Reviews with content warning for Blood - Water moon

Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Water moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao

79 reviews

haleymarie9614's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous hopeful mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

miranda_loves_reading's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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: Complicated

Everything about this book is beautiful - the words, the world, Ghibli vibes, the characters, and how much it had me crying at the end.

Content Warnings

fedoratheexplora's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Content Warnings

elle_dee's review against another edition

4.0

lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I liked the book. It took a lot to get into because the narrative style includes a lot of flashbacks. It was worth it for the final act twist though - I did not see it coming. Otherwise, I found it to be a surprisingly simple book that resolved its own problems very quickly instead of sitting with them. It approached some interesting themes on choices and fate, but didn’t engage with them as deeply as I expected. The setting and vignettes of the scenes were wonderful and fantastical - that is the primary draw of the book. Still a nice read.

I expected a fantasy book with a romantic subplot, but it was a romance with fantasy set-dressing. I feel like there could have been something really special here, if it just dug deeper, but as it sits the characters sometimes felt like puppets and parrots instead of people - I was seeing through to the mechanisms instead of finding much meaning.

Content Warnings

amandajoffe's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective slow-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: Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and RandomHouse Publishing for this ARC! This book was an absolute delight to read. The writing style was intriguing and beautiful. I found myself wanting to highlight almost every passage- entranced by its beauty and wisdom. The concept of the book was also unique and attention grabbing. My only concern was pacing. I found the pace of the book quite slow for the first 80% and then warp speed for the last 20%. I wish the author had spread out some of the twists to build more intrigue and keep the reader engaged. Otherwise, this book was delightful and definitely will become a staple on my shelf.

Content Warnings

corriescorner's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous mysterious 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: Complicated

Content Warnings

atamano's review against another edition

3.75

hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

kendal_reads's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

issymaae's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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

elizabeth_lepore's review against another edition

2.5

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Complicated feelings on this one. I absolutely loved the premise and worldbuilding. The setting was so dreamlike, magical, and whimsical. However, the romance was unnecessary (and included a tacked-on love triangle), and the dialogue was so unnatural. Like the entire time I was thinking, "people don't talk like this." Also, this novel had really strange rhetoric about women always regretting not having children, which made me drop it down to 2.5 stars.

Overall, if you love "vibes-based" books, give this one a try. If you need more substance, I'd skip.

Content Warnings

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