Samantha Sotto Yambao: Water Moon

Hi everyone

Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao is the last novel I finished reading on holiday. 
I read this on my e-reader.

"On a backstreet in Tokyo lies a pawnshop, but not everyone can find it.
Most will see only a cosy ramen restaurant. And just the chosen ones – those who are lost – will find a place to pawn their life choices and deepest regrets.
Hana Ishikawa wakes on her first morning as the pawnshop's new owner to find it ransacked, the shop’s most precious acquisition stolen and her father missing. And then into the shop stumbles a charming stranger, quite unlike other customers. For he offers help, instead of seeking it.
Together, they must journey through a mystical world to find Hana’s father and the stolen choice – through rain puddles, hitching rides on paper cranes, across the bridge between midnight and morning and through a night market in the clouds.
But as they get closer to the truth, Hana must reveal a secret of her own – and risk making a choice she will never be able to take back."

I can see what Sotto Yambao was trying to do: creating a magical world where anything is possible. But in my opinion, she didn’t succeed. Why? Because every time something happened, out of nowhere there was a magical way to circumvent it. She uses the magical elements to make things easier, rather than to build tension or depth.
There were no clear boundaries or limitations to the magic, and because of that, there was no tension, no structure, and no purpose. 
I loved the idea of the pawnshop, and the parts of the book that took place in and around it were really amazing. The concept had a lot of potential, and those sections felt really intriguing. It’s everything after that that felt too convenient, too easy, and because of that, boring and predictable.

And I absolutely hate insta-love in every novel. The chemistry just wasn’t there; the characters were so flat, and their dialogue was stiff and old-fashioned, even though they sounded like teenagers (despite Kei having a PhD). It felt unnatural and unconvincing, and it pulled me out of the story rather than drawing me in.

There’s just way too much going on, and nothing is explored the way it should be. Everything and everyone remains surface-level, and the pacing throughout the book is very uneven. It felt like the story was rushing from one idea to the next without taking the time to develop any of them properly. It’s a shame, because the pawnshop setting had so much potential.

Have you read Water Moon? Did you feel the same way, or did you enjoy it more than I did? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Happy reading!
Helena