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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
vaekay's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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? Yes
4.0
Before the Coffee Gets Cold is a wonderful and enjoyable read... until the last section. Usually emotional and inspiring, I felt blindsided by the terrible understanding of female anatomy or pregnancy as well as what I perceived as multiple grammatical errors by the translator. I actually found the way they regarded Kei's pregnancy and coordinated death (to save her and Nagere's baby) to be absolutely ridiculous and the sort of fictitious bullshit that only a male author would dream of writing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Dementia, Death of parent, Grief, Medical content, Death, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Car accident and Abandonment
Minor: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, and Vomit
leahgustafson's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I really loved the idea for this book—time travel, a touch of magic, set in a coffee shop…it should have been perfect! I did really like the short story format where the characters are loosely connected. This made it really easy to pick up, read a story, and put back down (especially while I was also reading other things).
•
I found the first story about the lovers to be really annoying. I struggle with the miscommunication trope in general, and I really had a hard time with how the woman views herself within this relationship. I had to put this book down for a while after finishing this particular story, though I did eventually come back to it.
•
I enjoyed the other stories a bit more. However, I did not feel a deep connection to any of the characters. The messages in the stories also seemed really traditional/old fashioned, and I didn’t always appreciate that.
•
Ultimately, I’m disappointed this one didn’t work for me.
•
Check out what I'm reading next on Instagram @LeahsLitReview!
Check out what I'm reading next on Instagram @LeahsLitReview!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, and Dementia
pagesandtales's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Dementia, and Grief
hjb_128's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Chronic illness, Medical content, and Pregnancy
veskumelooni's review against another edition
emotional
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Grief
Minor: Car accident
julieyael's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Delicate and full of melancholy.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Chronic illness, Dementia, and Grief
Minor: Pregnancy, Terminal illness, and Death of parent
julee_melii's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Pregnancy and Medical content
Minor: Cancer
partly_stars's review against another edition
3.75
I lked it, made me tear up in some places but i think it didint live up to the hype i had in my head. It was a nice little down to earth story and works well for what it is. I liked the communal feel of the caffe regulars.
I'm not gonna dig too deep into it,it was a nice quick read
Ps. The cover is a lie, there was no cat
I'm not gonna dig too deep into it,it was a nice quick read
Ps. The cover is a lie, there was no cat
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Grief
readingoverbreathing's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-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? It's complicated
3.0
This is one of those that I'd just heard so much about that I knew I had to try it for myself. The premise itself was an instant draw for me — I love a bit of time travel, and invoking the cozy setting of a cafe seemed full of warm possibilities.
However, this has been translated from Japanese, which gives it a slightly stiffer tone than I think most English-speaking readers, myself included, are really used to. I do wonder if some of it was the translation, but I also read in the author's bio on the back flap that this was originally a play which the author converted into a novel, which honestly makes so much sense. The comings and goings of the characters, the vignette structure, the slightly artificial feel to the dialogue, the chime of the door's bell, the static setting of the cafe, all would make much more sense in a stage setting. Personally, I think I would have enjoyed this a lot more as a play than I did in this form.
Again, the concept was brilliant and I enjoyed seeing the possibilities and limitations Kawaguchi imposed on the idea of time travelling. The situation in each vignette was slightly different, and slowly allowed you to get to know each of the cafe's regulars and workers and their emotional development, whatever the circumstances they faced — and there were certainly some heavy ones.
I can see why a lot of other readers found this to be a cozy read, but honestly, for me, it wasn't quite that. I think some of that is just how I pictured the cafe in my head — once it was mentioned it was in the basement, I just kept envisioning a rather dark, empty, sparsely decorated space that did not at all invoke a sense of coziness.
I am glad I read this and did enjoy it in the sense that it was so vastly different from anything else I've really read, but I can't say I'm interested enough to read any of the other books in this series. I feel like I got to see enough of the possibilities that 'that chair' was able to offer, and I certainly don't feel a strong enough emotional pull to get invested beyond this first book.
However, this has been translated from Japanese, which gives it a slightly stiffer tone than I think most English-speaking readers, myself included, are really used to. I do wonder if some of it was the translation, but I also read in the author's bio on the back flap that this was originally a play which the author converted into a novel, which honestly makes so much sense. The comings and goings of the characters, the vignette structure, the slightly artificial feel to the dialogue, the chime of the door's bell, the static setting of the cafe, all would make much more sense in a stage setting. Personally, I think I would have enjoyed this a lot more as a play than I did in this form.
Again, the concept was brilliant and I enjoyed seeing the possibilities and limitations Kawaguchi imposed on the idea of time travelling. The situation in each vignette was slightly different, and slowly allowed you to get to know each of the cafe's regulars and workers and their emotional development, whatever the circumstances they faced — and there were certainly some heavy ones.
I can see why a lot of other readers found this to be a cozy read, but honestly, for me, it wasn't quite that. I think some of that is just how I pictured the cafe in my head — once it was mentioned it was in the basement, I just kept envisioning a rather dark, empty, sparsely decorated space that did not at all invoke a sense of coziness.
I am glad I read this and did enjoy it in the sense that it was so vastly different from anything else I've really read, but I can't say I'm interested enough to read any of the other books in this series. I feel like I got to see enough of the possibilities that 'that chair' was able to offer, and I certainly don't feel a strong enough emotional pull to get invested beyond this first book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Death