“Sweet and delicious!” —Sarah Beth Durst, New York Times bestselling author of The Spellshop
“Delightful.” —Samantha Sotto Yambao, bestselling author of Water Moon
In this charming, fable-like book from Japan, a fox spirit sells magical confections to troubled humans, only for them to get a little more than they bargained for.
Welcome. We don’t get many humans here.
In a cozy night alley lies a very special store. It’s only open between the full moon and the new moon, and accessible only to yokai and those vulnerable, through a gap in the trees that leads to Gloaming Lane. It’s shelves are full of wagashi, and each candy cures an ailment of the heart or the mind. They will give you what you most desire, but not always in the way you expect.
From the young woman who craves more quality time with her boyfriend, and the man who yearns to be invisible, to the friends grappling with long-buried resentments, each customer will learn a valuable lesson, be it with the “All-Is-Revealed Chestnut Monaka” or the “Surrogate Caramels.”
But who is the mysterious proprietor behind them? And why does his shadow feature a pair of fox ears? Surely, not a tail? If he is a half-fox spirit, so be it. But why is he so stern about each candy’s “dosage”? Patience. Like the center of a gooey caramel, the best things take time to reveal themselves.