Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao is a beautifully written story that is part mystery, part fantasy, part romance. The book opens with the retirement of Toshio, Hana's father who runs a pawn shop. This is not a regular pawn shop because people can buy and sell life options or choices. Toshio disappears and his daughter Hana goes on a quest to find him alongside Keishin a young man who has a romantic interest in Hana.

This book is unique and creative. I think that many people would rate this book as 5 stars. I have given a 4 star rating because I tend to like more realistic stories but that is purely personal preference.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3 Stars

Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao is an enjoyable, light read with a touch of magic and romance. While the story had a nice concept, it didn’t fully draw me in, and some parts felt slow.

Overall, it’s a decent book for those who enjoy whimsical, heartfelt stories, but it didn’t leave a lasting impression for me.

This story starts in a pawnshop tucked in the inner-dimensional folds of a ramen shop in a parallel Tokyo. We follow Hana, a new proprietor of traded regrets, and Keishin, an unknowing customer, as they search to uncover the mystery of her ransacked pawn shop. It’s a fast-paced novel—that while sometimes feels like we flying through (e.i. the romance)—has a great conclusion with that moment of clarity. It’s a fanciful whimsical world of floating markets, magical transportation, and paper cranes described with lyricism along the likes of Erin Morgenstern, Rebecca Ross, and Hayao Miyazaki.

But much like how the true nature of the pawn shop is revealed to a customer, this story has a rich complexity that earns its five stars.

Water Moon is a tale about the choices we make in life, the selfish and the world-altering. The kind an anxious person turns over until polished smooth, like a river stone. It’s about finding yourself, fate, fear, and the choice to make life your own. It’s about the stories we create for ourselves and about others. Samantha Sotto Yombao creates a world in which we can question ourselves and our humanity.

How Do You Live?

Water Moon is a reflection of my soul, especially at this moment in my life. A 25-year-old who is questioning her career and life choices every day, is afraid of disrupting the stillness of water. Whose fear is seeping into the soles of my shoes and whose therapist echoed the exact themes of this book. I saw myself in the characters and the worlds. Something where I think in future rereads, I’ll continue to find meaning in the nuances of this book.

Thank you Water Moon for being my "water moon."

Much appreciation and thanks to Net Galley and Del Rey for providing me with this digital arc for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

“Scars don’t make you any less than what you are. They are simply stories, just like this scroll."

Admittedly I read half of the summery and decided I needed to read the whole book. Pawnshop that takes regrets? Absolutely sign me up. But the book was so much more than that. Instead you have Hana and Kei surviving being hunted my deathless beings as they travel through a magical world in search of Han's parents.

The book has more heart than I ever expected. So many lines stuck with me and just made me want to pause and live in the book. The characters are flawed in the best way. The world is magical and complex. I just wanted to learn more about it.

This book feels like I stepped right into a Studio Ghibli movie. The imagery is unmatched and I was not able to put it down! 10/10 recommend!

5/5! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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”Things don't have to make sense for them to be real.”

You ever have a book that you are just drawn to? Like you just reach for it because you crave being in that world? This was that book for me. It was like being in absurd dream, that was chaotic, but calming at the same time. This was absolute solitude for me.

⊹ ࣪ ˖ Toshiro runs a unique pawnshop in Tokyo, one where you can pawn your life choices and deepest regrets. One day, he decides to retire and leaves the shop in the hands of his only daughter, Hana. On her first opening day, she awakens to find her father missing, the pawnshop ransacked, and a choice stolen. Just when she feels hopeless, in walks a stranger, Keishin, who tells Hana he will help her find her father and go along on the unexpected journey with her. ˖ ࣪ ⊹

And it is quite the unexpected journey. I'm not sure that I have ever read a book that had me in such a peaceful state of mind. It had stunning visuals and references to Japanese mythology and folklore, and the author had an incredible way of creating a world one could quite literally, only dream about. The romance was subtle, but gentle and beautiful and the same time. Everything had a purpose, meaning or lesson behind it, and I adored that. Chef's kiss.

“And you are an ocean, Hana. Gentle and quiet, yet powerful enough to sweep away any man or ship. I drowned in you a long time ago and I did not even know it.” Ugh, my heart.

This book will 100% not be for everyone, and I absolutely understand that. BUT. If you are constantly lost in thought, constantly day dreaming and contemplating the meaning of things like me – read this book. Samantha Sotto has done an amazing job of creating a space for us to get lost in.

This is my first book my this author, and I cannot wait to read more of her work.

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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this amazing ARC!

Hana works at her family owned pawnshop, a place that exchanges regrets for memory loss. A man named Keishin stumbles into a scene of disarray at the pawnshop. There’s broken glass on the floor, the place looks ransacked, and Hana’s foot is bleeding. Hana tells Keishin her father is missing and immediately decides he wants to help Hana. Their journey begins by jumping through a puddle and landing in a place far far away from Tokyo. Hana and Keishin work together to find the truth about where Hana’s father has gone and why Hana and Keishin have more in common than they think.

I loved just about every second of this book. I oscillated between devouring the words and grazing in order to savor the descriptions. Water Moon does not give its secrets away up front. Many times the story spits Hana and Keishin out in bizarre situations and I was left puzzled as to why they were there and how it would help their cause. But instead of being aggravating it was delightfully confusing.

I’m big on world building, and this book has it. There are so many different scenes, so many different ways Hana and Keishin interacted with their surroundings that I wanted longer descriptions. I might be in the minority on that, but I wanted MORE imagery. I wanted to stay in some of these places longer and peruse the locale.

Not only was the book’s imagery beautiful, but its messages were impactful. Several times I read a line, a point that the book made, and cried. Not because it hurt, but because it made sense. It made the abstract tangible. It pulled something out of me that I know I have felt but have not been able to name. And really that’s what good art does. Music, movies, books, museums, it’s the high we all chase after and Water Moon delivers.

Thank you NetGalley and Del Rey and Ballantine for providing me an e-ARC to read in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

For those lucky enough, they may wander into a ramen shop and find themselves instead in a pawnshop on the backstreets of Tokyo. The mix-up won’t be a mistake or a fluke or trick of the light, but instead a magical moment of fate, drawing them to the one place they can exchange a life choice or regret. Hana runs the pawnshop with her father, and it is time for her to take his place as the owner now that he is finally retiring. However, the first morning she wakes as the new owner, her father is gone, and the shop has been ransacked. To make matters worse, a stranger from the other world, full of ramen shops and Tokyo streets, will wander into her life, and the two will be forced to run together for answers neither of them may enjoy finding.

It has been awhile since I’ve read a magical tale like this that had a hold on me from start to finish. The writing itself felt like a sort of webweaving, ink spilled across skin in bright hues. I would love to read this for the first time again, it felt like a dream. Hana and Kei’s journey was poetic, and I don’t think I’ll look at paper cranes the same again.

This story captivated me from the beginning and did not let go. A magical story story surrounding choices, love, and paper cranes, we follow the story of Hana and Keishin as they travel through a land unlike ours to find answers to choices made in a world where your path is written in ink from the moment you are a small child. The story begins with pawnshop that can only be entered by clients willing to pawn off life choices. Hana's father is preparing for his retirement, while Hana worries about business she will be inheriting. Keishin, a young scientist, finds himself in Hana's pawnshop on her first day as the new owners, and is pulled into her world of teleporting puddles and life like paper cranes.

With every chapter, I fell more in love with the world Yambao has created. Nothing is as it seems in this world and I could spend so many more books exploring every city/town and person Hana and Kei meet on their journey.

Thank you Netgalley, Samantha Sotto Yambao, and Random House Publishing for this ARC!

A pawnshop where you can sell your regrets.

I was immediately intrigued upon hearing the premise of this book, but I had no idea what an incredible dream-like adventure was waiting for me. The fast-paced plot and twists and turns had me on my toes from beginning to end!

This was truly one of the most unique and creative books I have ever read while expertly balancing philosophical topics like choices, fate, and the costs of regret.

Tropes/Themes
-Cozy high-stakes Asian fantasy
-Studio Ghibli vibes
-Endearing characters
-Whimsical Elements

Thank you NetGalley, Samantha Sotto Yambao, and Random House Publishing for this eARC! All opinions are my own!

Water Moon
by Samantha Sotto Yambao
4.5⭐️

This was absolutely magical and enchanting! I love this fuzzy fever dream like world so much! I literally have almost nothing to compare it to but it does have similar vibes to Daughter of the Moon Goddess. I am obsessed with the magical journey that they went on! I think the pacing was a little slow at the beginning and it takes a while to get used to the style of writing and pov changes but it was such a cool experience!

The last 20% of the book had me in a chokehold, it was so intense and heart wrenching. I could not have stopped reading if I tried. The way I was so stressed for Hana and Kei.

Also this book has one of the most amazing book covers ever! It matches the vibe of the perfectly! I can’t wait to finally see it in person!

Moon water

Cute story, interesting concepts to the world and magic in it. Comes across like a strange dream world. Strange coincidences and bordering manipulative behavior from dad.

It must have been a wicked trip for the physics professor to go through something like this. Bizarre and make him question everything about the world he thought he knew.

the poetic nature of the narrative led to a beautiful artistic rendering of Japanese culture. I felt like I was watching a studio Ghibli film in my head. the unfortunate reality was that the plot progression reminded me a lot of my attempt at reading The Starless Sea. That book, much like this one, will be a polarizing read. You will either adore it with all your heart or be angered that you wasted your time.

The second the love interest was introduced, problems started to air themselves out. The insta-love plot line on the male love interest's part dragged the overarching plot down with it. His characterization makes little sense. He is a physicist who adheres to the laws of the natural world, yet when he is introduced to a fantastical world, he simply relents and accepts it.

As the story goes on, this imaginative world the author has created exposes its depth as superficial. There are no rules and no established world building. The reader must simply take a back seat and go with the flow. I am not the type of reader who can do that.

I thought this is an amazing story of what you see isn't what you get. What I thought would be a story about an ordinary pawnshop is actually a door into an extraordinary world where many beings depends on the item that is left behind at the pawnshop. The story begins with a man (Keishin) who walks into the pawnshop and ends up helping Hana, the pawnshop owner, to try and find out what happened to her father and in that moment the beginning of a wild ride through a strange and amazing world begins where birds are made of origami and the Museum of Education is entered through door in the sand that only opens up when you give away one of you memories. And through the journey that is both exciting and scary Keishin and Hana solve the mystery and fall in love, but there are so many twist and turns in the story that you really don't know what is going to happen next. And isn't that what you want in a great story.

I kept thinking that this story reminded me a lot of a kaleidoscope and Alice in Wonderland all in one, where every pond and tree isn't a pond or just a tree but entry into a part of a world that is both weird and wonderful, but the world also has its dangers that makes it restricted by what you can do, and who is allowed to participate in it and it all begins again at the pawnshop.

I want to thank Penguin Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Del Rey and NetGalley for an advance copy of a story truly out of this world

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing - Ballantine for the eArc!

Hidden in between the doors of a simple Ramen restaurant is a pawnshop. No one expects to walk into it, but they arrive when needed. In the pawnshop they don’t simply pawn off items, they pawn off their life choices. Hana is supposed to take over the shop after her father retires, but when she awoke on her first day she finds out someone robbed a choice and that her father is missing. Along with her supposed to be her first client, they embark across her world to find what was lost.

I absolutely adored the world Yambao has created. Its Studio Ghibli influences and vibes were on point! I could easily imagine the world in Miyazaki’s style. The inky home of the Horishi, the paper realm where Haruto resides and works, and even the cloud sea are memorable and magical. It was easily my favorite part of the novel.

Overall, I did like Hana and Keishin as protagonists well enough, they bounced off each other pretty well most of the time. My main issue with them was that they kept going back and forth between being annoyed and being in love with each other. I did feel the romance aspect was a bit too fast at times, but by the end, I was pretty okay with it with a reveal. But even then, he was way too fast to get over it. One major issue I have was with the ending. It felt way too rushed. Snap, there is a scene, and then BOOM another scene before you even have a chance to process it. It could’ve easily been 50 pages longer in my opinion.

In my opinion, if you want to read a book on vibes alone, I would recommend it! Just don’t go expecting the deepest relationship going in.

This was a very enjoyable book! I liked the story's magical realism and the idea of alternative worlds. The world building and magic were very creative and original, and I don't think I've read anything else quite like this! I thought that Hana and Kei worked well together and balanced each other very well, and I really enjoyed their dynamic throughout the book. I liked how there was a very small bit of romance, and that it didn't overpower the story. The magic system, the plot, and the overall vibe were very whimsical and fantastical, and I had a really good time reading this! My only issues were the insta-love between Hana and Kai (but that wasn't a massive problem), and how the book wrapped up; I feel that the ending could have been a bit less convenient, almost, but I was mostly satisfied with it. Overall, I would recommend this book :)

This book felt like something out of a dream. It was whimsical and so beautiful. I was transported to a different world, and I loved every second of it. The main storyline is occasionally broken up by a chapter of memories, but I felt like it fit quite well with the general vibe of the book. I quickly found myself caring for the characters, and I was immediately obsessed with the magic! It felt like I was a kid in a candy store, and I just wanted to see *more*. I was just in awe of all the different magic and strange ideas, it was truly so much fun. And, oh my gosh, the twist I never saw coming.

This book was so good, if you’re looking for a dream-like book full of whimsical magic that makes you feel happy, this it the book for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Water Moon distilled down is a dream like quest story about a girl looking for her missing father. The strengths of this book really is the setting. It felt magical and entrancing. We get to see so much of the world Hana brings us through. I do think the pacing gets a little off here and there but I kept being drawn in for more. I loved the main characters and believed in their connection. This book is definitely one where you just have to accept the reality that is being present and remove logic. It really is like being in a dreamland where anything is possible.

This is a portal fantasy romance book with the two main characters coming from worlds connected by a pawnshop in Japan where customers exchange their memories and regrets for money. The new proprietor of the shop in the magical world, Hana, meets a scientist from our world named Keishin on her first day in business and the two embark on an adventure looking for Hana's father owing to their suspicions that he has set a series of events in motion which may soon subject them to a harsh penalty by the monstrous enforcers of this world. The two journey through a dizzying assortment of bizarre settings pursued by the bad guys, fearing death or torture. They discover secrets about Hana's past and about the world itself, and in the process fall in love. There are some harrowing scenes along the way, both with regard to the main duo and in flashback.

I myself am not a fan of the "romantasy" genre and had trouble accepting the scenes between Hana and Keishin, mostly told in dialogue which struck me as hard to believe. Hana was betrothed to another man in her world who both cared for her and was treated badly for helping them, and I didn't like what he suffered. Also, the way the characters' quest was structured seemed too easy. Without an ultimate goal in mind that they would have had to try to break down in steps, they instead just happened to go though a long series of incidents that just happened to advance them steadily along the way, over and over, as though they were on a railroad track the the destination. In the version of the book I read, the ending was a sort of epilogue to the main action that didn't feel completely earned. But other than these structural elements, I would like to give praise to the book for its innovative worldbuilding and the unusual vision of an otherworldly Japan, which I would not mind seeing in other stories by this author. I know this book will have a devoted fandom when it arrives in stores.

I read this book in the form of an advance reader copy through Netgalley in exchange for sharing my review

WATER MOON
RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
GENRE: General Fiction, Magical Realism

Where do I even begin? I initially came into the book thinking it would be in the same vein as other Japanese fiction like Before the Coffee Gets Cold or The Kamogawa Food Detectives, but instead found a beautiful and amazing story of Hana and her mystical world that is powered by human choices. Hana and her father run a pawnshop that deals in trades that involve human decisions and choices. In exchange, the person forgets that they had previously made this choice and it is wiped from memory.

We begin the book with Hana’s father’s retirement from the pawnshop with her slated to become the new owner. However, things take a turn when she finds the shop ransacked and her father missing. We meet Keishin, a visitor, who stumbles onto the chaos and decides that he will assist Hana in finding her father.

I won’t give too many details but I thoroughly adored this book. I am also a fan of anime and I think this book could easily be adapted into one. The words provide so much visuals that I would love to see how it would look on screen. For those who love Studio Ghibli movies, this book is a MUST read. I promise you will fall in love with Hana’s world and won’t be able to stop thinking about it.

Thank you to Random House - Ballantine Books and Net Galley for the chance to read this ARC. I loved it so much and will definitely recommend everyone to check it out when it releases on 01/24/25.