Today’s review is about WATER MOON by Samantha Sotto Yambao. It’s a standalone fantasy novel in which a young woman’s father goes missing on the first day she takes over running their pawn shop. She embarks on a quest with a young stranger and uncovers more than she expected.

Author: Samantha Sotto Yambao
Series: None
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Del Rey
Publish Date: January 14, 2025
Print Length: 384

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Water Moon Synopsis

Water Moon Review

In WATER MOON, Hana wakes up on her first morning as new owner of her family’s pawnshop only to find her father missing and the shop in disarray. One of the shop’s most valuable items has also been stolen. Just as Hana is about to leave to find her father, a young man, Kei, stumbles into the pawnshop. Against her better judgment, she allows him to join her in her quest to find her father. They embark on a magical adventure through ponds and puddles, paper cranes, and ladders in the sky.

I really liked the magical world Samantha Sotto Yambao created for WATER MOON. To Hana, it is normal. But to Kei it defies everything he knows as a physicist. The modes of transportation they use to travel around are very creative as is how they access some of them. In one instance, they can only access a particular place in their dreams. I also liked learning how each new place in Hana’s world operates, between the markets, time museum, and train station.

However, despite appreciating the creation of Hana’s world, the story fell flat for me for several reasons. First, there was no urgency in finding Hana’s father, which is the whole premise of the book. It seemed like Hana and Kei more or less took their time in each new place, even if it did have something to do with the mystery of her father’s disappearance.

Second, the book contains mostly dialogue. There is not a lot of text that describes their surroundings or clues as to how Hana and Kei feel about each other. It was easy to follow the dialogue and who says what. But it made the emotional connection to the story feel rather two dimensional, especially where it pertained to the romance. It is clear that Hana and Kei feel some sort of connection. For the most part, though, Yambao allows the reader to assume this. There are not a lot of context clues in the form of furtive glances, touches, or hitched breathing. There is some blushing, but it all feels very detached.

The overarching themes of fate and duty are clearly evident in WATER MOON, particularly with Hana’s story. Hana and Kei also grapple with parental abandonment of different forms. In Kei’s case, this makes him question whether he can be loved. As the story progresses, the theme of conformity vs. individuality also emerges, which I thought was interesting in the light of a story element reveal.

Overall, the world building in WATER MOON is quite inventive and imaginative and the themes come through clearly. But the emotional execution left me a little parched. However, I liked this book enough to keep reading. And I’ll certainly consider Yambao’s next book, THE ELSEWHERE EXPRESS.

Rating: 3.5
Content warnings: sexual content, violence, blood, death of parent, abandonment, abortion
Reading format: Hardback (Fairyloot)