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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
What if there was a world parallel to ours where everything was run by magic instead of science and electricity? And what if you happened to stumble into this world while searching for WiFi? That is what happens to Brenda, as she unknowingly stumbles through a portal into Kat's family coffeeshop. It's an alternate reality Los Angeles, complete with many of the same landmarks, including the Central Library and Target. As Kat and Brenda figure out how to cross between their worlds, they also need to contend with increasing earthquakes, unexpected magical surges, and the prophecy that Kat must fulfill. Highly recommended for grades 7 & up.
eARC provided by publisher via NetGalley
eARC provided by publisher via NetGalley
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
TL;DR: A very cute sapphic romance with alternate universes.
Source: NetGalley - Thank you to the publisher!!
Source: NetGalley - Thank you to the publisher!!
Plot: Two girl discover portals between their worlds and have to work to stop disaster but also fall in love.
Characters: They were very cute and by the end I loved the girls, but we might have also spent too much time with them.
Setting: For such a big part of the story this was pretty well drawn early out but left alone for the later half.
Fantasy: The ideas here were very cool. I liked them a lot.
Characters: They were very cute and by the end I loved the girls, but we might have also spent too much time with them.
Setting: For such a big part of the story this was pretty well drawn early out but left alone for the later half.
Fantasy: The ideas here were very cool. I liked them a lot.
Thoughts:
I really wanted this to be a five star, I really did! But I think maybe I’m just a little too old for this pacing and style to work for me. The driving plot of this story is the idea of these portals opening between Kat and Brenda’s worlds. They seem to be connected to the surges of mana on one side and earthquakes on the other.
At the same time the story really focuses hard in on the romance between these two girls. And honestly, that felt a little bit like a distraction at times. We would have a pretty intense chapter, big information drops or big twists! Then we’d jump to the next and it would be prom, or the coffeeshop, or something slower and I ended up feeling quite frustrated by the end.
The ideas are so cool, and perhaps for a younger or more patient reader this could be a real hit. Give it a shot if you don’t mind that abrupt back and forth. The girls are adorable, I loved their friends and the emphasis on their culture. But the pacing frustrated me to no end.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe (which I will henceforth be referring to as CIAAU in this review) by CB Lee follows Brenda and Kat, seniors in high school, after sparks fly during a chance encounter across universes. As if trying to date in high school isn’t enough, mix in alternate LAs, portal hopping, dragon encounters, and a foul plot at play and the FMCs are up against it. But at least they’re up against it together?
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The perfect mix of cozy, intriguing, and whimsy, CIAAU felt like a warm cup of coffee and perfect pastry of a book. I listened to the audiobook version which was delivered by dual narrators who each captured their respective leads perfectly. I enjoyed the Vietnamese and Chinese rep in the book and how seamlessly the character’s respective heritages were wound into the book. Brenda’s tenacity and drive was delivered in a way where you could see how she was consistently perceived as “too much” but is endearing to actually experience. Kat’s nonchallant devil-may-care exterior and gifted-kid-with-anxiety-burnout interior was also written wonderfully.
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While definitely a cozy book with lots of slow descriptive moments, the plot the girls set out to solve was captivating and the resolution paid off wonderfully.
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I enjoyed this book immensely and would recommend it to lovers of YA cozy fantasy. My only warning: the food and drink descriptions WILL make you hungry.
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**ALC provided by NetGalley and Brilliance Audio. All opinions expressed are my own.**
.
The perfect mix of cozy, intriguing, and whimsy, CIAAU felt like a warm cup of coffee and perfect pastry of a book. I listened to the audiobook version which was delivered by dual narrators who each captured their respective leads perfectly. I enjoyed the Vietnamese and Chinese rep in the book and how seamlessly the character’s respective heritages were wound into the book. Brenda’s tenacity and drive was delivered in a way where you could see how she was consistently perceived as “too much” but is endearing to actually experience. Kat’s nonchallant devil-may-care exterior and gifted-kid-with-anxiety-burnout interior was also written wonderfully.
.
While definitely a cozy book with lots of slow descriptive moments, the plot the girls set out to solve was captivating and the resolution paid off wonderfully.
.
I enjoyed this book immensely and would recommend it to lovers of YA cozy fantasy. My only warning: the food and drink descriptions WILL make you hungry.
.
**ALC provided by NetGalley and Brilliance Audio. All opinions expressed are my own.**
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
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
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An overachiever who wants to save the world stumbles into a coffeeshop in an alternate dimension and meets a reluctant Chosen One, destined to save the world. Chaos ensues!
I enjoyed this book. I thought it was an interesting take on alternate timelines. Yeah, there was some insta-love, but really they just found someone who really listened to them, and that's important. There was also a solid cast of secondary characters. Overall, I enjoyed it!
I enjoyed this book. I thought it was an interesting take on alternate timelines. Yeah, there was some insta-love, but really they just found someone who really listened to them, and that's important. There was also a solid cast of secondary characters. Overall, I enjoyed it!
adventurous
medium-paced
adventurous
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
The blurb says this is a cozy fantasy. It is not. Still a good (audio)book though.
Now, I did enjoy the (audio)book but the blurb is definitely off the mark in describing this as ‘cozy’. It starts off cozy enough, with the two main characters meeting at the titular coffeeshop (in an alternate universe). But from there it quickly veers away from that to instead have the plot center around a capitalist conspiracy that is endangering the two parallel universes and has already resulted in multiple deaths. Which doesn’t sound all that cozy to me. The romance between the two protagonists is really sweet, as are all of the platonic relationships for that matter. And while that does give some scenes a rather cozy vibe, it is vastly overshadowed by the fairly angsty main plotline.
To be 100% clear, I don’t think that those are bad things, I quite enjoyed the book after all, but I think it is being mismarketed, which will inevitably lead to readers going into it with the wrong expectations and only ending up disappointed.
A more accurate pitch might be that this is s sapphic urban low fantasy set in two parallel world versions of LA. One world has no magic, the other has all the magic, but that’s basically all that’s different between the two. Seriously, they even have the exact same high schools and the exact same Target, except one sells laptops and the other sells ‘Runebooks’. And it’s not like the two worlds diverged very recently, it’s been 100 years at the very least. But you want me to believe that the Target is not only in the exact same place, but also has the exact same floor plan - to the point where a character can walk around through most of it without realising you’re in a different Target?
So, if you like magic systems and world-building that is intricate, detailed and ‘realistic’, this probably isn’t the book for you. The magic system isn’t simple, exactly, but it also isn’t very intricate either. The story is a very fun sapphic romp that you can read and enjoym but probably shouldn’t think about for too long.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!!
Yes, this book is fun. Yes, I like the alternate universe. Brenda and Kat are cute and honestly watching Brenda discover magic was great. This is for the D&D lovers, the Doctor Who fans who love subtle references. This has a fun fantasy world that is dealing with mana surges that can create dimensional doors that links to the real world. It was cool seeing the differences between the two worlds.
I think this book would entertain the younger side of YA, but I don't know if it would hit the older teens. As always, don't use my review as a decision to not read or read this book. Everyone has different tastes and if you end up liking this book, that's great. It just wasn't for me.
I would not say this is a cozy fantasy. I didn't really get cozy from this story seeing as mana surges and other things were actually raising the stakes. But also things in the magic world didn't make sense. One being Kat's world doesn't have Wi-Fi, but Brenda entered the coffeeshop specifically for the wifi. Something I notice with C.B. Lee is how fast pace her romances are. Kat and Brenda instalove after only one interaction was hard to believe and took me out of the story a few times especially half way. Not only the romance, but I felt like Brenda's personality changed from sounding like a mature and responsible teen, but really seemed immature. She also went from organized and have to do things in such a way to "just vibing". It really kind of bugged me. ALSO, maybe it's just me but they accepted the fact that they live in an alternate universe so easily. There was no freak out and even Brenda telling her friends was way too easy to just accept. It made it a little hard to stay into the story.
Yes, this book is fun. Yes, I like the alternate universe. Brenda and Kat are cute and honestly watching Brenda discover magic was great. This is for the D&D lovers, the Doctor Who fans who love subtle references. This has a fun fantasy world that is dealing with mana surges that can create dimensional doors that links to the real world. It was cool seeing the differences between the two worlds.
I think this book would entertain the younger side of YA, but I don't know if it would hit the older teens. As always, don't use my review as a decision to not read or read this book. Everyone has different tastes and if you end up liking this book, that's great. It just wasn't for me.
I would not say this is a cozy fantasy. I didn't really get cozy from this story seeing as mana surges and other things were actually raising the stakes. But also things in the magic world didn't make sense. One being Kat's world doesn't have Wi-Fi, but Brenda entered the coffeeshop specifically for the wifi. Something I notice with C.B. Lee is how fast pace her romances are. Kat and Brenda instalove after only one interaction was hard to believe and took me out of the story a few times especially half way. Not only the romance, but I felt like Brenda's personality changed from sounding like a mature and responsible teen, but really seemed immature. She also went from organized and have to do things in such a way to "just vibing". It really kind of bugged me. ALSO, maybe it's just me but they accepted the fact that they live in an alternate universe so easily. There was no freak out and even Brenda telling her friends was way too easy to just accept. It made it a little hard to stay into the story.
Coffeeshop in an alternative universe follows Brenda and Kat, two teenage girls from parallel universes with the quest of saving their respective worlds. By chance, their paths collide and an inter-dimensional romance is blossoming, but things are never easy when magical creatures, a secret society and navigating two worlds stand in their way.
Since the book features two parallel worlds, our world and a similar one where magic rules instead of electricity, it was very interesting to learn about the similarities and differences between them. There was so much to explore, especially in the magical world that there wasn’t enough space to properly explore or explain. There were a lot of creative ideas that at times were rushed through by inconsistent pacing. Especially in the second half of the book.
The book is told through two first person POVs. As someone who cares alot about the characters in order to enjoy a book, the dual pov didn’t quite work for me. While I enjoyed Kat’s narration, Brenda’s was a bit of hit and miss, as it often came off as pretty childish. Something that felt in contrast to her overall personality. Aside from Kat, I also enjoyed Brenda’s friend group and I wish we could have seen more of them.
The book didn’t quite hit the mark for me, even if there were parts I really enjoyed. One of the major factors for this was the fact that it was marketed as a cozy sapphic romance fantasy, and while it started out like that it soon became something else. The majority of the story didn’t even take place in a coffeeshop. It’s more a story about two girls trying to save their worlds, while also trying to make their inter-wordly relationship work.
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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc of the book in exchange for an honest review.
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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc of the book in exchange for an honest review.
I loved this so much! Cozy fantasy romance is my jam and this book was a delight from the first moment. I loved how different Brenda (determined, going a mile a minute) and Kay (apathetic, prankster) SEEMED. But once you get to know them their passion and love for their friends and family shone so brightly. I loved their meet-cute, their dynamic and how trusting they were of each other. I also loved their friends and family and how seamlessly they all supported the two MCs in both their romance and their epic quest. The worldbuilding was fabulous; a sweet spot of unique and intriguing without being confusing. I love the idea that there is an alternate universe out there that is so similar, but ya know with magic! This was a cozy fun adventure and even though the stakes were high, you knew that it would all be okay and you could just enjoy the ride!
Audiobook note: This was a dual-POV narration and it was fabulously done. Both characters had such unique voices and you could feel the personalities and emotions shining vividly.
Thanks to the publisher for a free eARC and ALC; my thoughts and review are my own.
Audiobook note: This was a dual-POV narration and it was fabulously done. Both characters had such unique voices and you could feel the personalities and emotions shining vividly.
Thanks to the publisher for a free eARC and ALC; my thoughts and review are my own.