Name: When the Tides Held the Moon
Rating: 3.9375 (8 reviews)

Venessa Kelley

When the Tides Held the Moon

Venessa Vida Kelley

In Coney Island, true love rises to the surface. With lush illustrations and buoyant prose, Venessa Vida Kelley forges an unforgettable New York fairytale.

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 the eccentric sideshow proprietor who commissioned it. He invites Benny to join the show’s eclectic cast and share in their shocking secret: the tank will cage their newest exhibit, a live merman stolen from the salty banks of the East River.

More than a mythic marvel, Benny soon comes to know the merman Río as a kindred spirit, wise and more 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.

Releasing Río could mean losing his found family, his new home, and his soulmate forever. Yet Benny’s courageous choice may just reveal a love strong enough to free them both.

Steph

I’m calling it! When the Tides Held the Moon is the most romantic book I’ve ever read. I had the absolute joy of buddy reading this with friends, and we were all swooning together. Imagine The Greatest Showman meets The Little Mermaid, but make it queer, tender, and devastatingly beautiful. Set in 1910s America, the story follows Benny, a Puerto Rican blacksmith who immigrates to Coney Island to work at Luna Park. He's hired to build a massive water tank, only to discover it’s meant to imprison a merman stolen from the East Rivers. What unfolds is a love story that transcends language, species, and the limits of the world they live in. The writing is lyrical and immersive, but what truly makes this book shine is its heart: the found family, the quiet intimacy, the longing. And the illustrations? Absolutely stunning. If you can, get your hands on a physical copy because the artwork adds another layer of magic. This is one of those rare books that wraps itself around your soul and stays with you. Just trust me.

Really didn't "get into" this book until half way through but I am happy Bene and Rio got their happy ending ❤️

Happy that there was closure about everyone after their oddities era. Happy with Sonya at the end ❤️

Susan

Really didn't "get into" this book until half way through but I am happy Bene and Rio got their happy ending ❤️

I don't really feel bad for Morgan.

Happy that there was closure about everyone after their oddities era. Happy with Sonya at the end ❤️

Benny is a Puerto Rican blacksmith that unknowingly built a cage for Rio, a merman to be exploited at a circus in Coney Island. He is then tasked with overseeing the trapped creature and builds a secret bond.

At its core, this is a love story, but it’s very complicated. I feel slightly uneasy that this is a captor / captive romance. I am well aware that Benny is oppressed in his own right because he’s a queer, dark skinned, foreigner in early 1900s US, but that doesn’t change that he’s still in a position of power over Rio in this scenario. However, the conversation about intersectionality and the role of these identities is very interesting. The author does her best to not make it seem like a problematic dynamic.

The romance itself is very sweet. It’s atmospheric and gives a fairytale vibe. My issue is how we get there. I personally felt like Rio was a bit too forgiving or cavalier about Benny being one of the humans in the circus exploiting him. He trusted him way more freely than I anticipated. But when I got past that, it was very romantic.

My biggest issue was pacing. Part of this is my fault. I don’t know what I thought this story was going into it, but it was a lot more character driven than plot, when I expected the opposite (or at least a 50/50 split). This made the story slower to me and harder to push through after the 60% mark because I felt like it could’ve been shorter for what we got.

What I loved the most was the almost seamless inclusion of various identities. There was a wide range of marginalized groups mentioned throughout the book, and it didn’t feel like they were there for diversity points. It’s clear that Kelley did her research on the time period, and the way she fit the diversity into a time in which conservative values were prominent is impressive. The story touched on difficult themes such as homophobia, racism, and xenophobia but still managed to feel cozy.

For a debut novel, this was very well done, and I’m excited to see what comes next.

Nik ✨

Benny is a Puerto Rican blacksmith that unknowingly built a cage for Rio, a merman to be exploited at a circus in Coney Island. He is then tasked with overseeing the trapped creature and builds a secret bond.

At its core, this is a love story, but it’s very complicated. I feel slightly uneasy that this is a captor / captive romance. I am well aware that Benny is oppressed in his own right because he’s a queer, dark skinned, foreigner in early 1900s US, but that doesn’t change that he’s still in a position of power over Rio in this scenario. However, the conversation about intersectionality and the role of these identities is very interesting. The author does her best to not make it seem like a problematic dynamic.

The romance itself is very sweet. It’s atmospheric and gives a fairytale vibe. My issue is how we get there. I personally felt like Rio was a bit too forgiving or cavalier about Benny being one of the humans in the circus exploiting him. He trusted him way more freely than I anticipated. But when I got past that, it was very romantic.

My biggest issue was pacing. Part of this is my fault. I don’t know what I thought this story was going into it, but it was a lot more character driven than plot, when I expected the opposite (or at least a 50/50 split). This made the story slower to me and harder to push through after the 60% mark because I felt like it could’ve been shorter for what we got.

What I loved the most was the almost seamless inclusion of various identities. There was a wide range of marginalized groups mentioned throughout the book, and it didn’t feel like they were there for diversity points. It’s clear that Kelley did her research on the time period, and the way she fit the diversity into a time in which conservative values were prominent is impressive. The story touched on difficult themes such as homophobia, racism, and xenophobia but still managed to feel cozy.

For a debut novel, this was very well done, and I’m excited to see what comes next.

First thoughts after reading? Loved it. Couldn't love it more. It surprised me. The illustrations were lovely and the story was wonderful. 

When the Tides Held the Moon

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