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_david_'s review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The ideas and story in this book are great. Yet the writing style bothered me so much that I will not rate the book higher than 3 stars.
There's so much overexplaining and repetition. To prevent spoilers, I'll make up an example: "Character A went to the toiler. Her seat was empty because character A had gone to the bathroom. [one paragraph later] Character B took character's A seat since it was empty because A had gone to the bathroom." It's as if the book is written in a way that you can jump in any chapter or paragraph randomly. It slows the pace way too much in a book that's quite short.
Something else in the writing style which bothered me was that every detail got the same amount of attention. It made the important and unique parts of the book feel less special.
Overall it felt like I was being mansplained to. The book told me how the characters felt and why. I didn't feel respected as a reader.
Something that's a more personal clash is that the tone of the book is very conservative. Not in a very explicit "women should do x" way, but the women are described in a very different way than the men. The most clear example is that one chapter is very pro-life and that women's outfits are constantly described in great detail, even when not relevant.
Something that's a more personal clash is that the tone of the book is very conservative. Not in a very explicit "women should do x" way, but the women are described in a very different way than the men. The most clear example is that one chapter is very pro-life and that women's outfits are constantly described in great detail, even when not relevant.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia, Grief, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Abandonment, Death, Sexism, and Abortion
Minor: Death of parent
hanmarta's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism
foxwish's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
This isn't really a novel, it's more of a collection of disjointed stories that take place in the same coffee shop.
There's definitely sexist undertones, just read this quote:
There's definitely sexist undertones, just read this quote:
'Don't go!' she would have screamed. Of course, they would have been crocodile tears. Tears are a woman's weapon.
Outside of that, the prose is very basic and wooden, I expected more depth. The characters felt mostly one-dimensional and the stories are bogged down by copy-pasted explanations of things such as Alzheimer's disease, rather than being integrated well into the story.
The last story did end up being emotional at least, but I only finished this book because it was so short and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Deeply disappointing, there are better written books about grief, but I guess the book was readable.
Note: Cat on the cover, but no cat in the story. Another layer of disappointment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Misogyny, and Grief
Moderate: Death and Pregnancy
jackiie's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Death, Sexism, Grief, and Misogyny
Moderate: Car accident and Pregnancy
cady_sass's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
I purposefully waited until the hype died down to read this one because I had a feeling it wouldn’t do it for me, and I was right. For whatever reason Japanese translations and I don’t get along and this is no different. I LOVE this concept, and the first chapter was riveting and had me thinking I might have a 5 star read in front of me. But the stories after that were a bit… mediocre. And I find most of them to lean sexist, especially the last one. I’m almost treating this like an anthology, the first story is 5 stars, the second and 3rd are 2-3ish, and the last one is a 1 for me. So that lands us right around a 3. I think there’s a lot of wasted potential here and I’m really disappointed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexism, Death of parent, Medical content, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Car accident, Grief, and Medical trauma
lybrarie's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This was a really lovely read. It was definitely sad (each story just kept getting sadder) but in a really heartwarming way. It didn't make me cry - I think probably because I didn't feel like we had quite long enough with each of the characters to truly have a connection with them that would make me cry - but I definitely teared up.
I really enjoyed how each of the stories were their own separate story, and yet they were all interconnected in some way. I think the whole thing was done really well, and the concept in itself is really intriguing. The first story did feel quite slow, but I think that was just down to the need to set up the idea and the rules of the cafe. After the first one all of the stories felt medium-paced and they were all easy to read and highly enjoyable.
The only reason I couldn't give this 5 stars was because there did seem to be a slight undercurrent of sexism throughout the book. It wasn't overt, but I could see it. Otherwise it was a very lovely book.
I really enjoyed how each of the stories were their own separate story, and yet they were all interconnected in some way. I think the whole thing was done really well, and the concept in itself is really intriguing. The first story did feel quite slow, but I think that was just down to the need to set up the idea and the rules of the cafe. After the first one all of the stories felt medium-paced and they were all easy to read and highly enjoyable.
The only reason I couldn't give this 5 stars was because there did seem to be a slight undercurrent of sexism throughout the book. It wasn't overt, but I could see it. Otherwise it was a very lovely book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Dementia
Moderate: Death, Medical content, Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Alcoholism and Sexism
mydearwatsonbooks's review against another edition
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia, Death, Grief, Pregnancy, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexism and Abortion
kestrel's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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? Yes
2.0
I really like the concept: a normal place like a cafe, but there is a magical element to it. Although it reminded me a little of the kdrama Mystic Pop-Up Bar, this book lacked the impact. All 4 stories were very on the surface level and, frankly, pretty sexist. The last story, especially, disappointed me a lot, considering the dangerous message it sends and made me think about the rest of the stories more carefully. I realized that all of them had the female character compromise with what the society expected from her, even if it meant sacrificing her time, dreams, or life.
Men-talk-with-women-before-writing-about-them-challenge!
Men-talk-with-women-before-writing-about-them-challenge!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Dementia, Medical content, and Sexism
Moderate: Car accident
Minor: Abortion and Death of parent
thepictureofemma's review against another edition
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia and Sexism