Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

33 reviews

blewballoon's review against another edition

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emotional reflective relaxing slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I was really looking forward to this, but I ended up disappointed. I listened to this on audiobook and I don't think that helped. The translated prose is extremely redundant and clunky.
We had to hear the rules about time travel at least 5 times, but it felt like 50.
For an already short book, it feels like it could have been so much shorter. The characters felt like one-dimensional cliches and 
each trip to the past resulted in the most predictable outcome. I don't mind things being predictable in general, but there was so little substance to make it worth reading.
I love the idea of the premise, but it felt like a drag the entire time.
Mildly disappointed there is no cat in the book despite there being one on the cover.

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mikaylawood's review

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emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.75


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madisone's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Though the first story was my least favourite, it introduced a very important set of characters. As the stories progressed, I fell more and more in love with them and their lives and I knew that the end of the book would bring me an immense amount of devastation. I wasn’t wrong. The book delves into the lives of such interesting characters and I had to hold back tears multiple times, especially towards the end of the book. Truly a beautiful story, with different themes, but mostly the different ways grief can present itself. The translation was amazing and flowed beautifully, so I take my hat off to Geoffrey Trousselot.

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travellingbibliomaniac's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0


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nojerama's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5


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ellaticonstellation's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I liked the concept of this book. Traveling to the past and future without changing the present is cool and different. The characters are also lovable. There are a lot of moments that are sad, but satisfaction follows. The only thing I wish that it had a bigger climax. The plot twist is expected, too,o so there's that. But, overall, I liked this and will definitely read the rest of the series.✨

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_gabi_'s review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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_camelia's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Cute, whimsical and calm. Great coffee shop vibes. Effortlessly discussing difficult emotions. Some parts do feel drawn out, slow or repetitive but in a way it only adds to the quirkiness. Bittersweet story about coming to terms with grief or regret.

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magsreading's review against another edition

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hopeful relaxing sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


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neptunereign's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0


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