Stephani’s Reviews > When the Tides Held the Moon > Status Update

“How much do you love him?”

How MUCH? Like 45 percent? What is this question?

I’m pushing to get through this book to get to Whalefall before the movie, but this line cracked me up.

Benny is beyond passive. Does he make a single decision in this whole novel? He seems to just move in whatever direction he’s pushed, yet he has an arrogance like he stands for something. He’s as bad as Bear from Obsession, whining about wanting a merman while doing nothing to deserve loyalty or love.

I pushed through largely because of the narrators reading the audiobook. They are very entertaining. Unfortunately, the book remains tonally inconsistent. People fall in love with each other like dolls in a child’s hand—nonsensical orders of “now kiss” overlaying each interaction.

The beginning of this book was great. Fast paced and entertaining. It came with big characters and a fun mystery. But as soon as the merman becomes a character, it falls into tired romantasy tropes. Every interaction becomes contrived. The characters get muddled. I’m on the verge of DNF.