When the Tides Held the Moon

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. “Venessa gives life to the most unexpected things. I have a strongstrong feeling that this is the start of something special.” —TJ KLUNENew York Times Bestselling author of The House in the Cerulean Sea 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 playgroundLuna Parkastounds everyoneespecially 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 exhibita livingbreathingin-the-flesh merman stolen from the banks of the East River under a gleaming full moon. The merman is more than a mythic marvelthough. Benny comes to know Río as a clever philosopheran observant travelerand a kindred spirit more beautiful and compassionate than any human he’s ever met. Despite their different worldswhat begins as a friendship of necessity deepens to loveleading 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 familybankrupting their homeand losing his soulmate foreverBenny must look within for the courage to do what’s rightand find a love strong enough to free them both. \