Upon a Starlit Tide by Kell Woods 5/5 Stars
What a fantastic story. Kell Woods must be a sea maid herself to have created such a tale. I don’t love a character who gives and gives and gives, and Luce is mostly that, trying to give everyone around her the benefit of the doubt. But as her story goes on she gets stronger and stronger and finds herself in the end (I don’t consider this a spoiler). The Bretagne setting is so magical for me (one can’t have enough books set in France) and the unique weaving of this story make this a five-star book for me. After finishing the audiobook I immediately sent it to a friend because I think she would love it. If you like France and/or fairy tales I think you would too. I think the audiobook narrator did a fantastic job.
I was given a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Dead Woman Walking by Diana Corbitt 4/5 Stars
Dead Woman Walking follows Izzy Santos, Rocky Harbor’s newest police officer. When the lead detective finds himself stuck home sick, Izzy steps in for him and finds herself investigating three cases in their small coastal town. In the beginning Izzy was very unsure of herself, to the point of it being distracting from the story, but as it progressed she gained confidence in her abilities. I enjoyed this book a great deal, to the point where I was reading first thing in the morning instead of scrolling on my phone and sneaking in as many reading breaks throughout the day as I could manage. I don’t read a large amount of mysteries though when I do I usually don’t try to speculate on who did what and just enjoy the ride. We had such a front-seat view into not only Izzy’s thought process but her learning how to do detective work that I found myself trying to fit the pieces together rather than wait for them to be revealed to me. Aunt Maggie offers great comedic relief in the midst of the intense police work.
I received a copy of this book via the author in exchange for an honest review, though I enjoyed it so much I have purchased the second book, When Plan A Fails, myself. Thank you, Diana!