Listed under: a book you shouldn't read if you're familiar at all with Japanese culture or language (especially if you also read a lot of translated Japanese fiction).

Water Moon on its head is an interesting premise - woman goes on a journey to find her missing father through a world rife with the supernatural and the otherworldly (literally). Woman also goes on that journey with a man who happens to show up at her door exactly when said journey must start. As expected, the two fall for each other pretty immediately despite a ton of things that happen and get revealed that should make it not so... and it's so very... I think this book would have been way better if Hana was searching on her own! Because this romance was so... for the sake of a romance I guess, but I think "shoehorned" is the word I'm looking for.

Without getting into a red-pen mark-up of all the things I had to pause and talk to my partner about that bothered me (or were simply wrong) about this book (yet), Water Moon just had Too Much going on. We were shot from here to there to over there to way over there and then back again, even before Hana and Keishin were running from those that ended up pursuing them. It's very hand-in-hand with one of my other major complaints: because this book was Inspired By My Trip To Japan, there are a TON of Japanese words/phrases/Cool Japan Things that are just thrown in for no reason except to have one more reference to Being In Japan. Additionally, things that felt like they should have been higher stakes or horrifying end up... either being hand-waved with, "oh, they'll be fine," or plot-wise not really mattering in the end. There was a reveal near the end that should have been horrifying! But because so much was going on and the stakes just felt like... whatever by this point, it really lost a lot of the punch.

Samantha Sotto Yambao, a Filipina author who was inspired to write this book after a trip to the older touristy parts of Kyoto, an area where some of the old houses have been converted into storefronts (including the famous Ninenzaka Starbucks, which is on the street she cites as her direct inspiration) to promote said tourism and to keep these areas preserved and afloat. Inspiration like that is totally fine, especially since a lot of the things that happen in the other world seem to be made up or vaguely inspired by instead of pieces of actual folktale, but using someone else's culture and throwing as much of it at the wall as possible in your 'cozy, Studio Ghibli-esque fantasy' there needs to be a certain degree of mindfulness which feels... missing here.

Hana is our protagonist who comes off very naive ("What's a date?") for the majority of the book, and then we're supposed to believe she's intentionally Kept Secrets and Made Lies the whole time instead of it being plot-convenient when it is (also she calls herself a monster for having The Same tattoos everyone in her world has. Tell me where that makes sense).

And then we have Keishin, a man who moved with his father overseas (although where is never specifically mentioned) for some years, but comes back for a job and immediately ends up in this pawn shop. At first him saying right away, "Call me Kei," bothered me, but I rationalized it as he's more used to that living abroad -- but that Hana immediately accepts and does so just pulled at the edge of my brain (this is a place where sometimes married couples even call each other by surname for a while-- first name basis is VERY serious). Kei mentioning/thinking several times, "my Japanese is rusty" but having zero issues communicating to anyone at any time despite the fact that we as readers should assume all dialogue is spoken in Japanese -- sure. This is just a way to, at least early on (as this does stop eventually), define to the reader Japanese words, but it was so clumsy and could have been easily done in context. Examples of Keishin translating for us but also to himself while speaking normally in all other regards:

"...then you may call it Isekai." Other world. Keishin translated the word in his head.
"The Shiikuin?" Keishin tried to remember the meaning of the word. "The Keepers? Like the caretakers of a zoo?"
"I am hoping that the Horishi will have some answers." "A tattoo artist?"

There are a ton other linguistic nitpicks I have that I wrote out but instead will summarize as: there are a lot of inconsistencies in the romanization of the Japanese language, inaccurate pluralizations (never say "animes" to me please), a lackadaisical use of honorifics while on the other hand Hana rarely uses contractions in her speech (I assume to make her seem otherworldly/old timey and if this was a translated novel MIGHT indicate she's speaking Formal Japanese or an outdated style/dialect... but it is not translated, so...), and several many instances of the Japanese being used where it's a word/phrase that is actually easily translated into English (example: Kyoiku Hakubutsukan [Keishin: "The Museum of Education?"] could have just been called that! Except that's not even accurate; it's had a new name in English for 75 years and Keishin is not 100 years old but whatever). For how OFTEN this is done, it really makes not just the language used (often incorrectly or at minimum inconsistently), but the whole worldbuilding, feel very... exoticized.

Also, Keishin's elevator side chapter story and the entirety of his mind palace I think don't really make a lot of sense either, like, I get what the last part was going for; I just don't think it worked.

I started to think that part of the problem is that the several books I read prior to Water Moon were all Japanese translated fiction (some being magical realism/urban fantasy and not a supernatural fantasy like this with very little of it in The Real World), and that I started learning Japanese language/culture ... maybe 25 years ago... so these things really stand out to me where they don't to other people (and I did talk to to be like "is it just me or") but overall it was a disappointing read that needed a lot more tightening up in both the amount of things happening in the plot and space for the romantic relationship to grow and the characters to actually develop into their own people past being individual plot devices even to us as readers in moments they're not being slingshotted around? And the longer I sat with the language and cultural issues sort of pushing at my mind, the more uncomfortable I feel about the lack of care with Yambao using someone else's culture for her story and then just making a mess of it in a way that people who aren't as familiar wouldn't easily realize just pushes the exoticism and "cool unproblematic Ghibli-vibes Japan" narrative further. I don't like that.

In the end, I am grateful to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Del Rey for the eARC (that I read every page of!) for approving my request to read and review , but this very much wasn't for me, as much as it really could have been.

THE ORIGAMI COVER IS SO COOL THOUGH... and the cover art! What a novel (no pun intended) idea!!

This book was whimsical, emotional, and more than a little bit strange. Travelling by puddle? Night market in the clouds? Waiting for trains that may or may not show up in your lifetime? That's the norm for the "other world," in which Hana and Keishin team up to look for her parents. This book reminded me a lot of Kazuo Ishiguro's books, and I will definitely be reading more works by this author!

Thank you to NetGalley and RandomHouse Publishing for this ARC! This book was an absolute delight to read. The writing style was intriguing and beautiful. I found myself wanting to highlight almost every passage- entranced by its beauty and wisdom. The concept of the book was also unique and attention grabbing. My only concern was pacing. I found the pace of the book quite slow for the first 80% and then warp speed for the last 20%. I wish the author had spread out some of the twists to build more intrigue and keep the reader engaged. Otherwise, this book was delightful and definitely will become a staple on my shelf.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, and Samantha Sotto Yambao for allowing me to read an early copy of Water Moon in exchange for my honest review.

This book was magical. I heard it compared to a Studio Ghibli film, and I have to agree it has that vibe. It highlights the bond between family members, the good and the bad, and its whimsy dial is at 100%. It's also incredibly fast paced, and it quickly transports you through Hana's colorful and diverse world.

Now, while this book was beautiful in its world building, and the plot is unique, it was not my cup of tea. The relationship between Hana and Keishin feels rushed and unbelievable. I suppose if I was a teen or in my 20's I may be able to believe the trope of "love at first site" but as a (still pretty romantic but realistic) 30 year old, I just couldn't believe that these two are immediately intertwined to a degree that Kei would go along with Hana.

Overall, I didn't have a bad time, and like I said it didn't disappoint when it came to whimsical worlds. It just wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free ebook in exchange for an honest review!

The pawn shop that Hana inherits is behind the door of a popular ramen shop, is only revealed to certain people, and deals in choices. When Hana wakes up to find the shop ransacked and her father missing, she sets out to find out what happened with a curious stranger who stumbles upon the shop. Their journey takes them across worlds as the truth is slowly revealed.

Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao is a magical adventure story about love, trust and choices. I was expecting a slower and cozier type of story, so the faster pace and mystery elements surprised me. I loved all of the otherworldly settings that Hana and Keishin traveled to, and how he was mind-blown every time. It was whimsical and very cool to experience those different settings. On the other hand, it was a little disorienting to hop between settings so often and made me lose a little of the thread of the plot. I enjoyed the romance element, but I would have liked a little more depth from the relationship. I think I enjoyed the first part more than the climax and resolution, but overall was happy to be along for the ride.

Water Moon is full of unique magical places that had my imagination spinning with vivid imagery. However, you spend very little time at most locations. I struggled to connect with the characters and wanted more depth/detail from both the characters and the scenery. It felt like someone was flipping the pages at lightning speed when I wanted to sit and stare at the pictures. I wanted to love Water Moon, and I truly think this would be a magical reading experience for others.

I received an ARC from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Del Rey via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Water Moon.

Occasionally, I’ll read a book in a genre outside my comfort zone to break up the monotony of the thriller/suspense books I always read.

Water Moon sounded intriguing; I don’t read fantasy, but the premise really drew me in.

It started out interesting, but as I kept reading, I started to get annoyed.

The constant jumping back and forth between these surreal worlds was distracting. The descriptions are beautiful and what these worlds do and are capable of, but we never stay long in them to find out more.

There’s little exposition and depth to these magical places, before we move on to the next fantasy realm.

I’m not a fan of romance for romance sakes and I’m against main characters saying “I love you” the second they lay eyes on each other.

That meant the insta-love connection between Kei and Hana was a huge turnoff for me, especially since they kept speaking lovey-dovey to one another.

And don’t get me started on the love triangle. Sheesh.

Writing is good, but dialogue is formal, stilted. People don’t speak like this in real life, fantasy world or not.

Hana is barely developed; it’s her fate to operate the pawnshop for her life but that doesn’t mean she has to be boring and without a personality.

Kei is okay, a little more developed but he sounds pretty boring and his Freudian mommy issues made him less of a catch and more someone who needed to get on Dr. Freud’s couch ASAP.

If anything, I wanted to find out more about the Shiikuin. They reminded me of the Dementors from Harry Potter.

When I began putting this book down to read something else, I knew it was a bad sign. It took me almost two months to finish this.

The premise had great potential but cheesy romance tropes and corny dialogue drained the fantasy and magic out of the narrative.

This book is a dreamlike, magical journey that had me hooked from the start. Hana inherits a pawnshop where people can sell their regrets, only to find it ransacked and her father missing on her first day. Enter a charming young physicist, who offers to help instead of seeking help, and the two embark on an enchanting quest through mystical landscapes. With paper cranes, rain puddles, and a night market in the clouds, it’s a world full of wonder and romance. The whimsical origami jacket design is a perfect touch, making this a cozy, unforgettable read.

A cozy fantasy with action packed scenes and a beautiful cover!

Hana Ishikawa inherits a secret pawnshop in Tokyo where people trade their regrets. After her father disappears and a valuable item is stolen, she teams up with a physicist to recover both—traveling through a surreal world of magical realms and hidden truths.

I absolutely loved the narrator for this book and found her to be very soothing to listen to. A big reason why I kept reading was because of the phenomenal narrator - however I think I’m learning that cozy fantasies are not for me.

When I first read about this book I thought “a magical pawnshop where you can pawn regrets?” COUNT ME IN. The story ended up being filled with more magic and whimsy than I thought it would be.

Hana and Keishien’s adventures through a dreamlike world to find out what happened to Hana’s father after the pawnshop is ransacked was poetic and so vivid. It was cozy but thought provoking at the same time and examines our choices and regrets in a really beautiful way.

I’ve seen this book recommended for fans of Studio Ghilbi and I definitely also got those sorts of vibes from it. All in all a really lovely escape from reality on the surface, with much deeper and thoughtful messages intertwined throughout.

The premise of this story is the reason why I requested this book. The book description promised a magical journey that would feel dreamlike, fantastical, and unique - coupled with beautiful and lyrical writing - which in a way delivered that however, overall the story fell short for me.  

The unique world in this story is vast and because it is so vast and fast-paced, we as the readers miss the details at almost every stop. When the main characters would pop into a new place, I found myself in a similar situation as the male main character of awe and wonder, excited to get to know this new world and its quirkiness. Within what felt like minutes, however, we were done and on to the next experience. 3/4 of the way in I found it very hard to continue to invest myself and my time in the story. I couldn’t keep up or felt disappointed I couldn’t fully experience what was such unique opportunities. 

I may try another story from this author in the future but this one wasn’t for me.

Thank you, NetGalley for an advanced reader copy for my honest review.

I was soooo extremely excited for this book because of the beautiful cover and synopsis, but felt that it fell a little short of my expectations. While it did feel like a Ghibli film, full of beautiful settings, complex relationships, and a heaping dose of whimsy and nonsense but also sprinkled with darkness, it just didn't completely grab me. In all honesty, the characters felt too dull to keep me interested, and the romance made me want to quit the book altogether because of the insta-love, which is one of my pet peeves in any book. I will say that the prose is lyrical, and the mysteries kept me intrigued until the end, where everything comes together.

I still think this will appeal to readers that love Japenese folklore and fantastical stories; I just feel disappointed that I am not among them this time. I will definitely look into the author in the future as the ideas are there and I see the vision! 3 stars.

This was a book that was so visually immersive - it really did feel like I was inside a Studio Ghibli film, if Hayao Miyazaki decided to make it REALLY violent. I seriously wasn't expecting this to be as dark as it was. I appreciated that aspect of it, though, because it made the stakes feel real and added depth to the whimsy.

Wow, I adored Water Moon! It was whimsical, emotional, and quite the wild ride! There were so many twists and turns that I did not see coming. Hana and Keishin's love felt very relatable as two deeply flawed people trying to get closer to one another. There was also some powerful commentary on the nature of choices and what we must give up each time we make one. I definitely recommend Water Moon to anyone who likes moving, completely engrossing fantasy novels!

Upon finishing Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao, I was mostly with imprints of how it made me feel, rather than any lasting memory of what actually happened. That tends to be the case with this specific brand of "cozy" contemporary lit, and while I don't typically gravitate towards this genre, I did mostly enjoy Water Moon. The premise of the book, that people can sell their regrets in a hidden pawnshop behind a ramen restaurant, is intriguing enough. But what kept me interested in this book was less the plot and more the magical atmosphere that Samantha Sotto Yambao was able to build over the course of the novel. Some elements were a bit underdeveloped for me (the relationships, for example), but overall I'm glad that I read this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey books for my advanced digital copy.

Sadly this book has a beautiful cover and the synopsis sounded wonderful but it wasn’t the book for me. I was so confused by Hana’s world plus I found the love at first sight between Hana and Keishin highly unbelievable. But overall the plot just had me profoundly confused and I did not enjoy it.

**Thanks to the author and publisher for the e-arc I received via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.**

I sadly didn’t love Water Moon, even though it was one of my anticipated releases. I don’t have much to say, it was just okay. I get the Studio Ghibli comparisons—the melancholic and whimsical vibes were there. Overall, the story felt disjointed, it might’ve worked better if it were shorter or structured as a collection of stories. The romance didn’t click for me either; it was too fast, with no real buildup.

This book gave me all the vibes of a Studio Ghibli movie, but unfortunately, as a book, it didn’t hit the mark for me. In my mind this was like Spirited Away, but different vibes. The concept of this book was sooo cool, and I really thought this could be amazing - a magical pawnshop for regrets in Tokyo? YES, PLEASE! 😍

But the execution felt a little lacking. It felt forced, and the adventures, while trying to feel whimsical, felt all over the place. There were so many neat + whimsical ideas, paper cranes that fly, puddles you can jump into for teleportation—but it felt like the author just threw in every idea she had without really tying them together in a meaningful way.

My other main problem with this book was that it was insta-love. Maybe it's I've been reading a lot of it recently, but I like to see a relationship actually develop. You're telling me people who just met are 100% in love immediately? Idk I didn't buy it, and it made the book a little frustrating. Also, the pacing was all over the place. There were moments where I thought, “Okay, we’re getting somewhere,” but then the plot would just drift off into another whimsical adventure with no real purpose. I needed more tension, more urgency, but it just never came. It felt like the story was just wandering around, chasing after some off-page character, with no real sense of direction.

I will say, though, the world-building was lovely in its own way. The imagery was stunning, and the dreamlike settings were definitely a visual treat. But as much as I wanted to love this, it just didn’t come together in a way that made me feel connected to the characters or invested in the plot.

In the end, I think this book will find its audience, especially if you're into magical realism and whimsical vibes. But if you're looking for a deeper, more grounded story, this might not be your cup of tea.

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the e-arc!
An asboltly beautiful written book; It defintly lives up to the Studio Ghibli comparisons espically with the emtional and beautiful atomsphere. The pawnshop is such an interesting premise, where people give up their regrets, letting them live a bit easier. The author did an amazing job at making the world feel so real; it felt like we could find this shop in our world one day. It's definitely more melancholy than expected but still just as beautiful.

I got to say that I didn’t really love this book as much as I thought I would. I’m not saying that I hate it or that it was horrible. I did enjoy reading it. I just thought that I would love it as much as everyone else is. 

It had the perfect description of a cozy fantasy read with Studio Ghibli vibes. I just could not get into the pacing. It was a tad too slow for me. I enjoy the intricate world-building within Watermoon, but it was a tad too slow-paced. I needed to pick up a bit.

Besides the slow pacing, I definitely enjoy the chemistry between Hana and Keishin. It was unexpected but yet slowly building as they continued to spend more and more time with each other. It was Hana and Keishin's choice to grow closer even though they were both from different worlds.