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.

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group Ballentine – Del Ray, for this advanced reading copy of this beautiful, lyrical, poetic book.

On the morning of Hana inheriting her family’s mystical pawnshop, she wakes up to the shop ransacked and her father missing, along with the shop’s front door open to the “outside” world and the previous visitor to the pawnshop regret missing. Intersecting and inspecting the clues her father left, Hana navigates her world with the help of a curious stranger who stumbles into the mix. The reader is thrust into a world they can only imagine! A world where traveling by jumping into a pool of water to get to another part of town is possible, or journeying to a village where everyone helps to get ready for night to come by painting the stars. Not only is Hana giving the reader and Keishin a glimpse into her world and navigating the clues to find her father, but she is also running from the Shiikuin, who are known to punish those for disrupt the balance of their world. But Hana gets so much more as she uncovers the truth of her family’s past. Will Hana and Keishin find her father without getting caught by the Shiikuin and return the balance to the pawnshop? You will have to read the book to find out!

As I read more fantasy books, I am intrigued by the mimicry of folklore and the different cultures the stories represent. Japanese culture is beautiful and portrayed whimsically. This book was beautiful and poetic. The author dropped many life lessons and words of wisdom throughout this book as Hana and Keishin journeyed through the mystical world. Her world maintained balance by not mirroring the mistakes of our world. The people had their futures mapped out on their bodies, which was revealed when it rained. They knew their professions, who they would marry, and how they would die. Not only that, they were grateful and did not live with greed. I purchased this book and will be rereading this.

Water Moon was a magical trip through a fairy-tale like setting, with ponds that will let you transverse universes, the ability to travel on the wings of a rumor, a night sky lit with stars made of hope manifested, and candles that record the prayers of the person who last whispered to them.

Each new leg of the adventure that Hana and Keishin found themselves in while being pursued by the terrifying Sheikun brought me the pure joy of one of my favorite aspects of reading fantasy: getting to see the creativity of the author on display as we get new little morsels of whimsy in their fantastical world. Samantha Sotto Yambao has created a lovely, albeit at times cold and terrifying, world that felt like a magical dream as I discovered more along with Keishin, our reader stand-in. Along the way, we explore the theme of choices, how the choices we make define us, the regrets our choices may leave behind, and the reality that we will always have a choice, for better or for worse. The characters in the story were charming and interesting, but the setting and world-building is truly what shines throughout. While there is information we learn at the end that adds helpful context to some of the relationships we see develop throughout the story (avoiding spoilers), the one piece in this story that fell flat for me personally was the instant-love between Hana and Keishin. For me as a reader, I know I enjoy more of a slow-burn build up between characters destined for romance, but this is just a preference and does not at all deter me from recommending this book to other readers! This books is perfect for fans of Studio Ghibli-esque tone or style, or those who want a cozy fantasy read without sacrificing the suspense or emotional impact of the plot lines.

Water Moon is a beautifully written, thoughtfully crafted, and flawlessly executed novel—I was genuinely so impressed.

The prose is lyrical without being overdone, the story rich with emotion and nuance. Every element, from the character development to the pacing, feels intentional and deeply considered.

It’s the kind of book that quietly stays with you

I received an advanced copy of Water Moon from Netgalley and the publisher and am leaving this review voluntarily.

I wanted to like Water Moon so badly. I had heard it was reminiscent of Studio Ghibli films, and I was ready for the whimsical, slightly nonsensical journey I was about to go on. Unfortunately, I was left utterly confused and somewhat bored.

After reading some books in the magical realism genre, I'm beginning to think that they are not for me. While I can deal with some lack of structure and a bit of "well, that makes no sense to me, but I guess it makes sense in the non-rules of this world," when absolutely nothing is explained, I have to draw the line. I was so completely lost through half of the book I had read before I DNF'd. The first few chapters were fascinating, but things started rushing downhill once Hana's father disappeared, and Keishin showed up.

I am entirely behind Hana knowing what's going on and being able to navigate the confusing world she lives in. She lives there. She should absolutely have things figured out. Keishin, on the other hand, lives in the real world and yet, when introduced to these fantastical notions like traveling through puddles, has next to no questions. His unwavering acceptance of everything that was going on made me unnaturally annoyed. How are you not freaking out, Keishin? Hana isn't because this is normal for her. This is not normal for you.

Also, there were chapters of backstory (love it) that were apparently Keishin and Hana telling the other person those stories (don't love it). Does that make sense? We would be doing something, have a chapter of backstory that I thought was just backstory, and then we would come back to the present day, and one of them would comment about said story. I would sit there and scratch my head because there was no indication that that backstory was a story they were telling the other person. I'm unsure if I worded any of this correctly, but just know I was as confused as you are.

The romance wasn't doing it for me. The writing was trying to be lyrical but, in the process, lost what it was actually trying to say. I thought Hana's world was beautiful and fascinating, but it wasn't enough to keep me reading. The characters were flat and highly prone to oversharing with a stranger if the backstory stories are any indication. I don't know. There was a lot.

A lot of people are going to like Water Moon. It truly is a beautiful story. Unfortunately, I might have to take a step back from magical realism as they aren't my cup of tea.

This book was cozy, mysterious, and thought-provoking. Every part of this book was unique and creative, and at times felt like a fever dream, but in a fun way. The descriptions and fantastical elements made this story like nothing I’ve ever read before, and it definitely wasn’t what I expected at first. However, it was quite slow and took a bit to really draw me in.

I enjoyed the characters and the world, and was always wondering what would come next. The romance didn’t feel that believable to me, and was a bit to insta-love for my taste, but I still found myself rooting for the two main characters. I enjoyed the story’s focus on choices, and how even small ones can alter a person’s life for good or bad.

While this wasn’t my typical style of book I did enjoy my time with it and would recommend to others.

I spent most of the time I was reading this wondering if it would be peak White Person to compare this to “Spirited Away,” and I ultimately came down on the side of “maybe but it’s also correct” so. The comparison stands.

I absolutely adored the world building. The museum of choices? Paying for things with seconds of time? I thought they were bright and exciting and I would read a book about almost any of the settings in Hana’s world.

Provided those books were written by someone else. Overall the language felt really stiff and stilted - especially any dialogue. The pacing was all over the place and the instalove did not work for me. I think there are people who will enjoy this book - but if you are the type of person whose immersion is broken by cringe prose? Probably give this a skip.

I started off loving this SO much but the characterization was just so poor in the end. Specifically the dynamic and relationship between the main two characters felt so ridiculous and immediate to me that I couldn’t take it seriously at all, I have truly never seen insta-love done this obviously before. There is no reason these characters like each other, they don’t KNOW each other and they have no emotional or chemical connection whatsoever. The setting and world building however was marvelous but in the end I still needed to DNF half way through because the writing for these two characters was just so flat and unsatisfying.

Thanks to Netgalley for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for a review!

I read this one around its release and have finally put my thoughts together. There were elements of this book that I enjoyed (like the whimsical elements of the world that give it the Ghibli comparison) but a few things fell flat for me. I wish we had more of the magical pawn shop-such a cool idea!

I didn’t love how the relationship was insta-love and some of the dialogue was trying to be so lyrical and beautiful that it just felt unrealistic to how people talk.

I felt like some interesting facts that were included about the characters backstories didn’t end up being relevant to the plot and I think more could’ve been done with them. Despite there being a solid narrative through line that explained the journey the characters took, I felt like things were a bit disjointed and like each individual scene was included just to show off another part of the world but didn’t flow together.

Most flashbacks seemed irrelevant (the elevator scene….) and I didn’t understand their inclusion except to try to give the characters more depth but I think I would’ve preferred those pages to have been used to explore the characters directly leading up to or during their adventure.

I have always had a fondness for fantasy novels that pull from real life. The alternate realities that could lie waiting in rain puddles. This book was extremely clever and beautifully written.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read a free copy of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion.

Studio Ghibli feels BUT the plot can get a bit overcomplicated at times and the romance almost falls flat because of it. Still an enjoyable read and really interesting concept, but overall I was a bit disappointed when everything was said and done.

A read that feels cozy and magical. Walking into a mysterious world very different from our own. An emotional ride.

3.75 ⭐️s
I have mixed but positive feelings about Water Moon. I think in part, because I was expecting a cozy tale (why, Im not sure). There are definitely cozy, wonderous descriptions throughout. However, there is also adventure, mystery, and love. Of which, i dont think any were fully explored? I still have a lot of questions regarding Hana's life. Overall, this tale seemed more centered on the environment/world/realm more so than the MCs, Hana and Keishin.
I'd love to see Water Moon adapted into film. As other reviews have stated, there are big Studio Ghibli vibes.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Del Rey for the eARC!

It was romantic in different ways. The way they talked about the world around the main character, and how they interacted was in itself peaceful and romanticized. I also thoroughly enjoyed the relationship between the MC and love interest.

Oh my goodness this book was so beautiful. The writing is lush and poetic. The entire story was such a dream. I don't think I've ever read anything like this. It's going to stay with me for a long time.