Review: Water Moon - Samatha Sotto Yambao

Genre: Fantasy Published: Del Rey, January 2025

My Rating: 4/5 stars

"Life is about finding joy in the space between where you came from and where you are going. I may never get to where I want to go, but I can look back and say that I did not waste a second being bitter that I was not someplace else."

Like the magical pawnshop hiding behind the façade of a ramen-restaurant, Water Moon hid an unexpectedly deep fantasy story behind what I thought would be a cute and fluffy magical realism tale.

The Story:

Hana Ishikawa has grown up in the back of her father’s magical pawnshop, tucked away behind the front of a cozy ramen-restaurant. Here she’s watched her father make countless trades with costumers seeking to trade in a choice or regret, preparing herself to one day take over his task as the store-owner. But on her first day on the job, she wakes up to find the store ransacked and her dad missing. Together with the shops final costumer – a charming stranger who offers her help instead of asking for it – she sets off on a magical journey into a world unlike our own. Along the way, Hana, whom family has dealt in choices all her life, is confronted with some choices and regrets of her own.

What I loved:

If I had a nickel for every time someone lamented for a “fantasy-novel that feels like a studio-Ghibli-movie”, I’d have a pretty substantial coin collection by this point. With its vivid and whimsical but meaningful worldbuilding and atmosphere, Water Moon foots that bill quite wonderfully, although with the addition of some adult romance.

For some reason, I was under the impression that this was a magical realism story, set in our world with only hints of magic. Imagine my surprise when it unfolds itself to show a full world of spirits and dreams, where jumping into a puddle can transport you from one place to the next, where choices and regrets can be pawned away, and wishes can be folded into paper-cranes and kites. Unraveling its layers, from the superficial dreamlike beauty of it all, to the darker underbelly of the hidden costs of trades and the role of the Shiikuin, was a joy and I genuinely found it one of the most fun and creative worlds I’ve encountered in a fantasy-standalone in a long time.

Beyond its whimsical premise, the story has some really interesting questions about choices, predetermined fate, and the paths we craft for ourselves to explore. The author did a beautiful job of organically interweaving these into the story, and getting the reader to engage with the themes without feeling like they’re being moralized.

What I didn’t love:

What could’ve been a 5-star based off world and story alone, loses a full star due to its horrendous romance. Despite this book being marketed towards adults, the romance had every hallmark of a YA-romance from the Stephanie-Meyer-dominated-dark-ages of the early 2000’s. It has insta-love, a love-triangle (view spoiler), and this icky-dynamic where the two male protagonists are constantly throwing themselves into irrational danger to act as the protectors for our female lead.

Plenty of the choices and emotional stakes of the novel hang on the believability of these character’s care and devotion to each other. Unfortunately, that believability wasn’t there for me.

Overall I had a good time with this books world and story, but very much despite its romance. Your milage may vary depending on your enjoyment or tolerance for these tropes.

You can find this book here on Goodreads.