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Upon a Starlit Tide

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About this listen

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.

©2025 Kell Woods. All rights reserved. (P)2025 Macmillan Audio Fantasy

Critic reviews

'A dark, glittering blend of history, fairy tale, and romance, steeped in magic and shot through with adventure. Absorbing, beautifully written, and utterly spellbinding.' (H.G. Parry, author of The Magician's Daughter)
'This is not your conventional fairy tale. Instead, a lush, historical novel awaits, supported by a beautifully-rendered sense of time and place. Often poetic, occasionally dark and humorous, Upon a Starlit Tide is for all those who ever dreamed of escaping over the horizon.' (Lucy Holland, bestselling author of Sistersong)
'A gorgeous, atmospheric tale full of glittering fae and wild magic, Upon a Starlit Tide will sweep you away in its waters and bury your heart at the bottom of the sea.' (Mary McMyne, author of The Book of Gothel)
'To enter a world fashioned by Kell Woods is to be entirely won over by magic and history. Upon a Starlit Tide is enchanting in every sense of the word. Drawing on stories we know well, Kell Woods presents us with something deliciously and thrillingly new, alert to women's secret desires ... I could have floated in the lagoon of this story forever.' (Hayley Scrivenor, bestselling author of Dirt Town)
'Upon a Starlit Tide shimmers darkly, like polished sea glass, as hauntingly beautiful in the ocean's depths as in the grandeur of aristocratic courts. With an intoxicating blend of history, magic, and forbidden love, this lyrical fairytale reimagining sweeps you away on tides of enchantment.' (Lyra Selene, bestselling author of A Feather So Black)
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An amazing book and such a great story, I loved every minute of it! The landscape was so well described, having been to Saint Malo, I can tell you that much. The characters are so endearing and I loved the undercurrent of fae, magic and legend. Brittany is a region full of it and probably the best setting for this Cinderella/little Mermaid story. I can’t wait for Kell Woods’ new book as I’ve so far loved everything she has written!
🧜🏻‍♀️🧜🏻‍♀️🧜🏻‍♀️🧜🏻‍♀️🧜🏻‍♀️

Simply beautiful

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what a beautiful fairytale
it blew me away with how magical it was.
5 stars!!!

stunning

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