It's cosy, it's set in Kyoto, it's about people getting their lives together - what's not to love?

Sadly I'm not an astrology lover and there is a lot of explaining about how star charts are supposed to work and how it effects the characters lives and I turned straight off. The overall messages are sweet and the talking cats idea is fun so I'm sure the right people will find it.

The Full Moon Coffee Shop unfortunately didn't meet my expectations. The description sounded so good - a café ran by cats that give advise based on astrology? Sign me up!
But, I was sad that the story mostly focused on the people that "needed" help and their relationships between each other. So the cats and the café and the astrology all fell too short in my opinion. It felt more like a self-help book, to be honest.
All the names were a little bit confusing and they barely even talked about birth charts, star signs and houses etc. So yes, I definitely expected more. In general, it should have been much longer because I at the end, I found myself to not care about any of the characters enough.
I still don't know what I should take with me from this book?

2.5 ☆ stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review :)

This was a cute and wholesome story that was beautifully written and translated. Reading it was calming and it transported me to another world entirely. I love a good emotional story with loveable characters, and this was exactly that.

Welcome to the Full Moon Coffee Shop. It only opens on evenings of full moon. It is also run by an enormous cat that talks. It is no ordinary coffee shop.

It only appears in front of people who feel lost inside. The book has four episodes, four visitors to the coffee shop in total. The cats consult each of them on their star charts, offer wisdom and let them know where they veered off course to set them back on the fated paths.

I couldn’t get into the star charts talks because personally I don’t really believe that astrology determines someone’s life and personality, so that’s the only reason why I took a star down. But it didn’t take away the joy of reading this book. The troubles the visitors of the coffee shop have are all very relatable while stakes are still low. I read one chapter before going to bed, and it entertained me enough but not too much so it made a perfect bedtime read.

I think you’d enjoy this book if you like quirky books where lost souls get a little bit of help to make a little bit of positive change in their life (like What You’re Looking for is in the Library and Dallergut Dream Department Store). Hope you enjoy it as much as I did if you pick this up!

4 to 4.5 🌟/5

This is lovely piece of Japanese fiction. Other than finding the astrology and horoscope parts a bit hard to follow, this was a nice cosy read. The messages inside about not being so hard on yourself, follow your passions etc were lovely and a great takeaway for a reader. I also loved how effortlessly it seemed the characters were woven together, like it's a nice surprise how the timelines merge. I think my favourite part of the book is the epilogue as this shows how's it's all woven together and looks at how the myth of if you treat cats well, they'll return the favour.

I would say if you enjoyed 'before the coffee gets cold' this would be another good one to pick up. It's also a fairly quick, cosy read so I'd also recommend it if that's what you're after.

Unfortunately the format this book comes in makes it very difficult to read. I have given it 3 stars because the little that I was able to read seems good, just not enough for a proper review.

The book is heartwarming and touching. I loved the description of Full Moon Coffee Shop and the characters are flawed, relatable and realistic.

The Full Moon Coffee Shop is a cake shop run by cats and the place is magical and it appears on the night of full moon, there is no fixed location. The cats at the shop help those human beings who get stuck in life or become demotivated. Also at the shop, they serve drinks and sweet treats to customers based on their need and The phases in life are determined by solar system planets.

The female scriptwriter Mizuki lives in Kyoto and has lost her touch in writing. She got stuck at her Mars phase. She makes an effort to get out of it and find her happiness. While a heartbroken tv director acknowledges his feelings and becomes accepting of the situation. He moves forward. The two other male entrepreneurs also visits the shop and receives life changing suggestions. I felt happy for Mizuki and Akari. The life phases provides a deep knowledge of life on love, work, relationships, getting to know yourself and creating your own happiness.

The characters have such a poignant back stories and I was deeply touched by them. You need to read this book. I loved the concept of talking cats, Coffee shop that appears at night time, Western solar system life phases and the food they serve based on the people’s needs.

Many Thanks to the Author and Publisher.

Gentle and sweet. I really loved this book and it’s beautifully written characters - and who doesn’t like a talking cat!