This book had an intriguing setup. The beginning started very strong, and I was engaged but lost momentum about midway. The idea of a hidden pawnshop for life choices and regrets is compelling, especially with the magical world woven into it. We all have those moments that we contemplate could have changed our trajectory in life. The writing created a visually appealing world.

There could be a disconnect in the translation because the character dynamics need to be more realistic. I did not relate to the other characters except for Hana. Her struggle with the loss of her mother made her struggle heartbreaking. There was a point when her mother was on trial for stealing, and she wanted to hold Hana one more time, but they would not let her, and it broke my soul. Despite the underdeveloped character interactions, I loved the creative and unique world and the emotional plot.

I received an ARC ebook for my honest review. Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group, Ballantine, Del Rey

This book immediately sucked me in and teleported me to a magical world hidden within a pawnshop. The imagery was so whimsical and constantly changing. I could easy see this being made into an animated film.

The book started off really strong, but the middle felt a little longer than it needed to be and I started to feel like I was reading just to read. Then we get to the end and I was drawn right back in. And was left with just a couple tears in my eyes. If it weren’t for the pacing, this would have been a 5⭐️ for me.

*thank you to Netgalley and Random House Ballantine for the eARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.*

this was SUCH a good book. it started a bit slow with a focus on worldbuilding, character introductions, and brief backstory. but it all carried through to the end of the book with zero plot holes and everything became connected as i read on. the multiple plot twists actually made me gasp out loud, and the fact that they felt RIGHT because of the excellent foreshadowing in the beginning of the book was just oh so satisfying.

the only very small complaint that i have is that in the last couple chapters, the pacing feels slightly rushed, although, that could also be because i was reading so quickly.

the worldbuilding was a constant delight for me. so many beautiful descriptions, and they all weaved relevant information throughout the narrative that it felt like the perfect amount of focus on environmental elements. everything played such a seamless part in the plot and connection to the characters, and the characters themselves were fascinating to get to know.

i'm looking forward to reading more of this author's work in the future!

"𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘶𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥."

Would you give up a choice to live a life with no regrets? To free yourself of the pain?

Water Moon by Filipino author @samanthasottoyambao is a beautifully written story set against the backdrop of a Japanese landscape and in an enchanting and whimsical, yet also haunting alternate world.

Thank you @netgalley and @randomhouse for this ARC!

The story delves into choices and regrets, unlearning and rediscovering, love and sacrifices. I was truly transported into this world and left me entranced and craving for more.

"You come from the world outside that door. My daughter and I are from the world inside it. Whenever anyone from your side finds their way to our pawnshop, there is always a good reason for it. Our clients have choices that have become burdensome to carry. We take these choices off their hands so that they may return to their world lighter. Content."

Some people line up at a ramen shop, only to find themselves stepping into a magical pawnshop instead. Here they can trade a choice in exchange for 'peace'.

Hana inherits her father's pawnshop and unexpectedly finds herself in a magical quest with Kei, a physicist who stepped into the shop the day her father went missing.

𝘉𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤 𝘭𝘢𝘸𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵'𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦.

I was left breathless as the story unfolded. My mind was swept away into a vivid imagination and my heart was both crushed and healed. And my soul was stirred in ways that took me by surprise.

This is undeniably a stellar 5⭐ read! Water Moon is bound to be released in January 2025!

Title: Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao
Genre: Magical Realism
Pub Date: January 24, 2025

⭐️ 4/5

“Happiness does not exist in a place. It lives in every breath we take.”

Midnight Library x Spirited Away
Magic Pawnshop
Japanese Folklore
Set in Tokyo
Dual POV + Timelines
Magical Realism

My Review:

A magic pawnshop where you can pawn away your regrets and a man helping a woman from a different world to find her missing parents. I loved the wide array of folklore, the twists and liberties taken to make the characters fit, and the enthralling adventure of it all. This book was beautiful, I absolutely loved it.

Thank you so much, NetGalley and Del Rey, for the gifted digital review copy ❣️

3.5 stars

Water Moon is a whimsical novel following the journey of Hana, the new inheritor of her family’s pawnshop, as she takes over the family business amid sudden conflict. The pawnshop is no ordinary business: they deal in choices, their patrons able to leave behind their defining regrets in exchange for tea. Her first day in charge, she finds her father missing and one of the patrons’ choices stolen. She is given a short time by the terrifying Shiikuin, mysterious entities who run her world, to return the choice. That same day, a physicist named Kei enters the shop and the two immediately form a connection. The two embark on a journey through the magical world the pawnshop is attached to in search of Hana’s father and answers about her mother, who was sentenced to death in Hana’s infancy.
I found the writing of this story to be lovely, and Hana and Kei to both be fascinating characters. The different places we travel in this magical world were so creative and original, and richly detailed in their descriptions. I did find the overall story a little confusing to follow, and the speed of Hana and Kei’s relationship development pretty unbelievable. In all, a pretty enjoyable read.

I’ve seen so many reviews referring to this world as whimsical and I think that is spot on. The story was so well written and I was hooked on the characters journey through the whole thing. Also can we take a moment for the cover art, absolutely stunning!

Some books are about the journey, not about the ending--and I think WATER MOON fits the former category. The book is magical and whimsical, but it requires a great deal of suspension of disbelief. Magic happens with little regard to logic or consistency, and the reader is just along for the ride and the gorgeous visuals. The book also has some surprisingly dark content, so be aware that this isn't all just flying origami cranes and magical puddles. But if you enjoy a charming, whimsical (the word can't help but come to mind repeatedly) journey through a somewhat nonsensical world, I highly recommend WATER MOON.

It's giving ✨Studio Ghibli✨

Rating: 3.75 ⭐️

The cover encapsulates the vibe of this book perfectly. Water Moon is wonder made real. A world where stars are actually kites and regrets are caged birds. It's markets in the clouds, trains powered by dewdrops, and flying origami cranes. It is incredibly whimsical.

This book follows Hana and Keishin as they search for her missing father, looking for clues while traversing this fantastical realm. It was beautiful, but I feel like I might have seen too much of the world? We see so many different places that we never get the chance to really enjoy any of them before we are off to the next one.

Now, the ending was twisty. And I really liked that. Nothing made sense and yet everything made sense. I don’t know if it was perfect, but it was definitely entertaining.

Overall, what really made this book stand out was its scenery and world-building. And while I had a couple criticisms, Water Moon felt wholly original and imaginative.

Thank you to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for providing me early access to Water Moon in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
Pre-read:
A little pawnshop where you sell your regrets? Sign me up. Thank you, Netgalley 🥰

DNF at 25%

The beginning of this book was extremely promising, and I think the author does a great job of setting up a whimsical dream-like world. I was really intrigued by the atmosphere and was excited to see where the story went.



My issues with the story began when the male lead Keishin appears. He is from our world and at times seems to be used as a voice or interpreter for the reader viewing this world. It felt like it wasn’t giving the reader enough credit to be able to understand the world on their own and made some moments that should have been interesting repetitive instead. This undermined the mysterious and whimsical style that the book began with.

The dialogue felt cheesy and much younger than fit the tone that had been previously established, and the dynamic between the protagonist, Hana, and Keishin developed far faster than it had any right to. Hana sincerely says “don’t look at me, I’m hideous”—which felt melodramatic on its own—and then Keishin goes into a romcom style speech about how he sees her. This occurs about 75 pages into the book and I think these two met maybe 2 hours ago.

There’s a certain amount of melodrama in Yambao’s writing that I found really intriguing in her world-building prose, but I just wasn’t interested in how it manifested in her character development and dialogue. There are plenty of aspects of this story that are done well, but ultimately I wasn’t interested in pushing through the parts that didn’t work for me.

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for letting me read this arc in exchange for an honest review. I will not be posting this review elsewhere since I did not finish the book.

I wasn’t expecting this book to be a mystery based on my impressions of the cover/description of the novel but I was pleasantly surprised. I was expecting more of a “set off on a fantasy adventure by the ransacking” but I enjoyed the more mysterious elements of this book.

I loveeeed the world building in this book. It was incredibly well described and I found the magic quirks of this world so whimsical, entertaining, and well executed here. It was giving a bit of Studio Ghibli vibes (which I loved). It also contained a beautiful storyline about living with regrets which was touching and a lovely incorporation of real life themes into a whimsical/entertaining world.

4.25 stars!

This was such a magical read! I enjoyed the whimsical vibes and there were so many descriptions that I highlighted because I loved the concepts. For example: travelling through puddles, giant glass eyes, seashells that tell jokes, and flying paper cranes among clouds in a museum. Plus, the idea of a pawnshop where you can sell your regrets is just so cool.
Hana and Kei's journey had a bit of everything, from magic to action to romance. Nothing is as it seems, and the story delves into themes of fate and regret, making it a sweet but melancholic read. Bittersweet with a final ending on the sweeter side.
The only minor gripes I had were the romance, which felt a little too insta-love + forced for my taste, and some of the writing choices (sections ending a little abruptly). However, this is definitely a book where you have to just go with the flow to enjoy it. Fans of Studio Ghibli films will likely enhoy this book!
Overall, I loved the ethereal parallel world explored in Water Moon and it's a book that I would love to annotate physically (+ that cover is so gorgeous).

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In Tokyo most will see a Raman Restraunt, but if selected instead you enter a pawnshop. Hana lives in another world. A world where things are not what they seem. A world where you can pawn your regrets. On her first day of running the family pawnshop her father is missing and the store is ransacked! Her first customer walks in and instead of selling a regret he offers to help her solve the mystery of what happened to her father. This tale is a wild, exciting, and unique adventure!

I enjoyed this story and could not put it down, but the last 1/4 of the book changed some of my feelings. The characters romance felt rushed after such a big twist I found myself wanting more of their story.

The author exhibited beautiful writing and amazing world building. I could picture the story perfectly in my head!

Thank you Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine, Netgalley, and Samantha Sotto Yambao for an advance reading copy of this book

Amazing. I loved how creative and thought inspiring this book was. I almost felt like I was diving into a Studio Ghibli movie with the imagery and the feelings that this book inspired in me. I honestly can't really put together my thoughts properly with this, but I ran to preorder this book.

Infinite stars

If I could have highlighted this whole book I would have. Samantha’s writing was so poetic and whimsical. I truly got lost in this world that she had created. It’s one of those books as soon as I finished, I wanted to pick it back up and read again. The magical realism genre is quickly becoming one of my favorites.

I wish I had better words to explain how much I loved this book. But I hope the quotes speak for themselves. Kei and Hana were such great characters. It was like two missing pieces of a puzzle being put back together🩵

I think this my favorite book of the year which is so hard to say because it doesn’t release until January🥺 I need everyone to preorder this!!

This book is stunning. I haven’t read anything like it before. I love the immersive fantasy elements, the beautiful prose that reads almost like poetry, and everything about Hana and her life in Tokyo. I need more from Samantha Sotto Yambao immediately.

Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao is a beautiful, atmospheric novel that blends the charm of a magical love story with the depth of a character-driven journey of healing and self-discovery. Set against a vivid backdrop, Sotto Yambao’s prose is lyrical, flowing like the water that symbolizes much of the novel’s imagery. The characters are well-developed and relatable, particularly the protagonist, whose emotional complexities add layers to the storyline.

One of the novel’s strengths lies in its exploration of grief and hope, with a narrative that keeps readers hooked as they unravel each secret and reveal the history of the characters and the town they inhabit. Sotto Yambao deftly combines romance and mystery, sprinkling just the right amount of magical realism to create a sense of enchantment without losing the novel’s grounding in very real emotions and stakes.

While some parts felt slightly slow-paced, the story’s emotional depth and the immersive setting make it a rewarding read. Water Moon is for those who love poignant, beautifully told stories that remind us of the magic and resilience within ourselves.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to review this eArc.
Water Moon was such a beautiful read in every sense of the word! The prose had such a poetic quality that matched the story so well. While the story itself breaks and stitches you back together in the best way possible.
Although the main POV is Hana, you are very much discovering this fantastic world through Keishin's eyes. Each part of the journey was so startling unique, completely refreshing, and so vivd it was hard to put down.
I can't wait to get my hands on the physical copy to read it again all over again.

Thank you so much to Del Rey and Netgalley for the chance to read Water Moon as an ARC! This story was presented as a Ghibli-esque, inter-dimensional fantasy, and I knew right away that this was something I had to get my hands on.

The description and premise of this book immediately hooked me- I have always been a lover of magical, whimsical, dreamlike stories, and I do think Samantha Sotto Yambao did a phenomenal job of bringing that intention to life. Truly imagining this novel as a Studio Ghibli production in my mind made this reading journey a visual experience as well, and was probably my favorite thing about this book as a whole.

Although I loved the *idea* and *intention* of this book, the execution fell a bit flat for me. Some parts of the plot felt rushed, and some interactions between main characters just didn't quite fit for me- but I appreciated this book so much for the visual aspect that I still felt three stars was warranted. This is a story about choices, about changes, and the risk and reward of both- and has the most PERFECT cover to match.

Water Moon will be released in January of 2025, and I am so excited to see it truly exist in the world. Even though there were some parts of this story that weren't for me, I am so hopeful that it will be for you- life is too short to not read magical books!

4 stars!

Thank you to Samantha Sotto Yambao and Dey Rey for an ARC in exchange for my full, honest review!

If "charming young physicist and magical pawnshop owner" or "Howl's Moving Castle meets The Starless Sea" don't get you to read this, I don't know what will. It certainly worked on me, and this wonder-filled fantasy does a solid job of living up to those taglines. I really enjoyed it overall, although I had some trouble feeling engaged with the story, and admittedly I was the smallest bit let down.

First, all of the good stuff. I love this world so, so much. It really does give strong Ghibli vibes, although I was more reminded of Seanan McGuire's Wayward Children series just because of the whimsy of the realms that Hana and Keishin visit. The descriptions of the world are really amazing and in general I thought the writing was very strong. I highlighted tons of lines. I really love a world that appears nonsensical but actually has some strict rules to it and I think that played well with Keishin's knowledge of physics in his world.

Now, the stuff that was a little weaker. Keishin is definitely swoony but the romance comes off a little insta-love-y. I think this is a result of Hana coming off kind of flat as a character, rather than the actual speed that the romance progresses. It might just be because Kei is so passionate and has such clear motivations and interests that Hana seems apathetic in comparison. I think a little more time spent on developing her alone could have made the romance and the book over all more engaging.

It's still gorgeous, I would recommend it for the creativity and beauty of the world and the writing alone. I was really excited for this book and maybe hyped it up too much in my head, but I just didn't really that deep connection that you get with a book you love.

Happy reading!