REVIEW: Upon a Starlit Tide by Kell Woods

JayneA- Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended Reads1750s / 18th-century / fairy tale retelling / France / Historical Fantasy2 Comments

Saint-Malo, Brittany, 1758. To Lucinde Leon, the youngest daughter of a wealthy French shipowner, the high walls of Saint-Malo are more hindrance than haven.

While her sisters are busy trying to secure advantageous marriages, Luce spends her days secretly being taught to sail by Samuel, her best friend—and an English smuggler. Only he understands how the waves call to her. Then one stormy morning, Luce rescues a drowning man from the sea.

Immediately drawn in by the stranger’s charm, Luce is plunged into a world of glittering balls and faerie magic, seduction and brutality. Secrets that have long been lost in the shadowy depths of the ocean begin to rise to the surface, but as Luce wrestles with warring desires, she finds that her own power is growing brighter and brighter, shining like a sea-glass slipper.

Or the scales of a sea-maid’s tail.

Dear Ms Woods, 

I fell for a pretty cover but I got so much in return. 1758 Brittany with a mix of Little Mermaid, Cinderella, and old fables but with a dark edge and a wild ending. Just when I thought it would be a standard ending, things twisted and, oh, thank you for that. 

The first thing I love about this book is that the magic is just there. It’s not “other” or over-explained but seems to be a natural part of this world. I accepted this and waited for the explanations rather than fretting or questioning. They will come, I thought, and they did. The historical details filled in the lush world and except for the anachronistic use of the word “fuck” as an expletive rather than a period term used for sexual intercourse, I could sink into it and enjoy it all. At first, Luce gives off “not like other girls” vibes – she sneaks down to the shoreline in men’s clothing, learned how to sail, and dreams of going on a sailing ship in disguise – but in actuality, she really isn’t like other girls so she’s entitled to. 

Bits and pieces of well known fairy tales as well as old and, unknown to me, Breton fables are tucked into the story. These sneak up on a reader and, again, feel natural rather than “Oh, look. Here’s another call-out to Cinderella/Mermaid.” But some of these things, such as Luce’s sisters, could turn and turn again being both what I expected but also reworked and different. This kept me on my toes, waiting to see what would be done with them next. 

At first the sentence fragments caught my attention and not in a good way. Then as I slipped deeper into the story, I didn’t notice them. The descriptions and world building of the St. Malo corsairs are a bit deeper than some books and the story does take its time getting started. There is a lot to lay out and it all matters. By roughly the 20% mark, though, I was caught in the web of what was happening and was glued to the story. I would have finished more quickly but Life yanked me back and forced me to do other things. 

Clues about how things will play out are in the book. There is a love-triangle of sorts, family history and relationships to be navigated, lots of characters, and a world mainly new and different for me to learn. I guessed a few things and waited to see if I would be correct. Often I was but the way and how things would be accomplished still kept me engrossed. 

There are a few villains for Luce to contend with. One I spotted early on but one snuck up on me. I wrestled with my feelings but I think Luce and one other handled things well in terms of what was done and allowed to be done. This is often an issue for me. Villains who have done truly horrendous things need to answer for those but should a heroic figure – for their own humanity – try and keep a villain from dying in order for said villain to face legal justice, stand back and do nothing, or dish out a well earned comeuppance? The way the comeuppance is delivered is one of the things that I guessed about and yes, what a satisfying way this occurred. 

Finally the grand finale arrives and it’s a wowzer. Luce has to make another choice. What will she do when faced with what has happened and been done to her? Which feelings will she act on? I was again satisfied with her decisions which is a good thing because of actual history which is used to effect. But wait, there’s more! Luce has one final thing on her to-do list. Will she or won’t she, I wondered. As another reviewer mentions, thank goodness for the epilogue. It delighted me down to my toes and back up again. For me this is an A- book but fair warning that the writing style might not suit so read a sample.

~Jayne            

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