Water Moon captivated me with its profoundly lyrical prose and thought-provoking sentences. The author's writing is truly beautiful, creating a magical atmosphere reminiscent of a Studio Ghibli film. I often found myself pausing to savor the deeper meanings embedded within the text.

However, while the setting and prose were enchanting, the characters and narrative flow presented some challenges. The characters, unfortunately, felt somewhat one-dimensional, and the romantic relationship seemed to materialize abruptly rather than develop organically. Furthermore, the story's transitions were often jarring, with paragraphs shifting abruptly to new locations without sufficient context. This lack of smooth transitions disrupted the overall reading experience. I also yearned for a more immersive exploration of the world's intricate details and inner workings.

Despite these shortcomings, Water Moon's evocative prose and whimsical atmosphere make it a worthwhile read for those who appreciate beautiful language and magical settings. However, those seeking well-developed characters and a seamless narrative may find themselves wanting more.

Pretty and insubstantial as seafoam. There are too many ideas - a pawnshop that buys your regrets! Traveling by puddle, paper crane, or a rumor's spreading! Stars made of hopes that are actually kites or something I have to admit I forgot the second I turned the page! - and they don't hold together well or add up to anything much. There are a lot of gorgeous visuals but no sense of direction or reason or *matter* to them. (And, frankly, the prose isn't good enough to create those visuals in writing beyond the basic ideas of them. Italo Calvino this is not.)

The Studio Ghibli comparisons are apt (and obnoxiously lampshaded within the book), but the whimsical visual designs of a Ghibli film come along with characters who feel like people, a strong sense of pacing, a tightly constructed plot, and the feeling of things mattering. Those pretty ideas and visuals are there to serve the story, not the other way around. In contrast, Water Moon feels like a flimsy story that exists solely to (poorly) support the lovely veneer, not the other way around. There are no bones to Water Moon, just a lot of pretty bubbles of ideas that don't really go anywhere.

Thank you to the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Water Moon pulled me in and I stayed to the very end. Lovely, haunting, compelling, it kept my attention even when the path took me places I'd rather not have gone. . .as a reader one gets to know the "likely" path a tale will take, and this one doesn't indulge readers. It goes where it will.

There's atmospheric mythos here, heroes in unexpected places, and mind catching discussions about the questions we all have. Questions about free will, family, sacrifice, accountability and what we deserve. This author offers up an entrancing proposal for all such profound and heartbreaking questions.

It took me weeks to come to my written response. . .had to re-read the favorite bits, and am bumping up to all the stars. Lovely and re-readable, it deserves them, so say I.

*A sincere thank you to Samantha Sotto Yambao, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review independently.* #WaterMoon #NetGalley

i loved the world of this book and the concept of it, but it got too focused on a romance i couldn't settle into for me to truly love it. i will be reading more from this author in the future, though!

Water Moon is a Japanese-inspired fantasy about a pawnshop in Tokyo where people trade their deepest regrets. When the shop owner, Toshio, goes missing, his daughter Hana teams up with Keishin, a young physicist, to uncover secrets that challenge their understanding of fate and science. Their journey delves into themes of regret, free will, and the power of choices.

The writing is lyrical, with a dreamlike pace that immerses readers in a world where magic and science collide. The narrative alternates between Hana and Keishin’s perspectives, balancing whimsy with deep philosophical themes. Fans of Studio Ghibli and whimsical narratives will find much to enjoy.

The novel explores the weight of regret, the struggle between fate and free will, and the impact of choices. Hana’s emotional growth is inspiring, and the evolving relationship between her and Keishin adds depth to the story. Their slow-burn romance complements the novel’s themes of connection and self-determination.

Final Thoughts: Water Moon is a captivating work of magical realism that combines world-building, emotional depth, and thought-provoking themes. It’s a must-read for fans of fantasy and philosophical fiction, offering a soul-stirring exploration of life, love, and the choices we make.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

This was a great book! A woman inherits her dad’s pawn shop and learns the repercussions of love, loss and what it means to be human.

Very VERY similar to Before the Coffee Gets Cold and a very sweet story! I loved Hana as a main character and was very intriguing. I think that the story telling was lovely and it was a sweet very cute story! I would recommend this to people who love time travelling romances and wanting second chances.

While the premise was nice, the writing was... not what I expected. I wanted more from the characters because I felt that what was on the front cover and the front flap was not what we were given.

More like a 3.75. Very whimsical and imaginative but fell a little flat. The writing style was beautiful and digestible and I thought the Hana and Keishin’s inner monologues were beautifully done, like some of the best I’ve ever read, but I also felt like it was lacking in depth at some points. Or maybe not lacking in depth so much as not eliciting the feelings I was supposed to feel? It felt difficult to connect with Hana and Keishin’s relationship and because that was the thing holding the plot together, especially toward the end, I ended up not really feeling a super deep connection to the book as a whole. The beginning also happened super fast, but I don’t think that was any fault on the author’s behalf. Overall, super mixed feelings (mostly positive) about this one and I’m excited to see what the author writes next!

I did not care for the plot line at all. It felt incredibly rushed making it hard for me to follow along, and I was especially thrown off by the initial characters at the literal beginning of the book being traded off for the actual main characters. The romance was very bland and eh, not leaving me invested. I just had a really hard time reading this and was left feeling like this was such a burden to get through.

Beautiful. Stunning. Underhyped. Obsessed. The whole book is a vibe to the point I bought a physical copy as well. Love love love. I need more books like this in my life

I understand what the author was trying to do with this book and I do think the world was very interesting, sadly, going in with the expectation (and being told) it was Studio Ghibli-esque, I found it very lacking in any type of whimsy. The world and characters were very flat and one dimensional. Not to mention I detest insta-love. The two main characters were already fawning over each other in less than a day and were kissing by day one. No thanks. DNF at 46%. 2 stars simply for the unique world-building.

This book is beautifully written but ultimately I was a little bored by the actual story. I loved the magical realism and concepts of the story: a magical pawnshops where you trade regrets, a father gone missing, a scientist searching for answers and a daughter trying to prove herself. The Japanese culture was beautifully woven throughout and the overall vibes feel like a studio Ghibli film. However, the pacing shifts were difficult to follow, I wasn’t fully convinced of the romance between main characters and there was no real action that took place beyond lots of movement from place to place.

Oooh boy this one is hard. I was very excited about this one because the cover is absolutely stunning and I loved the premise.

This book feels like it was meant to be a movie. The concept and the settings were delightful and whimsy and the writing itself was lyrical. If this was animated a la Studio Ghibli or ATLA, I think it would have achieved what it was trying to do. It was also dialogue heavy which can work, but the dialogue itself felt stilted.

The other thing I had issue with was the way books feel like they are written around tropes, this book felt like it was written around profound quotes to the point where they lost their meaning. I didn't love the romance and thought it detracted from the main character's journey as opposed to added to it. For a book that was less than 400 pages, it felt like it was too short and too long all the same time.

I honestly didn't think that I was going to love Water Moon after hearing about it at SDCC but I loved it!

this book was so incredibly written - filled with such vivid details of the picturesque world that Samantha Sotto Yambao created! the constant themes of discovering ones true potential, of hope, and love had created such a thought-provoking theme throughout the entire story.

i highly highly recommend this incredible read! it was beautiful, the characters, the world, and the story as a whole.

4.25 ⭐️

This was by far the most magical dream-like book I have ever read and it was so fun! I think a lot of studio Ghibli fans will adore this book just like I did. I felt the plot was fast paced and the written very lyrical. Would highly reccomend!

Water Moon features a slow build, which builds to a slow story, which almost seems to wander through the book. Maybe going for a cozy, reflective vibe—but I just found it dull. Slow, and dull. Human characters, but not interesting enough ones to keep me engrossed. Or, even, ever make me care about the story in any meaningful way. I'm amazed that this got such good reviews—but to each their own. This really didn't turn out to be my kind of book, so I didn't push through it to the end just to leave a grumpy, scathing review. Much better to bin it at the halfway point (or thereabouts) and chalk it up as 'not for me'.

An intricately thought out and detailed, whimsical novel. Beautifully written and crafted. Hana has just taken over running a different sort of pawn shop from her father when the shop is ransacked, her father is missing and a handsome stranger shows up, offering his help. What follows is a fantastical journey into a different world unlike any I have ever experienced.

This novel was incredibly moving while also leaving me wondering what on earth could happen next. My only qualm with the novel is that it was a slow start/took a bit for me to really get into it. But that could very well be be because I have never read anything like it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a digital ARC of this title!

the writing style in this was all over the place, and it completely took me out of the story at times. the romance was also very shallow and, quite frankly, boring. i did not care about it at any point, which is a shame because it takes up a good majority of this book.

Unfortunately, I did not get to reading this as an ARC due to the holidays and flu and work. But I do look forward to reading this as a finished book.