Megan Mabee has been filling notebooks with her story ideas and favorite book quotes since she first began reading. She enjoys board gaming, rewatching Miyazaki movies, and building Legos with her preschooler. Megan holds a Master of Library and Information Studies degree from UNC Greensboro and a Public Librarian Certification. Megan has worked in a college bookstore and high school library, and she now loves talking books in the public library where she works and as a Bibliologist at TBR: Tailored Book Recommendations.
Megan Mabee has been filling notebooks with her story ideas and favorite book quotes since she first began reading. She enjoys board gaming, rewatching Miyazaki movies, and building Legos with her preschooler. Megan holds a Master of Library and Information Studies degree from UNC Greensboro and a Public Librarian Certification. Megan has worked in a college bookstore and high school library, and she now loves talking books in the public library where she works and as a Bibliologist at TBR: Tailored Book Recommendations.
I’ve been devouring fairytale retellings for as long as I’ve been reading. Even longer, really, if I count the many times my family read fairytales aloud to me as a kid. When I was four years old, for Christmas 1996, my grandma gifted me The Random House Book of Stories from the Ballet. Within its gorgeously illustrated pages, Geraldine McCaughrean retells beloved fairy tales and stories that have been featured as ballets, including Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Giselle, and more. After hearing these stories reread to me over and over again, I fell in love with fairytale retellings. It’s a love I’ve carried with me ever since. Now, I’m always on the hunt for my next great fairytale read, and I discovered one published this summer that has become a new favorite.
When I noticed that the beautiful cover of this book has a quote from Juliet Marillier, the queen of Fae stories, saying, “Magnificent. This is a must-read,” I knew I needed to read it. With its intertwining threads of Cinderella and The Little Mermaid, this book stands out as an exceptional fairytale retelling you won’t want to miss.
The story takes place in the 1758 coastal city of Saint-Malo, Brittany. As conflicts brew between England and France, the Fae have slowly begun leaving Brittany. Lucinde Leon, or Luce, is the youngest of three daughters to a wealthy ship-owner. While she’s happiest when sneaking off to sail with her English smuggler friend Samuel, things take a turn after she rescues Morgan de Chatelaine, the son of a rival ship-owning family, from a shipwreck.
All Access members, read on for more about this fantasy retelling.
Upon a Starlit Tide by Kell Woods
While it feels like romantasies have saturated the book market as of late, Upon a Starlit Tide distinguishes itself as a historical fantasy blended with romance. I liked that the plot, character development, and world-building didn’t fall short in favor of the romance. Kell Woods does an incredible job of weaving an atmospheric 1700’s France, rich with descriptions of the people, places, and food of the time, as well as fascinating pieces of Fae folklore. She seamlessly weaves themes of Cinderella and The Little Mermaid into the narrative. Woods succeeds at paying tribute to these classic tales while also breathing new life into them in unique and original ways.
I also appreciate how much depth Woods gives her characters. Luce, Samuel, Morgan, and Luce’s family get fleshed out well in the story. Luce’s sisters make for compelling, nuanced characters, rather than the evil stepsisters trope one might expect. Woods also crafts a heartfelt, slow-burn romance that sweetens the narrative. While the love triangle keeps you guessing at first, Woods deftly turns the tide in favor of someone without overdoing the deliberation between potential love interests.
Most of all, I loved Woods’s lyrical writing. She creates a beautiful world with her words, and I’ll carry these images in my mind long after reading. At one point in Upon a Starlit Tide, Woods writes, “Some words, she had found, were more important than the rest. They stood apart from their companions because they gleamed like stars in the night sky…shining so hard and so beautifully bright she feared she might be burned.” I hope this fairytale retelling stands out like a star amongst the books you read in the coming months.
Get access to exclusive content and features with an All Access subscription on Book Riot.Join All Access to read this article
English (US) · 