TL;DR: Water Moon was a whimsical and magical read that evoked such vivid imagery that was strongly reminiscent of Ghibli movies. For what’s considered a cosy healing fiction fantasy, I thought this was fast-paced and action-packed. There were gorgeous moments that filled you with just as much awe and wonder that our MMC felt seeing this other-world unfold before him, but also heart-pounding moments being chased by soulless and sharp-taloned entities who were ready to rip our characters to shreds. The romance relies heavily on the “fated” trope, which was conveniently used to excuse away the instant love connection that forms between Hana and Kei in a matter of days. I can’t say that I was a fan, but Water Moon is one of the rare exception where the whimsy of the world-building was captivating enough for me to still be able to enjoy the overall story despite not enjoying the romance or feeling overly invested in the characters. If you’re looking for a cosy fantasy with some grittier elements set in a magnificently whimsical and magical world, I would recommend checking this out!

This is one of those “go with the flow” low-brain energy type reads that is perfect for long days and quiet nights. I feel like I read this book at the perfect time. I was looking for some ‘light cosy fantasy’ and this fit that bill without treading too far over into the world of healing fiction. Apparently, my mind is all for grittier elements in my reads these days and this hit on that—not exactly in the horror sense, but let’s just say this wasn’t all lighthearted philosophical pondering.

Water Moon is a story about our choices—the ones we make and don’t make, the fear we let control us, the regrets we have, and ultimately, our fate. Is it better to have your life mapped out for you and have your story be fated or is life better when you have the freedom to choose your own path? Obviously, this novel isn’t exploring a new question but it does share some interesting ‘life lessons’ and I did highlight a few quotes that hit. I thought the story flowed well and moved at a solid pace while being relatively action-packed. I’ve seen other reviews say that parts were a slog, which worried me when I picked it up, but I didn’t have that issue and surprisingly flew through these pages. It could in part be because of the shorter chapters (which I loved, thank yew)! While the plot isn’t unpredictable, I was pleasantly surprised by some of the twists and that things didn’t go entirely as I predicted towards the end. It made me appreciate the story more!

Water Moon follows Hana, a young woman who inherits her family’s pawnshop only to find the next day that it has been ransacked, and her father along with a “choice” is missing. As Hana frantically tries to piece together the immediate clues about what happened, Kei quite suddenly enters the picture and from there, they find themselves “tied together” for a perilous life-threatening journey through a magical world. While the location jumps break up the flow and might not be to everyone’s taste, I loved how every new scene took us to a new place to explore. I was as captivated as Kei was by this other world and found myself so swept away by the whimsical settings and beautiful descriptions, that I could often picture the scenes unfolding before me like a Ghibli movie.

I liked reading about Kei and I felt he was easier of our two main characters to connect to and empathise with. He has always felt of “two worlds” because he found he never really fit in anywhere. He’s lost and definitely overwhelmed by this other world Hana introduces him to, but it was great to experience most of the book through his eyes because it was a wonder-filled lens, which made me appreciate the magic of this world even more! Despite being someone who protected himself from getting hurt to the point of isolation, he was actually so full of heart and emotion, and I think that came through relatively well in his POV.

In contrast, I found Hana’s character to be very… Emotionless and kind of cold? I understand that could be a product of her upbringing but Kei didn’t experience much different. I loved that she wouldn’t give up the fight to search for her father despite being threatened by the Shiikuni, but there were times that her actions towards Kei kind of frustrated me. 😅 Girl was wishy-washy AF and could not make her mind up! Her thoughts were pretty cyclical and I wished that we got more depth to her character.

The only other thing that I really didn’t enjoy in this was the romance, and that makes me really sad. I think this story could’ve easily done without it or at least, not one that was so instant it cooked faster than cup noodles (seriously). 😭 While I’m not always against the “fated” trope, that’s usually reserved for werewolves, vampires, and other mythical creatures, lol. In here, I really felt the author was using the ‘fate’ storyline to excuse away their instant connection turned ‘love of my life’ romance in a matter of days (I’d even go so far as to say hours because from the moment they meet you know exactly where this is going). I really wished that it was better developed because with how much I loved the world-building, if the character arcs were stronger and the romance properly explored, this could’ve easily been a 5-star favourite.

Unfortunately, it really missed the mark there but again, I didn’t find this unbearable and had a pretty enjoyable time reading it. This is not one of those stories that will make you think too hard about where the plot and characters are headed, but it does provide some fun twists that will (hopefully) thrill you as it did me.

Have you read Water Moon or is it on your TBR?

• Follow me on Goodreads!
• Follow me on Bluesky
• Follow me on Instagram!
• Follow me on Twitter!