Terrifying whimisy is the theme of Water Moon - a novel that transports you on a whirlwind trip to a mysical and fantastical 'other world'.
I had so much fun following Hana and Kei - a relatively slow start that speed rockets into an adventure of a girl that is searching for the truth behind her parent but discovers so much more about love, her world and herself.

This world was so beautifully crafted and you can't help but fall in love and horror at this world and its mystery, whimsy and all it's secrets.
While I was expecting a fantastical adventure, I wasn't prepared for the mystery with a plot twist (two plot twists?) that caught me completely unawares, or for the tender, heart-renching romance.

Sotto Yambao builds with Water Moon, a world that lingers after it's departed, characters that frustrate you all while being endearing.
I adored this book and if I could I would erase my memory just so I could read it again for the first time.

This book reads a bit like a novel version of the illustrated books by James Norbury (e.g. Tiny Dragon and Big Panda).

This book at first felt a little slow for me and tzhen the end literally exploded and while I enjoyed the writing style and love the ideas weaved together in this tale between reality and feelings integrating Japanese culture but also in a sense the feeling of unbelonging of a person between more than one culöture, the style leaves too many openings for plotholes for me. I'm still not sure I missed soimething in all the metaphers and the amount of information we got at the end or if there was a major plothole that was made purely out of plotrelevance. But if I have not missed something it could have been saved, if one had noticed.

I am still not sure how to rate this book. While at first I had problems to diver into the ending was so fast that my head feels heavy and dizzy with information and while I enjoyed the final ending, I'm not sure if at this point I wouldn't have enjoyed an open ending more.

I put 4/5 as my rating but I'm not sure it will sit with me and stay a 4 or rather 3.5 or if I continue to think about it and rank it up.

3.5 ⭐️
The journey we were taken on throughout this book and the message that was conveyed made this book a wonderful read. I would recommend this to people who need a little palette cleanser after leaving a fantasy book or series that had a lot of world building. This was a nice cosy read, but it also took some dark turns as it showcases how our choices shape who we are and can impact the people around us.

Our MCs, Hana and Keishin, are the definition of opposites attract. As the story progresses, we realise that they need each other to help them see a different perspective of their lives. They helped each other realise there is more to life and realise what they are actually looking for.

The reason this wasn't a 4⭐️ is because we visited a lot of incredible places in this world, and each step had a unique element involved, but I wish we could spend more time in each spot. I felt that we flew through all of these places, and I didn't get to experience them the way I wanted to. That being said, although I wanted more from some of the places we visited, the author did a great job when writing it. I was never missing any key information, and it still managed to flow well without being too overwhelming.

This book was the perfect combination of whimsical magic and mystery, I couldn’t put it down once I started! Hana’s world was so captivating and the writing was so beautiful and clever! I loved this book and have recommended it to all my friends!

Water Moon should be the next Studio Ghibli production. This exquisite story, about a magical ramen shop in a back alley of Tokyo, will give you all the feels and leave you pondering your own adventure as the reader. I felt like Bastian from The Neverending Story in how the themes of Water Moon are presented and explored.

This is one amongst many books I have read this year that really made me think critically and steep myself into the complexity and wonder of humanity.

Water Moon was a book I have been excited to read for a while and I so badly wanted to love this, unfortunately something just didn’t connect with me. Let me just say that there is huge potential here, namely the world building, this book has you trading choices that turn into birds, riding risks, entering night markets sitting in the clouds and stepping into worlds through songs and pools of water. There were times when I loved where this book was taking me, and yet I think possibly my imagination was helping fill in some of the spaces the book left unfilled. While the worlds created are beautifully wonderful, I just didn’t feel like they were described enough for me to feel like I was there, I was reading these worlds but I didn’t feel like I was immersed in them and there. Maybe more description would change that, maybe a different approach to the writing, maybe it's just a personal point, it’s just how I felt, a little distant from the worlds I was being shown but not experiencing.

My biggest issue with Water Moon though is the romance – I just didn’t feel it, not even a little. I hate to say it but I can’t say that I particularly cared about Hana or Keishin even as themselves, but together there was just no chemistry, no falling in love, it was just Keishin’s instant unwavering devotion to literally risk his life for a stranger and involve himself in her world over and over as she repeatedly told him it was unsafe and Hana eventually giving up resisting it. I just didn’t feel it and them working and experiencing together plays such a big part in this book that it left me feeling uncommitted and detached to what they were feeling.

I do want to reiterate that in many ways Water Moon is brilliant, it is incredibly creative and feels very unique and special, there are some twists, especially in the story of Hana’s missing mother (the plot I was interested in), and this book does take you to a lot of places and achieve a lot. I know many people loved this book and I can completely understand why, it’s just for me I wish I could’ve felt the romance and experienced these wonderful worlds more on the page.

Thank you NetGalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley, publishers and author for an ARC of Water Moon.

This is a beautifully book. I thoroughly enjoyed sinking into the other world with Hana and Kei.
4.5stars
Highly Recommend.

I initially thought this would be like many of the recently popular translated Japanese fiction books, and the first few chapters did have that feeling to them. As the story progressed it took a turn more towards fantasy and it was a delightful mix of both a thought provoking story and a tale of magical creatures and lots of twists.

I usually don't read a lot of fantasy, but I was attracted by this one because of its Japanese setting. It did not disappoint. The book is about choices and regrets and the author builds a whole world around the pawnshop and its owners. The reader is constantly surprised until the very end because nothing is as it seems. This is a book that makes you think and leaves you with a feeling of nostalgia and hope.

A fantasy with a dream like quality that takes you on a journey of magical world building. Having recently been fortunate to visit Japan and experience their culture I loved this gentle but also quite dark story. A story of self discovery and grief with a slow burn love story. Starting in the backstreets of Tokyo we are led to a pawn shop with a difference… a place where you can leave your deepest regrets but at a price. When the owner disappears his daughter Hana goes in search of him and enters a world quite unlike ours. A book that slowly drew me in with its fantastical descriptions to a world that I wanted to explore but also wanted to leave. I will certainly be looking forward to reading more from this author. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for a honest review.

4.5*

A magical pawnshop that not everyone can find that allows those who need it to rid themselves of regret at choices made. Hana is set to inherit the shop from her father but on handover day she wakes up to find it ransacked and her father and a pawned choice have disappeared.

What follows is a Ghibli-esque adventurous romantic fantasy that is a story of choices, love, family, loss and enlightenment.

I found this book to be a floating ethereal beauty that has careful and intricate world building and delivers an Alice In Wonderland sense of confusion, magic, awe and discovery. It takes its time to get going despite having an element of jumping from quest to quest but for me it all clicked at around 60% and I couldn't stop reading through to the end.

There are so many elements that work - The romance is well balanced and exactly what I want in a book (doesn't take over everything and no spice) and I have to go back to the world building again. The use of traditional Japanese culture to create this fantasy world was beautiful and breath taking and a wonderfully unique setting for the story.

This is one that I want to come back to again in the future and I think fantasy fans who are looking for something a little different will enjoy this addition to the genre.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers | Bantam for this digital review copy of "Water Moon" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

Magic Realism is not my usual genre, and I’ve had my fill of Japanese books of late, but this landed really well. I was drawn to it by the cover, after seeing @teaandcrafting host an origami and painting workshop based on the cover, so it was that more than the description that drew me to the book.

A woman inherits a pawnshop which you can sell your regrets, and then ends up on a magical quest when a young physicist walks into the store on her first day of ownership.

Often I’ll struggle when a book is not based in reality, but this book brought us seamlessly from the real to the magical, and some of the images (eg villages in the sky lighting up the stars each night) were just so charming. I did get a tiny bit lost at the end, not really understanding how Hana was not truthful, but ultimately found it a satisfying and enjoyable few hours.

With thanks to @penguinrandomhouse and @bantambooksuk for the GIFTED digital e-ARC via @netgalley

I liked the start of this story but I found myself getting totally lost by the end. It is a very pretty world and whimsical but the magic was confusing and whishy washy at times. I can see why someone would love the whimsy / beauty but I prefer more grounded magic systems that aren't so hard to follow.

I firstly must echo many reviews I have seen in BEGGING for an animated adaptation of this book. I have so much praise for Samantha Sotto Yambao's creativity and imagination. The story takes place in a gorgeous, complex but well-crafted world that feels on par with some of my favourite Ghibli movie settings. With magical modes of transportation, beautiful imagery, character and charm, I loved the journey that the narrative takes us on.

I was a little lost in the complexity of the world at times as the new concepts and inventions felt endless, but this could equally be considered something of merit. The mystery, romance and sarcastic humour kept me captivated throughout, although at times I felt the storylines were outshone by the fictional world.

Water Moon is a lovely combination of whimsical and profound, delving into the concepts of choice, fate and purpose. It simultaneously places an emphasis on appreciating the little things in life and thinking outside the box. The incredible world-building and touching words of wisdom made this a really special read.

𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨.

For fans of:
- cosy magical realism
- Studio Ghibli
- beautiful world-building

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘜𝘒 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸!

What a beautiful book - I felt it was just so magical, mystical and sweet.
The writing was almost on a different level, like nothing I've ever read before.
I enjoyed it, it was like poetry and I wanted to see what happened next.
I think it might be the first Japanese literature I have read, and it certainly intrigued me.
It was just something special.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This review is going to be one of the most difficult to write and articulate my thoughts.
This is such a crazy and wild story, the plot is pure fantasy adventure. The worlds and concepts you explore are so unfathomable I found it to be pure escapism from the real world yet so relatable. I felt invested in the mystery, couldn't put it down past the halfway mark and this is the fastest I've read a book in a while.
The most important thing to note is that there are so many trigger and content warnings in this book and I never usually include these within a review but I think it is so important in this case as they are so graphically described and even after reading this book, I don't think this list is extensive enough (included below). I certainly wouldn't describe this book as cozy even though it has been marketed as such. There is a big focus on mental health in particular and so many quotes I personally connected with and honestly, the storyline helped heal me a little.
Whilst I did have gripes with some of the contents of the book, for instance some of the romance plotlines, this book was so hard-hitting and special to me that I'm honestly overlooking the negative criticisms. It will stay with me for a very long time I'm sure. Due to these reasons, I do think this is going to be a difficult one to recommend widely, even as a new favourite of mine.
5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and Samantha Sotto Yambao for the opportunity to read this advanced reader copy.

Content warnings
Violence, Blood, Past death of a loved one, Injury Descriptions, Consensual Sex, Sexually Explicit Scenes, Religion, Cancer and talks of cancer treatment (affecting a loved one), Childbirth, Depression & anxiety, Grief and depictions of grief, Hallucinations, Infertility, Mental illness with psychosis, Mention of stillbirths, loss of children, Pregnancy, Divorce, Forced betrothal, Imprisonment, Isolation, Parent loss. [Source: Illumicrate]

Review posted to Goodreads and The StoryGraph.

With thanks to the publishers via NetGalley - an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A bit like the exchange at the mysterious pawnshop that all visitors make - a choice to pawn. This is 3.5 stars rounded up because there’s a reveal I didn’t see coming and I enjoyed it while I read it but felt no urgency when I wasn’t, which is nice in its way. There’s more plot and substance than in cosy fantasy even if it feels like a storybook world with odd possibly dream logic as Kei joins Hana in the search for her father. Both are also searching for themselves even though they are strictly speaking adults. It doesn’t feel like YA though, it’s gentle with monstrous rulers chasing after them as they escape through puddles and into dreams and on rumours. I liked it and it works, although Hana and Kei have definite motivations they feel a slightly flat and that’s what ultimately holds it back for me, even though I know their histories, their joys and their pains. The strangeness of the world is beautiful, Hana’s world that is not our world and it’s a good quest with a conclusive ending - whether you agree with the choice, well…

If you love the Japanese animated movie Spirited Away this fantasy book with the most amazing world-building is the perfect read.
Toshio and his daughter Hana run a pawnshop in Tokyo but this is no ordinary store and it’s not in the world as we know it. The entrance appears as a ramen restaurant and only leads to the pawnshop if the customer needs it, no one finds this store by accident. Here they can pawn regretted life choices or discarded dreams that have become too heavy to carry in exchange for peace.
Toshio is retiring and handing over the store to Hana but on her first day in charge she wakes up to a ransacked shop and a missing father. Moments later physicist Keishin, who has just moved to Tokyo, wanders into the store expecting a bowl of ramen. He joins Hana on her dangerous quest to find her father.
It’s a whirlwind of adventure into a mysterious parallel universe that we discover with Keishin. This is a place where puddles are portals, there are markets in the clouds and one can travel on a rumour. But it’s also a dark story about regret, grief and self-discovery. There’s romance too which sadly jars with the rest of the story and sometimes it feels as if the adventure is moving too fast to allow one to get to know the characters but it’s easy to forgive as one journeys through this magical world that comes from a place of incredible imagination.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

Magical, atmospheric and utterly charming. WATER MOON is a book not to be missed, it has everything you need to cosy up with;
- incredible world building with the most whimsical and dream-like elements
- a slowly building relationship between the characters
- longing and dreaming, the consequences of choice and sacrifice
- quotes that makes your heart sting, break and mend

I absolutely loved the setting, the yearning and endless possibilities presented.

If you like the whimsy vibe of Studio Ghibli movies, animes like Suzume and Kimi No Nawa, paired with the gorgeous prose and thought-provoking writing of Erin Morgernstern's STARLESS SEA, you'll enjoy following the plot of WATER MOON.

Thank you so much for the publisher and Netgalley for the chance of reading this book early.

This book was amazing! It gave off Studio Ghibli vibes, with its whimsical settings, magical characters, and magical animals. I loved Hana and absolutely adored Keishin! Hana was stubborn and a little blinded by what she was used to, but with Keishin he definitely changed her (for the good). The twists and turns in this book were just “chefs kiss.” Thank you for allowing me an arc of this book.