Member Reviews

4.5 stars—It’s been years since Benny left Puerto Rico for New York City to fulfill his promise to his aunt, but the American Dream has proven to be anything but for an asthmatic ironworker who is too foreign even for the other foreigners he works alongside. But he’s used to opposition and change, to molding himself into whatever others need him to be and hiding his true self in order to survive. All of that he can handle. So when his boss assigns him an impossible project and potential for promotion, Benny sees it as his opportunity to finally escape the smoke that rattles his lungs and live a better life. Yet when he comes face to face with a living legend, a merman trapped in a tank of Benny’s own design, he must confront his own nature, accept the love he has denied himself, and learn to rely on others who see him as family in order to save them all.

When the Tides Held the Moon is a wonderful, immersive queer fantasy set in 1910s New York City that does a wonderful job of interweaving not only Benny’s identity into the narrative, but highlighting the humanity of the performers he meets in Coney Island’s Luna Park. We come to know characters of every gender, sexuality, culture, and ability who are instrumental to Benny’s journey. Parallel to the narrative on land is that of Rio the merman who’s connection to the world speaks to not only the environmental decay of the early 1900s, but also of today. This story touches on the intersections of identity, the destructive impact of prejudice and hate, and the restorative properties of love, family, and self-acceptance.

If you are a fan of chosen-family, queer romance, and the intrigue of 1910s Coney Island, I would highly recommend this book.

Thank you Netgalley and Erewhon Books via Kensington Publishing for an advance copy of this book to read and review.

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DNF at 56%

Unfortunately, this book just didn't work for me. I loved the carnival setting. It is so full of life and energy and the setting is very well realized. However, this book is incredibly slow with a lot of character interactions but very little action. Most of the book is just spent with Benny and Rio talking which ended up just making me bored. I personally just don't care about the romance that is being developed and the romantic plot was not enough to keep me intrigued without a faster side plot to add some action and interest. There is also a lot of Spanish used in the book without translations being provided in the text. While I could normally make out what the intent was from the context clues, it negatively impacted the emotional influence some moments had because the actual meaning and sentiment was not always apparent. The book does provide a glossary of Spanish terms used but they are used frequently enough that flipping back and forth between the glossary and the text started to hinder my enjoyment.

There is an amazing cast of side characters that are very underdeveloped and could add so much life and color to the plot if they were given the chance to shine. But with the extreme focus on the romance, the found family elements and side characters are not developed. I could see some people really loving this book if they are invested in the romance and a ok with a slow character driven story but unfortunately, this book was not for me.

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Venessa Vida Kelley’s When the Tides Held the Moon is a beautifully written tale that feels like poetry in motion. Set against a hauntingly vivid coastal backdrop, the story explores themes of love, loss, and resilience with a touch of mysticism that adds an otherworldly charm. The characters are deeply layered, their emotional journeys pulling you in as they navigate personal and shared struggles. While the pacing slows in places, the lush descriptions and heartfelt storytelling make it a captivating read that lingers in your mind long after you finish.

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4,5 ⭐
I saw the pretty cover and decided to give it a shot. I’m so happy I did because this book was incredible.
The story follows Benny, a metalworker from Puerto Rico who is tasked with building a tank for a mysterious menagerie show-runner. After losing his job, Benny finds himself back with the menagerie group, where he becomes involved in capturing a real-life merman. From that point on, they connect, and it’s beautiful... despite the fact that Río (the merman) is caged. Although there are ethical conflicts around this (which, personally, I think the author handled very realistically), Benny does his best to help Río.
The author’s writing style is amazing, seamlessly blending multiple languages in a way that makes everything easy to understand. There are also some stunning illustrations throughout the book. Some parts were incredibly emotional, and I found myself fighting back tears because, just like Benny, I didn’t want to cry in public 🤣. The book also explores several themes I love reading about: found family, characters coming to terms with their sexuality, and different cultural identities.
Benny and Río’s romance unfolds in such a beautiful way, my heart just can't-
Also, I completely understand why Benny sometimes hesitated and struggled with taking action. Settling in those types of mid-situations/conflicts can feel easier and safer, and in this case, it made for a really satisfying character arc.
My two not so positive points would be: a) I felt the heist was a bit too simple, with things working out too smoothly, just like the many visits Benny made to Río; b) I desperately wanted more follow-up with Benny and Río at the end of the book.
Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC. It was amazing, and I’ll definitely be buying it when it’s released.

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When the Tides Held the Moon is a beautifully written story of love between a merman and an immigrant man in 1920s New York. After being commissioned to build a tank for a new exhibit at a Coney island show Benny ends up living and working with the interesting people that are a part of the show including the merman in the tank. I really enjoyed experiencing the evolution of their relationships with each other and themselves. Parts of this book are heart breaking as they navigate this unlikely love between them. The side characters are also well developed and enduring to read about.

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“With it, for it, never against it.”

Let me just say this: everyone should read this book at least once in their lifetime.

This is the kind of story we all dream of finding—a fairy tale-like book that touches on so many profound themes while delivering everything you could wish for in a novel. And to make it even better, it’s paired with stunningly beautiful artwork that perfectly complements the story.

Set in 1900, the story immerses you in a richly detailed world full of historical realities, self-discovery, and unexpected magic. We follow Benigno, a Puerto Rican boy who, in a time of great need, immigrates to New York and ends up working in the heart of the industrial era.

What makes this book so special is how seamlessly it weaves real-life historical details into its narrative. For example, we get to experience the attractions of Coney Island sideshow—imagine The Greatest Showman—filled with diverse characters who feel real and alive. Benigno’s journey leads him to find a family in the most unexpected places, showing us how connections can form even in the harshest circumstances.

And then there’s Rio. It’s impossible to think about Benigno without thinking of Rio. He brings an extraordinary layer to the story, blurring the line between reality and magic, and offering a glimpse into a world that feels like a fairy tale.

The writing in this book is breathtaking. I found myself stopping constantly just to highlight sentences that resonated deeply with me. Every word feels carefully crafted, and there’s so much beauty in its simplicity and depth.

At its heart, this story is about resilience and self-discovery. It’s a journey of secrets, dreams, and finding your own strength. The found family dynamic is incredible—diverse, heartfelt, and vital to Benigno’s growth as a character. Every member of this family has a role to play, and their impact is unforgettable.

And of course, there’s the love story. It unfolds in a way that makes you question what love really means and how it can transform us.

I went into this book not knowing what to expect and came out completely changed. The intricate storyline, the emotional depth, and the sheer magic of it all left me speechless.

Honestly, I can’t put into words how much this book moved me. Just read it. Experience it for yourself—you won’t regret it.

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Oh goodness. I loved this book. It was incredibly sweet but also made my heart absolutely swell with sadness (but in a good way).

Admittedly the language took some getting used to in the beginning, both the old timey lingo and the Spanish mixed in, but I felt like it really gave SO much to the story and didn’t take long to get used to. It made it feel so much more genuine and it was just so beautifully done. Because I read on my kindle I was able to translate when I wanted to, which I do think I would have missed if I was unable to do. There’s a glossary with the Spanish translations at the back, but again, I just used my kindle to translate along the way and I highly recommend doing that. Some translation is provided in the book but not all. So all that to say, if you don’t speak or read Spanish I would recommend reading this one on kindle specifically so that you don’t miss some of the really beautiful passages in this book.

The romance in this book was very innocent in nature but very sweet. The way the connection, trust, and intimacy grew was just so well done. The anticipation of watching the relationship grow held such an ache knowing the circumstances they were in.

The book really focuses on found family, finding a place to belong. That dynamic offered a lot of interesting characters and fun interactions for sure!

I highly recommend this one. Not spicy. Just sweet. Additional huge bonus to this book is that it’s illustrated!! So amazing!

Thank you so much to Venessa Vida Kelley and Kensington for the ARC of this beautiful book!

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I am so in love with this book. This was so romantic, beautifully written and moving as hell. I cannot recommend this enough!!

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5 ⭐️s
First of all thank you to NetGallery and Kensington Publishing for allowing me the pleasure of reading this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I’ll be honest I’m still processing the ending but I can say that this was a wonderful story and I really hope it blows up because this deserves all the love. I’ve never read a book by Venessa before but I’m now a sincere fan of their work. It was beautiful, I just can’t put it into words truly. Benny and Río had a lovely relationship and this is the slow burn we all need. The representation in this was honestly refreshing to see and I love the found family relationship. Every character was in depth and felt real, I loved how Venessa added ethic backgrounds and truly just nailed it. I’d highly recommend this story if you’re looking for a slow burn romance, found family and a queer representation in a book. I just really can’t say more than I love these characters and they felt real and were well-developed even for side characters, and the ending was lovely. I’m just happy I got to experience Benny and Río. 🥹

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Thank you so much god netgalley for approving me for this arc. The illustrations in the book were absolutely gorgeous and that’s why the book gets two stars. However unfortunately the book wasn’t for me and I had to DNF it. I couldn’t get into the writing style or the pacing of the book and I found it hard to connect to the characters. Another thing I didn’t like was the setting and the world, it was so urban and dark and that’s not a vibe I tend to lean towards and pick up. I mentioned that this book wasn’t for me but I’d definitely recommend to readers who prefer this backdrop, era and writing.

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What a wonderful, whimsical book.

Reading it on my phone, I will say I missed the fact that there were translations in the back. That is more of a me issue than a book issue. I just didn't read the table of contents. It's very nice the author provided them. It was easy to use context but I would have used the translation pages if I knew they were there. I loved that Benny's native language of Spanish was incorporated so much. It really reminded you of his hardship and journey from Puerto Rico to New York.

I also enjoyed the addition of pictures. The descriptions did well enough to picture them myself but to then see some of the scenes was a treat.

Fantastic story, lovable (and unlovable) characters, found family, and discovering to love oneself. This book has it all, wrapped in a 1900s Coney Island New York scene.

Highly recommend!

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When the Tides held the Moon was a magical historian fantasy set in the 1911s New York. Not only was the story lovely but the book was filled with stunning artwork. I really enjoyed this book and the only thing I wish was different was that I wanted more of the Rio and Benny's love story. It felt like there was so much happening around it that it kind of got second place at times. The book tackled the subjects of being an immigrant in a not so friendly environment and being a part of the queer community in a way that felt natural and not over the top. Overall a really magical book and I can't wait to get a physical copy for my collection.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

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Let me start by saying the cover of this book is a stunning piece of art, it and the description are what really drew me into the story. I’ve noticed a trend in siren/Mer books and was eager to dive in! While I did enjoy Benny and Rio’s dynamic when they were alone I felt like their storyline was a bit beside the plot going on otherwise. It felt like their moments together were the biggest focus of the author and it read a lot like fanfic in the way that they had a deep poetic connection, which mind you I did enjoy, but it felt like two stories happening side by side instead of one cohesive plot. After some research I did find the self pubbed version on Fable that was originally Rainbow Rowell fanfic, so I’m not surprised my read was not far off. This is not to say fanfic is bad, but I expected a bit more structure to the plot and editing from a traditionally published novel. The writing style unfortunately was also not for me, there was a lot of explaining every move and thought and expression that made me feel a bit bored because I wasn’t seeing the scenes in my mind because every detail was explained; a lot of repetitive descriptions that I think were intended to emphasize the importance of certain moments that instead made me say “I get it!”. I also didn’t love the inclusion of Rio’s chapters, the contrast in writing style between Benny’s simplicity (gonna, gotta, etc.) and Rio’s prose was very shocking given how I already felt a little removed from the plot and it only intensified my eagerness to learn the characters were falling in love from their yearning instead of reading them each say “I think I love him”. I did really enjoy the atmosphere and world building and the twist at the end, for their romantic story and less the plot, as well as all of the drawings throughout. It was nice surprise to see them. Unfortunately, it seems I’m an outlier in that this one fell flat for me overall. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

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I have been really struggling with how to review this book since I finished it last month. This was such a highly anticipated read for me, and when I finished it I felt really conflicted overall.

The story itself is written beautifully with imagery that is very distinct and well painted. The artwork is stunning. The romance I loved. It’s a slow burn, and while it takes us a moment to get there, Rio and Benny were really wonderful to read.

However, I was disappointed by aspects of the book that I have yet to see anyone review, and while I debated publicly reviewing since I seem to be the only one who noticed this, I felt in the end it was important for me to voice it anyway.

As a fat person, it is exceedingly difficult to find really good fat rep. Even in books that have the best intentions, rep can fall into harmful stereotypes really quickly (which I know this is also true of racial rep and queer rep by folks who don’t have those exact identities).

In the first chapter, there is an antagonistic side character (a guard) whom Benny describes as “wobbly-jowled”. It immediately took me out of the story because I really dislike when we paint unlikeable characters’ physical appearance in a negative way. In this instance, focusing in on the jowls felt pointed and unnecessary. And while it’s not immediately indicative that he’s a fat character, Benny describes himself as thin later down the page, which, even if unintentionally, insinuates the wobby-jowled character is the opposite.

This was then made worse by Benny nicknaming the character by their “saggy jowls”, which really put me off. It also, to me, perpetuates the narrative of the fat lazy cop that we have to work to dismantle. Police and soldiers are negative characters, yes, but painting them as fat and lazy as media often likes to do, just harms fat people more than it does authority.

Later in the book we do have a positive secondary character who is fat, but I felt let down here too. She is the fat lady in the act, and at one point she is trying to change her act and turn herself into the bearded lady which makes her cry because she’ll be “ugly”. As a fat person with PCOS this was disappointing to read. She is also in need of mobility aids in the book. And while there are many fat people who are also disabled and rep for them is still important, when the author is thin and this is their only fat rep, it leans too far into fat stereotypes for my liking.

I really wanted to love this book. And while the romance overall was beautiful and there was so much I did like about it, I was just too disappointed by the fat rep to really enjoy it fully. I just don’t think it’s the positive rep we need and I’m honesty pretty uncomfortable with it being marketed as such.

Anyway, I’m fairly prepared to be alone in this, but it felt important for me to voice. It is very hard to do rep outside of our own identities and experiences justice, and we’re not always going to get it right.

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Thank you Kensington Publishing and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. I’ve been a huge fan of Venessa Vida Kelley’s art for a while now so I was so excited to finally read her writing! And what a book! Benny, a queer lower class Puerto Rican, is hired to build a class cage, not realizing that it’s to hold a captured merman. The cage is part of a carnival full of performers who don’t fit in anywhere else. Benny connects with them and Rio, who is in the cage. As their bond grows Benny will be caught between helping Rio get free and risk this new family he’s found. What will he choose? An outstanding story that will have you in the feels! Full of charm and vulnerability and love! It kept me turning the pages! And of course the artwork is so beautiful and helps bring Benny and Rio’s story to life! Highly recommend checking this one out!

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When the Tides Held the Moon is honestly one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read. The cover caught my eye right away, and I just knew I was going to love it—and wow…. No words can truely explain... you just need to see/read it for yourself.

The story is set in 1911 and follows Benny, a Puerto Rican blacksmith who gets hired to build this giant glass cage, he doesn’t realise it’s for a merman who was captured to be a Coney Island attraction. What starts as a wild job turns into this deeply emotional story about love, identity, and finding family in the most unexpected places.

I fell hard for Benny and Rio. Their conversations about what it means to be human, about freedom and love, completely wrecked me. Rio is such a beautiful character—he calls family “Harmony,” and the way he speaks is so poetic it gave me chills. For me…. Watching Benny slowly open up, fall for Rio, and start to accept himself was so heartfelt and raw. Their love felt so real and vulnerable, especially in a time when being true to yourself was dangerous.

The found family aspect was just as powerful. Benny connects with this amazing group of misfits at Luna Park, all immigrants like him, and seeing him find his place among them was so uplifting.

The writing is stunning—emotional and full of heart—and the illustrations? No words… they’re devine. They add such a magical touch. I will say, there’s some Spanish sprinkled throughout, and while I don’t speak it, I could still follow along (and even learned a few things). It made Benny feel even more real.

This isn’t a super steamy romance or anything like that—it’s about love in its purest form, about finding acceptance and courage when the world doesn’t want you to.

…you’ve gotta pick this one up. It’s emotional, beautiful, and absolutely unforgettable. Big thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for letting me read this gem early!

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Incredible! I love mermaid romances and this is beautiful! The ending for this was absolutely insane, I was reading on the edge of my seat, unable to stop.
The romance in this book was so heartfelt, I felt their love for each other and how much they cared. Benny and Río really grow on you while reading.

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Summary:
Benny, a Puerto Rican immigrant blacksmith in New York, is approached by his boss with a special assignment: build a tank on wheels. Upon it's completion, Benny meets Sam Morgan and the Menagerie: a group of carnival performers who don't fit in anywhere else. Sam, an ambitious business man, asks Benny to help him capture the star of his upcoming exhibit, and the future inhabitant of the tank: a merman. Of course, no one, lest of all Benny, could predict what happens once Benny and the merman, Rio, get to know each other....

Review:
Wow wow wow! This book is for the dreamers - those who feel like they're a little out of step with the rest of the world, but want something from it for themselves anyways. I loved Rio in particular: his emotions and his hopes and dreams really spoke to me. This book did not feel like 500+ pages, in a good way. It was easy to eat up pages as I fell into the story. I will definitely be buying a copy of this once it is officially released to the public!

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I loved the story and the artworks! The story was a bit slow in the beginning, and the writing was something I needed to get used to, but I was invested through the very end. Both MCs are mature and intelligent, which makes their love story so much more compelling and exciting. Their connection was built gradually from mutual understanding and appreciation, and I love that. The struggle Benny faced in early 1900s as an immigrant, a "queer" person, and a lower class in social status was also convincing and not overdone at all. Thank you so much to NetGalley, Kensington Publishing Corp., and the author for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this book!

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I put off starting this, and I wish I hadn't. It was beautifully written and an interesting story. I like Benny, but even though I doubt I'll forget any of the characters, I didn't have a particular favorite. The setting felt realistic, though 1910s- ish New York is not my usual perverted setting so not sure on that. But the setting was depicted well and seemed believable.

The art was a lovely addition. And the character description fit the imagine I formed before I saw them (But not for Morgan. He was referred to avocado man, so I pictured both the color and shape of an avocado.)

And though each character was decently unique name-wise - in the beginning they were not. There was like a McCoy, Martin, Mattias, Morgan, and possibly one other M name used. I struggled and had to flip back to check who was who. For goodness sake authors, please don't do that!

I do wish there was more explaining in the end. It left a fair amount open to the imagination. I don't know if explaining those things at the end would have made it better or not. Part of me is fine that it wasn't explained, the the other part is annoyed that I have to fill in the blanks myself.

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