A review by crothe77
Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao

emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

 
I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao is a third person dual-POV contemporary portal fantasy with the portal being a ramen restaurant in Japan. Hana is the daughter of a magical pawnshop owner who trades tea for choices, aka possibilities. Keishin is a physicist who has lived outside of Japan for so long that he doesn’t really remember it and returns due to an academic opportunity as well as the chance to return to his home country. When the two meet, they go on a journey through Hana’s world as they try to find an escaped choice.

What really shines here is the worldbuilding. I rarely discuss covers, but that cover is so gorgeous and it really shows you exactly what kind of worldbuilding you're going to get. There’s an almost painterly feel to how ponds that also act as portals and pearls that contain oceans and sunsets are described. The cover reminded me of Aria, which is a manga that is basically Atmosphere: The Manga and the worldbuilding gave me that same feeling, which is a compliment because I love the atmosphere and setting in Aria. I would have loved this as a graphic novel.

Keishin and Hana have a romantic relationship that almost puts this into romantic fantasy, but it doesn’t quite hit my personal threshold for how prominent the romance needs to be to mark this a romantic fantasy. It doesn’t hit the beats of a romance genre novel and the way their romance is threaded feels more reflective and mysterious and tied to a deeper mystery instead of a strong romance-romance. I think that this is a great choice for someone who does want a well-threaded romance but isn’t looking for a romantic fantasy or a fantasy romance.  

One of the most interesting details was the Hiroshi tattooing the destinies of the residents of the magical world onto their skin. I love magical tattoos, I love themes of fate and destiny, and I love mixing tropes together for something different. The way it’s tied to people’s future romantic partners is probably the most fascinating part because it does really highlight how our world is full of choices and possibilities while the magical world is one where the beings are going through the motions and following the paths set before them with little room to make changes if they are unhappy. 

Content warning for mentions of child death

I would recommend this to fans of contemporary portal fantasies with more personal stakes and readers looking for a book full of painterly atmosphere

 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings