Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
When the Tides Held the Moon

When the Tides Held the Moon

Kelley, Venessa Vida

Hardcover

FantasyGeneral GLBTQIA Fiction

Publisher Price: $29.00

ISBN10: 1645661539
ISBN13: 9781645661535
Publisher: Erewhon Books
Published: Apr 29 2025
Pages: 464
Weight: 1.58
Height: 1.42 Width: 6.31 Depth: 8.40
Language: English
The Shape of Water meets The Greatest Showman in this beautifully illustrated queer historical cozy fantasy, as a young Puerto Rican immigrant goes through a journey of love and self-discovery after capturing a merman for a Coney Island sideshow act in turn-of-the 20th century New York.

A lushly illustrated historical romance . . . This book is a charming fable -- an elemental dance of fire and water. ―THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

A Goodreads Choice Awards Finalist USA Today Bestseller BookRiot Best Books of the Year Amazon Best Romantasy of the Year Reader's Digest Top 10 of the Year

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.

When the Tides Held the Moon is a beautifully illustrated novel with artwork throughout by Venessa Vida Kelley, known for her stunning romance and fantasy art. This novel includes two different full-color endpapers for front and back, fully-designed chapter headers, and 27 pieces of detailed illustrations throughout, using beautiful two-color, aqua blue and black inks.

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