Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

I just read The Shape of Water and it works for many ATY prompts! Not all of these may work for everyone, but this is how I would classify it!

I felt the book was better than the movie, but not by much. I LOVED the movie and LOVED the book as well. I felt the book provided a bit more insight into most of the characters, just as I would expect.

#4 Criminal character--Strickland! Although he was ordered by his military/governmental superior, he was still a criminal for kidnapping, abusing, and almost killing the Gill-god!
#7 or #8 Two books related to the same topic, genre, or theme--FANTASY, HISTORICAL FICTION, SCIENCE FICTION, ROMANCE (it is listed as all of these in Goodreads!)
#9 Top money-making genres--ROMANCE/EROTICA, SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY
#10 Book featuring a historical figure--Deus Branchia, the Gill-god
#16 A book told from multiple perspectives
#17 A speculative fiction-FANTASY
#23 4 books inspired by the wedding rhyme
Book #1 Something Old--Deus Branchia,
the Gill-god
#26 4 books inspired by the wedding rhyme
Book #4 Something Blue--Cover is mostly blue and water is considered to be blue!
#39 A book with a strong sense of place or where the author
brings the location/setting to life--Occam, isolated & oppressive--the climate and weather, first very dry/drought conditions, and then extremely rainy with immense flooding
#42 A book with a monster or "monstrous" character--Strickland was definitely monstrous, and that's being nice!
#43 A book related to STEM (Science, Technology,
Engineering, Math) [fiction or nonfiction]--scientific
"research" on an one-of-a-kind unique creature
#44 A book related in some way to a TV show/series or movie
you enjoyed (same topic, same era, book appeared in the
show/movie, etc.)--I LOVED the movie!
#50 A book that includes a journey (physical, health, or
spiritual)--physical as Strickland hunts down the Gill-god, spiritual for Elisa and Hoffstetler, physical and health for the Gill-god as he endures capture and shipping to Occam and then confinement, torture, and discovering Elisa.