Reviews

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Only show reviews with written explanations

bookishevy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

If you could time travel, who would you meet? This is a question that I think all of us have thought of at least once, but four characters in this book actually get the opportunity to make this journey.

More than coffee is being served at an old back alley café in Tokyo. Local legend says customers get a chance to travel through time, but many of them don't go through with it after learning all of the rules, the most important one being they have to return to the present before their coffee gets cold.

I timed my coffee yesterday to see how long it would take to get to room temperature and it took around 25 minutes, which isn't a lot of time to make amends. But these four characters are up to the challenge, and I was very stressed over them making it back in time.

This quirky read warmed my heart as it explores missed opportunities and regret. My biggest takeaway is to live in the moment and let the people you love know how you feel while they're still here.

There are four long chapters, each focusing on a different character. The writing is a bit melancholy, but the stories move quickly despite dealing with heavy themes.

This is book one of a series. There are currently four books, and I think a fifth is on the way. I'm a sucka for anything dealing with time travel, so I'll be collecting them all.

Content Warnings

frostedpetals's review against another edition

Go to review page

lighthearted reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Content Warnings

rebeccaehockin's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.75

heatherwebb's review against another edition

Go to review page

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? N/A

5.0

inaworldoftrees's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional fast-paced

2.75

A light fluffy read, but the book seemed all too aware of its own tropes and yet used them anyway. While I appreciate the boldness, the lack of compensation by plot and character development was a bit disappointing.