Thank you NetGalley for providing me with the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5/5 ⭐️

I was originally introduced to Tsujimura’s works through the movie adaptation of Lonely Castle in the Mirror. Since then, I’ve been meaning to read her books so I was very grateful to receive an ARC for Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon.

While it’s always a bit tricky to judge when it comes to translated works, I enjoyed the prose which had a nice flow and pacing to it. I was a little skeptical about the plot and how it was set up, though. Each chapter featured a new story about a person who wished to see a deceased love one, the reasons being quite varied. Not all characters appeared likeable and some stories were more interesting than others.

However, already from the second story onwards, you could find little connections between the cases beyond the central character Ayumi who is the one to bring the deceased and living together. With each story, we learn a little more about him and the final chapter brings everything to full circle in a way I had not expected. It is a good example of how big of an impact the ending to a story can have on the plot as a whole. Which is not to say that I didn’t enjoy the individual stories, but I was definitely impressed with how things tied up.

I can even say that I viewed characters I didn’t care for much in a different light upon completing the book. There is a lot of food for thought in regards to how differently people handle grief and how everyone has a burden or another to carry in their life. My only complaint in regards to the story would be that it ended very abruptly - this may sound like a contradiction as I just said that I liked how things come full circle. They do, but then a hint of a new beginning is shown and it almost felt as though things ended mid paragraph. On the bright side, it makes me eager to pick up the sequel.

On a more technical note, perhaps I am just nitpicking, but I feel that a translation feels more authentic when proper name conventions are used. There were lines where characters were called by their first and last name, and I’d be very surprised if the original spans wouldn’t use surname-first name instead. This book seems to switch back and forth between correct and incorrect name order, I am not sure if it’s deliberate or not but it felt as though the translator couldn’t decide whether to use English or Japanese name conventions.

This is the stories of people who want to see a loved one, one more time.

It's much like other Japanese translations that I've read like The Lantern of Lost Memories. Each chapter is a separate story until the end when the story of the go-between brings everyone together. Each character is completely different and has different motivations for wanting to use the go-between.

The first couple of stories were sad but I got very intrigued by the story of the go-between and the little links weaving into his story.

The excerpt from the sequel is immediately intriguing, I can't wait for that.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced ebook copy in exchange for an honest review.

If you enjoyed the series Before the Coffee Gets Cold, then you’ll probably lap this up. Personally, I liked this one better, probably because the stakes are higher. If you had the chance to meet someone again after their death, would you take it, and what might you tell them?

There were some interesting characters and dynamics, so I found this a reasonably quick and enjoyable read, but it would have benefited from more depth. It did feel like it was addressed to high school students, so everything had to be spelled out all too clearly. It seemed to be trying so hard to achieve emotional resonance that it wallowed instead in sentimentality, which is a shame because so much of Japanese literature thrives on ambiguity and a sense of unresolved wistfulness.

I didn't like this as much as Lonely Castle in the Mirror but it was still a really heartfelt and enjoyable read. The premise is that there is a boy called the 'Go-Between' who lets you have a request to see one person in the afterlife and speak to them again for a single night. The book feels like more of a series of interconnected stories as it mostly just looks at 4 different people and the ghosts they decide to request to visit. The end ties it up really neatly and actually goes back and focuses on the Go-Between himself and where he comes from, which was really cool and had more of a fantasy vibe to it like her last novel. I am excited to see where the story could go from here as there is a second book in this series coming out in English. I'd like for it to have felt a bit more like a cohesive novel and had a bit stronger of a plot but I did love the vibe of this.

I read this on recommendation after <i>Before the Coffee Gets Cold</i> and honestly I might have loved this even more. There is a quiet weight to each of these stories that feels so real as a discussion of grief and living after others have gone. That reality is embedded throughout: some gain closure and some can't, some are relieved of the weight and some take on more. Once time is up, it's up, and there will be no more. No second chances, no redos.

Each of the characters is well realised even in a relatively short space, and exist in the true complexity of humanity. No one here is flawless, we are not dealing with idealised characters, just people, in their complicated, beautiful, broken glory. Arashi's chapter in particular struck me with how painful it was, the lack of honesty with herself and others that she couldn't let go of and so never gained the closure she really needed. It was awful to read in how well it was done, and yet so accurate to how overwhelming every little thing can be as a teenage girl.

The internal monologue by Ayumi really hit me towards the end, trying to decipher whether these visiting ghosts are the true entirety of the person they were, or simply a collection of living memories about them. Are the dead ever entirely themselves again, or are they created by the living, by what lived on when they didn't, whether true or false or only half known? Like many things in this book there is no easy answer, inly the lingering question to dwell on after you finish reading.

I will definitely be picking up more books by this author. The translation is wonderfully done and has helped to capture a delicate, complicated spectrum of feelings throughout. I look forward to seeing more from both of them.

*Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.*

Lost Souls Meet Under A Full Moon is a lovely piece of fiction that gives us a glimpse into the lives of its characters and their grief. Other themes are also explored, such as guilt, obligation and jealousy. As the book is separated into episodes we meet quite a few characters but their stories interweave nicely. Each character is distinct and interesting but I didn’t get deeply attached to any of them. I felt like an outsider that was kind of watching from a high view point the whole time.
I did enjoy the story and the concept, it flowed well as a set of episodes. I would say there was slight repetition as to how the process of the reunions occur that was unneeded.
This would be great for a book club read, in terms of the themes and characters a lot could be discussed. Also for fans of Before the coffee gets cold as the concept is very similar.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

Lost Souls Meet under the Full Moon, is where people get 1 chance to meet a deceased person they wish to, for whatever reason. We meet 3-4 people who the go- between sets up meetings for and at the end we also get to know the behind the scenes story of the go- between.

I enjoyed the concept, the people and their stories except for one of them where a teenager decides to meet her dead best friend, I absolutely struggled with this part as it went on and on. Rest of the story was nice, emotional however I felt it lacked depth and had scope for it be impacting as it felt like something was missing.

What an amazing title! Right from the starting till the end of was amazing and wonderful. The narration was brilliant and the characters were mesmerizing. The connection of life, memories and human was penned so nicely, I loved reading each bit of this book.

🌕 This collection of stories explores the theme of meeting the departed through a mysterious intermediary.
Set on the night of a full moon, each story grants both the living and the departed a single meeting, from sundown to sunrise.
The narratives deeply delve into emotions of grief, guilt, and responsibilities, offering a strong reflection on these themes.
Stories Include:
• Beloved Icon – A tale capturing the essence of a life that feels mundane and unfulfilled through the connection between a devoted fan and an idol.
• The Rule of the Eldest Son – An eldest son visits his mother, confronting the heavy weight of familial expectations.
• The Rule of the Best Friend – A best friend navigates a tumultuous mix of guilt, shame, and jealousy.
• The Rule of Lost Love – Following a fiancè left in limbo, pondering the mysterious disappearance of his partner. This tale stands out as the most heartwarming and features the most significant twist, making it the most engaging in terms of mystery and emotional investment.
Despite the simplicity in the writing, this collection offers a unique take on grief and emotional struggles.
The characters’ journeys, though less immersive, are still relatable and thought-provoking.
Thank you to @netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for this review.

Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon continues the trend of Before the Coffee Gets Cold readalikes. Again, we have a mechanism through which people can do something supernatural within the framework of arbitrary and clearly defined rules. In this case, almost identical to The Chibineko Kitchen, there is a way for any living person to request a meeting with someone who died. As is well-established in this genre, Mizuki Tsujimura offers four distinct scenarios, and a unifying thread focused on the person who offers the 'go-between' services.

As these books go, Lost Souls was not the worst I have read. The four scenarios has some interesting dynamics and lively characters. Two, both centring men, a story of a bullish son meeting his elderly mother and a man trying to find his bride who mysteriously disappeared seven years ago, were quite run of the mill. The two scenarios centring women, the story of a fan meeting her female idol and two schoolfriends going from friend to rivals, were a bit more interesting. The idol story stood out because of the lively and eccentric characterisation of the idol, and the schoolfriends story tapped into 'My Brilliant Friend'-style teenage female friendship co-dependency, a dynamic I find fascinating. In all of these cases, it felt like the author set up something that could be interesting and have a bit more bite to it than these books normally do, but ultimately fell short. In the friends' story especially, something that was set up in quite a brutal way descended into the usual moralising of the 'Coffee' subgenre.

Mizuki Tsujimura's Lonely Castle in the Mirror had an interesting central idea (more suited for a manga than a novel), but suffered enormously from inconsistent pacing. Lost Souls is, overall, an improvement, but the pacing is still off. 60% of the text focuses on the four stories, and 40% revisits them again from the perspective of the go-between. The last 'story', that of the go-between, was the worst offender in terms of banality and blatant moralising. Mizuki Tsujimura set up some interesting themes - femicide, co-dependent friendships, class dynamics in Japan - and coped out of doing anything interesting with them. In a world where you can read Mieko Kawakami or Sayka Murata, why read this?

If you want slice of life Japanese fiction for this JapanJanuary, read There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura. If you like the sound of the Coffee books but are disappointed by them, the first 60% of Lost Souls is definitely a better read than that, so you can try it.

Thank you publisher and NetGalley for the review copy.

This was a wonderfully written and enjoyable book about the go-between who connects the living with the dead for one night. I really enjoyed reading about the various people who sought out the go-between and why, and my favourite chapter was definitely the one about the go-between himself and his experiences. I found it touching, exciting and at times, tragic and highly recommend reading this book. I can’t wait for the next instalment!

This is an excellent and emotional book about the 'go-between', a service that allows the living to speak with the dead.

Told in five parts, the first four interweaving stories show the different uses of the service. The reasons each person wants to speak with someone who has passed are as varied and personal as grief is to each of them.

The fifth story brings everything together from the perspective of the go-between service itself, including how it came to be and what's needed for it to work.

Grief, loss, unanswered questions, generational trauma, familial and societal pressure all play a part in the emotional landscape of this book.

Underlying everything runs the deeply personal common questions:
Is it selfish for the living to want to speak with the dead?
Who touched your life and made a difference?
Whose very existence shone a light into your life and made it bearable?
Who made you the person you are?

This is definitely not a light and meandering story. This is more of an emotional rollercoaster through grief, loss, and celebration of life.


*I received an advance reader copy for free, and I'm voluntarily leaving a review*

If you could meet someone who has already passed away and be able to speak to them for just one night under a full moon, who would you choose and what would you say? Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon is just that.

These heavyhearted characters are able to see their loved ones for one last time via a go-between. What I really liked was that the go-between's perspective and story was told as well.

The story will pull at your heartstrings - there is grief, there is love, there is selfishness, there are regrets and overall, there is a sense of closure for most of the characters.

I look forward to reading the sequel.

I felt it was all very touching, like a warm hug. I just wish the go-between was real. The stories were fresh and interesting .I thank netgalley and randomhouse for the eARC copy.

I absolutely adored this book and flew through it in two days! This is perfect for fans of ‘Before the coffee gets cold’ - I would even argue that I found this book even more immersive than Before the coffee, I preferred the characters backstories and emotional ties in this one and felt way more invested in each person and who they wanted to see for the last time. This was an emotional read but perfect for the cosy winter evenings - the way it was split into different stories made it so easy to dip in and out of! The writing style in this was so beautiful and I will definitely be recommending this to a lot of my friends - this book left me with a new appreciation for those around me and questioning what I’d want to say if I knew there was only one more time, or who I’d want to see if I only got one chance.

I enjoyed Lonely Castle in the Mirror so I had similar expectations for this book, but I was surprised by how much I liked this book. It feels slightly like Before the Coffee Gets Cold but I think what made it different and actually more interesting for me was the go-between. There were moments were it felt like things were slowing down, and parts that felt like they dragged on a bit which for me is why this isn't a five star read. But overall, a good book and I look forward to seeing if more come in this vein of work from this author.

→ 4.5 stars★

Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon is a collection of five interconnected stories that explore grief, love, and the lingering "what-ifs" of losing someone. Each tale follows individuals who, through the mysterious go-between, are granted one final meeting with a departed loved one on the night of a full moon.

The premise is poignant, and the stories—especially the first, fourth, and fifth—are deeply emotional. The last chapter ties everything together beautifully, offering reflections on the living’s need for closure and connection. While the book is touching and thought-provoking, its simplicity and lack of depth in some stories made it less impactful than expected.

I loved Lonely Castle in the Mirror by the author, so I was really looking forward to this book. But unfortunately it didn’t live up to my expectation. It is inevitable for a collection of short stories to leave a reader wanting more. I kept wanting more from each story. Also, character development wasn’t sufficient for me to connect with the story. But I know the author has a knack for character development if it’s a novel.

Another problem is that there are way too many Japanese books like this now where a person meets a departed. Before Coffee Gets Cold, The Lantern of Lost Memories, The Chibineko Kitchen. I’ve already read three books this year very similar to this, so this book didn’t stand out as special.

It’s a market saturation problem rather than the author’s fault, but I would like to see other works by the author that is more like Lonely Castle in the Mirror.

I had requested this book because I had read “Lonely castle in the mirror,” but when I started it I thought I had in my hands yet another copy of the hot coffee thread. Fortunately that was not the case even though it does not stray that far, only the level of cynicism is much higher. Unfortunately, moreover, it wasn't until the end that I realized that this was only the first book in a series, the target audience of which I don't even seem to be. Better, because I wasn't going to continue reading it.

Avevo richiesto questo libro perché avevo letto "Lonely castle in the mirror" ma quando l'ho cominciato ho pensato di avere tra le mani un'altra delle ennesime copie del filone del caffé caldo. Fortunatamente non é stato cosí anche se non ci si allontana poi tanto, solo il livello di cinismo é molto piú alto. Purtroppo inoltre, solo alla fine ho capito che si trattava solo del primo libro di una serie, il cui target non sembro nemmeno essere io. Meglio, perché non avrei proseguito.

I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

“When a life was lost, who did it belong to? What were those left behind meant to do with the incomprehensible, inescapable loss?”

Is there anyone you wish to see?
So asks the smart young man wearing a designer duffel coat to his clients who have come to him for a reunion with the person who once changed their life. But it is no ordinary reunion. The people they ask to see have passed away.
With each heart-breaking reunion, tantalizing clues are scattered to piece together the mind-blowing emotional truth behind the boy in the duffel coat.
So, who would you like to see?

If I were to ask myself, I couldn’t begin to explain what prompted me to request an ARC of this book. Fantasy is not a genre I willingly choose, and fantasy in the realm of faith and spirituality would hardly ever make it to my reading list. Yet, between this cover image and blurb, I was immediately captivated.

The author’s writing is powerful and emotionally charged in exploring themes of pain, regret, and longing. Even though all four stories are bound by a common theme, the author approaches them differently, artfully weaving the narrative in a way that hooks the reader. It makes you ponder on the meaning of life and death, and wonder about existence on the other side, while creating an aura of suspense.

An unusually deep, thought-provoking novel, the intersection of these stories resonates deep within you.

This ARC courtesy of @netgalley and Transworld Publishers.