Paperback'd Reviews

Book review: When the Tides Held the Moon by Venessa Vida Kelley

A swoon-worthy historical romantasy novel releasing just in time for MerMay!

When the Tides Held the Moon follows orphaned Puerto Rican blacksmith Benigno, who finds himself joining a Coney Island sideshow in 1911 after he's commissioned to build them a mysterious ironwork tank. It's only when he's brought along on a night-time excursion along the river that he discovers the truth - that the tank was built to cage their latest exhibit: a captured merman. Benigno has always kept his head down and stayed under the radar, but as he and the merman, Río, grow closer, Benigno finds his loyalties tested.

This was a fantastic read, and I loved everything about it: Kelley's lush prose and gorgeous illustrations; the liminal space setting of a closed fairground where two lovers meet in the dead of night; the found family bond between the various sideshow performers; the nuanced discussions of identity, freedom and belonging; the tooth-rotting sweetness of the romance between Benny and Río. All combined to make a pretty perfect stand-alone story.

Benigno and Río were well-rounded characters outside of their romance, as were many of the side characters, especially Sonia, whose sideplot was an unexpected part of the novel, but a very welcome addition. There were times when the characters did things I didn't like, but that's the sign of a well-written character in my opinion - they aren't always perfect.

I also loved that the novel featured the author's own illustrations - I've followed Venessa Vida Kelley's fanart for various fandoms for years, so it's a real treat to see their creations for their own characters.

Overall, a beautiful queer romance from a debut author I'm looking forward to reading much more from!

Many thanks to Erewhon Books for providing a copy of When the Tides Held the Moon, which will be released on April 29th. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Book review: A Restless Truth (The Last Binding #2) by Freya Marske

A sultry queer romance set aboard a ship crossing the Atlantic, with a new cast of characters teaming up to continue the adventure which began in A Marvellous Light.

A Restless Truth is a long novel, but it ended up being a quick read for me. Sadly, the protagonists of the first novel of this series, Robin and Edwin, don't make an appearance in this installment, but I enjoyed getting to see more of Maud, Robin's sister. Her romance with a scandalous magical heiress, Violet, was very steamy, although I do wish that it had been given some more build up - while the fact that the novel takes place over just six days at sea helped with the pace of the novel, I found Maud and Violet's instant connection a little unbelievable. I wish they'd had more time to get to know each other, or perhaps been introduced to each other in America, before the novel began.

Still, I enjoyed the magical twists and turns of this chapter of the Last Binding series, and Marske's dialogue was as witty as ever. I'm looking forward to reading the final book of the series - especially now that I've seen who the two protagonists will be. Hawthorn and Ross were a surprisingly entertaining part of this novel - given that I loathed Hawthorn in book one! - so I can't wait to get a better insight into their characters in book three.