Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by doogsley
The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
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
interwoven, down-on-their-luck character vignettes, soothed by talking cats who offer them the wisdom for Celestial Soul Searching and astrologically-relevant, decadent cafe feasts. like most cozy japanese lit, it was a very quaint and gentle read; i finished it in one sitting during a lunar planetary hour, pleased to read a book spoken in one of my favorite magical languages.
to my fellow astrologers, i offer you good and bad news, respectively: the astrological logic (mostly) checks out! it leans into western astrology and placidus house system, making it super beginner-friendly for the curious astrology enjoyer. as a saturn 1H dominant, i found myself nodding along with akari's self-flagellation problem, as well as clocking the first character's astrodrama.
on the other hand... they kept calling it 'mercury in retrograde.' no!! mercury either *is* or *isn't* retrograde - "retrograde" is not a space to occupy, but a direction of flow!! this could be a translation error and not an issue in the source material, but nonetheless it discombobulated me every time. it's such a newbie astrology mistake to make over and over in a book that is entrenched in the very subject.
(i also think there was a publication blunder re: the first vignette's rising sign?? they mentioned her being a taurus rising despite being a cap rising? unless she was just musing about astrology in general? idk!)
ultimately, this lil story ended up feeling flat. definitely cute, for sure cozy, a dollop of camp, but distant. which i think is okay for what it is tbh. sometimes we just gotta ingest a fluff piece filled with sentient cats who serve luscious delicacies entrenched in planetary remediation to soothe the soul. this makes me wanna fill the space with my own thoughtful, whimsical, cat-filled astrolostory, with a bit more depth. and proper verbiage for astrological events.
"understand yourself, and you'll be able to care for yourself. as long as you do that, you'll shine like the star that you are." 💫
to my fellow astrologers, i offer you good and bad news, respectively: the astrological logic (mostly) checks out! it leans into western astrology and placidus house system, making it super beginner-friendly for the curious astrology enjoyer. as a saturn 1H dominant, i found myself nodding along with akari's self-flagellation problem, as well as clocking the first character's astrodrama.
on the other hand... they kept calling it 'mercury in retrograde.' no!! mercury either *is* or *isn't* retrograde - "retrograde" is not a space to occupy, but a direction of flow!! this could be a translation error and not an issue in the source material, but nonetheless it discombobulated me every time. it's such a newbie astrology mistake to make over and over in a book that is entrenched in the very subject.
(i also think there was a publication blunder re: the first vignette's rising sign?? they mentioned her being a taurus rising despite being a cap rising? unless she was just musing about astrology in general? idk!)
ultimately, this lil story ended up feeling flat. definitely cute, for sure cozy, a dollop of camp, but distant. which i think is okay for what it is tbh. sometimes we just gotta ingest a fluff piece filled with sentient cats who serve luscious delicacies entrenched in planetary remediation to soothe the soul. this makes me wanna fill the space with my own thoughtful, whimsical, cat-filled astrolostory, with a bit more depth. and proper verbiage for astrological events.
"understand yourself, and you'll be able to care for yourself. as long as you do that, you'll shine like the star that you are." 💫