I picked this up after briefly meeting the lovely Kell Woods at the Riverina Readers Festival last year.
Lucinde Leon has a powerful connection with the sea.
As the daughter of a wealthy French shipowner, who lives behind the walled fortress of Saint-Malo in Brittany, France, Luce has grown up surrounded by the sea – it’s terror, its beauty and its power.
But she also longs to escape the walls of Saint-Malo, to sail like her father. She dreams of having her own ship one day. In the meantime, her best friend, Samuel, an English smuggler, takes her out on his boat at night and teaches her everything he knows about sailing.
Then one day, Luce rescues a stranger from the sea. This stranger turns out to be the son of another wealthy shipping baron, who sweeps Luce off her feet at a glittering ball. But the fairytale illusion is about to be shattered when darker truths come to light. Luce must discover her own power and purpose, and most importantly, her own story.
Upon a Starlit Tide combines elements of Cinderella and The Little Mermaid in ways that are both familiar and surprising. It’s full of the magic, superstition, and mythology of a life at sea. At times dark, at times romantic, this is a beguiling story in an interesting setting that was completely unfamiliar to me.
If you like to travel to different places and times through the pages of a book, I recommend this enchanting tale.
-Katrina Roe, RRL
