By Samantha Pak
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Water Moon
By Samantha Sotto Yambao
Del Rey, 2025
On a backstreet in Tokyo, there is a cozy, little ramen restaurant. But for the chosen few, it is actually a pawnshop—where they can pawn their life choices and deepest regrets.
Hana Ishikawa awakens on her first morning as the shop’s new owner to find the place ransacked, the shop’s latest acquisition stolen (their most recent customer’s pawned off choice), and its previous owner, her newly retired father, missing. And before Hana can figure out what to do or how to find her father, a man stumbles into the shop. But unlike the shop’s typical customers, Keishin offers to help, rather than ask for it. So together, they journey through a mystical world in order to find her father and the stolen choice before the Shiikuin—soulless creatures that oversee Hana’s world—find him and administer their form of justice.
Traveling by rain puddles, paper cranes, and even the bridge between midnight and morning, Hana and Keishin get closer and closer to the truth—as well as each other. But as secrets are revealed, Hana realizes she will have to reveal her own secret, and possibly make a choice that she won’t be able to take back.
Told in the alternating perspectives of Hana and Keishin, “Water Moon” is a story about the choices we make and the impact they have on us and the people in our lives. While Keishin comes from a world like ours, where we have the freedom to make our own choices, in Hana’s world, everything is predestined and predetermined. Straying from your chosen path can mean the severest of punishments. I really enjoyed the juxtaposition of their worlds and their differing experiences. And when reading about Hana’s life, readers will gain an appreciation for the fact that we (for the most part) are able to live the lives we choose.
His Mortal Demise
His Mortal DemiseBy Vanessa Le
Roaring Brook Press, 2025
Kochin is a heartsooth, and as a heartsooth, he has the ability to heal any wound. The one wound he can’t heal is death.
But that’s not going to stop him from trying to bring Nhika, the woman he loves, back from the dead. Hellbent on defying nature, Kochin keeps her body in a life-preserving casket as he researches and tries to find a way to bring her back. He even goes as far as to sign up for war in the hopes that it will take him to battle-ridden Yarong—the island where heartsooths originally came from—so he can find his answers.
Months later, Nhika wakes up in a familiar manor house. Kochin is nowhere to be found and she doesn’t know how it is that she’s back from the dead. As she traces his footsteps across Theumas, she discovers the path he has walked to awaken her from the grave.
“His Mortal Demise” is the followup to Le’s debut novel, “The Last Bloodcarver.” And this time around, we get the story from both Kochin’s and Nhika’s points of view. I really appreciated this as we see the contrast between Kochin’s desperation to save Nhika, and Nhika’s confusion with how and why she is back from the dead.
As Kochin was a bit of an enigma in the first story, I really enjoyed getting into his head to learn what he is thinking and seeing how deep his love runs for Nhika—as well as for his family. He has done some reprehensible things in his past and he is struggling to come to terms with them. Despite these horrible actions, I couldn’t help but empathize with Kochin as he tries to find a way to live with himself and make up for what he’s done. In a world where so many people try to push away the blame, it was nice to see someone—even if they are fictional—hold themselves accountable for their actions and try to do better.
Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man)
Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man)By Jesse Q. Sutanto
Berkley, 2025
Vera Wong is back, and she is just as nosy as ever.
Ever since she solved the murder of the dead man in her teahouse, Vera’s life has been good. She’s surrounded by loved ones, her shop is doing well, and her son, Tilly, even has a girlfriend now: Officer Selena Gray (yes, the same officer who Vera helped solve the aforementioned murder case). Despite things going well for her, Vera can’t help but feel bored.
Then, as if the universe answers her thoughts, Vera meets a distressed young woman. This woman is looking for a missing friend, and as luck would have it, while cat-sitting for Tilly and Selena, Vera comes across the latter’s briefcase, which contains a file about the death of Xander Lin, an enigmatic influencer—who also happens to be the very friend the young woman is looking for.
Despite appearing to have a life filled with private jets and fancy parties with wealthy socialites, it turns out that things aren’t what they seem for the burgeoning social media influencer. After fishing his body out of Mission Bay, no one can actually identify Xander and every lead is a dead end.
Looks like it’s a case for Vera.
Sutanto is great at writing meddling Asian aunties, and this latest installment, in her Vera Wong series, is no exception. Readers can’t help but laugh at how Vera just steamrolls her way through life to do what she needs to do—in this case, solve the mystery of Xander’s death.
While this story is filled with laughs as Vera forces her way into people’s lives, it also strikes a balance of looking at loneliness and how social media and other digital means, of supposedly bringing people together, are actually having the opposite effect. It will have readers thinking about their own screen time and considering how much time they are spending online.