"This mans Brooklyn accent was thick enough to insulate a house."

“I cannot take your burdens,” he went on. “But if you let me, I can bear them with you for a while.” I stared at him with his arm lifted over his head like Lady Liberty, his open hand offering promises I was afraid to believe in. With his eyebrows bunched up and low over his wide eyes, he looked nearly as grieved as I felt. “I can’t swim,” I whispered. “I can carry you.” “My lungs—”
“Benigno, I will not let you drown.”

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for a review.

When the Tides Held the Moon follows the  journey of Benny Caldera, a young Puerto Rican man who flees his homeland for New York, to fulfil his Tita's dying wish - chance at a better life. Instead, he finds himself in an ironworks surrounded by other immigrants. The oppressive heat and smoke of the forge weigh heavily on Benny, aggravating his asthma and amplifying his profound sense of isolation. Mocked by those around him, Benny feels like an outsider in every sense.
His life changes when he is asked to design a tank for Coney Island's Luna Park—a structure meant to house the park's latest exhibit. However after being deliberately sabotaged by his colleagues his approaches Samuel Morgan, who commissioned the tank and subsequently joins   "Morgan's Menagerie of Human Oddities" as blacksmith, general handyman but also the caretaker for the  tank’s mysterious resident—a mythical merman Benny names Rio.
Over time, Benny and Rio's friendship blossoms, but Benny faces a harrowing choice: freeing Rio, whose captivity haunts him, or preserving the exhibit, which may be the only thing keeping Luna Park from financial ruin.

🎡  When the Tides Held the Moon had such a dreamlike quality that captivated me from start to finish. I loved the blending of genres, from magical realism to historical fantasy, with a touch of folklore-inspired storytelling—there’s a lot of overlap here that works beautifully. The historical elements were especially engaging for me such as

The description of the Luna Park fire was particularly striking, evoking a haunting connection to the 1979 Luna Park fire in Australia.

 

🎡  Kelley's writing is so rich with vivid imagery and prose, that the illustrations feel almost unnecessary— her words alone paint such a clear and vibrant picture. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed each one, what a treasure trove.  If you have the opportunity to include them, why not take it?. I'm honestly looking forward to purchasing my own physical copy of this book to enjoy as a reread.  While the illustrations in the eBook version were lovely (if not finalised in the Arc) I can only imagine how stunning they’ll look printed on a physical page. 

🎡 As with any circus or carnival story, having a vibrant and extraordinary cast of sideshow characters is essential, and Kelley delivers this beautifully.  Her descriptions of stereotypical roles (The tall man, the fat lady, the strongman, ect)  like Igor the Giant, had me chuckling more than once. There's also a real focus on found family here, which is a favourite trope of mine. I also appreciated the inclusion of an extra queer couple as side characters—it was a delightful touch that wasn’t immediately obvious. In some LGBT books, secondary queer couples can sometimes steal the spotlight from the main relationship, but that wasn’t the case here. Kelley struck the perfect balance, keeping the focus where it belonged while still adding depth and diversity to her cast.

🎡  The romance between Rio and Benny is everything you need in a devastatingly beautiful merfolk narrative. It was slow burn, tender and my heart still aches thinking about it.  Rio begins as a "defanged viper," consumed with rage, and slowly transforms into a snobby prince before finally committing wholeheartedly.  Every interaction between them feels like a lyrical, musical exchange, full of both joys, sorrows and deeply raw. 

The mystery surrounding Benny’s origins and the Hurricane added the perfect layer of intrigue, making it the cherry on top of an already rich and captivating story.

   

🌕 What I struggled with, was the sheer amount of Spanish phrases in this book (I am English speaking only). While the Spanish phrases adds cultural flavour and depth to Bennys inner world. I often felt as I was lost at sea without an immediate context. Helpfully, there is a glossary at the back which was good for some sections, but for singular words I heavily relied on the ebook function going straight to Google Translate and I had such FOMO.
 
Fans of Water for Elephants, Big Fish, and the Greatest Showman - A phenomenal debut, Kelley and her team should be very proud.