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

Ya’ll. I love portal fantasy. I love it so much and this is romantic portal fantasy done in a pitch perfect way. The world created in this book gets deeper and more twisted the further you go but these characters continue to evolve right along with it so even when the big twists come, you are sold on them as the messy, perfect creatures they are. Read this book when you are ready to have your heart broken and come back stronger from it. Drink this book: enjoy with a really natty, unfiltered Riesling full of aromatics and not exactly what you expect it to be.

I wanted to love this book much more than I did. The synopsis of this book sounded so cool but unfortunately, I felt like the characters in this were one dimensional. I also started to lose interest once the romance element was introduced. I never really found myself rooting for the couple and just wanted to move on to the other parts of the plot. While I still enjoyed some elements of the story, overall, I found myself wanting more from it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free digital Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for a review.

Samantha Sotto Yambao’s Water Moon is a beautifully immersive journey through a world where regrets can be traded, and magic hides in the everyday. The novel follows Hana Ishikawa, who inherits her father’s mystical Tokyo pawnshop—a place where people barter their deepest regrets for a chance at a different future. But when her father disappears and the shop is ransacked, Hana teams up with a charming physicist to uncover the truth, leading them through portals hidden in rain puddles and markets suspended in the clouds.

What truly shines in Water Moon is its worldbuilding. Every new place Hana and her companion visit feels like stepping into a dream, with each location offering its own vignette-like moment. The novel almost reads like an interconnected collection of short stories, each with its own quiet magic and melancholy. Sotto Yambao’s lyrical prose makes these settings come alive, capturing both wonder and wistfulness in equal measure.

What kept this from being a full five-star read for me was the depth of the characters. While the world was stunningly crafted, I wanted to feel a stronger emotional connection to Hana and the people she meets along the way. At times, they felt more like conduits for the novel’s ideas than fully realized individuals. That said, the novel’s exploration of regrets, destiny, and the weight of our choices makes for a thought-provoking and rewarding read.

Highly recommended for readers who love immersive, magical worlds and stories that ask big existential questions.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars. This was beautiful. Loved this and normally i'm not so much into fantasy. thanks netgalley & the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review

I originally rated this book 3.25 stars, but after sitting overnight and thinking about it, I actually enjoyed this book so much more.
This story is about how every decision you make affects a bigger part of your future - think the butterfly effect, and it does it beautifully.

The part that made me originally rated this lower was that I don’t think we got enough time in the worlds within this story. They were so beautiful and imaginative. Everyone comparing this to Spirited Away is so right - it gives those vibes and has a similar magical realism that pulls you in, but I wanted to get to know the world more.

Secondly, the last half of the book felt very rushed and I did find myself having to go back and read pages over to make sure I fully understood the plot twists that came up and it could have used some polishing.

Overall though, I absolutely adore this book so much. It was such a fun read and I read this all in one sitting basically. I need more cozy magical realism fantasy books, please.

A big shout out and thank you to the publisher for providing me with a complimentary copy of Water Moon in exchange for an honest review!

The concept of Water Moon is so absolutely phenomenal, that I must’ve spoken about it to literally anyone who saw me sitting with my Kindle these last few days. Every single person found the premise as interesting as I did—irrespective of what genre of fiction they generally enjoy. A magical pawnshop that makes deals over regrets and choices. It doesn’t get better than this and I stand by that statement.

My favourite kind of reads are those whose tone you can sense from the beginning. The best part is when said tone remains the same throughout the book. From the moment you begin Water Moon you’re aware of how the book will likely read. The best way I can compare it is to the lull you feel while sitting beside the sea, listening to the sound of the waves, while the rest of the world sleeps. This music remains throughout the book, giving off that sense of whimsy and magical realism until the very end.

However … what made this book alluring is also what makes it hard to grasp. Everytime it nears you and you reach for it, it slips through your fingers and leaves you with nothing to hold on to. The plot of the story is honestly quite simple (with the perfectly complex set-up laid out), however to me the execution of it made it hard to follow through in terms of enjoying it. With whimsical adventures that take you on several detours, time shifts that take away from the moment to provide some insight that was often a bit surprising to me and made me think required some trigger warnings perhaps, I was more often than not reeling in confusion. The connections made across chapters, situations and characters fell short in my eyes because the whimsy didn’t have anything firm holding them together. Imagine tying together something as infinite and impossible to grip as waves, it’s impossible. Personally for me, the thread of the story’s purpose diluted to give way to beautiful scenery, whimsical imagery and a dreamlike storytelling.

The world in this book is … vast. This means the world building is continuous and happens at every turn. The things work in the heroine’s world—whose functions are often the reverse of how it is in the outside world—takes up a lot of space in this book. The aforementioned adventures that line up to take turns appearing, often take up more scene space in the book and real estate in the mind than anything else about the world, thus making every revelation not as hard hitting as they had the potential to be.

The characters were… it’s hard to define them without spoiling something that happens in the book that would be the perfect example of how they appear. Every character has moments of depth and moments of being … insubstantial. It’s hard to put a pin on the relationship/connection between the main characters given the speed at which everything takes place. We somehow know a lot and nothing about them at the same time, if that makes sense. There are monumental scenes that take place but the gaps in understanding only further expand with each scene because of how unconnected they seem. At least, that was my experience.

The pace was thus, something I struggled with as everything felt both wonderfully immersive and confusingly unclear at the same time.

However, if you’re looking for a dream-like experience that takes you to places you could never imagine, with lots of wonderful cultural references and traditions, then dive right in! This might be just the book for you!

Please do check trigger warnings before reading, there were things in this book that I was surprised to find and I wouldn’t want someone who might struggle with those themes to walk in blind. Happy reading.

A very whimsical and intriguing book; however, it lacked depth for me. Things were constantly happening and there was a lot of adventure, but I wish the author focused a bit more on character emotions, growth, and depth.
I will say, the ending really saved this for me! I thoroughly enjoyed the last 10% of the book, but it just took too long for me to feel connected to the story.
This book contains a lot of adventure and strong life lessons, so if you like those two thing, then you'll love this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the e-book copy!

Water Moon is a whimsical tale of a woman who 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. I saw this book get a lot of buzz from influencers as well as recommendations comparing the novel to books that I have enjoyed. I can say off the bat that this story's atmosphere was great and it delivered on the dreamlike fantasy vibe. However, I do wish the author spent more time on the story itself as opposed to the setting. I felt the main characters were very coming and going and a lot of depth was told instead of shown. The romance did not fit the story and it was forced towards the end to convey this star-crossed lovers situation when it was not. I would have enjoyed this more if the focus was just on the main character and her family since their storyline felt the most cohesive and was paid dust towards the end. I am willing to check out this author's future works as this was a debut and I can see them improving on it in the next story. If you like Studio Ghibli or whimsical fantasy then this story will work for you!

"𝑳𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓."

Thank you so much to @samanthasottoyambao @delreybooks @netgalley and @prhaudio
For this gifted copy of 𝑾𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑴𝒐𝒐𝒏

I am in awe and at a loss of words.

This book has become my new Roman Empire, a spot that has been held by The Red Rising Series for years, so I don't say that lightly.

I am in love with Samantha's writing style! I love the way it flows. The time hoping kept the storyline moving and interesting! The magical world that Samantha created was mind blowingly immersive and unique.

This book gives 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami, meets Studio Ghibli and Suzume.

I am 1000% looking forward to more work by @samanthasottoyambao !

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Del Rey and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Water Moon offers a unique, imaginative concept with its magical pawnshop for regrets and whimsical worldbuilding, reminiscent of a Studio Ghibli film. The contrasting personalities of Hana and Keishin bring a sweet dynamic to the story, and the vibrant settings are a visual delight. While the plot sometimes meanders, the enchanting imagery makes it a journey worth exploring, especially for fans of magical realism.

This book is like stepping into a Studio Ghibli film—magical, whimsical, and totally transportive. The world-building is whimsical, and the story is both sad and romantic in the best way. Someone called it “a dream you don’t want to wake up from,” and that feels spot on.

If you love enchanting, fast-paced reads that feel like a fairytale, this one's worth picking up!

This one started out really promising for me, learning about this mysterious pawnshop that trades choices and regrets. Once we really started to fall into the world (falling in puddles as a means of transport!) it felt magical and fun- a fantasy world that looked like ours but in reality was so far from it (but not in the dragons or faeries kind of way). Ultimately, there just became too many turns in the story to get to the next place and the next and the next, and I started to lose interest. 3 stars.

Solid 8/10 for me. I felt as though the concept was very fascinating and I loved the attention to detail, but there were certain moments wherein I felt as though the presentation did not embody enough of the tension that’s inherent in anticipation and uncertainty. Unlike my usual reading style (quick, unable to resist the temptation of reaching the resolution), I did my best to move slowly so as to absorb the beautiful details that encompass this work. I’ll need to sit for a little bit more time with this one, for everything to fully sink in, but it was quite the wonderful reading experience.

Water moon is an interesting book. Samantha Sotto Yambao does a wonderful job creating a very atmospheric world that feels lived in, which is a a really wonderful feat in such a strange world. I loved the setting and the descriptive language of the book. My major issues with it lie mostly in the fact that I didn’t find the romance particularly believable and I found the main character on the flat side, still a very worthwhile read though.

Hana Ishikawa wakes up on her first day in charge of her father's pawn shop to find it ransacked and her father missing. This is what charming Minatozaki Keishin walks into with an offer to help. Except this isn't a normal pawn shop, and Hana has never seen someone enter it with an offer to help instead of a plea for assistance. In a world where choices are more valuable than anything else, Hana and Keishin choose to follow her father's footsteps in hopes of finding him and what was stolen. But the journey isn't easy, and they both will have to make choices they might not be ready for.

Lush storytelling takes readers on a magical journey across a land of dreams and hope where the stakes are high and the chance of success minimal. Yet there is a thread of possibility that is woven through everything that Hana and Keishin go through that makes this a most relaxing and thought-provoking read. The world is a luscious land of imagination that pulls you into the story as powerfully as the well-crafted characters. You can feel the struggles, desires, and fears that motivate everyone's actions, and you're right there with them as they fight to find Hana's father and the truth of everything around them.

It's a wonderful read that gives you a lot to think about, even as you're pulled forward by a plot that never lets up.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine | Del Rey for the magical journey!

What a gorgeous book. While not the 5/5 read that I've seen from others, I still thoroughly enjoyed this book, mostly due the writing. It felt float-y and otherworldly--just like the book itself. I could easily read more of this story and am delighted to handsell this to others.

Water Moon is a fantasy standalone set in an alternate, fantastical Japan. Hana, who has inherited her father’s role as the proprietor of a pawn shop (disguised as a ramen shop) that trades in customers’ deepest regrets. But her first day on the job is disrupted by the sudden disappearance of her father, whom she must search for, alongside a mysterious stranger.

I’m not always a fan of “journey” stories (which this is, ultimately); there’s a lot of stopping and going and it can feel repetitive after a while even if there is a clear end point. The “journey” aspect was actually entertaining in Water Moon because setting is so central to the novel and perhaps the best part of the reading experience, as Hana and Keishin’s travels take them through a variety of dream-like landscapes. I found Water Moon’s whimsical worldbuilding to be a delight to read, reminiscent of the atmosphere of a Studio Ghibli film and rife with fanciful details akin to Erin Morgenerstern’s The Night Circus. If you’re looking for a story with an immersive ambience, Water Moon does this well.

However, this does mean that the plot takes a bit of a backside for a large portion of the story, and there is a lot to lay out in the last quarter, which ultimately felt rushed in contrast to the languid pacing for the majority of the book. This also results in a bit of a deus ex machina solution at the end, and some unexplained questions.

Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao was soooo good y'all, I'm obsessed! Dreamy prose, haunting love story, and a twist that left me breathless. 5/5!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I'm glad I finally got around to reading this! What an incredibly imaginative story, reminiscent (in vibes only) of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea meets Nettle & Bone. The pawn shop was such a cool setting (though the time we spent there was too short!) and Hana's characterization felt very akin to the shop—sterile, dutiful, lonely. I also adored the museum setting and Haruto's craft. Plus, the village of stars was dripping with that magical, Ghibli quality. There were so many small moments that felt special (I *need* a fully developed fairytale-esque story about the ryokan!!) and side characters or functions of the world building that felt unique and purposeful... and yet I still came away slightly disappointed. Like many other reviews, I found the chemistry between Hana and Keishin lacking. I probably would have preferred a more hands-off, slow burn approach to their romance, if at all; for once, this is a couple that might actually have benefited from the "I'm cold and uptight, you're playful and open" archetypes. I also had so. many. questions. concerning the ending. Convenient is the wrong word, but it's pretty close to how I feel. So many things got glossed over in the last couple pages... Anyway, I did have a good time, but I can't help thinking that there are other stories out there with the same fantastical energy that are tighter in plot, higher in stakes, and stronger in characterization. This wasn't bad by any means!! but it wouldn't be my first choice of recommendation.