Book Review: Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao
Title: Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao
Release Date: Jan 14th 2025
Publisher: Del Rey (US) / Bantam (UK/AUS)
RRP: $34.99 (AUS)
Rating: 5/5 stars
Synopsis:
On a backstreet in Tokyo lies a pawnshop, but not everyone can find it. Most will see only a cosy ramen restaurant. And just the chosen ones – those who are lost – will find a place to pawn their life choices and deepest regrets.
Hana Ishikawa wakes on her first morning as the pawnshop's new owner to find it ransacked, the shop’s most precious acquisition stolen and her father missing. And then into the shop stumbles a charming stranger, quite unlike other customers. For he offers help, instead of seeking it.
Together, they must journey through a mystical world to find Hana’s father and the stolen choice – through rain puddles, hitching rides on paper cranes, across the bridge between midnight and morning and through a night market in the clouds.
But as they get closer to the truth, Hana must reveal a secret of her own – and risk making a choice she will never be able to take back.
Review:
I had high hopes coming into Water Moon and came out feeling more enthralled than I ever thought I would 🥹 This definitely gave me huuuge Studio Ghibli vibes! 🥹🤍✨☁️🌙 Throughout the whole book, you feel like you’re dreaming ☁️🌙 This book embodies the escapism that so many readers crave! It’s got a gentle and languid pace, which is very fitting as we see the MCs transport from one unimaginable to another! Hana (our FMC) is a very unreliable narrator, which makes things even more unpredictable. I love just being able to go with the flow and be surprised by all the twists and turns and impossibilities! It feels like Alice In Wonderland with all its whimsy, and a mix of Makoto Shinkai and Studio Ghibli for all the magic and essence of time 🥰 I know this book gets compared to Erin Morgenstern’s work too, and while I think they are similar in their whimsy and dream-like settings, I picture Erin Morgenstern’s books as more of an autumnal / cold winter night read against a fireplace and sipping on a hot chocolate. Water Moon feels like the other side of the same coin! Picture a rainy summer afternoon inside a cozy and magical ramen store eating a bowl of noodles while sipping on some green tea 🍵🍜
I love how easily this reads too! Each time I pick it back up I’m immediately transported back to Hana’s world. I love the contrast between Hana and our male protagonist Kei, who’s a scientist and is used to order and control in his very scientific mind. I love how they complement one another and the slow burn romance that develops between them!!! The romance feels SO real and I am just heartbroken (in a good way?!?!) each time I think about these two 🥺🥺 I love the Japanese culture and food that builds the story, as well as the surprising mention of Indonesian culture?! I was sooo pleasantly surprised!! Being Indo myself, I rarely see any Indo representation in books — so this had me tabbing all the mentions of Indo culture 🥹🤍🤍 I was a happy gal! <3
I truly loved every moment of this. It was heartbreaking and so sad, but reminds us of the importance of family, friendship, sacrificial love, decisions, choices, regrets — every human connection there is. I cannot wait to talk about this book nonstop 😍✨ I had the bestttt time tabbing this book!!! I ended 2024 with this book but will be including this in my 2025 favorites because WOW it was amazing and deserves the title of being my very first 2025 favorite ☁️🌙✨
Thank you sooo incredibly much to Penguin Random House for sending over this complimentary ARC all the way from the US!! This was sent to me for free with no obligations! I chose to write this review on my own accord and all thoughts and opinions are my own🤍
