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A review by jemmacrosland
Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
5.0
This review is going to be one of the most difficult to write and articulate my thoughts.
This is such a crazy and wild story, the plot is pure fantasy adventure. The worlds and concepts you explore are so unfathomable I found it to be pure escapism from the real world yet so relatable. I felt invested in the mystery, couldn't put it down past the halfway mark and this is the fastest I've read a book in a while.
The most important thing to note is that there are so many trigger and content warnings in this book and I never usually include these within a review but I think it is so important in this case as they are so graphically described and even after reading this book, I don't think this list is extensive enough (included below). I certainly wouldn't describe this book as cozy even though it has been marketed as such. There is a big focus on mental health in particular and so many quotes I personally connected with and honestly, the storyline helped heal me a little.
Whilst I did have gripes with some of the contents of the book, for instance some of the romance plotlines, this book was so hard-hitting and special to me that I'm honestly overlooking the negative criticisms. It will stay with me for a very long time I'm sure. Due to these reasons, I do think this is going to be a difficult one to recommend widely, even as a new favourite of mine.
5 stars
Thank you to NetGalley, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and Samantha Sotto Yambao for the opportunity to read this advanced reader copy.
Content warnings
Violence, Blood, Past death of a loved one, Injury Descriptions, Consensual Sex, Sexually Explicit Scenes, Religion, Cancer and talks of cancer treatment (affecting a loved one), Childbirth, Depression & anxiety, Grief and depictions of grief, Hallucinations, Infertility, Mental illness with psychosis, Mention of stillbirths, loss of children, Pregnancy, Divorce, Forced betrothal, Imprisonment, Isolation, Parent loss. [Source: Illumicrate]
This is such a crazy and wild story, the plot is pure fantasy adventure. The worlds and concepts you explore are so unfathomable I found it to be pure escapism from the real world yet so relatable. I felt invested in the mystery, couldn't put it down past the halfway mark and this is the fastest I've read a book in a while.
The most important thing to note is that there are so many trigger and content warnings in this book and I never usually include these within a review but I think it is so important in this case as they are so graphically described and even after reading this book, I don't think this list is extensive enough (included below). I certainly wouldn't describe this book as cozy even though it has been marketed as such. There is a big focus on mental health in particular and so many quotes I personally connected with and honestly, the storyline helped heal me a little.
Whilst I did have gripes with some of the contents of the book, for instance some of the romance plotlines, this book was so hard-hitting and special to me that I'm honestly overlooking the negative criticisms. It will stay with me for a very long time I'm sure. Due to these reasons, I do think this is going to be a difficult one to recommend widely, even as a new favourite of mine.
5 stars
Thank you to NetGalley, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and Samantha Sotto Yambao for the opportunity to read this advanced reader copy.
Content warnings
Violence, Blood, Past death of a loved one, Injury Descriptions, Consensual Sex, Sexually Explicit Scenes, Religion, Cancer and talks of cancer treatment (affecting a loved one), Childbirth, Depression & anxiety, Grief and depictions of grief, Hallucinations, Infertility, Mental illness with psychosis, Mention of stillbirths, loss of children, Pregnancy, Divorce, Forced betrothal, Imprisonment, Isolation, Parent loss. [Source: Illumicrate]