cozybooktraveller 's review for:

A Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe by C.B. Lee

3.0

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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.