When I saw this book on NetGalley as an ARC I knew I needed to read it. I had my eye on it for
a while before it had an ARC and I am so glad that I was approved for this book. This story was
amazing and had me feeling all of the feels. Happy, sad, angry, hopeful, I felt it all and it was
such a beautiful story. The art that goes along with the book is also well illustrated and really
helps the story along. The romance between the 2 main characters is very well done and I was
curious how it was going to work between a human and a merman but it was handled beautifully
and I loved every second of this book. I literally couldn’t put it down; it had that much of a
chokehold on me.

When the Tides Held the Moon

🧜‍♂️Summary:

Benigno “Benny” is an orphan from Puerto Rico who traveled to New York to work as a blacksmith. He is talented and hardworking. When an order for a large tank comes in, his boss knows that Benny would be perfect for the job.

Little does he know that the tank that he helped create will be the home or rather cage to the newest sideshow act at Luna Park, Coney Island.

🎪Thoughts:

I was captivated while reading this story. As a fellow New Yorker, I enjoyed reading about the history of Coney Island that I didn’t know about. I visit the Coney Island sideshow years ago and was entranced by the history that still exists there.

This story was written so beautifully. From Benny’s native tongue and the songs that he wrote and sang for Rio, to the perspective of what Rio was going through behind the glass of his enclosure, I was glued each word that I read. I couldn’t put this book down. I need to read to find out what happened to them and if they lived HEA. I encourage you to read this if you want to be swept away in a unique love story.

The secondary characters were full of life and not space fillers. I loved how each of them cared for the two of them and became the family they both of them needed.

The artwork blew me away. I am a visually reader, so the illustrations just added so much more to this stunning story.

Thank you so much to Hambright PR, Kensington Publishing and Venessa Vida Kelley for allowing me to read this amazing ARC.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2
🌶️🌶️
Book boyfriends: Benny and Rio 💓💓💓💓I loved their love for each other. From them speaking in Spanish to each other, the scenes inside the tank, and the song Benny wrote 🫠
Book vibes: 🧜‍♂️🎪🎡🎢🇵🇷🌊🐚🌙🌕🏳️‍🌈

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
48/125📚

Thank you @hambright_pr and @vkelleyart for my eARC of this beautiful book!

This was such a beautiful story (not to mention the illustrations-all designed by the author!!). This book is also set in the 1900s with reference to real historical moments.

We follow Benny who is a queer immigrant working a job who finds himself creating a cage for the merman they are set to capture. He looks after the merman, whom he calls Rio, and develops a bond with him and soon realizes that what he has done is wrong and wants to set him free.

This book is largely about found family and finding a place where you belong and are accepted. It's a beautiful closed door romantasy. I would have loved an Epilogue but I loved it nonetheless. I will definitely pick up the authors next book, amazing debut!

✨️Pub date: April 29, 2025✨️

When Beningo "Benny" Caldera, an illegal Puerto Rican immigrant in 1910s New York, is tasked with building an ironwork tank for a mysterious client, he can't imagine how it will change his life. Impressed with Benny's work, Sam Morgan, the proprietor of a sideshow at Luna Park on Coney Island, invites him to help capture the tank's intended inhabitant - a merman. But as Benny gets to know the merman, whom he names Rio, Benny might have to decide between keeping Rio captive or losing his newfound family and home.

I know a book is gonna be a 5-star read for me when it gets me crying! This was such a beautiful story about courage, redemption, and love, and the characters were so beautifully brought to life by the author. The relationship between Benny and Rio is a true slow burn with them getting to know each other and eventually express their feelings over the few months of Rio's captivity.

I also loved the found family in this book. Despite not being a performer, and even trying to keep himself at a bit of a distance, the menagerie company immediately accepts Benny as one of their own. Every character is so unique, and it was so much fun getting to know each and every one of them, and watch them develop a bond with Benny.

Although this book definitely isn't spicy, I did give it one pepper because there's plenty of longing expressed, as well as one on-page intimate scene. However, the actual physical intimacy described is fairly minimal as the scene focuses more on the emotional intimacy between the pair.

Read if you like:
Latin American rep
Queer rep
Found family
Merfolk
Redemption
Slow burn romance

LGBTQIAP+, amazing aesthetic, will definitely get you out of a book slump (if you're into the following):

1910's Coney Island, New York. Circus performers and mermen.

We follow Benigno (Benny) Caldera a queer Puerto Rican who finds himslef wrapped in a scheme to capture a merman (Río) with a circus troop that want to make him an attraction for the people. Will they only form a friendship or something more intimate?🧐

Sooo many quotes to choose from! Here's one🤗:
"Your heart in my keeping" he whispered, "would always be safe."

Found Family, mermen, and queer romance!
Need I say more?😂

When I started reading this, I knew I would love it within the first few chapters. What I didn't expect was to be so obsessed with the characters and the love stories. It's very difficult to find books where you love both the main character and the love interest equally and When the Tides held the Moon was one of those books. Benny and Rio, every conversation they had, every glance they stole, every moment they witnessed was pure magic.

I also loved how the author also wrote the side characters. There were quite a few but they weren't there just for the sake of diversity. Reading well written Indian character using Hindi phrases sometimes, Rio replying with Dhanyawaad to Navya, as an Indian it made me really happy bc I am tired of seeing Indian side characters being there just for the sake of it. It shows how well researched the story is and the author was trying to tell a story bc it actually mattered.

The Tides is a book that will make you believe in stories again and fall back in love with books because it is everything a good story should be. And the fact that Kelley did this in a debut makes me so excited for her career to come.

Tides is a full ass story... it's a cast of characters that are all well developed who you fall for and are rooting for. It's a fully developed, multi-layered plot with a love story woven throughout. It's a slow burn of epic love story proportions that will have you believing in magic and wanting to take to the seas to find your own mer-person to love.

The historical elements where such a refreshing and unique setting, putting us in 1920's Coney Island during the time of "freak show" (I use this word colloquially only) performers. It's a setting that isn't used much and was so appreciated by this reader, as it introduced me to a world and a time I will never experience, and was done so in the most vivid way that I felt transported. I specifically loved how well Kelley humanized the performers, allowing us to see the whole person and not just the act they put on for the entertainment of others.

I could gush on and on about this book but you really just need to experience it yourself, so I implore you to pick it up and enjoy the show.

This was such a wonderful read!
4.5⭐️

This book has an incredible aesthetic—think 1910s New York, circus performers, and mermen. It’s lush, unique, and atmospheric. Certain scenes are even illustrated, which adds so much… though unfortunately, my copy had a formatting glitch, so I couldn’t fully appreciate the artwork.

The story follows Benigno, a queer Puerto Rican immigrant down on his luck, who gets swept into a plot to capture a merman for a circus act. Alongside a troupe of eccentric performers, he helps capture Río, a merman meant to be the next big attraction. What follows is an unlikely friendship—and maybe something more.

One of my favorite touches was the way accents were written—it made the characters feel real. And as someone who loves fanfic-style novels, I felt especially connected to the story. It has that same emotional intimacy and focus on found family I find in fanfic that I adore.

At its heart, this book is about belonging—not just being accepted, but being truly seen. It’s less about who you love or how you look, and more about who you are.

Benigno wasn’t perfect—his hesitation in crucial moments could be frustrating—but he was also such a soft, lost soul just trying to find his way home. I really loved him.

When the Tides Held the Moon took a little time to pull me in, but once it did, I was hooked. If you’re into mermaids, queer romance, found family, or that fanfic-style emotional depth, this one absolutely deserves a spot on your TBR.

Lovely. Took me a moment to get into because the setup isn’t as interesting as the main plot, but once that story got started it flowed beautifully. This hits all the beats that one would expect, and the end is so cinematic I felt like I could see it all in my mind’s eye. The illustrations are an absolute treat, as well— they added so much to my visualization of the story and characters. The main romance is a bit dramatic and insta-love for my personal taste but that’s pretty par for the course with fantasy creatures and I was still really rooting for them. I love freak show found families so much.

What a knockout of a book. I can't think of anyone I would not recommend it to. It's got romance, adventure, such an interesting world-building, and really well-developed characters. "Benny" moved from Puerto Rico to New York City after losing his beloved Tia. He's worked hard to become a skilled metalsmith. He ends up with a sideshow group, and it's there that he meets a merman. I know: this sounds a bit out there, but it's so believable because of the way Kelley writes with such heart and detail. You love Benny from the beginning because of his kindness and the fact that he's worked so hard all of his life. You feel for him as he struggles with his asthma and also low self-esteem. As Benny spends more time with the merman "Rio," you really see him come to life. Rio and Benny's love story is so beautiful. Benny. has to learn to speak up for himself, and also has to let people help him. The supporting characters in this novel are so interesting. I just never want to put it down.

Thank you NetGalley for the free digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Erewhon Books for this *free* ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book feels like a fairytale told through a sepia lens. It’s part historical fiction, part queer romance, part magical realism, and somehow, despite my initial confusion as to how this could possibly come together, it certainly does. The setting, Coney Island in the 1910s, with sideshow performers and seaside strangeness, is so beautifully drawn that it feels like you’re walking through a memory someone is still grieving (if that makes sense?).

Benny and Río’s love story builds slowly. The merman tank setup might sound whimsical (and it is, a little), but the book doesn’t shy away from what’s dark or heavy: captivity, identity, belonging, and the ways we sometimes choose safety over truth. I felt for Benny constantly, his fear, his longing, his guilt, and I understood it, even when I wanted him to be braver, sooner. That hesitation made sense though, and it made the payoff feel earned.

The writing is gorgeous and there were moments where I had to stop and reread a line just to sit with it a little longer. That said, there were parts where the narrative lost a bit of momentum for me. Not because anything was lacking, exactly, but I found it hard to keep my grip on the thread from time to time. Still, the emotional payoff is there. The found family, the longing, and the rebellion of choosing love even when it’s impossible … I was hooked, even when the plot slowed, I cared enough to keep reading.

This is a story about love, yes, but more than that, it’s about freedom. The freedom to choose yourself. To make impossible decisions because they’re the right ones.

If you’re into queer historical fiction with circus / The Greatest Showman vibes, grumpy mermen (fair enough, he’s literally captive), tender writing, and the kind of found family that makes you ache a little—add this to your TBR. It didn’t fully break me, but it came pretty close.

Thank you Kensington Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC.

I have been following Vanessa Vida Kelley for years on instagram, admiring her magnificent art of other popular LGBTQ+ books (A Marvellous Light and A Lady For A Duke are personal favorites). So when I was honored with a chance to read her debut novel I jumped on the opportunity immediately.
Damn she did not disappoint! Beautiful writing, believable depictions of one of my favorite era in modern history, a fun case of characters and a beautiful love story that would touch your heart and blow your mind. And the illustration! What a treat!

If you loved Freya Marske and Allie Therin’s books, this one is certainly for you.

All my 3 favourite genres in one! Historical fiction, fantasy and romance.
This books aesthetic is top tier! I absolutely loved the plot line, it was giving me the greatest showman vibes! So if you loved that film this book is for you!

I found the characters well developed, I especially loved how inclusive this book was!

As a kindle girl, this one is definitely going on the trophy book self!

A swoon-worthy historical romantasy novel releasing just in time for MerMay!

When the Tides Held the Moon follows orphaned Puerto Rican blacksmith Benigno, who finds himself joining a Coney Island sideshow in 1911 after he's commissioned to build them a mysterious ironwork tank. It's only when he's brought along on a night-time excursion along the river that he discovers the truth - that the tank was built to cage their latest exhibit: a captured merman. Benigno has always kept his head down and stayed under the radar, but as he and the merman, Río, grow closer, Benigno finds his loyalties tested.

This was a fantastic read, and I loved everything about it: Kelley's lush prose and gorgeous illustrations; the liminal space setting of a closed fairground where two lovers meet in the dead of night; the found family bond between the various sideshow performers; the nuanced discussions of identity, freedom and belonging; the tooth-rotting sweetness of the romance between Benny and Río. All combined to make a pretty perfect stand-alone story.

Benigno and Río were well-rounded characters outside of their romance, as were many of the side characters, especially Sonia, whose sideplot was an unexpected part of the novel, but a very welcome addition. There were times when the characters did things I didn't like, but that's the sign of a well-written character in my opinion - they aren't always perfect.

I also loved that the novel featured the author's own illustrations - I've followed Venessa Vida Kelley's fanart for various fandoms for years, so it's a real treat to see their creations for their own characters.

Overall, a beautiful queer romance from a debut author I'm looking forward to reading much more from!

Many thanks to Erewhon Books for providing a copy of When the Tides Held the Moon, which will be released on April 29th. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Publisher: Erewhon Books
Rating: 4.5 stars | ★★★★★
Review cross-posted to Paperback'd Reviews and Goodreads

Big fan of gay people and freaky fish romance, this was really cute. I don't love that there is a blurb by TJ Klune, a known anti-Indigenous guy, so that made me knock this down a star.

what a beautiful story.
a love story between a man and a merman.
with inspiration heavily taken from ‘the greatest showman’ this book has found family, oddities, curiosities, hard work and a whole lot of trust, love and betrayal.
this story follows benny and rio.
benny is from puerto rico and has made his way to new york after he looses everyone in his life. benny is the type of character you want to get to know and honestly just give him a big hug.
rio is a merman who is a long way from home. rio and benny form a bond like no other in this slow burn of a romance.
with minimal contact the main characters make their love known to each other through song and poetry.
i did find the story a little bit slow at first and it not being something i would usually read i found it a little challenging with a lot of the writing going from english to spanish i sometimes had no idea what they were saying but kind of got used to it by the end of the book.
now let me just mention how beautiful the art is throughout the book, definitely added such a special element throughout the story. i loved being able to visualise the characters better.
overall i enjoyed the book and the storyline and loved the characters so i rate this one 4 stars.
thank you to vanessa vida kelley, hambright pr and netgalley for the chance to read this arc and review it early!

I am absolutely blown away with how much I love this book. The story was stunning, the artwork really made the book come alive for me, and characters were so well done.

I'm speechless... I'll try to put into words how I feel about this book, but anything I write will likely fall short.

I loved the movie The Greatest Showman, so when I first heard premise of When the Tides Held the Moon, it quickly became one of my most anticipated reads of the year, and it was everything I wanted and more!

Venessa Vida Kelley's writing is absolutely beautiful -- poetic, even -- they created such a unique, vivid world with a full cast of vibrant and dynamic characters. Every page painted a picture. It was full of grit, intrigue, love, tenderness, and self-discovery, and I never wanted it to end. Benny and Río will stay with me for a long time.
I was not prepared for how emotional this book would make me... the part in the book that explains the meaning of the title absolutely wrecked me in the *best* way 😭🩵 This book will undoubtedly be one of my top reads of the year!

Let's not forget to mention the art they created to accompany the book! Stunning. I can't wait to have a physical copy for my shelves.

🗓 Pub date: April 29, 2025

Thank you, Kensington Publishing | Erewhon Books via NetGalley for the eARC!

An atmospheric, moving tale of found family and love in early 20th century NYC!

In 1907, Benny traveled from Puerto Rico to Brooklyn in search of the American dream. Four years later, the metalworker finds himself isolated by racism, xenophobia, and class structure. One day he is thrown into company with a Coney Island sideshow run by a man with a mission - to capture a mermaid. After the company instead snares a merMAN, Benny is increasingly drawn to the creature he names Río, and these two lonely souls form a bond that will be tested by the callousness of this world.

The grasp of language and setting is beautiful. Both in prose and dialogue, the use of multilingual words and phrases help paint the picture of this city of immigrants. I loved the found family of the performers, all social outcasts in their own way, but all bound together in their isolation. None of the characters are perfect, and the tale doesn’t shy away from the difficult realities of the world.

The romance between Benny and Río is heartfelt and sweet, building slowly through small moments of connection. There are no explicit scenes on page, just a lovely depiction of an increasing, deeply held intimacy. With an understated plot that is unfailingly compelling, I enjoyed every moment of this story and highly recommend to readers of queer romance, historical romance, and fantasy.

*I received an advanced reader copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving my review*

This was such a beautiful story! Love, found family, standing up for what you believe in, and finding inner strength: this book had everything I was looking for.

I loved how it was written, with great descriptions of the carnival and Benigno's internal monologue interspersed with small sections from the merman in beautiful prose. The two were so different and yet they found so much common ground, and the ways in which the merman helped Benigno to grow as a person were so sweet.

I loved all of the members of the sideshow and the little family they formed. They were all so different but so fiercely loyal. "With it. For it. Never against it." All the scenes of them as a big group were the best.

It's a bit of a slower-paced book as you watch the relationship between the two grow, with an explosive ending!

Thanks to the publisher for the copy.