What a wonderful thought provoking story! I was not expecting it to be quite so sad, I certainly wasn’t expecting to cry but this dragged out all sorts of emotions for me! Narration was enjoyable too.

In an unfashionable basement café in Tokyo you can sit in a certain seat and when your coffee is poured you travel back into the past. Once there you can talk to whoever is in the café and although you cannot change the present hopefully, you can gain some insight into your situation. You can't move from the seat and you must finished your coffee before it grows cold or you will stay in the past as a ghost.

This book started off badly for me with the first time-traveller. A smart, organised businesswomen she has turned into a bibbling mess because her boyfriend has left her. Maybe in the print version she is just sad but the narrated dialogue seemed to be constantly on the verge of hysteria. (cue eye-roll)

In the second chapter it calms down a little but the story is still sentimental and clichéd.
The restrictions of the time-travel, which are repeated again and again, become a little claustrophobic and lead to contrived situations and a lot of exposition.
Although the characters have difficulty express their feelings, the author does not and leaves almost no space for the readers' imagination.
In addition to the over-described emotions, certain terms were unnecessarily explained on a simplistic level more suitable for a middle-grade children's book. If the author really felt the reader needed an explanation of these relatively common terms they would have been better as footnotes.

Disappointingly sentimental and superficial with narration that, especially for the first part, was high-pitched and breathless like an over-excited anime character.

A generous 3 stars because I realise this wasn't the book I expected it to be and also because I think some of my issues were a question of culture clash.
Also 3 stars for the narration because although I found it irritating it seemed to suit the tone of the book.

I have attempted to read this story multiple times; but there was something about it that made me struggle to stay invested. There are multiple characters introduced too quickly, with similar sounding names that made it too difficult to separate everyone

Before The Coffee Gets Cold by Toshika Kawaguchi, Narrated by Arina Li

I enjoyed listening to this book, though I did find the chapters quite long to listen to, over an hour each. I think the narrator did a fantastic job of keeping the story going. It is a widely read and regarded book, and I can understand why. It is lovely, philosophical, and undoubtedly cosy to read. The story's concept is original, the characters are all oddballs, and the message is deeply personal. What would you want to know if you could go back in time to that particular day or even forward to a specific date? What would alter your way of life? How are you going to handle regret moving forward? The answer is on the last page, and it will change the way you see everything.
So grab a copy of this book and maybe some tissues, settle in at a cosy cafe, and read it while sipping a warm cup of coffee. Oh, and make sure to down the coffee before it cools off.

#bookreviewer #summerreading #GeneralFictiobAdult #beforethecoffeegetscold

TOSHIKAZU KAWAGUCHI

In a quiet back alley of Tokyo, there is a basement cafe, where you can go to travel back or forwards in time.
The deal is that you can only stay as long as it takes for your coffee to go cold.
We follow four separate people who use the time travelling chair to find healing and closure for painful situations in their lives.

I loved the idea of this book, and over all it did deliver.
I was completely charmed by the story, at times confused, but ultimately I fell in love with this quirky and original read.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

With thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio uk for an audio arc of this title.

Absolutely love the audiobook! Excellent experience. Just like reading the book you are transported to the small caffe to witness the stories. One of the best books that was published in recent years! I highly recommend!

This book has been on my TBR for a long while so to get the audiobook ARC was a great treat.

It’s well worth the hype and is definitely one of those books that you would read over again.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers Macmillan UK Audio for sending me a digital arc of the audiobook of Before The Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi and narrated by Arina Li to read and review.

Before The Coffee Gets Cold is one of my favourite books and it was a joy to reread it with the audiobook version. I could not put it down and finished it in three days!

This book is beautifully written, reflective and poignant. Before The Coffee Gets Cold explores the question ‘what would you do if you could visit the past?’ In the backstreets of Tokyo, a small basement coffee shop is rumoured to have the ability to send you back in time, but there’s a catch, you can only visit someone who has already been to the cafe and whatever you do in the past will not change the present. Most importantly, while you are in the past you must not let your coffee get cold.

I really enjoyed listening to Arina Li narrate the book, however, I did have to speed it up to 1.25x as the narration felt rather slow at the default 1x speed.

I really enjoyed this audiobook. This is the very first time I have listened to/read this novel but I had heard so many fantastic things about it that I couldn’t WAIT to delve in. This audiobook was fantastic. The narrative was simplistic to follow, with a unique thread throughout. I loved the way in which the coffee shop felt like the centre point of the whole novel.

This is one book that doesn’t require any introduction. It’s a well known and accepted book and I could see exactly why it is so. It is beautiful, philosophical and a definite cosy read. Definitely recommended
As for the audio, it was wonderful! The narrator was clear and at times platonic. I think it conveyed the vibes just right. Overall a great read!!

Bittersweet and tender, this is not your typical book revolving around time travel. In ‘Before the coffee gets cold’, the idea of time travel for me acts more like a mirror which allows for reflection and realisation. I’d describe it as a collection of short stories that each deliver a sensitive insight into the experience of each character; mastered in a complete heartwarming manner. The characters are each quirky, the concept of the story absolutely unique, and the message very personal. If you could travel back to that specific day or even forward to a particular date, what would you want to know? What would change your life? How will you live with regret going forward? You’ll find your answer on the final page, and it will change your whole perception.
So take a copy of this book (and perhaps some tissues for when needed), cuddle up in a cozy cafe, and savor each page whilst you enjoy a fresh and homely cup of coffee. Oh, and don’t forget to drink the coffee before it gets cold☕️

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. I was quite curious to read or listen to this book because it seems to have appealed to a lot of people, and I was attracted by the cover featuring a cat. Alas, no cat in this story! It's the second time it happens to me, I will not be fooled a third time!

Anyway, apart from that, I must say the novel has not completely convinced me. The narration is quite soothing (the narrator's voice also helped with that) and I did not find the story unpleasing, but I did not manage to get attached to any of the characters either and I found the whole concept of this type of time travel a bit ... useless? I mean, I can see the point of it, people who time travel not to change things, but in the end just to be at peace with themselves... I guess it just did not manage to engage me enough. I also found the style a bit repetitive and quite monotonous at times.

I can see why people like this story, or stories, I guess it's just not for me. But please do not be discouraged if you feel like reading this, I am only sharing my personal opinion!

You can't change the past, but knowing the past better can change your heart.

This book could be somewhat repetitive, was very sentimental, and the narrator didn't always bring the characters to life for me, but I still really loved it.

The idea of a time travel cafe, discovering what you need 'before the coffee gets cold' and just the power of that extra little bit of human interaction, even when the rules seem so set against the time travel being able to affect any real change was just so compelling, that the sentimentality and the outcomes for each character still felt plausible. There are parts I've already forgotten (though that may have been different if I'd read the book, I didn't love the narration), but there are parts that I will remember for a long time.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve been wanting to read this book for a very very long time. I’ve been recommended it by everyone and I just didn’t get around to reading out so when this popped up on my feed I was so happy to request it and when it was accepted I was absolutely thrilled. I sped read through this book. It was absolutely amazing. It was relatable. It was heartfelt and if you start thinking more more about the context and what happens, you can really deep dive into the backstory of all these different characters and you get to know this family and people who work there and their lives, and the reasons why people would use this and how they can come for themselves and I just think it’s such a unique and lovely book. I would read more from this author in the future I will be continuing on the series hundred percent would recommend

Thank you very much to Netgalley UK and Macmillan UK Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest opinion. I was excited to see this older title on Netgalley (the audio originally published in 2019), because I had seen many readers online talk about it and love it. Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi, written in Japanese and translated to English by Geoffrey Trousselot, is a collection of four interconnected stories set in a café that offers customers a unique experience: the chance to travel back in time.
We follow new and regular customers, who want to reconnect with loved ones in the past. I will try to give to a brief overview of the general topic of each story, but keep it spoiler free.
In the first story, a young professional woman’s boyfriend breaks up with her to move to America, and she is too stunned to speak. She is intrigued by the café’s time travel opportunity, and sees it as her only chance to get closure, even though she cannot change the present. For me, this story had the least emotional impact, and I couldn’t connect with the main character. I found her quite insufferable, constantly ranting about the rules, that didn’t seem that difficult to follow at all (although there were other plot holes and things that didn’t make sense or weren’t explained), and repeating the same thoughts. I have to admit that I was quite close to dnf’ing the audio book after this story, but I’m, glad that I kept listening, because I liked the following stories more.
The second story follows a woman whose husband has Alzheimer’s. This story didn’t quite have the emotional impact on me that I expected (probably because I had heard many people say that this story made them cry), but I didn’t feel as invested in their love story because of the focus of subservience and because of how the husband treated his wife before his symptoms. I liked this story a lot more than the first one though.
The third story is about a frequent customer in the café whose sister often comes to visit and to try to convince her to come home, where she works at their parent’s inn. The main character often hides from her sister, lies to her, and is generally rude, but she undergoes major character development. I liked the sisterly bond that had to be unearthed under layers and layers of obligations and disappointments.
The fourth story was my favourite. It’s about one of the café workers who has health issues related to her heart condition and her pregnancy. She’s one of the rare people who goes into the future to speak to her unborn child. While I didn’t love the theme of sacrifice, I was invested in these characters’ stories the most. One particular element was very cleverly done.
All in all, Before the Coffee Gets Cold is about finding closure and the message to live your life in the moment (literally to drink your coffee before it gets cold). I really liked the concept, but had difficulties to connect with many of the characters. This might have been because of the way it was written or translated, or perhaps this was just a “me thing”, because I am a very character driven reader and felt like these lacked depth, which read so weird in this very emotional context.
The audiobook was very well produced, and the narrator Arina Li was really good. The text tended to be somewhat repetitive at times and rather simple, but her narration gave nuance to the more one-dimensional characters.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold
By Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Translator; Geoffrey Trousselot
Narrated by Arina Li
Audiobook
Gifted; thank you to MacMillan UK Audio and NetGalley
Goodreads Rating: 3.73
My Rating: 5 stars

I had heard a little bit here and there about this book mostly good with a few negatives but based on a couple of reviews from various book-related social media pages I was excited to read it!

It made me think about how precious time is and how putting a little thought into a small handful of moments (or the time it takes the coffee to cool) you can change the world or at least a small part of it for the better. It made me tear up a little bit and I have no doubt the rest of the books will continue to do so.

I love magical realism it is one of my favourite elements in literature and I equally enjoyed it in this context. The mix of sci-fi elements appealed to the Whovian in me so I automatically love it if it’s done well which I think in this book it is, only one of the reasons the story is so heartbreaking and the characters were written in this scenario so brilliantly. The book was short and I feel that makes it impactful. I maybe wouldn’t binge this series (although I read Tales From the Cafe immediately after) but I would definitely pick the rest of the series up when I am in the mood for this type of read.

I felt like the translation conveyed the original meaning amazingly and it flowed so beautifully it flew by so fast I almost want to listen to it again.

Conclusion: I love

An incredibly creative and unique book all within a single coffee shop. It was fascinating to learn the backstories of the people in the coffee shop and also their connections to each other. Their different motivations for time travel when the act would change nothing about their present was interesting and incredibly beautiful. It’s a book that is primarily filled with hope in one form or another, as well as a whole lot of love and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I received a free copy of this book. All views are my own.

The premise of this book is absolutely amazing: if you could go back in time to speak to someone again, even if it had no influence on the present, who would you speak to? What would you talk about? I loved the idea of this and enjoyed the different circumstances we learned about, each character’s situation different and intriguing. I do think the execution fell flat though, with the writing feeling jarring at times and a lot of repetition which unnecessarily padded the book. Cut this out and maybe we could’ve had a fifth short story! So much love for the idea though, looking forward to reading the next one for more of the same.

I'm sorry but this was absolutely dreadful. I have never read a more boring and tedious book before. I know that Japanese fiction can be a bit like that but this was beyond frustrating despite an interesting premise.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold, by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

A beautifully written story. A slow build, which will warm your heart and break it all at once.

The narration was lovely, although I did speed it up a little as it was very slow.

4 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.