Book Review: Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao

Samantha Sotto Yambao’s Water Moon is a novel that feels like stepping into a dream filled with quiet magic, wistful longing, and the kind of beauty that lingers like mist over water. It is a story that doesn’t just transport you, it ensnares you in its delicate, moonlit spell over water.

Reading Water Moon is like watching a Studio Ghibli film unfold in prose, blending the ethereal wonder of Spirited Awaywith the sweeping romance of Howl’s Moving Castle. Like Spirited Away, it carries a deep sense of mystery, a feeling of stumbling upon a world just beyond reality’s veil. And like Howl’s Moving Castle, it weaves an irresistible romance between two characters who are drawn together by fate, even as unseen forces try to pull them apart.

At the heart of this mythical tale is K, a weary traveler with a past he cannot outrun, and Hana, a woman bound by obligation and duty to a world that she loves. Their relationship is as ephemeral as mist, achingly tender yet shadowed by an inevitable sense of loss. K is drawn to Hana not just because of her otherworldly presence but because she represents something he has long forgotten: the possibility of magic in a world that often feels devoid of it. Hana exists in a delicate balance between duty and desire, trapped between the past and the present, between what she wants and what she must do. Their connection is beautifully written, filled with longing and quiet moments of intimacy, yet always haunted by the forces that seek to pull them apart.

Yambao’s prose is nothing short of breathtaking. Every sentence is infused with an magical quality, rich with evocative imagery and poetic lyricism. The novel’s settings, a dusty pawn shop only ony those who need it most can find, a chaotic night market in the clouds that sells wonders beyond belief, or a simple late surrounded by a thousand mirrored moons, all feel like a world on the brimming with magic. The descriptions are so vivid and immersive that they transport readers to a place where the impossible feels not just plausible, but inevitable.

But what truly sets Water Moon apart is its ability to weave magic not just into its plot, but into its very essence. This is not a story about grand, showy spells or epic battles between good and evil. Instead, it is a tale of quiet, intimate magic, the kind found in longing gazes, in the hush of a prayer, in the stillness of a moment that feels suspended in time, in the folds of a paper crane. The novel explores themes of love, sacrifice, and the weight of promises that stretch across lifetimes. It is about the beauty of fleeting moments and the melancholy of knowing that nothing, not even magic, can hold onto them forever.

Like a Ghibli movie, Water Moon carries a deeply melancholic yet hopeful tone. It embraces the idea that love does not always follow a straight path, and that some connections, no matter how profound, are not meant to last in the way we wish they would. And yet, there is a quiet comfort in knowing that even fleeting love leaves an imprint, shaping us in ways we may not always understand.

For readers who adore books that feel like whispered legends, for those who revel in stories where the supernatural and the deeply human intertwine, Water Moon is a masterpiece. It is a novel that lingers long after the final page is turned, like the reflection of the moon on water; always shifting, always just out of reach, but impossibly beautiful.