There are some books that you know will live with you for a very long time, both because of the story itself but also the way the story was written. Water Moon is that book for me. I am not sure how to write this without giving away spoilers, so I thought I would focus on my emotions while reading it. Intrigue - because of the premise of the book and the idea of trading away regrets at a pawn shop. Awe - because of how beautiful this story was written and so many of the elements within it. Sadness - because there are so many twists and turns and some were very hard to read and learn, but also sadness because the book had to come to an end. Happiness - because I feel very fortunate to have read this and to enter Hana’s world, while experiencing it through Keishin’s eyes. This might not be everyone’s cup of tea (or bowl of ramen), but for those who read it and feel like I did when it ended, be prepared for the adventure of a lifetime!

This is a little bit Alice-in-Wonderland-y. I crammed in so much reading the last 2 days to meet my 2024 reading challenge goals, I'm struggling to think of something useful to say about this. The universe is unique, revealed slowly but in a timing that works with the story. The pacing is on the slower side-- it made me think of some elements of A Short Walk Through a Wide World, but this more consistent and generally better. There is a romance element, but it makes sense with the story and is vague/fade-to-black. I found the ending a little bit of a let-down[: if it were really that straight-forward to start change, how come no one had done it in hundreds of years? Maybe there's some parallels there for the outside world...

eARC from NetGalley.

It seems like translated works about hidden pawnshops, markets, or cafes have really been trendy lately and I really succumbed to the temptation to try something new. Water Moon is the second book of this sort that I’ve picked up and well, I liked it a bit more than the first book of this sort I picked up. I know, it’s not exactly glowing praise, but it was an interesting read and outside of my usual.

Water Moon follows a young woman named Hana Ishikawa who has just taken ownership of her father’s magical pawnshop after his retirement. Shockingly, Hana wakes to find the shop ransacked and the most recent memory acquisition missing. As Hana is observing the mess, a young man named Keishin stumbles in thinking he’s about to get a nice hot cup of ramen but instead finds a Hana in need of help. The two begin investigating the mysterious break-in and it appears that Hana’s father Toshio has staged the mess and disappeared with the memory in an attempt to protect Hana from the beings that collect the memories pawned at the shop.

The story gets more magical as it progresses and the reader learns more of this world. Hana is not from our world and the pawnshop is in another world entirely. When Kei stumbles in to help and not to simply pawn a memory (actually a soul fragment) he upsets the balance that has so long been maintained. As Hana and Kei search for Toshio the world really opens up and it is truly strange and magical, and very different from what I’m used to seeing in fantasy books, likely because I’ve read almost no Japanese fantasy. There are many lessons woven into these pages on roles in life, the importance of choices, and sacrifice. I will give warning that this isn't a particularly cozy story and there are some darker moments that might shock those expecting something cute and cozy.

Overall, I enjoyed this book but somewhere along the lines it fell just a bit flat for me. I think this is partially due to my limited exposure to Japanese fantasy and its inherent stylistic differences from a more euro-centric fantasy and partially due to me not being drawn to magical realism. So much of this is focused on duty and predetermined roles in life that the characters feel almost fated to follow these paths and even the emotional bits felt a bit dulled to me. I’m seeing tons of 5 star reviews for Water Moon, so this is more a case of it’s not the book, it’s me. If it sounds interesting to you, I highly encourage you to check it out!

Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao is my first introduction to this writer and I AM IN LOVE!

I loved the worldbuilding and all the magical elements present, such as the birds formed by a person’s regret, pearls that can hold one’s memories, puddles that can take you to other places and that time is apparently something that can be traded or brought. I just found those magical elements very fascinating and very whimsical.

The story revolves around a ramen shop that doubles as a pawnshop, but not your average one. Here, you can trade your life choices, your deepest regrets, and even time itself. The concept was so unique and intriguing.

The writing was lyrical and vivid, I could feel myself stepping into this magical world. While the pacing was fast paced, sometimes a bit too fast, it suited the wacky nature of the story. I’ll admit there were moments I wished certain scenes had been expanded, but perhaps leaving some things to the imagination added to the book’s whimsical charm.

Kei and Hana, the main characters were both beautifully relatable. They’re at a crossroads in their lives, longing for something more, and isn’t that a feeling we’ve all shared? Their chemistry and interactions were enjoyable, though I would have loved an expanded dive into some of their moments together.

Reading this during the Christmas season felt like the perfect choice for me. The cozy, magical whimsical vibes resonated more during this festive time. The Christmas season is generally a time we spend with our families and reflect on the choices we make in life and about forging the future ahead, I think this is what resonated with me while reading it.

Highly recommended if you love stories with whimsical magical adventures. Mostly I just want more people to read this so we can chat about that ending, because it got a bit unexpectedly dark there for a bit towards the end.

All the magical, whimsical feelings that you’d love in a Studio Ghibli x Alice in Wonderland feel kind of film wrapped in one book, it especially gave me spirited away vibes and I loved it. The cover art is so beautiful, and the entire premise had me anticipating the release, I can’t believe I got to read this early!

I loved the worldbuilding and all the magical elements present, such as the birds formed by a person’s regret, pearls that can hold one’s memories, puddles that can take you to other places and that time is apparently something that can be traded or brought. I just found those magical elements very fascinating and very whimsical.

The story revolves around a ramen shop that doubles as a pawnshop, but not your average one. Here, you can trade your life choices, your deepest regrets, and even time itself. The concept was so unique and intriguing.
The writing was lyrical and vivid, I could feel myself stepping into this magical world. While the pacing was fast paced, sometimes a bit too fast, it suited the wacky nature of the story. I’ll admit there were moments I wished certain scenes had been expanded, but perhaps leaving some things to the imagination added to the book’s whimsical charm.

Kei and Hana, the main characters were both beautifully relatable. They’re at a crossroads in their lives, longing for something more, and isn’t that a feeling we’ve all shared? Their chemistry and interactions were enjoyable, though I would have loved an expanded dive into some of their moments together.

Reading this during the Christmas season felt like the perfect choice for me. The cozy, magical whimsical vibes resonated more during this festive time. The Christmas season is generally a time we spend with our families and reflect on the choices we make in life and about forging the future ahead, I think this is what resonated with me while reading it.

Highly recommended if you love stories with whimsical magical adventures. Mostly I just want more people to read this so we can chat about that ending, because it got a bit unexpectedly dark there for a bit towards the end. Lol please go read and come back!

Thank you Del Rey for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed the world-building in this book and the differences between the people living there and those in the "real world". You could feel the sadness coming from some of the characters as they talked about their lives and what some were missing out on. It was a nice read, and I enjoyed Hana's journey as she discovered hidden secrets.

Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for the advanced arc!

The book dedication is so sweet and relatable. I love how the first chapter is an epilogue, yet, also a first chapter at the same time: 2-in-1. I really like the descriptions in the book, and the details, it's easy for me to imagine the scenes. The book is original and unique, unlike anything I've read before. I love it. The plot is very wholesome and easy to follow. I would personally love to see it adapted into a movie/show! It personally gives me "Spirited Away" vibes and I think that's so cool. Just 2 or 3 scenes made me stop and think, "wait… this reminds me of spirited away" and it was so adorable and fun. I feel like the romance was forced in someway… I'm not sure how to describe it, but it felt like there wasn't any tension or any buildup between the 2 characters, it just happened, but I guess that might be the "love at first sight trope" but it felt like it was missing something in the beginning though, but as I was reading, I grew to like it more. Ngl the FMC pissed. me. offfffff. lowkey have a like-dislike relationship with her. especially the endingggggg. The plot twists are plot twisting though! Especially near the end!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC! All opinions in this review are my own.

RATING AND OVERALL THOUGHTS:

1.5 stars. DNF’d at 100 pages in/26%. This was unfortunately a DNF and a complete miss for me. I see the appeal in some aspects of the book but it overwhelmingly needs a few more drafts with a solid editor to shape this from a half written Studio Ghibli inspired movie script to a book that stands on its own. I tried multiple times to pick this back up over two weeks after my first DNF and I’ve finally concluded that my initial thoughts were correct.

SOME SPOILERS AHEAD

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“There is only one question that requires an answer. It’s all the other questions spinning around it that make it look more complicated than it is.”

WHAT I LOVED:

- What I read of the novel did have some heavy lyricism to it which really did help evoke the feelings and descriptions of places clearly.
- No joke, I can see this being a banger of a Studio Ghibli movie in the right hands.
- It made me crave ramen more than I already do everyday. (For my partner who will probably never read this, you still owe me a ramen date after that incident for our Valentine’s Day date back in 2020. I haven’t forgotten and I will collect.)

WHAT I DISLIKED:

- The dialogue was so clunky and needed several more passes to make it realistic to how people actually speak IRL.
- The characters were very one dimensional and had nothing going for them. The MMC was a complete golden retriever and the FMC at first seemed like she would have some complexity but then just became a total grump.
- Badly written instalove. Really not going to elaborate on this, it was instant with no basis.
- The constant flashbacks that really didn’t add anything worthwhile to the novel. In fact, I found the constant back and forth a major detraction as it confused me until I figure out what timeline we were in, who was the narrator, and then what was happening but most of it was kind of unneeded. I didn’t need to see the same day but from multiple perspectives. It just felt like scene padding.
- The way the shop is ran along with the verbal abuse the FMC suffers from her father was just very off putting. Maybe its my own trauma and journey of realizing my father’s abuse, but I just didn’t feel compelled by the FMC’s love for her father. I also felt like he was borderline abusive to the customers too but part of this might the dialogue as mentioned earlier.

WHAT I AM NOT SURE ABOUT/WANTED MORE OF:

- I think this novel really struggled with finding its own voice. It definitely wanted to have the same elements of what everyone loves about Studio Ghibli (even referencing the studio itself in text) but also add in other Japanese related media that the author clearly loves but it was done in a very, dare I say, cringe way. There was a scene where the MMC asks the FMC what to call her world and she no joke said, “You may call it Isekai.” In any other novel I would actually kind of find this hilarious and fitting but it doesn’t match the overall tone the rest of the novel was displaying. Again, it was piecemealing different elements of other media together, some vastly different that the others, but wasn’t blending it well.
- Reads like someone made a script for a movie first and then tried to write a book around that after. It can be done but it wasn’t done well here.

Thank you Bantam and NetGalley for the ARC!

Plot: A woman’s dad owns a magical pawnshop - he is stepping down and she is taking over. But when she finds the pawnshop ransacked and her dad missing, she embarks on a magical journey to find him - and finds herself in a love triangle along the way.

Review: On its face, this book has everything that I love. But for some reason, it took me until the 55% mark to really get into it. But once I was into it, I loved it! This reading experience definitely felt like a fever dream, and the author created many creative magical aspects to the story. I think it was hard for me to connect to the dialogue and the characters, and that is ultimately what kept me from fully engaging initially. But I did like this and would recommend it!

3.5🌟

This story was whimsical and beautifully written. I was attracted to the premise immediately which is why I was eager to request an arc. I have fallen in love with Asian inspired fantasy/fiction books over the last year as every one I have read so far has been unique and captivating, and this was no exception. I loved the world building and imagery, and would definitely recommend to people who are interested in magical stories.

Oh this book, this had the potential to become a five-star-read, a new favourite even. It is gorgeously told, well-crafted and the world of "Water Moon" is full of incredible, stunning imagery and creativity. It's whimsical and poetic in tone and asks important questions about agency and choice. I really liked Hana, our main protagonist - a young woman about to inherit her father's magical pawn shop before he mysteriously disappears.
I genuinely enjoyed the flowery writing, though I admittedly wasn't as much of a fan of some of the narrative choices the author made (like an overreliance on Super Dramatic Chapter Endings). But still, I didn't mind those much.
I just sadly have to admit it was the completely unnecessary instalovey romance that ruined it a little for me. Kei was an incredibly boring character and as soon as he arrived and it was becoming clear that this would be first and foremost a romance I sighed the deepest sigh. I would have preferred a focus on Hana's story, on her development, her journey towards agency and choice independent of a relationship with a man, because right now he is the major catalyst for her character development. And character development isn't this book's strong suit in general. Add to that an even more unnecessary love triangle and yeah, the story lost me. I kept reading for the potential of it all, for the beautiful and creative world spread out before me, for the mystery, but I wasn't emotionally engaged anymore. Sadly, the romance really worked to the detriment of this book and the actually beautiful story that could have been told.

As such, this turned out to be a disappointment especially because I wanted to love it so much, had high expectations and the first chapters were an incredible setup. 3 stars for the beautiful world and concepts.

Next to a popular ramen restaurant on one of the backstreets in Tokyo lies a pawnshop. This isn't just any ordinary pawnshop however. Most people will not even see it. But the ones who are lost—who have regrets or disappointments that they can't get rid of, - will find a place to pawn their life choices and deepest regrets. Hana Ishikawa wakes on her first morning as the pawnshop’s new owner after her father retires to find it ransacked, the shop’s most precious acquisition stolen, and her father missing. Then a charming stranger stumbles into the store, quite unlike its other customers, for he offers help instead of seeking it. Together, they journey through a mystical world to find Hana’s father and the stolen choice—by way of rain puddles, rides on paper cranes, the bridge between midnight and morning, and a night market in the clouds. But as they get closer to the truth, Hana must reveal a secret of her own—and risk making a choice that she will never be able to take back.

I will admit it took me a little bit to really get into the story, but once I did, I was fully immersed. It was magical, often thought provoking, with romance, adventure, and fantastical settings that kept me engrossed until the very end. It really made you contemplate how every decision you make, no matter how small, is a ripple effect, affecting your future and others around you as well. This book is perfect for anyone who loves a good story, or is in need of an adventure in their lives.

When I started the book, I really enjoyed it, especially when it was describing the pawnshop process and the tea. I appreciated how whimsical the world was. I also enjoyed the set-up for the conflict with Hana’s father disappearing and so Hana and Kei must find him.

I think where the story fell off for me was the middle and the end. As Hana takes Kei through her world, we are introduced with magical locations and items at every scene. At first it was fun to follow along with to enjoy this increasingly magical world. However, after the first couple of them, it started to get predictable and repetitive. There wasn’t any attempt to understand the world, just a simple this is how it is and then we just move on to the next thing. I felt that the author was trying to fit as many magical elements into the story as possible, but without any depth, the story and world-building felt shallow.

I felt that the book’s biggest problems could be solved if there wasn’t a standalone. I don’t believe most fantasy books can be fit into one book because there is so much world-building that needs to be done, especially for this book that claims to be similar to Studio Ghibli. If given the space of a duology or trilogy, I think the book wouldn’t have felt as shallow and all the magical elements would have had time to be explored.

Oh, the whimsical journey this takes you on.

Water Moon is an adventurous, dream-like story. It centers around Hana, who is set to take over the family business—a magical pawnshop that allows people to pawn their regrets. She wakes to find her father has gone missing, along with a customers regret. As Hana is trying to determine what happened, a stranger stumbles into the pawnshop. From there, Hana and her new companion, Keishin, go on an adventure of all adventures.

The story itself is full of wonder and adventure. I mean, taking a ride on a rumor, or jumping into a puddle to reach another world? Magical, indeed! I loved the world building and uniqueness to each new setting. This story is centered around choices and the ability to pawn them, with some twists along the way—I was surprised a couple of times, so that was fun!

Overall, I enjoyed this one. Highly recommend to anyone who enjoys cozy fantasy and magical realism, with an extra dose of whimsy magic!

—𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.—

Thank you NetGalley for the ebook arc. This book would be great for those who love Erin Morgenstern, and the Night Circus fans, along with fans of studio Ghibli.
This wonderfully written story takes you thru the life of a Hana who I’d set to take over a pawnshop that is run by her father but the morning she is to take over she discovers that he is missing and the pawnshop is ransacked. When she opens the front door a customer finds her bleeding and instead of leaving her he stays and travels thru her world trying to table down clues her father left behind to help find him, but she must do it before the full moon before she has to deposit the payment for the pawnshop bit one bored is missing and she needs it. Kei travels with her to worlds that are beyond what he can describe and leave him wondering time and time again how folding time could be used in the real world.

4.5 stars! Thank you to NetGalley, Ballantine, Del Rey, and Random House Publishing Group for this advanced copy. You can pick up Water Moon on January 14, 2025.

What a gorgeous, lyrical, absolutely whimsical book. I immediately fell in love with Samantha Sotto Yambao's writing style, which definitely transports you to another world. Not only did this book evoke Studio Ghibli vibes, but the number of fantastical places our main characters visited felt like they came straight out of a Ghibli film (alternatively, I could easily see this book getting adapted).

I love how the fast-paced plot was coupled with contemplative moments and messages about choices and how they affect us. At its core, this book not only focuses on humanity and the relationships that drive us but how it's the seemingly inconsequential moments that define our personal stories.

Hana and Kei were both super compelling characters, and I honestly appreciated their individual character arcs more so than their romance. The romance might have been the weakest part of the book, actually -- not that it was bad, but it didn't have a ton of buildup and tension driving it compared to other books. This is definitely a fantasy first, romance second book (or the romance worked more as a subplot).

Either way, I highly recommend picking this up if you're looking to escape reality and fall into a different, gorgeous world!

Very torn on this one. I will therefore craft a complement sandwich (multilayer, I’ve decided to make it a bread-heavy BLT):

Bread: Beautiful imagery throughout, especially the descriptions of the different locations Kei and Hana visit.
Tomato: Kei falls for Hana so fast it made me want to smack him. If a person I’d just meant started throwing out big sacrifices and big declarations that quickly, it would be a huge red flag, not a turn on.
Bread: I did, however, actually enjoy Hana and Kei’s chemistry after they’d been together for a while adventuring. I wish we’d grown to that organically instead of Kei being all in from moment one.
Lettuce: Speaking of love, the love triangle aspect was- it was there! It sure was. I really wish Haruto had also only seen Hana as a friend, which would keep the whole love vs duty, choice vs stability thing without adding a layer of strangeness and (honestly to me) ickiness. We could have gotten to know him beyond his infatuation with her! Within all the whimsy of the world, it did strike me that Hana has no platonic friends. That’s part of her growing up, intentional to the story, but I hate that the only two possible friends she has are both deeply in love with her. That’s tragic, and Hana’s back story is meant to be tragic, but this aspect of it just felt overlooked.
That’s it! That’s the thing that bothered me! This is a mommy issues book that has a lack of women talking to each other in meaningful ways. I still enjoyed it- this isn’t me “cancelling” Water Moon by any stretch- I just finally put a finger on what was bothering me! Anyway, back to compliment sandwiching-
Bread: Super readable. I’m an anxious flyer and I was able to read it on a plane, which is a big deal. The story kept moving and although the descriptions could be long, they never weighed down the reading experience- they felt just as engaging as the plot.
Bacon: One writing critique- so many chapters ended with the same button, in the vein of:
H: “We’re not going to ride horses.”
K: “then how are we getting there?”
H: “We’re going to fly horses.”
I made this one up, but they’re all in that format. First time, I groaned a little but carried on. However, the format kept coming back- I know ending scenes is hard, but using the same button format over and over was frustrating (and a little silly).
Bread: I actually liked that Hana sort of sucked sometimes? She’s deeply self-critical in the way of many a YA heroine, but she’s actually allowed in the narrative to make BIG mistakes and truly have reasons she feels guilty that aren’t silly or misunderstandings. I wish we’d grappled with one of those mistakes more (see below on the ending) but I really liked that Hana was allowed to be so messy. I’m not sure I like her, but I really liked her role in the story, if that makes sense, and I think that’s more important.
Bonus round (chips I guess? I’ve lost the structure…)-
Annoyances: Titanic lies, the never quite said but very much felt implication that having biological children is a necessary part of happiness, ending too pat
Things that were great: Keishin being a huge nerd, the book being unabashed in its mommy-issues-ness (props for owning it), the descriptions of/love for both legit restaurant ramen and the cheap nasty (yummy) microwaveable kind, layered use/symbolism for both paper and ink within a book made of paper and ink.

Finally- the ending- that implications of the last pair of twists was not really explored, and I know that with the whole magical realism thing, I should let that slide, but in other places, the story didn’t bump up against its own internal logic so aggressively. It was just a lot to swallow that got brushed over very quickly to lead to a too neat ending- I think the ambiguity with the twists would have bothered me less if the ending, too, was ambiguous.

So- TLDR- lots of conflicting feelings, but a lyrically written atmospheric story that’s super readable, just not for me. I’m not mad I read it as it’s been interesting to think about both the ideas in the story and why it didn’t work for me, but I can’t say I liked it per se. I don’t know. I think I’ll pull quotes and make my quantum physicist friend read them, to see what fae thinks.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao feels like stepping into a Ghibli movie. It brims with fantastical concepts—a portal made of rain puddles, a museum of regrets, rumors as a mode of transportation, and a pawnshop where you can trade away your choices. I have to give it to the author for conjuring such imaginative world.

The worldbuilding is expansive yet accessible. It feels like our world but with an enchanting twist. Unlike some fantasy settings that demand intense focus to understand, this one is easy to immerse yourself in, which I really appreciated.

The plot is equally intriguing. Our FMC (female main character) works at her father’s unique pawnshop. The story kicks off as she takes over the shop, only for her father to vanish on her very first day. Enter a mysterious stranger, and the two are whisked away into a world where logic is turned on its head. The mystery at the heart of the story kept me hooked and thoroughly entertained.

That said, I had a couple of issues with the book. The writing leans heavily on telling rather than showing. There are moments where the FMC directly explains how things work, and I found myself wishing the author had let the narrative reveal these details more naturally.

The ending also left me a bit unsatisfied. While the time jump added an interesting twist, it felt abrupt and drained the story of its emotional impact. I couldn’t help but feel like something was missing, leaving me with a slight sense of disappointment.

I’m unsure how I feel about this one. I really enjoyed the writing style, and the plot and world are so interesting! On the other hand it felt like there was almost too much detail attached times, and things that were important to the story would be skipped over in favor of describing the wackiness of the world.

I also didn’t really care for Keishin all that much. I’m really not a fan of the insta-love trope, and this book is full of it. Keishin seems to fall in love with Hana from the moment they meet, and I just prefer more of a slow burn romance that’s properly built up over time. I probably would’ve enjoyed this book a whole lot more if it was just Hana exploring her world and attempting to find her dad.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Water Moon is undoubtedly one of the most MAGICAL books I've ever read. You enter a fantasy world via a magical pawnshop where the customers can pawn off choices they regret. But just when you think you've gotten the rules of the world nailed down, you turn the page and it expands. If you've ever attended an immersive art exhibit where projection art bathes you in stunning and varied displays from room to room, that's what you can expect from this book. Each chapter is like a beautifully crafted world of its own, the creativity is off the charts!

The plot is exciting and propulsive: Hana's father has gone missing. You'll follow along on her dangerous adventure for answers. But as she warns time and time again, all is not as it seems.

I LOVED this. It was breathtaking and moving. I even cried.