Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing an ARC of this charming novel. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it was such a quick, delightful read that I devoured it in just three days.

The author paints the setting beautifully. Each chapter offers a self-contained story, yet they are thoughtfully woven together through the lives of Mun and Boreum, creating a rich and interconnected narrative.

While there are occasional hiccups in translation that slightly affect phrasing and sentence flow, but I felt that these were minor distractions for me in an otherwise enchanting read. A small quibble was that the ending felt a little abrupt though I’m hopeful this means a sequel might be in the works.

“Ah, how he used to stand next to the shelves and devour a book in one sitting! Even though he never purchased any-thing, the old lady who owned the place always welcomed him heartily. At this thought, a warmth spread in his chest, thawing the stiffness in his posture. He slowly looked up and was greeted by a sign that seemed far too big for the tiny shopfront.

MOON GLOW BOOKSHOP

어렸을 때는 서점에 우두커니 서서 책 한 권을 다 읽기도 했었다. 아무것도 사지 않아도 친근히 인사해 주시던 책방 할머니. 드문드문 떠오르는 추억과 함께 가슴 한편에 핀 따스함이 목구멍을 타고 차갑게 굳은 몸을 녹였다. 천천히 고개를 들자, 작은 가게와 어울리지 않는 커다란 간판이 보였다.

<달 드링크 서점>”

The Moon Glow Bookshop (2025) is the translation by Shanna Tan of 달 드링크 서점 (2022) by 서동원 (Dongwon Seo).

I think the blurb sums it up neatly: "Step into the magical and uplifting world of THE MOON GLOW BOOKSHOP - the Korean sensation for fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold and DallerGut Dream Department Store."

And put me down as a fan of from-Korean literary fiction, but not exactly one of the DallerGut series. I won't repeat my polemic against the healing fiction genre here, but suffice to say I'm not really the right audience for for this book, so perhaps this review is not entirely fair. That said at the time of reading the book, it averages 2.88 on Goodreads, largely from the Polish edition.

The Korean original title translates as The Moon Drink Bookshop (as does the Polish), which feels more appropriate than the English version, as the setting of the novel is the eponymous bar, 달 드링크 서점, where the cocktail drinks you order take you in to a story, indeed give you the opportunity to rewrite your own story.

The shop/bar is run by two people - or rather two celestial beings, in human form.

Mun (문), former custodian of a a celestial library whose books tell people’s life stories, including their future, and whose name literally means door but phonetically sounds like the English “moon”:

“This shop is meant to be like a mun - door - that people pass through. When customers come in, I serve them something and then it’s time for them to go. But a moon - even if it sounds the same - is different. When people see the moon, they make a wish. But we are not here to grant wishes.”

And Bo-reum (보름), which one could translate as Full Moon (it’s the term for the 15th day of the lunar month) who was, until giving up her role, the Moon Rabbit fairy (달토끼 from the Korean folktale), but now appears as a human with bunny ears (the first customer at the bar rather mistakes what she is dressed as and what type of bar this is!).

And the story itself consists of a series of seemingly rather random chapters, with a number of, mostly unsuspecting, visitors to the bar and some of Bo-reum and Mun’s own story. It’s a similar format to that we’ve come to expect from the genre but rather less neatly wrapped as is usually the case (Mun and Bo-reum themselves are rather confused at times, and also bicker) but something of a mess as a result.

Thanks to the publisher via Netgalley for the ARC but this really didn’t work for me at all.

Ever read a book that made you seriously consider whether or not you had accidentally ingested some form of hallucinogen? Because rabbits from the moon and a disappearing shop with magical cocktails really had me thinking twice about my sanity.

I love magical realism and fantasy as much as the next person, and I did enjoy this book, but I can’t say for sure that I really understood what was going on.

The concept and purpose (or my interpretation) was meaningful and most definitely magical. The importance of books, stories and the life you live really shone through each page. However, I was raised to believe vehemently in stranger danger, and if I accidentally stumbled upon a shop, got served by a rabbit and took a sip of a cocktail that immediately caused me immense pain, I would be running out of there quicker than you could say the title of this book.

“Remember the common saying that books are the doors to a different world, allowing you to indirectly live the life you’ve never experienced”

As a reader, I really struggle with unresolved questions. And I have many. Like where did Mun come from? I vaguely understand that there was a twist at the end but, I don’t get it? And WHY ARE THEY HARVESTING THE TEARS OF BUNNIES?

I think I stuck with this book because of the initial concept, as a big believer in the importance of stories. And I did really enjoy the perspective of each customer and their experience, but the main plotline of Bo-reum and Mun confused me to no end.

“Miracles happen in the most desperate of times... You can’t just stop in the middle of a story.”

Maybe it’s just me, maybe things got lost in translation. I wanted to love this book so bad.

I’ll give an honourable mention to my favourite quote though -

“No one is that interested in you. Even if they are, they only see what they want to.”

Thank you NetGalley and Headline for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Regrets, hopefullness and second chances. That's what this book is about.
Mun and Bo-reum (Moon Rabbit) run a bookshop which is actually a bar. They serve cocktails to the random people that enter the shop, and this reveals the person's regrets, which then changes the course of their timeline to hopefullness and second chances.

This is a very magical book, and I've enjoyed it so much.
Thanks to Netgalley and Headline for letting me read this copy!

Just finished The Moonglow Bookshop by Dongwan Seo, and it really stayed with me. It follows a man who returns to his hometown after losing his job, and slowly finds himself drawn back into the quiet rhythm of life through a small, almost forgotten bookshop.

I found it to be a slow, reflective read which is not driven by big plot twists, but by gentle moments and quiet observations. It explores grief, memory, and how healing often comes from the small, steady things we overlook such as routine, familiar places, and the comfort of books. It's made me realise that sometimes slowing down is exactly what I need and that you don't have to chase something to feel whole again.

It was soft, quiet and subtly powerful, and I feel it is the perfect book to read when life feels a bit loud.

Hidden down a quiet alley, glowing softly under moonlight, there is a bar like no other. This otherworldly venue is manned by Mun, a quiet bartender with a knowing gaze and a mysterious past. He serves not just drinks, but moments. Hand-crafted cocktails that shimmer with stardust and emotion; each one a reflection of your own life.

Going into this book, I think I had too high of an expectation because of it being compared to some of my favourite translated books such as Dallergut Dream Department Store and Before the Coffee Gets Cold. Due to this, I expected to like this book a lot more than what I did.

Whilst I did like the characters, I don’t feel like they had as much depth as I would like, as what we did to find out about them felt like it was only scratching the surface. I didn’t feel a connection to them, which is a shame because they were really interesting, both together and as individuals. I think if they were developed further then I would’ve felt more invested in them.

My biggest issue was a lot of the plot felt very confusing, especially the first chapter, which really affected my reading experience. Some of it I still don’t quite understand and I still have a lot of questions about how certain things in the world work, such as the infusing of books with cocktails amongst other things. Some things felt like it wasn’t explored just to take the easy way out, when really the book could have benefitted from having certain aspects fleshed out. I think the first chapter suffers with flow issues as it became convoluted, hard to keep up with what was going on and had me questioning whether it was even necessary to include. I’m not sure if it was an issue with the translation or how it is in the original book but I think the first chapter really made it hard for me to feel fully immersed in this story. The plot unraveled a bit slow for me and I really struggled to want to continue reading. It’s a shame because it has so much potential and I can see why people would love this book.

I really liked the setting and it was quite easy to picture it, which was nice but unfortunately because of issues with the plot, I didn’t feel as immersed in the story as I would liked.

⚠️ CWs: cursing, alcohol use, car accident, death of a parent, injury detail, self harm, suicide, panic attack, anxiety, cancer, depression; mentions drug use, blood, death, vomit ⚠️

Thank you Wildfire and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book early, in exchange for an honest review.