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milo_notthatch 's review for:
When the Tides Held the Moon
by Venessa Vida Kelley
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Rating:♾️⭐️
Spice: 0.5?
Audio:♾️⭐️
💙Historical Queer Romance
🤎Mostly single POV
💙Merman/Human
🤎Fated Mates
💙Found Family
🤎Grumpy Sunshine
💙Hurt/Comfort
🤎Music as a Love Language
💙Diverse Cast
🤎HEA
*Possible TW:
⚠️Period Accurate Racism
⚠️Homophobia
⚠️Classism
⚠️Ableism
⚠️Gun Violence
⚠️Death of Family
⚠️Abusive Relationship (Side Character)
⚠️Mentions of SA (Side Character)
⚠️Kidnapping/Captivity
⚠️Description of Injuries
⚠️Psychological Torture (From Side Character)
⚠️Blood
I discovered that this book had an audiobook to go along with it and I consumed it in less than 12 hours!
Set in 1910, the story is about Benigno Caldera, a blacksmith who ends up designing a commission from a mysterious man who wants a giant iron tank built to house a secret exhibit. After Benny's boss takes credit for his work and ends up injured, Bennny ends up seeking out the mysterious man where he ends up in a plot to catch a live mermaid. Our merman, later named Rio, is held captive in the tank to be the newest exhibit in Morgan's Menagerie, a side show full of whimsical oddities such a fire-breather, the world's strongest man, the world's smallest woman, a contortionist and more! However, while Benny is in charge of looking after an maintaining the tank and he gets to know the merman and his new family, he slowly begins to realize things aren't what they seem and everyone maybe in more danger than they realize.
I think this book is going to be one of my top favorite books of all time! The overall story was so captivating that it had me hooked from the first chapter all the way to the end. All the characters are so diverse and have so much depth to them I would challenge anyone not to fall in love with them! Though the characters are fictional, they feature very real experiences of people from queer and BIPOC individuals and groups from this time period and events that took place. I personally always enjoy a story that can not only drag me in to fully but can also educate me on experiences or subjects I hadn't been exposed to before! This book checks all of my boxes!!
While story had no "spice" from what most adult romance readers used to (it is mentioned and hinted at and genetalia differences are discussed between the two love interests at one point, but no word were used that I'd have to censor on social media. Just kissing no FTB) , it has plenty of heartfelt moments between Benny and Rio that had me wiping tears from my eyes and kicking my feet at the same time! The rollercoaster of emotions I felt reading this were quite the ride, from heartbreak to anger to sadness and everything in between. The plot twists had me GASPING.
I most definitely recommend giving this book a read, so worth it!
Spice: 0.5?
Audio:♾️⭐️
💙Historical Queer Romance
🤎Mostly single POV
💙Merman/Human
🤎Fated Mates
💙Found Family
🤎Grumpy Sunshine
💙Hurt/Comfort
🤎Music as a Love Language
💙Diverse Cast
🤎HEA
*Possible TW:
⚠️Period Accurate Racism
⚠️Homophobia
⚠️Classism
⚠️Ableism
⚠️Gun Violence
⚠️Death of Family
⚠️Abusive Relationship (Side Character)
⚠️Mentions of SA (Side Character)
⚠️Kidnapping/Captivity
⚠️Description of Injuries
⚠️Psychological Torture (From Side Character)
⚠️Blood
I discovered that this book had an audiobook to go along with it and I consumed it in less than 12 hours!
Set in 1910, the story is about Benigno Caldera, a blacksmith who ends up designing a commission from a mysterious man who wants a giant iron tank built to house a secret exhibit. After Benny's boss takes credit for his work and ends up injured, Bennny ends up seeking out the mysterious man where he ends up in a plot to catch a live mermaid. Our merman, later named Rio, is held captive in the tank to be the newest exhibit in Morgan's Menagerie, a side show full of whimsical oddities such a fire-breather, the world's strongest man, the world's smallest woman, a contortionist and more! However, while Benny is in charge of looking after an maintaining the tank and he gets to know the merman and his new family, he slowly begins to realize things aren't what they seem and everyone maybe in more danger than they realize.
I think this book is going to be one of my top favorite books of all time! The overall story was so captivating that it had me hooked from the first chapter all the way to the end. All the characters are so diverse and have so much depth to them I would challenge anyone not to fall in love with them! Though the characters are fictional, they feature very real experiences of people from queer and BIPOC individuals and groups from this time period and events that took place. I personally always enjoy a story that can not only drag me in to fully but can also educate me on experiences or subjects I hadn't been exposed to before! This book checks all of my boxes!!
While story had no "spice" from what most adult romance readers used to (it is mentioned and hinted at and genetalia differences are discussed between the two love interests at one point, but no word were used that I'd have to censor on social media. Just kissing no FTB) , it has plenty of heartfelt moments between Benny and Rio that had me wiping tears from my eyes and kicking my feet at the same time! The rollercoaster of emotions I felt reading this were quite the ride, from heartbreak to anger to sadness and everything in between. The plot twists had me GASPING.
I most definitely recommend giving this book a read, so worth it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Homophobia, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Classism
Minor: Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Medical trauma, War, Deportation