Reviews with content warning for Blood - Water moon

Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Water moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao

79 reviews

saucy_bookdragon's review against another edition

3.0

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

"But still, he wanted her. As much as he wanted to know the stars and all their secrets."

Water Moon was a deeply enjoyable journey up until the ending where the ball was completely dropped. It's a cerebral fantasy world where choices and time are tangible, overflowing with whimsy and written in beautiful prose. It was a fun time, then the ending gave several unnecessary twists that although made worldbuilding sense, undercut the central conflicts and characters up until then.

Content Warnings

hello_lovely13's review against another edition

3.0

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This was strange, but I liked the setting and atmosphere. I think I would have liked this a lot better if I read it in the fall or winter. The structure of the book is essentially jumping from unique concept to unique concept, staying just long enough to experience the weirdness (usually only a few pages) before moving on, usually never to go back again. I applaud the creativity of the author for achieving this, but at the same time I wish that we spent more time fully developing each of the places (even if it meant cutting out a lot of them, which could have been instead included in a sequel).

The sex scene came out of nowhere, and there were definitely elements of insta-love that made the bond between Hana and Keishin harder to emotionally invest in (also, I wasn't really interested in the

love triangle between Hana, Keishin, and Haruto

; the concept is very interesting, but I don't think it was fleshed out quite enough to be fully invested in). I didn't particularly like the twist that

Keishin ended up being one of the choices that was freed

, but I did like the twist that

Hana was one as well (the connection to Keishin's mother, where she wished she had a daughter that was named Hana, which Chiyo stole for herself, was interesting as well, and I liked the tie-in)

. I am satisfied with how the book ended, but I can't help but feel sorry for poor Haruto (he really got the short end of the stick in basically every scenario). The lore behind the Shiikuin, both their presence and how they were revealed to be created, was interesting. Every single place the characters visited was extremely interesting, though I wish we could have spent more time in them (as I stated before, though I could see the argument that more would have overstayed its welcome).

During the beginning, Hana is introduced as a character that has been trained from a young age to be able to read people extremely well, but I don't think that was utilized properly. The twist that

Hana was bringing Keishin along as a bargaining chip to sacrifice to the Shiikuin to obtain her father's freedom

was one that I wasn't too attached to. Also, the ending of

Hana's father and mother was a bit too abrupt

.

I liked Keishin's backstory, as well as his "conversations" with Ramesh while trying to solve a problem. I think this book did a good job at reflecting on choices and behavior. There were many times I wanted to underline a passage (alas, I read this from the library). I could foresee myself rereading this book during one of the colder months because the story and setting was pleasant enough. I will admit that one of my main reasons if I buy a physical copy of this book is because the cover is so stunning (it is absolutely me-coded). Overall, this was just okay. I wouldn't rave about this, but I also wouldn't discourage anyone from reading this either. Perhaps read this from the library before making a decision for yourself.

Content Warnings

sami_reading's review against another edition

4.75

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I really loved this unique book and the audio was incredible. It has all the magical realism and ghibli-esque whimsy, with a dark spin and only a little spice in the middle. The concept of this standalone was wonderful and kept me guessing all the way through! I really loved how imaginative the other world was and how it wrapped up beautifully at the end. It’s equally strange, devastating, terrifying, weird, lovely, and heartwarming. I would definitely read more by this author!

Content Warnings

itok's review against another edition

4.5

challenging emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Content Warnings

mightyminerva's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

artemispraxius's review against another edition

4.75

adventurous emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I see this story being something Hayao Miyazaki would pick up and make a movie from. Gives me “The Cat Returns” vibes. Water Moon is more of an emotional journey than a physical one. It really explores what you are willing to trade away: time, memories, experiences, chances at true love, etc. in order to accomplish your goal. And really, without realizing it, we have made these decisions more subtly throughout our lives. I think the biggest point you can pull from this novel is this: we should not be afraid to give up on something if it means that we have a chance of happiness. More often than not do we dwell on the choices and paths not taken, or choosing not to diverge from the choice we’ve made. We dwell or slosh along on the path even though it does not add value to our lives. Rather, they can get in the way of the choices that are worth making. Choices will never be easy, it doesn’t have to be right. You just have to make it.

Content Warnings