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ninajansen_'s review
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, War, and Death
Moderate: Dementia
hendrixpants's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical content, Child death, Death of parent, and Terminal illness
fkshg8465's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Cute book. Similar to a number of books I read in college as part of my Japanese literature classes. More a book of short stories loosely tied together with a cafe, but good enough that I’ll read book two in the series next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death of parent, Child death, Dementia, and Pregnancy
readwthsam's review
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Child death, Death, and Terminal illness
jjjjo's review
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia
Moderate: Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Death, and Car accident
Minor: Child death
charliewarliee's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Before The Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi is a fabulous book about a coffee shop where a certain seat in a coffee shop can transport the user through time. I love how much Kawaguchi explores this universe, and I find the stories so wholesome and gut-wrenchingly sad at the same time. As soon as I finished this book, I ordered the 2nd book in the series as I was so excited to read them! If anyone is thinking about reading this book, I would definitely recommend it. The world that Kawaguchi has created is so fantastical and you create a massive attachment to these characters. I adore how much information is revealed throughout each of the stories, and how each story adds new information to the info bank in your brain about the cafe.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Dementia
Minor: Child death and Abortion
poppyharv's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Abortion, Alcohol, Car accident, Child death, and Chronic illness
georgiacatt's review
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-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? Yes
4.5
This book is split into four different sections of short stories but they are all set in the same cafe. At first it doesn’t seem as if they have any relevance to eachother but I really liked how they were linked back in at the end. It often has a very matter of fact tone from the author in a neutral & informative voice and occasionally has more intense emotional moments. A lot is left up to the reader and there are issues and mysteries in the book which don’t get answered which is nice. As you get to know the main characters more the plot also develops further and feels more of a cohesive story. This book was really different to anything i’ve ever read and is definitely something I would recommend to people who enjoy clever fantasy books but wanted a spin on the usual storylines.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Dementia
kappafrog's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This book has an intriguing premise, and I was intrigued enough to read to the end. I liked how the author explored the way that even very rule-restricted time travel could be extremely meaningful for people. I also liked the little community of characters.
However, the writing style was off-puttingly clunky. When I found out it was originally a play, it made more sense. Much more work should have gone into making it readable as a novel. There were many repetitive descriptions pointing out the obvious.
Most of the main characters are women, but it's obvious they were written by a man. They conform too closely to stock types with emphasis on familial duty. I was most intrigued by the inscrutable waitress Kazu, but her development was very haphazard.
Still, I liked reading this book and enjoy the premise enough to check out the sequels.
However, the writing style was off-puttingly clunky. When I found out it was originally a play, it made more sense. Much more work should have gone into making it readable as a novel. There were many repetitive descriptions pointing out the obvious.
Most of the main characters are women, but it's obvious they were written by a man. They conform too closely to stock types with emphasis on familial duty. I was most intrigued by the inscrutable waitress Kazu, but her development was very haphazard.
Still, I liked reading this book and enjoy the premise enough to check out the sequels.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Dementia, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Abortion, Child death, Medical content, Death, Grief, Infertility, and Terminal illness
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Alcohol
gromithorror's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
short and sweet! i read this book in just over a week and i enjoyed it very much, it is emotional but hopeful and i could easily recommend it to anyone :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Child death
Moderate: Pregnancy and Grief