I adored this book. The writing is so expressive and the story had me enthralled. Highly recommended reading.

The most whimsical book I read whole year. One of my all time favourite books is Alice in Wonderland, this felt like Wonderland on steroids....in a good way. Traveling via puddles, songs and rumours? Sign me up ;)

Wow! This book………. I mean, just wow!
From the beautiful cover, to the final page, this book just had me.
It’s an amazing piece of writing by the author, they’ve created a world so fanatastical, I completely lost myself in it.
The writing style, the characters, all have a whimsy with a touch of realism woven through.
Whilst reading it, I kept trying to slow myself down as I found I was racing through. Purely by accident, but it was that easy to lose myself in the unfolding tale.
I’ve had a bit of a reading slump lately and this one has managed to reignite my interest and passion. After finishing this, all I could think was, what do I pick up next? Where do I go from here? The excitement had returned and it’s thanks to this book, this author, and I cannot wait for more from them in the future!
Thank you so much to the author and publisher for allowing me this ARC.

Living paper cranes and jumping into puddles to get to other worlds.

This simply was the best magical realism I've read in ages.
Studio Ghibli meets The Starless Sea (both I love with my whole heart), with images so vivid each scene was like a wonderful and somewhat eerie painting in my head.
It took me at least a week to read this book, but not because it was boring, no. Because I didn't want the journey to end.
For once, I deeply cared for the characters, and I deeply cared about the world. For a start, the idea of a pawnshop where you can pawn your regrets is phenomenal. I don't need Narnia's door anymore, but send me to Hana's pawnshop instead.

I love books about choices, I love books that not only help you escape for a little while, but also make you realise that even outside the pages, every choice is yours, and significant.
And this book was so very beautiful, especially for those who like all things whimsical.

Did I forget to mention that in this story, if you put them to your ear, seashells tell jokes ?
(Honestly, I am so, so grateful I got to read this.)

Hana’s father is due to retire and hands over the pawnshop to his daughter however, this is a pawnshop like no other - most people walking through the door find themselves in a shop selling ramen noodles! On her first day as owner, she walks into find the shop ransacked and something very important - a stolen choice - is missing, along with her father. Then a man walks into the shop. Unusually, he does not want help but is taken by Hana and seeing that she is distressed, instead offers to help her. Thus begins a magical journey - together they travel in ways that are unbelievable. A wistful love story, full of fantasy, which meant I needed to read on way past bedtime.

Thanks to Netgalley, Samantha Sotto Yambao and Random House Publishing for this ARC.

This book was an excellent piece of escapism, the setting was far more fantastical than I was expecting and the story more elaborate. Based on the first couple of chapters, I had thought it was going to be similar to The Coffee Gets Cold and other translated Japanese fiction with a group of short stories tied together. It is not that at all, it's more similar thematically to Caraval or Alice in Wonderland.

I would recommend this book to fans of fantasy romance that leans heavily on the fantasy. The romance is light but charming. The main reason I'm rating this book 4 stars instead of 5 is that I wanted the author to spend more time exploring each individual plot point and character. She managed to fit a lot into very few pages but it was to the detriment of the pacing and depth in my opinion.

The main character Hana was a highlight, I appreciated a strong female lead character. The book explores the theme of duty throughout and I think this was well reflected in Hana's thought processes and decision making.

Overall, this was enjoyable but would have benefitted from either being much longer (maybe a trilogy or very long standalone) or condensing the plot points into a few solid sections and side characters so it didn't feel so choppy.

<b>2.5</b>
This book had <I>so much potential</I> but was watered down by prioritising a lukewarm YA-style romance and a laggy fetch quest storyline.

<b>What I liked:</b>
• I <I>loved</I> the cover: it’s absolutely beautiful!
• The world within the story was fantastic. I wish there had been more exploration of the different travel elements, landscapes, and interesting folks that live on the pawnshop side!
• The descriptions of food were excellent.
• Someone’s memories being described as “heavier than a well fed cat”.

<b>What I wasn’t so keen on: </b>
• The writing style kept me at arm’s length. There was a lot of beautiful imagery and world building but the writing got a bit <i>too</i> bogged down in the detail and the book wasn’t holding my attention the way I had hoped. Arguably, there’s a lot of stuff happening (action?) in this story but this was still a slow read for me. I’d often mind my attention drifting or myself putting the book down to do something else. Towards the end, it started to feel like a slog. The prominence of a insta-love, lukewarm romance dulled my enjoyment. Romance isn’t my bag and the love triangle in this book felt really YA.
• For such a rich world, the characters were super vanilla: they didn't feel real to me and none of their complexities or intricacies got out of second gear.
I didn’t care for Hana and it especially annoyed me that how she saw herself (a "monster") and how she was portrayed (almost an altruistic Mary Sue) didn’t align which made her seem whiny, attention seeking and difficult to root for. Keishin was easier to like but didn’t feel fleshed out either. At the beginning, I struggled to suspend disbelief that Keishin would care about Hana the way he did: patching up her injury, the investment he had in finding her father, consenting to the trade with Horishi, having a pearl cut out of him, etc. Like he'd known her for like two minutes?! The dialogue between Hana and Keishin was twee and, in some places, so embarrassingly simpering that I had to skim. 🥴
• The ending, in my opinion, was contrived and not worth the slog.<spoilers removed> I just found it simplistic and too twee.

I think there's a good story here; but, it's lost in the meandering writing, lacklustre characterizations, and prioritization of romance. This book may appeal to folks who enjoy YA but as an adult reader, I'm underwhelmed.

I was privileged to have my request to read this book accepted through NetGalley. Thank you, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers.

This gave Starless Sea and Caraval vibes to me but with a Studio Ghibli theme. Reading this while in Japan too was a real bonus that helped me get immersed into the story.

The writing is beautiful and dances you through the whimsical adventure. This story is set in another world but with a lot of Japanese influence. There's magic, markets in the clouds, travelling through puddles and a pawnshop hidden inside the doorway of a ramen shop in Tokyo. There is a very insta-love romance in it but the story reads like a fairy tale which I think makes it fit quite well in my opinion.

This book was fun but also almost broke my heart in places, like a truly good book should.

The cover is gorgeous too!

Hana works in a pawnshop where customers are persuaded to pawn a difficult choice. In Hana's world there are no choices, lives are pre-destined and indeed, tattooed on every person; it is a strict autocracy and failure of duty is savagely punished by sadistic robots. On the first day after she takes over from her father as the pawnshop owner Hana finds it trashed, and one of the pledged choices is missing. A charming stranger enters the shop, and unusually, wants to help her not to pawn anything. Together they set off to find out why the shop has been trashed, travelling though the magical world with the sadistic robots never far away. Its a very imaginative and clever plot, well written, and utterly compelling. Samantha Yambao is a great find and I look forward to reading more from her.

A wonderfully whimsical fantasy story with a touch of mystery and romance.
Water Moon is a beautiful world to step into, with brilliant characters and concepts. The story is told well, in a vivid yet imaginative style.
Truly beautiful and homely.
Extremely cosy yet well paced.

I can't wait to see more of Samantha Sotto Yambao's work!

Oh this was such a beautiful and whimsical story. A hug in a book. A truly stunning read. Delightfully enchanting. Magical.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC of this book in return for my honest opinion.

This book painted very vivid pictures of the worlds they were travelling in . Although it’s not my usual genre I found it easy to read . The main characters love story was cute and the writing was descriptive and captivating.

Would recommend to anyone who likes whimsical fantasy

My thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for a free eARC of Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao.
What a charming and creative blend of Cosy Fantasy, SF, Mystery and Romance. The only thing I knew before reading “Water Moon” was the gorgeous cover and the first part of the synopsis ”A woman inherits a pawnshop where you can sell your regrets”. That was all I needed to know that I need to experience the story for myself.
If you ever watched and loved any Studio Ghibli movie, or you love the feeling of getting lost in “Alice in Wonderland”, you need to do everything within your power to read “Water Moon”.
Enjoy walking in a living scroll, watching moving tattoos that are only visible when it rains or you take a bath, pearls that hold memories, bottles of sand that is lost time, paper cranes that fly, a tea shop inside a tree, puddles and rumors that can teleport you and so many other wonderful feats of imagination.
“Water Moon” is a perfect book for when a reader wants to leave behind our world with its rules and wants to get immersed in a Japanese – inspired dream world filled with magic and wonder.
I am looking forward to get a physical copy so I can annotate it, cherish it and have it there in dark times.
The only reason this is not a five star is because I rarely resonate with romances in books. This was just a touch too sweet for my taste.

On the backstreets of Tokyo, there is a place where troubled souls can pawn the memories of their regrets and bad decisions. And although it looks like an ordinary noodle shop, it is far from ordinary...

Nevertheless, expecting to be on the receiving end of arrivals there, the new owner of the pawnshop finds herself in an unlikely alliance the morning after she wakes to the aftermath of a robbery. Whoever has stolen from her shop has left devastation and a disappeared father in their wake.

So with her new ally, Hana embarks on a most unexpected journey herself. The problem is, the last thing she wants is to reveal her own secrets and bad decisions in the process! But she may find that she has no choice in the matter...

This is a magical story, with a great deal of charm. And it is one that forces the reader to think deeply about their own life and choices, both bad and good. It gets 3.5 stars.

oh this was so beautiful and just the type of book i was wanted to read.

the story was so lovely and i really loved hana as a character. i think the writing pulled everything together here, and the fantasy elements were so well done. the setting was beautiful and enchanting.

i think if you enjoy cozy and whimsical fantasy, and also are a fan of studio ghibli, you’ll love this. i had such a good time with this and cannot wait to read more from this author.

thank you so much to netgalley, the publisher and the author for the arc 🫶🏻

This charming otherworldly quest of a book carries distinct overtones of Studio Ghibli without being derivative.
Haha is left to run her father's extremely unusual pawnshop when he retires...and then disappears. She sets out to find him with the help of a seeming stranger, Keishin, and together they fall into one world after another, their bond with one another growing ever stronger as they do so.
Along the way they encounter melancholy, noble sacrifice, gentle care, a lasting love and chilling ghostly pursuers.
Is the quest exactly what they thought it would be be at first? Not at all! Haha and Keishin ghave so much to learn about each other and themselves as they move through the worlds they encounter
Will their love remain unrequited and out of reach, will Hana save her father and will Hana and Keishin both find the mothers who abandoned them?.Will they both learn forgiveness? Of others, and themselves?
Read this mystical tale for yourself to find out.

rounding this up to 3.5

a pawnshop is only seen by folks who really need it. the rest see it as a ramen restaurant on the streets of tokyo.

this magical fantasy touches many realistic feelings such as, humans sometimes must make choices that can be deemed as selfish.

the story felt slightly too left-field for me and i found myself thinking “what is going on”.

however, i did enjoy the love story between the two main characters.

Beautifully written. Will never look at rain the same way again, or puddles.

A story about love, fate and choices. We fallow Hana, who has recently taken over a pawnshop for her father, who goes missing. Hana stumbles into a stranger from another world, together they journey through Hana’s world, in search for answers.

The story felt like a Ghibli movie, in all the right ways. Such a charming story, filled with love and heartache. A fantastic world where every scene is a delight.

5/5 stars, this will be a hit once released. Please add to your TBRs!

This book feels like a future classic and it was beautiful and contemplative from start to finish.
Water Moon is about a pawnshop that people can only enter if they have a regret or a choice they want to be free from. When a regret is stolen and the pawnshop ransacked, it is up to Hana and her new acquaintance Keishin to figure out what happened.
The story flowed so naturally, and the magic was whimsical and enchanting (travelling via puddles; bridge connecting midnight and morning; kites as stars; whisked away by paper cranes and more) later twisting into something darker. The constant imagery of the moon reflecting in the water was poetic: a metaphor for everything you see and desire but can never have. This was reflective of so much throughout the story, including the relationship and longing between Hana and Keishin despite belonging to different worlds; a yearning for a mother each unknown to them; a desire to be free from what is expected; and wanting to belong. The book was a work of art and I absolutely adored it.
I whole-heartedly recommend this for those who enjoy whimsical fantasy - it personally gave me Howl's Moving Castle and Studio Ghibli vibes.

Thank you, Random House UK (via NetGalley), for the eARC.

‘Water Moon’ is a whimsical and immersive ghibli-esque adventure through the choices we make in life, the importance of free will and living for our own happiness.

Hana is about to take over the magical pawnshop hidden within a ramen restaurant in the backstreets of Tokyo once her father retires, but when she wakes up on her first day she realises everything is not what it seems. Along with scientist Minatozaki Keishin from our world, Hana jumps into puddles and travels through rumours to hunt down the choices that will lead to her father. But pawnshop owners are excellent manipulators, and important choices shift as easily as raindrops on skin…

This story was well-written and unpredictable from the very beginning. It’s a great fast paced read to get you out of a reading slump. Sometimes it felt as though the story moved too fast to keep up with, but this seemed like an intentional device used by the author to reflect the universe Hana lives in.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Del Ray for the opportunity to give an honest review on this story.