With lush illustrations and buoyant prose, Venessa Vida Kelley blends historical fantasy with epic romance at the turn of the 20th century in this unforgettable New York fairytale of queer identity and found family. 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 playground, Luna Park, astounds everyone, especially the eccentric sideshow 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 exhibit, a living, breathing, in-the-flesh merman stolen from the banks of the East River under a gleaming full moon. The merman is more than a mythic marvel, though. Benny comes to know Río as a clever philosopher, an observant traveler, and a kindred spirit more beautiful and compassionate than any human he’s ever met. Despite their different worlds, what begins as a friendship of necessity deepens to love, leading 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 family, bankrupting their home, and losing his soulmate forever, Benny must look within for the courage to do what’s right, and find a love strong enough to free them both.

A placeholder to use for a 600 page equivalent fanfic. In your review you can note the name of the fic. Please remember to observe fandom etiquette and abstain from leaving star ratings.

Jessie Bonesaw, the second of the Bonesaw brothers, runs the family business now, and boy, does it feel good to be king. Even if he has to break a few kneecaps…but who doesn’t? At Bare Bones Cars & Repairs, with his right-hand bugbear-slash-roommate, Nikolai, at his side, he is finally making a name for himself. Until succubus Katarina Hurley is towed into their lot with a kid on her hip and tear-stained cheeks. She's in need of a place to crash that isn’t Gill’s house, and the boys offer up their humble abode. A comfy bed, pancakes in the morning, and a cherished, stuffed platypus for the kiddo? It's the most freedom she's felt in a long time, but that freedom comes with an infinite to-do list and a ticking time clock. She has 30 days till her cruel ex-husband gets out. It doesn’t help that Katarina’s also starving…and a girl's gotta eat, right? So why not both? But something sinister is slinking around in the underbelly of King’s Fall. Reports to the Enforcers, rats that squeal in the ears of powerful men, and people purposely not paying their debts, someone means to make a mess of Jessie’s business. And they’ll happily destroy anyone in their path. Nikolai’s tough, but can he keep Katarina, Isabella, and the man he’s been in love with since he was a teen safe? Has Katarina just jumped out of the pan and directly into the fire? Can Jessie actually handle the family business? He won’t go down without a fight and he’ll use everything his father taught him to come out on top.