I wanted to like this so badly, and it started out strong with unique metaphors and consistent lyricism, but once the plot gets moving all of that seems to get forgotten in order to keep the narrative going, which feels like an outline more than a fleshed-out story. The magic is interesting but the system of how it functions isn't explored enough for me to be convinced by it. The relationship between the mc and love interest happens too quickly and without much depth to make it convincing. Overall, i just got bored and decided not to continue.

Water Moon starts off with the disappearance of Hana’s father shortly after his retirement from the magical pawnshop their family runs. This pawnshop sits in parallel magical universe, and can only be found by those from our world trying to pawn their regrets. The imaginative and unique fantasy world building initially drew me into the book, and I enjoyed the imagery of the magical locations the characters travel to over the course of the book. However, I felt like the plot and development of the characters and their romance suffered at the expense of having them quickly flee from one quirky location after another. As much as I enjoyed the descriptions of the alternate world, I found some of the prose a bit overly purple and some of the dialogue clunky, especially relating to what felt like an instant romance between the main characters. The beginning of the book hooked me plot-wise and I enjoyed the ending, but the middle of book felt a bit one note as the plot seemed to take a back seat to introducing all these fantastical locations. Overall, this was a unique and imaginative fantasy book, and I enjoyed the Japanese folklore-inspired world building. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC!

This book is a magical and enchanting journey through regrets and second chances. Hana’s adventure, alongside charming physicist Kristin, is filled with beautiful, dream-like imagery—flying on paper cranes, night markets in the clouds, and hidden worlds. The concept of pawning life choices adds an emotional depth that kept me hooked.

I cannot praise tips book enough. Such a magical story with little tidbits of mental inspiration all the way through. I enjoyed this book and it may become one of my top 10 ever reads!!

I have not read a book like this before.

A secret hidden world behind a ramen shop that you can only get to if you're intended to. If you have a regret to sell. Where Hana and her dad will trade it for you at their pawn shop.

This is the journey of Hana whose dad disappears. She and a random visitor that shows up the morning Hana's dad disappears, Keishin, go through a magical journey where they ride rumors, visit the market in the clouds and fold time all in the path of trying to find her dad and understand what happened to him.

This book is incredible. It's beautiful, visual, magical, and deeply visceral. It will stay with me for a long long long time. If you like Magical Realism, I cannot recommend this enough.

with gratitude to netgalley and Del Rey for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

This was wonderfully intricate and moving. The writing is absolutely beautiful. The story is one of a kind and the words play like a cinematic masterpiece. I was so enthralled by (absorbed in) the story that I never bothered to think two steps ahead or try to find where any twists were going to come. I was fully present in every moment with Hana and Keishin. It has been a very long time where a story has captured my undivided attention like this and I loved every minute of it. Gorgeous. Fascinating. This was so much more than I expected it to be.

This was such a whimsically weird book, but I absolutely loved it. Felt like a Studio Ghibli movie and I’d love to see this adapted. So many twisty, strange turns but it all makes sense as you read more. It had such a cute ending aswell.

I adored this whimsical book of exploration and discovery! One of the best books I read this year, and I know the world is going to fall in love with this sorry and Samantha Sotto Yambao’s writing. I’ve linked my TikTok review below. Thank you Delrey and Penguin Random House for this early copy!

Wow. I throughly enjoyed this book. It kept me hooked from start to end. The writing is amazing, the plot line had me full of suspense, I loved every second of it. It was actually a very easy read and the information was easy to digest.

First off Thank you Netgalley, Samantha Sotto Yambao, and Random House Publishing for this eARC! I truly appreciate the chance I was given to read it!

This book was a roller coaster! A fun one! That’s the best way for me to describe it! There were so many twists, turns, and loops! I had no idea where the journey was going at all, but thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it! I don’t want to spoil anything so I’ll leave it at that! I 1000/10 recommend this book!

4.5 stars, rounded up.

When we talk about atmosphere, we’re talking about this book. I’m not much of a cinematic reader and can’t usually picture much while reading, but this would make a stunning film. Hana’s and Keishin’s story is full of mythology and fantasy, traveling between realms through ponds, origami cranes, invisible tattoos mapping one’s fate, and so much more. It’s one of the most imaginative books I’ve read in a long time and I had trouble setting it down. The worldbuilding was intricate and beautiful. The themes of family, grief, fate, and duty came through strongly. I appreciated the Japanese influence and the setting. I raced to the end to understand the mysteries of Hana’s parents, her role as the pawnbroker of her realm, Keishin’s past as a Japanese man raised in America, and who the menacing Shiikuin (caretakers) were. The attraction between Hana and Keishin was a bit instantaneous, but the quest they go on bonds them deeply and their romance was believable. At times I felt like this book was doing just slightly too much. I always find this to be the case when a story crosses so many genres, and this one had fantasy, mystery, romance, and a small dash of science fiction. With a little of everything, I was sometimes left wanting more.

The bottom line: I really enjoyed this and was left wanting to pick it right back up again.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey Publishers for the DRC (digital review copy) of this upcoming release. All thoughts are my genuine reactions and reading experience.

From the moment I read that you can step into a pawn shop from a ramen restaurant's door, I was hooked. The author has crafted an incredibly detailed, delightfully magical book, and each new realm of her world is more fascinating than the last. Because her world is not entirely different from our own, but just...not as it seems...it is so easy to believe in it, to see it all in your mind, to think you just might be able to visit it some time.

I couldn't put this book down. It was Studio Ghibli magical.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this arc and share my honest review. This very well could be my favorite book this year.

This started off so well, and then went topsy-turvy for me. The first few chapters are masterfully done. Yambao introduced the concept of the pawnshop, and the complex relationship between Hana and her father, in restrained and effective prose. At this point, I was willing to go along with whatever the book threw my way.

Then the insta-love White Knight love interest showed up, and it all fell to pieces.

WATER MOON has an odd way of jumping back and forth between the past and the present. One chapter will be set in the past describing Hana or Keishin's interaction with some secondary character, and in the next chapter, we'll be back in the pawnshop with the mystery of the destruction and disappearance of Hana's father. While using flashbacks in the exposition is something I can understand, the fact that the book was still doing this when the action "picked up" threw me off the pacing so jarringly that I never recovered.

The fact is that the characters are rather bland, and so your enjoyment of WATER MOON really depends on how much you can set that aside and go along for the ride. I was okay when the third-person narration still followed Hana. But when Keishin (another equally bland character) showed up and was immediately struck by something about Hana, my attention just started to wander. It's fine if the MC is bland if the rest of the world and story is interesting enough, but throw in a bland insta-love and I'm out of here.

WATER MOON is said to have Studio Ghibli vibes. Ghibli films have my whole heart (I would often rather rewatch them than anything new), but maybe Ghibli vibes only work for me in film format? Ghibli's magic comes from the fact that not only is there a compelling plot, but the world around the characters is rendered in such magical detail that you can subconsciously absorb it all while still following the plot. In transferring that magic to book format, Yambao had the challenge of needing to provide enough detail to evoke that "magically cluttered" Ghibli feel, while also making sure the plot and pacing were kept up. It didn't work. I wanted to go along for the ride but kept on feeling like concepts and details were introduced out of nowhere simply to serve the plot. Case in point: the treasure room in the pawnship where customers' choices were stored, and the magic pond that is suddenly a portal.

Given the publisher's immense backing of this title (that to-die-for cover, the broad marketing campaigns, the hype), I am sure that WATER MOON will do well, especially for those who like both the "cozy cat Asian literature" subgenre and <b>concept-driven mystical quest novels. I think this will be a popular title all over social media. I needed more from characterization, world-building, and pacing, however.

If you love Studio Ghibli films, you must read this book. It was an enchanting, a stunning work of art that blend whimsical storytelling with deep emotional resonance. I could just imagine being in the magical pawnshop, the Museum of Education, and riding paper cranes. Samantha did an incredible job enveloping the theme of how important choices are and it's a beautiful thing to have the freedom of choice. Her writing is so detailed and vibrant, I just want to read the book all over again. I am definitely going to read the rest of her books. Thank you NetGalley for the e-arc and the chance to read this amazing piece of art.

"Broken things have a unique kind of beauty, don't you think?"
"Happiness does not exist in a place. It lives in every breath we take. you need to choose to take it in, over and over again."

thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for access to the eARC for an honest review.

Water Moon was sold to me as whimsy fantasy with the vibes of our most beloved studio ghibli movies, and on that it definitely delivers. However, anything aside from ✨ immaculate vibes ✨ there were just too many shortcomings for me to rate this any higher than 2 stars.

For starters, the characters, while endearing together, ultimately fell very short when stood on there own. Hana and Kei meet within the first few chapters and unfortunately, the author does not allow them any time to develop outside of their relationship to each other. On there own, they had such promise to be interesting characters - a magical pawnshop owner and a physicist on the verge of a massive break through / quarterlife crisis - but alas it was a missed opportunity. Compounding on the issue of underdeveloped characters, was an underdeveloped relationship between them. This may be more of a "me" issue, but I cannot believe for one second that these two met and fell in love in the span of a single day.

In regards to the pacing of the story, it was very jumpy throughout, which ultimately resulted in a very rushed ending that felt extremely unsatisfying. I also couldn't help but feel the chapters became very formulaic by the midpoint. I swear every chapter was ending the same way, with some iteration of "We will have to jump through a puddle, we will sail upon a dream, we must ride a rumor, we must sell a wish, etc. etc." i was over the quirkiness so quickly.

If you're purely a vibe reader and don't mind insta-love, or you really want to read a studio ghibli-esque book, then you may enjoy. Unfortunately this just didn't do it for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballentine for a copy of this ARC! I loved every second of it and I look forward to getting a physical copy for my shelves!

Atmospheric and magical, this book was such a treat to jump into and I didn’t want it to end.

This book follows Hana, who has just inherited a Pawn Shop from her retiring father. This is not your ordinary Pawn Shop. It appears only to a select few, those who really seem to need it. And instead of trinkets, the clients of this particular Pawn Shop can trade in a moment where they made a choice - a choice that irrevocably changed their lives. However, on the morning Hana has become the Pawn Shop’s new owner, she discovers it ransacked, her father gone and a choice missing. Moments later, a young man enters the Pawn Shop and with his help, Hana begins a desperate search for her father and the missing choice.

I was completely blown away by this story. I knew I would enjoy this book the second I read the synopsis but I was entirely unprepared for how this book would sweep me away. The whole thing was deliciously atmospheric and the story, from start to finish, felt utterly dream-like and magical. It was like the kind of dream that feels like you lived a lifetime in the few short hours you were asleep, the kind you don’t want to wake up from because it’s just that amazing.

The world building and pacing of the book was fantastic. Despite the multitude of places we see in Hana’s world, everything seemed to fit perfectly together. The story flowed smoothly as we followed Hana and Kei on their quest to find her missing father and there were just enough revelations to keep things interesting and surprising. Every moment felt intentional and well thought-out and tied the story beautifully together. It felt like a book version of a Studio Ghibli movie.

The characters were also wonderful. I loved the slow burn romance between the two characters and I could feel their connection grow as the story went on. I even loved every one of the side characters we got to meet as well, each unique and adding to the story in a way that kept things moving naturally forward. Nothing felt awkward or out of place, which I feel is really rare to find in a book with new world building.

My only (very minor) complaint, is that I wish the ending had been a bit longer. It felt almost rushed compared to the steady flow of the rest of the novel but I was ultimately satisfied by how this book concluded.

Overall, if you adore unique fantasy wolds, cozy reads, Studio Ghibli films and/or a hint of romance, you need to pick this one up. This was one of my favorites reads of the year.

Rating: 5/5
Review will be published on my website on December 9th, 2024 at the following url:
https://mishmashedmagic.com/bookblog/water-moon-by-samantha-sotto-yambao

➤Plot

Hana's whole life, she has only known her father's pawnshop. A pawnshop that is connected to our world by a door that may lead to a ramen shop or their shop. But the clients don't bring in items... They bring in choices they are willing to give up. A choice that may be connected to a regret that follows them in life that they want to let go and in return they get peace of mind - they can finally accept their life as it is now. Or... At least that is the thought.

It is finally time for Hana's father to retire and for her to be the new owner of the pawnshop to carry on the family's tradition.

So why is it the first day of her job she wakes up to the pawnshop in a totally mess, a choice missing, her father no where to be seen, and a stranger from another world who just came into the pawnshop?

Over the course of the story we are taken to this magical world of jumping into puddles to travel, paper cranes that are alive and can fly, giving up memories for tickets to locations, finding the bridge that connects the dream world to the wake world, and many more things to leave you in awe - all while the story asks you: "What is the true meaning of a choice?"

➤Characters

There are many characters within this novel that stands out in their own right but only two true main characters and the ones we follow throughout this whole story. However, I will highlight one of my favorite side characters that only appeared for one chapter because their appearance has filled my mind with wonder - A wonderful humanoid fox that towers over humans in height, dressed in a fine robe, and made up completely of sand. I adore them so much! Just the thought of them gives me of that episode in Avatar the Last Airbender where they are in the desert and they meet that owl. Both mystical and terrifying. Many of the characters fit that description which makes the story feel so wonderous and scary.

However, Our two main characters:

Hana - The new pawnshop owner. She lives in this other world and was only raised by her father. Her mother was punished after she was born for stealing a choice and breaking the rules, leaving Hana and her dad alone. Hana very much plays by the rules and is very stoic, not always understanding the jokes the other lead throws at her. However, she also has a very kind heart and isn't scared to show her emotions when they are strong, wanting the other side to see how much she truly cares about them. She is intelligent and stubborn. As much as I like her, she does need someone to bounce off of since she is too stuck in the core identity she carved for herself.

Which is so amazing that she has another lead that is almost the complete opposite of her.

Keishin - Keishin is from our world, just arrived in Japan and wanted some ramen... And now he is in a pawnshop with a woman who just looked like she got robbed - Oh no. While Hana is stoic and all about business, Keishin is witty and kind. He is always up for adventure. He is an aspiring scientist, wanting all the questions to the universe and to understand everything in his path; which makes Hana all the more interesting to him. The two play off of each other wonderfully and we get peeks into Keishin's past to make him who he is today. He is a great character to ask the same questions we, as the reader, are asking about Hana's mysterious world. It's very funny when he asks Hana how something works and she responds very plainly "well because of this reason of course", when it sounds to insane to people from our world.

This is a romance and I have seen other people who have complained about their insta-love romance. I am someone who doesn't enjoy insta-love (slow-burn all the way), and I will say that Keishin does fall very easily for Hana but give it a chance. I really adored their relationship over the book and it is worth the pay off as you watch everything happen to the two.

➤Enjoyment

The biggest highlight of this book for me was the spectacular world building. What do you mean that I can pick up this seashell and it will tell me a joke? WHAT DO YOU MEAN I CAN GRAB ITEMS FROM MY HOUSE WITH THIS BAG? Like, how did you come up with this Yambao?? THAT IS AMAZING!

I always had a very vivid image in my head going through this book as Yambao painted each picture wonderfully for us. There was so many moments when I was dying because I wanted this to be an animated movie so badly. I want to see these moments actually drawn because I know it would be so magnificent since Yambao perfected what words to use to perfectly hand you the world she created to you.

From the wonderous world she made to the inner conflict that humans make on a daily - choices. How such small choices can change the direction of your life and what we do with those choices. Is giving up a choice good or bad? What happens if we were never given a choice at all? Would we be satisfied in life?

The only part I didn't enjoy as much as everything else was the insta-love. In the beginning I was like "Oh no, they are going to fall each other super fast", but quickly I realized there was much more to this relationship. It may of started with Keishin falling pretty quickly for Hana but I true connection was established overtime and they started to really understand each other as people. Which made me start to root for them.

I will say, I started to cry a little at the end when certain things happened and I am not ashamed. I felt so much for these characters from the journey that Yambao took me on.

I am so excited to buy this when it comes out and mark all the pages with all the quotes I adored.

For a book that started out so promising, this was honestly kind of a huge letdown. I think this book's biggest strength is drawing the reader in to a fantastical and oftentimes unnerving world. The main antagonists of the book also felt appropriately creepy; they reminded me a little of the Sisters from Kubo and the Two Strings but less human. Unfortunately, that's about where my appreciation and enjoyment ends.

Water Moon employs one of my least favorite tropes in fiction: insta-love. This has the unfortunate effect of bleeding into the individual characterizations of both Kei and Hana. Because neither of them (but especially Hana) really get enough time by themselves before meeting to build their characters, the moment they meet, it's insta-love and their characters start to feel less fleshed out and more defined by their relationship to one another. There's an attempt made by the author to subvert that a little later in the book, but it really rang hollow to me. From the instant they meet, the two can't stop thinking about each other to a degree that was annoying rather than romantic. And while Keishin did get a few POV chapters that had nothing to do with Hana and his relationship to her, Hana seemed to get much fewer. As a result, while neither of them felt whole, Hana especially seemed like a shadow of what the story wanted her to be. This made the moments that happen later in the book--things that were supposed to very emotional and character-defining--feel devoid of the emotions they were meant to convey.

The character-building and the romance were the things that hindered my enjoyment of the book the most, but the pacing, too, felt like it jumped around a bit too much. That, and the ending felt rather rushed, in my opinion.

Overall, if you don't mind insta-love, I'd still probably recommend this book because I do think the world-building is so inventive and fun. It's just that what the story chose to focus on didn't work for me and not even the creativity of the world and the premise could hold my enjoyment for long.

One of my favorite books coming out! This was a fascinating story and really felt like an adventure. It's fantasy, a love story, and an epic all in one. Truly enjoyed the imagination in this one.

REMINISCENCE SLAY 🌂

Water Moon by @samanthasottoyambao

5 🌟

Guys when I tell you I don’t think I can wait until January until I get my hands on this book, to be able to hold it and cherish and cry on it like I did reading it on @netgalley, I am not even kidding. I WANT TO START REREADING IT RIGHT NOW!!

Watermoon is one of those books that feels like a dream—beautiful, slightly surreal, and drenched in emotion. Hana inherits a pawnshop where people trade their regrets, and one day, her father vanishes. Enter a quirky physicist to help her on a magical journey through rain portals, flying paper cranes, and markets in the clouds. Plot? Kinda hazy, but it’s the vibes that matter—grief, self-discovery, and confronting the past.

What really got me thinking was how the book deals with regret. It made me reflect on how much we let the past anchor us and whether we ever truly let go of those moments we wish we could redo. Hana’s struggle with moving on from her father and the mystery surrounding his disappearance hit close—because sometimes, we never get the closure we crave. It made me tear up 🥲. The whole idea of trading regrets is so wild yet relatable. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just trade away the things that weigh us down? But the truth is, we’re all carrying some version of regret or loss, and Hana’s journey reminds us that, at some point, we have to make peace with them. Thank you @samanthasottoyambao for taking me further than the book, looking back on my own life, and probably shift my chemical makeup with how much this book affected me.

Self-awareness slay? Absolutely. This book had me questioning how much of my own identity is tied to things I can’t change and whether we ever stop searching for the answers to our own regrets. Hana’s growth in accepting the mystery of her life and learning to live with her past was both frustrating and inspiring. How self-aware are we really, when it comes to regrets and letting go? Watermoon doesn’t give easy answers, but it leaves you thinking long after you turn the last page.