When the Tides held the Moon by Venessa Vida Kelley is enchanting on so many levels, starting not only with the gorgeous cover art but the numerous black and white illustrations throughout the book, all created by the author. However, this volume is much more than a pretty set of pictures.
The story is set in New York of 1910 where orphaned Benny Caldera is given the chance to display his impressive blacksmith skills by making a special ironworks cage for the sideshow proprietor of Luna Park at Coney Island.
This leads Benny to a job at Luna Park, the first break he’s gotten since arriving to New York. However, the occupant of that cage, a merman named Rio, becomes more than just one of the main attractions for tourists to gawk at.
A deep emotional bond forms between Benny and Rio, bringing forth plans for the two of them to escape together but how can that be done safely and what would their ultimate future be?
I do like the Shape of Water vibes that this book is sending out, plus the period piece energy that creates ripples in the pop culture pond with this storytelling stone skimming across the literary surface to make creatively wonderful waves:
To that, I added Upon a Starlit Tide by Kell Woods. Another amazing cover, so beautiful to behold!
This time, we go to Brittany , France in 1878, where the daughter of a wealthy ship merchant is truly longing to be under the sea.
Lucinde finds her older sisters’ husband hunting a dull business and is more interested in learning the ways of sailing from her friend Samuel(who also happens to be an English smuggler). When she rescues a drowning man, however, Luce finds herself being lead towards those tedious ballrooms by this new acquaintance.
However, she still feels called to the sea and perhaps there’s a bit of magic that can make those aquatic longings come true. Is Lucinde destined to be a lady of the land or a maiden voyager of the fathoms below?
This just sounds lovely and this book is described as a combination of Cinderella and The Little Mermaid, which sound as perfect a pairing as champagne and caviar:
Continuing with my subscription book boxes, it’s clear that I need to use an on-again/off-again strategy. Next month, I will skip Aardvark and use Book of the Month (both clubs allow you to skip and/or pause, plus save your credit for next time) and so on . Orders may vary but I do like the varieties offered by each club as long as I can make it work within my budget.
As for these two merpeople titles, it’s a fine example of artists making outstanding new takes on time honored traditional tales, giving us all new story songs to sing: