Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao

I liked it because it really delivered on its promises.

“This world is not what it seems.”

The main character kept saying this and it kept being true — and then there was even more to it. A nice reveal at the end. So often the promises made by characters are overblown. They’re telling the reader how to feel, to anticipate, they create a feeling, and most of the time I end up feeling let down. But not here.

I resent the reviews lumping this book in with low-stakes cozy fantasy. Legends and Lattes and The Spellshop and such. There were stakes in Water Moon. There was danger. It was an adventure through an alternate universe that offered surprise after delightful surprise.

Hear more on episode 85.