ARC REVIEW OF WHEN THE TIDES HELD THE MOON - Venessa Vida Kelley

AHHH as a die-hard fan of The Greatest Showman, queer stories and loveable side characters with a ton of character development, this was everything I could have asked for....Not to mention the found family!!! *banging my fist on the table, screaming crying throwing up*

29/11/2025

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

POTENTIAL SPOILERS MENTIONED BELOW


Benny, a Pueto Rican Blacksmith from New York joins a "circus of oddities" after assisting in the capture of a merman, and what follows is a story of love, discovery, hope, etc.

To get the negative out of the way, I was irked by the way the one child was written. I am not a big fan of baby talk, and "babying" words like "wooking" for looking, is something that will always hurt my brain a little bit. I am around younger children often, and they just do not talk like that. HOWEVER, the child, Timmy, was barely in the story, and so this did not affect my reading experience all that much.

I haveee to talk about the found family, before i delve into the romance between Benny and Rio.

Every single member of the "circus" was lovable in some way. They were all made out to be well-rounded characters, even when one was on the verge of betraying the other.

Emmet and Eli.... my heart, my soul, I can'ttttt take it. And bonus points for trans rep. we loveee trans rep!!

I loved Sonia. Her intentions were all clear, whether it was stated outright or said through subtext. My heart cracked for her, especially during her "traitorous" moments, which didn't last long. It didn't come from nowhere, and felt appropriate to previous knowledge of her.

Now... Benny. I loved it. Benny's POV was wonderful. He made me cringe, laugh, roll my eyes, and had me rooting for him the entire time, even during the short period of time that he was being an idiot. He also made me come very close to crying on multiple occassions.

Now the romance. Normally I am VERYY fussy with romance in books. This felttt quite quick, but for some reason the way Benny and Rio were written had my heart. Watching Rio soften, and Benny's confidence grow was a highlight.

The ending felt a bit rushed, but again, it also felt appropriate. Considering this is a debut novel, I really really loved it.

HUUUGE thank you to the publishers and to Netgalley for giving me an eARC of this book. I look forward to seeing what Kelley writes next.