I was already attracted by the blurb, but the book exceeded my expectations. What a beautiful, imaginative story! Samantha Sotto Yambao has a knack for characters and settings; there's not a single dull moment here. Absolutely a recommended read.

Feel incredibly grateful to have been gifted this thought provoking, fantasy parallel world to imbed myself into.

The first few chapters had me doubting if this book was for me but I soon became gripped with the whimsical tricks and plot twists at the heart of this book.

Each chapter created something simple into a dream world to lose yourself in.

The idea of parallel worlds, selling your choices and travelling through puddles sounds amazing!
However, in my opinion, this book was ruined by a very clumsily written love story. It made reading a torture, charachters seem to lack definition, their action often gave me the ick.. I didn't like how the story was jumping back and forth either.
But it's mainly the love story, it was horribly written. It outweighed all of the positives and I was reading just for the sake of finishing the book after I reached about 50%.

It's been 24 hours since I finished Water Moon and I'm still kind of hungover from it, my eyes still feel puffy. I was going to stop reading at around 10 pm because I just had to sleep but I stayed up till 2 am crying over this book and that's how I know it was one of my favourite reads of this year.

A fantasy romance, Water Moon follows Hana who on her first day as the owner of her fathers pawnshop finds it ransacked, her father missing, and the shop’s most precious acquisition stolen. Hana and Kei - a stranger, then go on a journey to find him and the treasure that was lost.

The story's main focus is of Hana finding her father but also in a way finding herself, that being said the ending was not one I hoped for which was funny because it tied into the major theme of the novel around choices and consequences. One of my favourite parts was I suppose of the 'villains' of the novel and how they weren't really villains there was just a way things were always done - so in a way the villain was the status quo. But it was also dark and sometimes very creepy, I enjoyed how the story went for very light and breezy one page to tense the next. I liked how fast paced it was not in plot I suppose but in setting as Water Moon is a fantasy romance adventure novel I liked how we kept moving from place to place it felt like a treasure hunt it also mean that Yambao was so creative in methods of travel, for example, by rumour but also in expression of scientific concepts like time travel and how they were showcased in the other world.

Water Moon felt like a Studio Ghibli film on paper and in my imagination. Water Moon reads warm, vivid and, lush, an expansive story neatly packed in 336 pages.

Thank you to Samantha Sotto Yambao, Netgalley, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and, Bantam for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.

I loved the concept of this story! Could not put it down. The book had something special about it, the storytelling absolutely enchanting.

Water Moon is a fun and interesting fantasy romance book about the choices we make in life and their consequences. It wasn't what I was execting it to be from the description, I would have liked more about the pawnshops customers and their regrets. This was really an adventure story taking place in a fantasy world that is parallel to our own.

The magic was really interesting and varied, basically anything was possible but still had to be done in a certain way. To me it felt very similar to Mary Poppins and the kind of whimsical magic. Seeing how this world worked and how everyone had their own part in it was very interesting. It does focus a lot on freedom versus duty, the real world is seen as free but this world has everyones lives mapped out from the start.

The main characters were likeable but I don't feel like there was much development, they stayed almost the same the whole way through. Priorities did change but not really the characters themselves. The romance was cute and nice but felt a little underdeveloped at times.

Overall the story was interesting and the magic was cool but it wasn't really what I expected/wanted which ruined it a bit for me. It did however have some really nice quotes and messages throughout.

I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and publisher.

This was a lovely, beautiful, entertaining novel. It’s so surreal and whimsical. There’s a lot of Studio Ghibli vibes with this one but with quite a dark undercurrent. We have a pawnshop owner who is retiring and is passing over his responsibilities to his daughter. However this is no ordinary pawnshop. It appears to people looking for a ramen shop but when they are in need of it. They are offered the chance to unburden themselves of a choice, to learn to love their lives without it, without the constant feeling of what if? However although this appears to be a benevolent service, the truth is more disturbing.

I won’t say too much on plot because I really enjoyed having this unfurl before me with little knowledge of what was to come. Our main characters will go on an adventure, taking a magical journey and defying the set expectations of them to discover what they want from life. This was such an evocative story, so imaginative and beautiful and I would definitely recommend it!

Have you ever wanted to forget the choices you have in life... just live somewhere where everything you have to do, you want to do?? This is where Hana lives - but not is all it is cracked up to be.

This book made me really think, especially about free will and the 'sliding door' effect - what if you did this? would life be any different? what if I had chosen this path?
I really enjoyed the world building, however it was a little all over the place at times, and the romance element at times felt neglected in favour of this, otherwise it would have been a 5 star read for me.
The book overall is an interesting concept, and beautifully written, I will be looking out for other books but Samantha in the future - I will also be adding this to my physical book shelf as the cover is simply stunning in its beautiful simplicity.

Within the first few pages of this book, the reader is whisked away to another world. Hana lives in a place where people come to forget the choices they once had. On the face of it, this service seems like a good one - everyone has a choice they have made where they later wonder what might have happened if they had chosen differently. Hana and her father take that away, leaving the person with no memory of that choice ever having existed.

But here's the thing:what price is paid for that forgetfulness? It made me wonder if I would like to forget any possible paths my life might have taken. If I'm honest, I'm not sure I would. We are a product of the choices we make in life and if we forget those choices and the emotions tied up in them, I think we risk losing a part of our current selves.

The book also makes the reader question how we think about the universe. Most people spend much of their life running from one task to the next, myself included. I read this book at the end of a blissful week in rural France, where I did little but relax and read. I think this is the first time I've ever had this kind of holiday and one of the reasons it was so wonderful was because it was much needed. This has been a very stressful year and to have the opportunity to do nothing was very welcome. Time is a luxury we don't often have and we were determined to make the most of it. In the book, time can be bought but it has been gathered from the time lost by those whose lives were cut short. It is not only Kei who is brought up short by this revelation: it is a stark reminder to the reader quite how precious a commodity time is.

However, the overriding theme of this book is love and the lies it makes us tell ourselves and others. Love makes people cowardly, foolish, brave and everything in between. It has the power to bond people for life or tear them apart and every angle is explored here. The characters do the most awful things in the name of love, but it also inspires them to act more courageously than they imagined possible.

Samantha Sotto Yambao has created a terrifyingly beautiful world and whilst it's not one I would want to live in, it's one I was reluctant to leave.

It was a treat to read this one. Definitely gave Ghibli vibes and that's what I absolutely loved about this book.

The world building is exceptional woth characters the writer has brought to life. The writing did seem a little all over the place with the use of excessive adjectives and metaphors. Still, an enjoyable read that will transport you to a whole different world. I'd be thrilled with this book turns into an anime!

The story begins when Hana inherits her father's pawnshop shop. It's not an ordinary pawn shop, it's a shop that you find when you're in need - a need to pawn, not your valuable belongings, your choices and regrets. To Hana's surprise, her father goes missing the day she inherits the shop. With an unlikely companion, Hana embarks and adventure to find her father and a mother she has long forgotten.

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

This book was magical and I absolutely loved reading this ARC.

It is a standalone book set in a magical pawnshop in the back streets of Tokyo where only people trade their deepest regrets for tea. The regrets turn into birds which are caged in a vault and shared with "shiikuins".

Our FMC Hana was raised in the shop and learnt to read people's emotions and regrets.

Her father, who owns the shop, decides to retire and Hana will take over. On her first day she arrives to find everything had been strewn everywhere by an intruder and her father gone...

Hana must now go on search of him and uncover secrets with plenty of twists, turns and love.

Definitely recommend this book 😊

Water Moon is a story like nothing else I have read.

This small pawn shop on a busy street acts as a portal from our world to theirs. The whole mood of this book, even when there are tense moments, is so cozy. It's almost indescribable the feeling I got whilst reading this. It was so calming.

We are following a character who is from our world being allowed to participate in the traditions and customs of the world through the pond.

The world is so detailed and fully imagined. I wish there was more of it. The chapters are short and sometimes the book touches on a custom, or a part of the world, and explains it quickly and concisely, but then moves on to it. I wish there was more detail and more exploration! It mirrors the speed in which the characters how to do something and move through the different areas, but I wish we could've taken our time.

An amazing novel that really swept me off my feet! It has such a cosy, whimsical feel throughout even during more tense or action-filled moments. The romance didn't particularly add to the story for me, but it certainly didn't detract from it. I really hope to see this novel adapted to screen one day.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for the ARC

A great Japanese novel. The world was whimsical and fantastical and mysterious. Initially I enjoyed the mystery component of the novel, but the book was so much more. The story pulled me in and guided me through an amazing reading experience. Despite the mystery it had a cozy feeling. Great characters, world building and atmosphere. A throughly fabulous novel.

Rating - 3.75 stars

I felt like I was living in one of my weird dreams where whimsical things happens and also like I was watching a studio ghibli film. I really liked the writing style, it suited the story so perfectly with its whimsical vibes.

The forbidden romance was a little insta-lovey for me but I still thought it was really cute overall. By halfway through the book I was desperately rooting for Hana and Keishin to have a HEA together because they both deserved to be happy.

The ending made me gasp and tear up with joy and it honestly made my reading experience better because of that satisfying ending.

This story was like dancing through a dream. At first, I was swept in by the mystery, where did he go? Who did that to the shop? But as the story progressed I felt swept off of my feet. The world within this book is wonderful and fantastical, with no clear limitations on what exists. The antagonists fit in with this, but also add a juxtaposition, being part mechanical and completely out of place with the whimsical progression of the story.
I enjoyed the way relationships played out throughout this book, with depth given where necessary and left out to build mystery. The ending worked perfectly with this, and wrapped the story up beautifully.

4.5* rounded up. you know the subgenre of fiction where a person ends up stumbling upon an unassuming establishment - perhaps a library or a café - at just the right time in their life, where they will obtain knowledge that will reset their perspective and change the course of their life? so it goes with water moon, in which the establishment in question is a pawnbroker fronting as a ramen restaurant, and in which the knowledge they receive - or in this case, give away - is a regrettable life choice. now, in all honesty, i eat up this concept every time, having read several and with many more on my tbr. it seems to be hitting peak popularity at the moment and goodreads has already recommended me yet another based on this book. but water moon subverts the general formula early on and instead embarks on a sprawling and heart-warming fantastical adventure. it took me where i didn't expect me to go, made me feel things i didn't expect to feel, and is genuinely a reading highlight of the year so far.

as much as i didn't have massive expectations one way or the other before starting this book (this is my first introduction to sotto yambao's work), i was pulled in pretty much from chapter one and knew it would be good. the writing was so gorgeous and evocative. i felt immersed so early on and it only continued to grow. the magical world of Ikigai was joyful to be introduced to. not just the fantasy of it, but also its use as a foil of our own world and the way it was used to explore themes like choice and free will, and concepts of time; i found it so interesting.

i loved the cast of characters, and hana and keishin worked especially well as main characters. hana was perhaps a little harder to relate to, but we also see how kei experiences the same thing as she's very much a closed book. i think the dynamic of them both bouncing off of each other worked very well; hana might not have worked as well as a standalone character, unless perhaps the story was told from a first-person perspective.

this was such a good read. so cosy and whimsical, and also emotional in the best way. and i'm just in love with the cover. i'd definitely recommend reading this once it comes out early next year - and i might have to grab myself a physical copy!

massive thanks to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Bantam, and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review!

The story starts in Tokyo and the world bulding has Japanese elements, so any Japanese fiction fans would love this. But so would the fantasy readers because the world and creatures in this book is so magical and beautifully crafted. I wouldn’t call this a cosy fantasy as there is too much is at stake for Hana, but it is dream-like. There is slow-burn romance that’s tender and bittersweet🥹 but it is secondary to the main story about Hana finding her own path, breaking away from what she’s previously believed.

Water Moon is a daydream inside a fairy tale.

I do not know how the author thought of half of the things inside this book but I bow down to her for it!

An absolutely mesmerising story that whisks you along with it to worlds you can only dream of. A tale of love, destiny, grief, purpose, family, and learning who you are.

I think we all have regrets we wish we could change but when you really think about it, WOULD you make a different choice? The way this book explores that idea as the foundation to everything is amazing.

The writing is so fluid and beautiful that while you're immersed in the pages, you forget time for a moment while you're jumping through puddles and flying on paper cranes with Hana and Kei.

Hands down one of the best arcs I've had the pleasure of reading.

I want to start by saying how beautiful this book was. The rollercoaster of emotions has left me staring into space wondering if I'm in the real world or not?

Exceptional debut!