Upon a Starlit Tide is a retelling and mashup of many different fairytales, woven together seamlessly to create a compelling overarching story. This is author Kell Wood’s second novel but both are stand alone stories. Her first, After the Forest, is adult in content although Upon a Starlit Tide is, I think, a fabulous read for adults while also being suitable for a lot of YA readers. I interviewed Kell Woods around the time her first novel was released; that podcast is available here and on all good podcasting platforms.
Upon a Starlit Tide focuses on Lucinde Leon, a young woman living in a Cinderella-esque situation while also being – theoretically – her stepfather’s favourite child. She is crippled, and her feet and ankles are inexplicably becoming more painful and less capable of walking as she gets older. (Think Jo Spurrier’s Blackbone Witches.)
When a ball is announced, Lucinde and her sisters order dresses for the ball. Lucinde’s dress is the plainest but made of gorgeous fabric and suits her. When the three sisters try on their dresses, Lucinde outshines them all. Then, on the day of the ball, her dress mysteriously vanishes. Without anything to wear, she’s left behind.
There is romance, intrigue and so much more.
Representation of disability
Upon a Starlit Tide has superb representation of disability. Woods defined the disability, the cause, the effect, and is consistent. Like Spurrier’s Blackbone Witches, Lucinde can get reprieve from her disability for reasons consistent with the story, but with risks and costs. 5 stars for representation of disability!
The wrap
I adore Upon a Starlit Tide. As soon as I finished reading it, I wanted to turn around and reread it, for the story, the characters, the plot’s twists and turns, the misdirects that foreshadow… the characters, the plot. And the excellent representation of disability. I intend to acquire the audiobook so I can reread this novel as much as I’ve reread The Change by Kirsten Miller.
Starlit Tide seamlessly blends many European fairytales to create a riveting story. I suspect I missed some references to Grimm and Anderson, so a reread is in order. It’s been a hot minute (lifetime). While this story is perfect for fairytale fans, familiarity with that genre is unnecessary. Like with many speculative fiction novels, “fan service” references to other stories adds sparkle. But unfamiliarity with those other stories does not detract from appreciation of the characters and plot.
Woods excels at fairy tale re-imaginings, with her seamless weaving, her delightful and appalling characters, and her storytelling. And her representation of disability stands out, especially among authors writing disability without identifying as disabled. This book should win all the awards!
Find Upon a Starlit Tide here and at all good bookstores.
