Water Moon was a perfect hug after coming inside on a rainy day. We follow Hana, who is taking ownership of her family’s pawn shop, as she searches for her missing father.

The catch: her pawnshop doesn’t deal in used physical goods; they take in regrets, and the pawnshop can only be found by people who have a reason to find it. Her father hasn’t just randomly disappeared; Hana is confident it has to do with the magic of the world her pawnshop plays with.

To add things to the mix, a man named Kei finds his way to Hana’s shop right as she begins her search. He is a scientist, and his world is dictated by the real and rational. When he joins Hana’s adventure, he is pulled into a world that contradicts everything he knows.

I loved the contrast between Hana and Kei’s understanding and interpretations of the world. I keep seeing this story compared to Ghibli, and it’s a very accurate comparison - there is a very melancholy feel and look to the world we start in, and the rules of Hana’s world are unclear and undefined. Even though the story starts out reminding us of pain and remorse, the characters’ journey together is charming.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for review!

A whimsical fantasy set in a pawnshop where you can barter your choices, and the story of two individuals traversing the ocean of identity and regret.

As a lover of little magical stories reminiscent of studio ghibli, I absolutely ate this up. This book takes such a simple concept and weaves an insightful and sentimental tale of hope in predeterminism. We all have our “what ifs”, our forks in the road; the branching of our threads of fate. What would you trade for a different life? What did you sacrifice for your current one?

For those who adored <The Starless Sea> and <The Invisible Life of Addie Larue>, and readers of lightly peculiar Japanese literature. <Water Moon> is a soft, melancholic reflection of life, in all its flawed beauty

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with the eARC. All opinions are honest and my own.

This book was like a dream in all the best ways. It was cozy and soft - like the book version of a cloud. The world building was incredible and I loved loved loved the Japanese culture representation. Add this to your TBR now!

I am very torn about how to review this book. There were many positives, not the least of which is Yambao's writing. The themes in the book deal with everything from regrets to questions of what makes a life worth living. As I read, there were so many times where I had to stop an ponder the sentences that beautifully capture a profound idea and make me think. I loved that. And it is these very ideas of how we as humans seal with our regrets and process them, along with how we understand the impact of seemingly insignificant choices that set us on a specific path that drew me to this book about a pawn shop where you could undo a regret. I came in with super high hopes.

However, it surprised me how difficult it was to get into the story. This, I believe, is because the plotting of the story and the characters felt distant. Again, Yambao's descriptive prose captured the beauty and whimsy of many of the locations the main couple travel too, but sadly, it is the journey itself that I didn't really follow. I kept asking "why is all of the necessary". While answers do come, they don't quite make up for the confusion throughout that I felt throughout. The main characters felt flat throughout also. While their rationale made sense intellectually, there was little in the story that made me believe them, much less feel the love that brings them together, or the threat that looms over them.

As a result, there are aspects of the book that I would rate as low as 2 stars. But there are also aspects I adored in the contemplative nature of the story. These I would rate much higher, in the 4.5 range. So here I settle on a 3 star, though that by no means expresses adequately the mixed feelings I have towards this book.

Probably about 3.5 stars. This started off really strong for me, but my enjoyment faded a bit as the story went on.

The protagonist, Ishikawa Hana, is set to take over a pawnshop in Tokyo that trades in regrets from her father, until she discovers that the shop is ransacked and one of their wares and her father are missing. Keishin (forgot his last name) then enters her store and somehow together, they end up on a journey through a whimsical, Japanese-inspired world to figure out what happened at the pawnshop.

The worldbuilding and ideas were whimsical and fantastical and a highlight of the book, with flying paper cranes, a museum of time, and memory pearls, and really contributed to the atmosphere and further built on the themes explored, like fate and choices and the flexibility of time. I wish we got to explore a bit more of each fantastical setting, because sometimes each one really flew by so it became surface-level. The writing was pretty atmospheric, too, though I wasn’t a fan of the dialogue; at times it felt like it tried too hard to be philosophical or say something profound that it wasn’t natural, but as a whole the dialogue was pretty stilted. It kind of felt like maybe since these conversations were supposed to be in Japanese, the author went for something that sounded translate rather than natural? Just speculating here but I wished it was better.

I also wished both Keishin and Hana were a bit better developed, as well as their relationship. Sometimes I got told who Hana was, but I didn’t feel like I got a good enough look into her mind for me to agree with what other characters said about her. It felt like once Keishin made his appearance, we were kept at a distance from Hana, so her characterization ended up feeling flat. In contrast, it felt like we got a lot of glimpses into Keishin’s past and mind to understand what kind of person he was, but that still didn’t really explain his motivations, which sometimes felt nonsensical. There definitely was a bit of insta-love going on, which I’m not a fan of, and since there didn’t seem to be that much chemistry, it didn’t make sense why Keishin wanted to help her so much or how they got to care each other so much over a few days. Other characters, too, like Haruto, could have been developed a bit more, just because I didn’t really feel moved when things happened to them, and it seemed like I was supposed to. The references to Japanese culture were nice, though sometimes there were just a few inconsistencies with the honorifics and references that felt like 違和感 to me. And the quote about sake was really messy, so hopefully that was fixed in time for publication.

Overall this was packed with really cute, whimsical ideas, and I can see the Studio Ghibli vibes at work. I just wished the characters were as interesting as the settings.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC!

I really enjoyed reading WaterMoon! It was very unique, but also easy to follow and understand. The characters were likable and interesting. This is overall a cute and fun read!

✨Review✨

Water Moon by Samantha Soto Yambao📖🎧

This book will take you on a magical and whimsical journey into a dreamlike state. Filled with cozy vibes and romance that rains gently down. This book teaches wisdom and life lessons that are woven with enchantments.

“A woman inherits a pawnshop where you can sell your regrets, and then embarks on a magical quest when a charming young physicist wanders into the shop, in this dream like fantasy novel.

Spirited Away vibes meet Alice in Wonderland’s wisdom

“Yesterday has no door”

📆Release date: available now


✨Read this if you like✨
💧 Studio Ghibli
💧 Dreams
💧 Magic
💧 Japanese folklore/ mythology
💧 Cozy vibes
💧 Whips

The hardcover is stunning and if you take the dust jacket off- it has instructions on the back for how to make it into a paper hat!

Easily one of the most captivating, original, and wondrous fantasy novels I've ever read with incredible world building. I know it's only January, but I can already tell this will be making my Best of 2025 list.

My appreciation to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy to review without bias. I was intrigued by all the good reviews, and the premise of a fanciful magical journey, predicated upon a pawnshop where people came to trade in their regrets (great notion), and a helpful stranger showing up (with hints of a light romance there). I love the cover, too.

Unfortunately my experience was one of just trying to get through it to be done, after a few chapters. I didn't relate to the style, and it never took hold of me. The author was clearly attempting to make this story have meaning, and here and there were a few pithy lines, as well as the underlying sense of how we assume our reality, and how much control over life is really in our own hands. However for me it was marred by a lot of confusing drama, evil characters, chases, and just not the sort of thing I could enjoy at all. It wasn't really about the characters, even though two main ones were featured, so there wasn't a ton to grasp onto there. The action was more the point, and even though wild & fantastical, left me rather cold. I suppose along with the action it was about choice, fate, and people's inner lives, but it just didn't ever gel for me as interesting. As the joke goes in breaking up with someone, "It's not you, it's me."--perhaps. Though in reading reviews here at this early point, a few folks also found it confusing, silly, not worth their time. But we who didn't love this are in the minority so far, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. I guess overall it's maybe partially not the type of "soothing" tale I associated with the descriptions and my idea of a magical story. I found it not as much fun, as it was harrowing. But some readers enjoyed the ride as something inventive, creative and fun in the author's imaginings of the many ways things were portrayed. For you, it could be more fun therefore than I found it. And many found it a meaningful story of what--& how--we relate to what we call reality.

So, it manages to be philosophical in the midst of all of this. Yet, for me, ultimately rather nonsensical.

Thank you again to the publisher for this opportunity!

Water Moon is a beautifully written book that makes you feel as if you are in a daydream the entire time you are reading. A few parts dragged a bit for me, but the majority of the book was interesting and captivating. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

"Water Moon" has a very beautiful cover. When I first seen this book, I was like, "I want to read that!", before I even read the description. The cover matches the vibe pretty well. Even the color scheme/font is great. The whole concept with the dust jacket is brilliant. The story itself has some positives and drawbacks.



The beginning of "Water Moon" had me highlighting a lot of quotes. A pawnshop that trades your regrets in exchange for a peace of mind sounds like a perfect dream. I kept wondering about the choices I carry now that could be considered a burden to me. If I was able to pawn them off, would I make that bargain? I felt like the writing, at this point, was speaking to me. It intrigued me because Hana's world felt so mysterious. Samantha Sotto Yambao does a good job at making her story feel whimsical. I can definitely see this being picked up to be animated. The ending had some decent plot twists that had me like, "whoa" and slightly confused (in a semi good way).


There are parts of "Water Moon" that feel unfinished. The author at times chooses not to expand upon scenes that actually needs further explanation or should be prolonged. Instead, Yambao tells us what has happened instead of just showing it. A lot of the writing felt chopped and didn't flow as well as it should. A well written story needs to have a good balance between world building and character development. If the world building is lacking in a book, I can still enjoy it if it has strong characters. However, if the world building is more developed than the characters then that is just a waste, isn't it?

Maybe this is a strong opinion, but I feel like "Water Moon" did not need to be a romance. Hana and Keishin did not have any chemistry. I was genuinely confused when we got to the 66% mark where breasts and nipples started to make an appearance. Like, I knew they were adults, but the writing reads like a YA novel, so you forget they are indeed adults. This deep into the plot the readers are supposed to be convinced that these characters really like/love each other but their relationship wasn't developed enough for that. I got nothing from that intimate scene.

Overall, this book has good bones. I can see people enjoying this story for what it is. For me, I do not see myself picking it up for a reread.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for this arc!

"𝘒𝘦𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴. 𝘍𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦. 𝘈𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬-𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘢, 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘱 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘶𝘱, 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘴. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘒𝘦𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯’𝘴 𝘤𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱."

the absolute CHOKEHOLD this book had on me????

I could barely put it down.

this gives such exquisite Studio Ghibli vibes, specifically, having two characters stumble into each other in a seemingly random way but actually have more connections than you could have ever expected, traveling into a fantasy world that’s not completely foreign to our own, and having rules that don’t necessarily make sense, but you don’t care. like it’s almost more enjoyable when it doesn’t make a lot of sense and you just take it for what it is and enjoy the story.

Water Moon follows a young woman named Hana who is preparing to take over running her father’s pawnshop when he retires the next day. however, their pawnshop is not a normal pawnshop. this pawnshop is hidden inside a ramen restaurant. the only people who may enter are the ones the universe deems as having a choice that has weighed on them too heavily and they would be happier if they lost all memory of it. once they enter the pawnshop, it will be Hana’s duty to explain this to them and hopefully convince them to agree.

however, when Hana wakes up the next day, the pawnshop is ransacked and her father is missing. then a man enters the pawnshop—Keishin. instead of trying to run business as usual, Hana accepts Keishin’s offer of help and the two explore her world to try and find her father before the Shiikuin (hive-mind creatures in masks that enforce the rules of Hana’s world) can find him.

what then kicks off is a magical adventure through puddles, pieces of art, museums, night markets, songs and more, all while Hana and Kei try to ignore the connection they feel growing between them.

plot: ★★★★★
this story is so unique. it’s a huge reason why I felt like it was so fun to read. there’s nothing out there that’s quite like it. I also loved the added mystery element. the missing person’s case and the mystery of Hana’s mother, and really, even the mystery of Kei’s mother.

writing: ★★★★☆
the highlight for me was definitely all the fantastical elements. traveling through song and art and puddles, everything created such vivid imagery for me. I also love Kei’s way of reasoning through things in his mind, but I didn’t like how it felt like we rushed over what happened to Ramesh. it was obviously really impactful to Kei and it just felt like we flew right over that part of the story. there are other small moments where I noticed us rushing through things, like a paragraph break and suddenly we’re jumping ahead by a little bit. it felt jarring to me whenever it happened.

pacing: ★★★★★
the story is medium-fast paced. the story kind of gives you the option to take it slow and absorb the writing more as you go. like... it’s not a demanding read. if you wanted to binge this in a day, you easily could. but it’s not so intense that it feels like you HAVE to keep reading at high speed to keep up.

romance: ★★★★☆ (3.5 rounded up)
the romance was very sweet. I do wish we could have gotten a little more though, like. just more time. more scenes seeing them be cute together. bc it low-key bothers me that Haruto had the most top tier romantic line and he wasn’t even the main love interest, like??? you’re just going to let him outshine Kei like that???

characters: ★★★★★
the story really keeps its focus on Hana and Kei. the side characters are definitely kept on the side, so we do not really get to know anyone else that well. that said, I really liked both of them. by the end of the book, I felt like I understood Kei and his feelings or motivations really well. he’s very transparent with how he thinks and feels. Hana is a bit more withdrawn. I think this dynamic added some fun to their relationship throughout the story.

over-all: ★★★★★
while the vagueness of the world-building didn’t bother me exactly, I did feel a little empty by the end of the book. I wanted to know more about why and how Hana was able to accomplish everything by the end. I didn’t love how years of story happened completely off page. that said, I still enjoyed the book a lot and I would absolutely read it again someday.

This was such a gorgeous and beautifully written story that felt absolutely magical! I am always a little bit hesitant with books that seem to have a good bit of hype for them and that I have high hopes for, and fortunately Water Moon deserved all of it. I really had a great time exploring this magical world and story and all of the characters within it. I thought the entire concept was really unique and thought-provoking, and I really appreciated how the author explored it. There were a lot of whimsical elements present in the atmosphere of this one and I found myself feeling like I was just gliding along with this story and everything our characters experienced. I felt that some of the relationships lacked a bit of depth that I was hoping for, but this didn't take away much from my enjoyment of the story at all. Overall, I'd highly recommend this to someone looking for something whimsical and full of magic!

“College. Marriage. Kids. These were the big decisions that people believed mattered. They were wrong, of course. In reality, it was the choices that people didn’t even realize they were making that set the course of their lives. The shifts were small, even minute, but, by the tiniest of angles, they pointed one in the direction of what was going to happen next.”

On paper this book is everything that I love - whimsical, cozy, lyrical, and full of beautiful quotes.

Hana inherits a magical pawnshop where people can sell their regrets. One day, Hana’s father goes missing along with a magical artifact. Hana then teams up with a stranger, Kei, to go on a journey to find her father.

I can’t quite explain why this book didn’t work for me. It had so many components that I love, but I never found myself fully invested in the story. I highlighted so many beautiful sentences, but I felt very meh about the book as a whole.

“…people. They shatter in the most fascinating ways. Every dent, scratch, and crack tells a story. Invisible scars hide the deepest wounds and are the most interesting.”

*3.25 rounded down to a 3*

Hana's family owns a pawnshop on the other side of a door to a restaurant. This pawnshop is rare, in that you only find it when you need it and they deal in choices. On the day that Hana is to start her first day as the pawnshop's owner after he fathers retirement, she finds that a choice is missing and so is her dad. The shop is in disarray and the door to the other world is a jar. As Hana is piecing together what happened, Keishin arrives from the other world. He agrees to help her find her father, and adventures (and love) ensue.

I loved all of the different places that they traveled to in Hana's world, and how they had to travel to those places (no planes, trains, or automobiles here). The reveals towards the end of the book were also really good. I didn't see them coming.

This book was fun and whimsical, but didn't fully grab me for some reason. I'm not sure is it was the writing style or what, but I found myself not picking this up as often as I wanted to.

Overall, I think it is worth the read if you like whimsy and don't mind suspending your disbelief.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I DNF'd around 50%. While the premise is intriguing, the actual reason experience has been boring and unsatisfying. Our two main characters are constantly moving to different places in this fantastical world, but the pacing is so fast you don't get to learn about any of these places at all, just getting a couple sentence explanation from Hana and then moving on. Since the draw of this book is this otherworld, it feels like a let down to be picked up and moved every couple of pages.
This book also has the most insta of insta-love. It makes the characters feel uninteresting, because they don't care to learn anything about each other before being absolutely obsessed. There also is probably going to be a love triangle which feels so unnecessary because it's obvious where these characters would end up.
Overall, it feels like this should have been planned out to be a longer book or part of a series, because you move at such a breakneck pace that nothing feels important.

WATER MOON by Samantha Sotto Yambao has an absolutely beautiful cover and contains a story full of wonder that will touch your heart. Imagine if you could leave your deepest regret at a pawnshop. Hana and her father manage such a magical place and she is almost ready to follow fate and take over the Tokyo shop until one day when a young physicist, Keishin, enters. The two of them begin an amazing adventure as they try to locate Hana's father who has disappeared in his own attempt to find her mother (long thought to be dead). Confusing? Yes, but so are bending the rules of logic, such as riding a rumor or jumping through puddles to move from place to place. Both Hana and Kei are in danger and learn to make sacrifices as they gradually acknowledge their mutual attraction. WATER MOON received starred reviews from both Booklist (“charming, fresh, and difficult to put down”) and Library Journal (“readers ... will fall hard for the mix of magical realism, fantasy mystery, and star-crossed romance”) and was a LibraryReads selection for January 2025.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Water Moon has very whimsical vibes and fantastic world-building. The author creates a mix of a beautiful and scary alternate reality, which one can access through a door leading to a magical pawnshop that deals in regretted choices. Hana has just taken over the job from her father, when he mysteriously disappears together with one of the precious pawned choices. Accompanied by a physicist who enters the pawnshop right while Hana is trying to figure out what happened, she embarks on a journey to find her father and the missing choice before the mysterious guardians of this world catch up to them. It's a journey filled with magic - travelling via puddles, paper cranes and rumors - as well as unbelievable discoveries!

The book has a very slow start, but it picks up around 50% and gets really intriguing. I loved all the (very unexpected!) plot-twists and how things came together! I often could barely predict what was going to happen... and was then proven wrong anyway. I really enjoyed how much this story surprised me. What appears to be a beautifully whimsical world is also filled with horrifying situations and truths, which appear unexpectedly and put so many things in a different light. I liked these two sides of the author's imaginary reality!

Hana is an interesting MC - she is well-rounded, filled with the expectations placed on her since birth and her unspoken desire to somehow get away from them. Kai is a fun addition and he made me smile with his neverending scientific curiosity. I really didn't feel the need for the insta-romance, as it seems too quick and distant, but it is quite a sweet one. I think Kai could have easily just been part of the story as a new friend and been guided by his scientific interest rather than love.

Overall, I'd recommend this book to lovers of whimsical fantasies, who don't mind a slow start before exciting twists and turns that will definitely surprise them!

It had beautiful writing. I really enjoyed the premise and concept of the story and the setting sounded so beautiful and interesting. The characters and general plot felt so one-note though. We meet this guy whose willing to go through a lot for someone he literally just met two minutes ago. The romance didn't feel like it made any sense, but it could have really propelled the story if it had been used differently.

Toshio is the pawnshop’s current owner and the father to Hana, who is next to inherit the shop. Keishin shows up one day and instead of trading, he helps her.

This is a complete mind warp of fantastical, imaginative storytelling with a dash of forbidden romance. If you’ve ever watched a Studio Ghibli film, this is the EXACT same vibe you get from Hiya Miyazaki films and my SG heart was obsessed!

𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘰𝘰𝘯 is a story of suspended reality. It’s paper cranes, traveling through rumors, puddles are portals, magic markets, and lots of trades. Hana and Kai’s journey was emotional and confusing and beautiful.

𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩:
☁️ cozy fantasy
☁️ Studio Ghibli vibes
☁️ forbidden romance
☁️ magical realism
☁️ ‘I want you, but can’t have you’

{I received a complimentary copy of this book. All reviews are my own.}