I haven’t read a story like Water Moon before. Steeped in spiritualism, this story centers on a pawn shop for memories. People find the shop by magical providence and can choose to trade away their regrets. This is what Hana and her father’s jobs have been their entire lives, but now that her father is retiring, she has to take over the family business. Without too much detail, Hana’s father disappears and she decides to try and find him with the help of a man named Kei from the real world. It takes some interesting turns and as a viewpoint into Hana’s reality, Kei has a believably unbelieving perspective. I felt he represented me, as the reader, very well. His skepticism and rationalization of the situation gave the story some much needed grounding. Some truly unbelievable things exist in this story and the physical representation of psychological concepts gave the story an otherworldly feel.

I really enjoyed their dynamic as they discovered more about one another. Hana’s protective of her family and urges Kei that there’s more to her world than meets the eye. Constantly, she’s telling him to leave to protect himself, but he perseveres. He’s a man of science and logic, and her world is tearing apart the foundations of his beliefs. It’s fascinating to see how he adjusts to each revelation, pondering the scientific implications of them and refusing to go back to the mundane, despite the danger. His intrigue pulls him along despite her warnings and the two become a sort of dynamic duo. It was cute.

While discovering the intricacies of Hana’s world was interesting, the story had a sort of breakneck speed to it. I understand that Hana’s worried about her father, but it feels like there’s no real room to breathe throughout the book. Moment to moment, it’s almost too rapid to understand, though each moment, in retrospect, is pretty memorable. I just wanted more time in the moments themselves. The volume of abstract concepts made material and the pacing just made it difficult to ponder them.

The romance aspect does come to a head at a certain point, and not in a way that made a lot of sense to me. Sure, emotions were high, but the character actions felt a bit strange in the moment itself. To me, it came across as more of a YA romance encounter, rather than one between adults. It wasn’t really smut-coded, just a little off putting. Still, I enjoyed the two’s steady progression as a relationship. Them becoming close throughout the journey was to be expected, though the climax of that steady climb was quite abrupt.

Water Moon is a story about responsibility and tradition. It’s about finding your own path, despite what others expect you to do. It also explores spirituality and the foundation of reality in complex ways. The story throws many ideas at you in rapid succession and the whirlwind can be disorienting, but the core experience is still enjoyable. If you like stories about finding purpose, romance, or just want to be swept into a magical world, you’ll enjoy this one.