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elle_dee 's review for:
Water Moon
by Samantha Sotto Yambao
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
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body horror, Body shaming, Cancer, Infertility, Sexual content, Dementia, Alcohol