever a Kell Woods and Esther Wane fan. Their writing and narration speak directly to my soul. 

Be sure to check out Upon a starlit tide on February 18th! 

A huge thank you to @macmillan.audio for the outstanding audio arc!

#uponastarlittide #netgalley #macmillan #hygge

The writing and setting were beautiful
And the narrator was superb
But there was a smidge of "not like other girls" and there's a love triangle, so the mid rating is just me
The book is beautiful if you don't roll your eyes like I do

This book is an amazing mashup of historical fiction with touches of magical realism and aspects of The Little Mermaid and Cinderella!

I really enjoyed the story of Lucinde and her struggles to find her place in her family and in the world! Her evolution of finding out about her true past and relationship with the water was so well written that I wanted more!

This book was really well written but did feel like it got a little long towards the end and the story dragged just a little.

I listened to the audiobook and I really was not overly pleased with the narration. While I enjoyed Esther Wane's female character narration her attempts at the male characters was lack luster. The book really would have benefited from duet narration.

firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc and an alc!

while you should know that upon a starlit tide is a mash-up retelling of the little mermaid and cinderella, it is very loosely based on those fairytales, creating a whole new and uniquely beautiful story. i find that i enjoy retellings more, and they linger longer with me, when they are able to take inspiration from the original myth/fairytale and create an entirely new story. kell woods has done exactly that.

this was not just a love story, but one most importantly of freedom and choices, which brought me to tears.

the narrator did an absolutely beautiful job!

this was my first book by kell woods, and i will certainly
be reading her other works.

Upon a Starlit Tide is a captivating tale that sweeps readers away on an emotional journey filled with deception, betrayal, and the complexities of love. This Cinderella, Little Mermaid story transports you to a world where the beauty of the sea mirrors the stormy, unpredictable nature of the characters’ relationships.

Set against the rugged beauty of Saint-Malo in 1758, historical fantasy weaves elements of The Little Mermaid & Cinderella into an original tale of love, power, and betrayal. The story follows Lucinde “Luce” Leon, a woman caught between the expectations of high society she was adopted into and her deep yearning for the ocean. While her sisters strive for marriages beneficial to the family, Luce finds solace in sailing, secretly taught by her best friend, Samuel, an English smuggler who truly understands her connection to the sea. But everything changes when she rescues a drowning man, pulling her into a world of faerie magic, dangerous seduction, and long-buried secrets.

To me, one of the books greatest strengths is the characters. At first, Luce’s sisters seem like the typical jealous, scheming figures (reminiscent of the evil step sisters). However, as the story unfolds, their complexities are revealed, making their eventual evolution feel both natural and satisfying—Charlotte and Luce’s relationship in particular made me so happy. Luce herself is a beautifully layered FMC, torn between duty, desire, and self-discovery. Her struggle with the pressures of being her father’s favorite, while yearning for freedom on the ocean, adds depth to her journey.

The fantasy elements are seamlessly woven into the historical setting, making the magic feel organic rather than forced. The worldbuilding is immersive. The final betrayal broke my heart—it was foreshadowed just enough to be plausible but still left me reeling and rethinking the whole book.

Overall, this book is a beautifully written blend of historical fiction and literal fairytale magic, with complex characters finding their way through a world of expectations. The storytelling is rich, the emotions are raw, and the twists are unforgettable. I wish we would’ve gotten some closure on the sisters and their father… but I am happy with how it ended!!

If you enjoy audiobooks, I highly recommend this one. Esther Wane’s narration brings the characters to life, she captures the emotion, tension, and magic of the story in a way that makes the blend of fantasy and historical fiction feel even more seamless. Her performance adds a layer of depth to Luce’s journey, making every twist & revelation hit even harder.

Thank you, Macmillan Audio, for the ARC!

Rating: 4.75/5