When the Tides Held the Moon | Queer Book Review

Title: When the Tides Held the Moon

Author: Venessa Vida Kelley

Genre: LGBTQ+, romance, historical fantasy

Ages: idk

Publisher: Kensington

Volume: 1/1

Release: April 29th, 2025

Order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

Benigno “Benny” Caldera knows an orphaned Boricua blacksmith in 1910s New York City can’t call himself an artist. But the ironwork tank he creates for famed Coney Island playground, Luna Park, astounds everyone, especially the eccentric side-show proprietor who commissioned it. Benny’s work earns him an invitation to join the show’s eclectic crew of performers—his first welcome in the city—and share in their astonishing secret: the tank Benny built is a cage for their newest exhibit, a living, breathing, in-the-flesh merman stolen from the banks of the East River under a gleaming full moon.

The merman is more than a mythic marvel, though. Benny comes to know Río as a clever philosopher, an observant traveler, and a kindred spirit more beautiful and compassionate than any human he’s ever met. Despite their different worlds, what begins as a friendship of necessity deepens to love, leading Benny’s heart into uncharted waters where he can no longer ignore the agonizing truth of Río’s captivity—and his own.

A cage is no place for a merman to survive. Though releasing Río means betraying his new family, bankrupting their home, and losing his soulmate forever, Benny must look within for the courage to do what’s right, and find a love strong enough to free them both.

this review is spoiler free

When I first opened this book, I thought I had accidently requested the Spanish version and started panicking because I am a no sabo kid through and through. So, I will just go ahead and mention this book might be a bit frustrating if you didn’t take at least Spanish 1 in high school.

**This book does include a glossary at the back, but I agree with other review that footnotes would have made for a smoother reading experience, rather than having to flip back and forth. Or, in my case, just relying on minimal Spanish knowledge because I read it digitally and didn’t even realize there was a glossary lol.

However, wow, this book was an experience. I haven’t been this completely immersed in a story in quite some time. It’s a historical urban fantasy set in a New York carnival during the 1910s.

This a book where you can just tell the author put so much thought and care into it—every detail meticulously researched. I adored most of the writing, only minor grievances, and for a debut novel, this is amazing work.

“But ironwork always takes a crew…and English wasn’t so hard for a malleable mouth like mine.”

sidenote:

I really also just learned a lot. I had to take like a 20 minute break to go learn more about Mohawk Skywalkers and how they helped build the city.

Beauvais said it was typical for women to call the shots. “Women always chose the chiefs because they lived in matrilineal clans and saw the boys grow up,” she said. “They would choose leaders because they knew about their boys’ characteristics from infancy to manhood.”
History.com

^This is also a reason this book took me so long to read because I just kept stopping and doing more research.

That being said, this book is often on the slower side and its heavily character focused with people from all walks of life. It’s definitely not for those looking for a quick mermaid romance—this is a weighty somewhat angsty read, rich with characters and prose.

I will say that at times, I really had to push myself to keep reading because the pacing was either too slow or a bit too fast. I also think this is a book best experienced in a physical copy. The artwork was still beautiful on my phone, but it was harder to push through the slower sections—and that’s totally a me problem since I often read my Kindle Unlimited unholiness on my phone. I just felt that if I had the physical copy in my hands, I could slow down and enjoy it more. Also, the cover is just gorgeous…

I will definitely be picking up a physical copy of this book when it’s released.

**I KNEW THIS BOOK REMINDED ME OF SOMETHING. I was perusing the author’s Instagram and saw it marketed as The Shape of Water meets The Greatest Showman—and I totally agree! If you loved The Shape of Water, this is the perfect book for you.

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