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UPON A STARLIT TIDE by Kell Woods │ Review

UPON A STARLIT TIDE by Kell Woods │ Review

Posted by By Veronica March 14, 2025
Hey Bookworm friends! It's been a while since I posted a review but now that I finally have a new laptop, I'm eager to post more! Today's review is of…
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Veros

dark.shelf.of.wonders

🖤Fantasy is my go-to genre
-Doing my best to read diversely🌻
Hi friends! As the situation in G-z@ becomes even Hi friends! As the situation in G-z@ becomes even more unbearable, the donation campaign for Sondos and her family needs more love & attention! While we're forever thankful to the people who have donated—we're at $605 raised—it has not been easy. With that in mind, I'm going to be hosting a Giveaway! Read below for details. Giveaway open Now until Saturday April 12 (2025), end of day. The winner will receive any book from their Amazon Wishlist worth up to $25 dollars. Open Internationally. If you win you'll have to be comfortable giving me your address and your wishlist. How to Enter: 1. Donate to the campaign (minimum $5 but as much as you can give), link in my bio. & Send me a screenshot to gain one entry into the giveaway. 2. Share to your stories & tag me to win a bonus entry. 3. I'll randomly draw and announce the winner on April 13th! Disclosures: -Not affiliated with IG or any Meta companies. -I know using the 'zon is less than ideal, but since the purpose of this giveaway is to gain more attention for this campaign, it's the best way I could find to keep it open to a larger audience. Thank you and good luck! 🍉✌🏽
☕Coffee and Currently Reading📚 Thanks to the ☕Coffee and Currently Reading📚 Thanks to the lovely @susyscozyworld for tagging me! Alas, I'm not a coffee person, I don't love the taste (gasp, I'm a terrible Colombian 😱🤣). I did enjoy a pomegranate green tea this morning which was super tasty 🖤 I'm just getting over a cold so I made a nest on my couch with all the things I need to keep me company. My crochet project, a good book, and most important of all my Cheeto snuggles. 📚CR: Goliath by Scott Westerfeld, my buddy read with @jonesandthebooks and @buchstabenhorde continues! I'm having a wonderful time chatting with these two and as usual I'm the one lagging behind 😝 Thanks, friends ♥️! ❓Please tell me what you're currently reading! Or, even better introduce me to any reading buddies (tell all of your pets that I love them)! Tagging a few people, but no pressure 😘
Upon A Starlit Tide is equal parts fairy-tale and Upon A Starlit Tide is equal parts fairy-tale and historical fantasy, and all palpable Atmosphere. Set in Saint-Malo, Brittany, in 1758, we are thrust into a world separated into wealthy ship-owners and high society versus smuggles and pirates. The French and English are at war, and the local fae are leaving Brittany, taking their magic with them and leaving the area vulnerable. Lucinde Leon, the youngest daughter of one of the wealthiest ship-owners feels stifled by Saint-Malo’s walls and dreams of adventure on the open ocean. The only bright spot in her days is her best friend Simon, an English smuggler who secretly teaches her how to sail. But one morning, her decision to save a drowning man changes everything. I adored everything about this book from the characters, to the pacing, to the plot. One of the elements that impressed me the most was the way fae creatures and folklore were seamlessly embedded into every aspect of life in this world. Despite being common knowledge to the locals that Saint-Malo’s strength comes from the fair folk, seeing them and interacting with them is still rare enough that it holds a sense of mystique. Another aspect of this book that I particularly enjoyed is the mix of fairy-tale inspirations and the unique ways they manifested in the story. Various tropes or story hooks from both Cinderella and The Little Mermaid were recognizable but molded believably into this world. This book absolutely excels at playing in the sweet spot between familiar and strange! This book will easily find devoted readers in fans of Katherine Arden’s The Winternight Trilogy. Both are deeply atmospheric historical fantasies inspired by fairy tales and folklore. They both also contend with the consequences of the same specific tipping point in time. That of organized religion and modernization pushing away pagan ways of life, much to the detriment of the common folk. The reading experience was an absolute joy and it convinced me Kell Woods is an author to watch! Thanks to @netgalley & @torbooks for the ARC, all opinions are mine.
What I read in January & February 2025 📚 I hav What I read in January & February 2025 📚 I haven't made wrap-ups in a while but I've been reading a good amount this year so far! ❓ What book (s) have you fallen in love with recently? ❤️‍🔥 The Books: •Miss Amelia's List, Mercedes Lackey - 3⭐📱 •Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear, Seanan McGuire - 4.5⭐ 🎧 •Dreams Lie Beneath, Rebecca Ross - 4⭐🎧 •Clockwork Prince, Cassandra Clare - Reread 5⭐📖 •Leaf, Daishu Ma - 2.75⭐📖 •The Fright Before Christmas: Surviving Krampus and other Yuletide Monsters, Witches, and Ghosts, Jeff Belanger, 4.5⭐📱 •The Arrival, Shaun Tan - 5⭐📖 •Behemoth, Scott Westerfeld - Reread 4⭐📖 •Phoenix Heart: Season 2, Sarah K. L. Wilson - 4⭐🎧 •Morning Glory Milking Farm, C. M. Nascosta - 4.5⭐📱 •Death's Obsession, Avina St. Graves - 2⭐📱 •An Outbreak of Witchcraft: A Graphic Novel of the Salem Witch Trials, Deborah Noyes & M. Duffy - 3⭐📖 •Shades of Grey, Jasper Fforde - 3.5⭐🎧 •Upon A Starlit Tide, Kell Woods - 5⭐📱 •Robot Dreams, Sara Varon - 3.5⭐📖
I'm so excited to share that this year I'll be a p I'm so excited to share that this year I'll be a panelist for The Book Blogger's Novel of the Year Award!! BBNYA is a competition for Indie Authors of all genres and it's judged by a large panel of book bloggers from around the world. If you're an Indie Author and would like to enter into the competition, submissions close on the 27th of April! If you're a book blogger and you want to join the panel, there's still time and please do! Panelist sign-ups close on May 4th. Go check out the official @bbnyaofficial website to learn more. I could not be more excited and I'm looking forward to potentially finding new favourite Indie books this year 🖤🖤 #BBNYA2025
🖤 What Started My Lore 🍿 Thanks to @to.kind 🖤 What Started My Lore 🍿 Thanks to @to.kindle.a.fire for the tag! I have such a soft spot for nostalgia posts so I couldn't resist jumping into this tag headfirst. I could have spent a week and a half thinking of more things but I decided to stick to mostly TV & movies. Here's a small list of my childhood and teenage obsessions. Also, my reading Lore started with French and Spanish books for children. Did anyone else grow up with these too? The Ernie & Bert was my very first English book that I got as a baby and it was my favourite although it wasn't until years later that I could read it myself (who needs words am I right? She says, to all of bookstagram 😂) Madeline Lizzie McGuire Boy Meets World The Nightmare Before Christmas She's the Man The Emperor's New Groove & Kronk's New Groove Bring it On The Mummy The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Moulin Rouge Phantom of the Opera Buffy The Vampire Slayer ❓Do we have any in common?
I'm obsessed with my new #FreedomToRead tote from I'm obsessed with my new #FreedomToRead tote from Toronto Public Library 🔥🔥 If you're in Toronto, go visit a branch and get a tote while they last (they have three different powerful statements but I resonated the most with 'ignite minds not books'). Freedom to Read Week is an annual event that encourages Canadians to reaffirm their commitment to Intellectual Freedom. Protect your freedom to read by learning about challenged books. As a lifelong supporter of public libraries I'm proud of the work they do to keep access to ideas open for everyone!🖤 Go show your library some love and this goes for anyone and everyone who has access to them. In celebration of #FreedomToReadWeek let's take a look at my current library haul: -Robot Dreams by Sara Varon -Goliath by Scott Westerfeld -Park Bench by Chabouté -An a Impossible Imposter by Deanna Raybourn (🎧 on Libby) ❓What do you currently have borrowed from the library? Or, tell me about a banned book you loved! 🖤 #FTRW25
I recently borrowed The Arrival by Shaun Tan from I recently borrowed The Arrival by Shaun Tan from my library but before I return it, I had to take a few pictures of it because adored it! The Arrival is a wordless graphic novel and an absolute masterpiece. If you love art or graphic novels do yourself a favour and spend some time soaking up this story! It's the story of a man who needs to travel to another city to start a better life for his family. He arrives at this technologically advanced, shining city where he can't speak the language. We follow him as he searches for a job, explores the city, and makes new connections. He's not entirely alone, as the people coexist with a variety of adorable creatures in the city, and one of them seems to adopt him. For a story told only with pictures, the narrative is seamless and the art is gorgeous! The illustrations are all the somber brownish colour of old family photographs which grounds the story, but also contrasts beautifully with the whimsical and fantastical nature of this new city. The themes of immigration, family, language barriers, and community shine so bright that by the end I was so invested in this family's happiness and teary eyed! I will be exploring more of @shauncytan 's books and I can see him easily joining the ranks of my favourite illustrators. ❓Do you have any other wordless graphic novel or picture book recommendations? Or, what are you reading today?
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