Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Welcome to Fae Cafe

What a lovely book this was. Going into it I was like "What does a cosy read even mean" but this book is that. It's a little clumsy to get started and also when jumping scenes sometimes, but I really loved all the characters of this story.

It's a wonderful mix of sweet and funny, fae and the human world, action and emotional scenes. I was surprised this book actually had me tearing up just a little bit during one particular chapter.

I will say though, the plot thread of the FMC writing a book of the events and naming it the same as the series - could have done without that. But that's mostly just me.

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avisnoctua's review against another edition

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3.0

Binge-read most of this book in one night during an aweful migraine attack and it gave me exactly what I needed: a funny distraction from the existential dread of existing in a failing, anxiety-ridden flesh suit.
If you're here for a silly romcom that requires you to not think too hard about anything, you're in for a jolly good time:

everyone is an idiot (affectionately)
fairy assassins trying to figure out smartphones
said fairy assassins becoming barristas
a fairy prince too stupid(ly infatuated) to either kill or enchant the human girl
the Power of Grandmotherly LoveTM
weird fairy rules and weird obsessions with human food (one of my favourite aspects of fairy lore! My fae character in D&D has a similar relationship with food which never fails to deliver hilarious comedic moments)
a story so bad and ridiculous that it's good - the book obviously doesn't take itself seriously and tosses around fae romantasy clichés in such over-the-top way that it seems more like deliberate parody than unskilled writing imo
still the overuse of fae romance lingo made me cringe sooo hard - if I ever read the word "faeborn" again, I WILL have a stroke

I could go into all the details that made this book actually-not-that-good, but that's boring so I won't.
It's still better than ACOTAR and yes, I will die on that hill.

Content Warnings

silentrequiem's review against another edition

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dark lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

Would not consider this cozy. There are too many dark moments, high stakes for it to be cozy. It's cozy adjacent at times.

I enjoyed reading this book, but when I was done, I really am torn. I really did not like Cress, who was super controlling and arrogant. I didn't think Kate was very well defined as a character, and her storyline was all over the place. She started off a student and then suddenly just... stopped? And the resolution of everything was a giant deus ex machina that came out of left field and didn't really make sense with any of the groundwork laid down before.

That epilogue scene really pissed me off too. Maybe I've seen too many people who do the cake-smashing thing without the consent of the other party and it's always, ALWAYS a sign of one person lacking respect for the other. It's unnecessarily cruel and left a bad taste in my mouth, and amplified my misgivings about the book. Honestly, if it weren't for that scene, I probably would have ignored much of the rest of the issues.

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susanpevensie's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

very charming.

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bangiebangs's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

5*

This book... when I picked it up I thought this would be a sort of fae-human meet cute with a rom-com type story. I was wrong.

Kate accidentally kills a fae and a group of fae assassins come after her, led by a cold and cruel prince. They want her dead and try their best, but... things happen. Spells backfire. Fairy godmothers intervene.

This book was SUCH a roller coaster! The world-building is pretty straight-forward, but it's a richly populated world with a kind and wise grandmother, a fae world on the brink of war, and lots of coffee.

+ the humor! What happens when fae come to the human world and try to make sense of it, let alone live in it? Hilarious!
+ the emotions! I rarely cry when reading but there is one scene (iykyk) that just got me. A quiet, intense one. So well done, and so well-fitted into the story.

The relationship between Cress and Thelma could be my favorite thing about this book.

+ the ending! Like... a smaller roller coaster. So good.

- Kate. How is an aspiring author bad at words? Like, she misuses so many of them, and it's an ongoing joke in the story. I find that unbelievable and a bit annoying.
-

The subplot around the female assassins could have been fleshed out. Why did they leave the fairy realm, why are they hiding? What's the story with fairy knitting? This felt unfinished...

- the slavery. Yes, there is that, and I feel it's handled a bit nonchalantly? I get why it makes sense in the story

and omg when Cress thinks he's got Kate enslaved and orders her to die...

, but still..

Also, what a power imbalance at the end - Cress enslaves Kate and first makes her walk away when she doesn't want to, and then plays tricks on her for fun, but she can only uses emotional pressure/ pouting to make him do things? Idk.

Overall, this book was a real surprise! I really, really enjoyed reading this, and thought it is well-written. Some story points could be more fleshed out (and some characters don't really need to be there, ahem, Grayson), but overall this is a whole package. Enemies-to-lovers, slow burn, no spice (because YA, but oh the tension!), hilarious fae hijinks, cruel - really cruel - fae.

It's so good it's going on my comfort reads list... recommended!

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book_cryptid99's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Welcome to Fae Cafe!
If you need a cozy, fantasy romcom about fae being in a human realm where they definitely do not blend in (despite a human's best efforts to teach them how) - you'll love this book!

I will preface this by saying that this was not in my usual subgenre of reading material. Do I read fantasy? Yes, all the time. Do I read romance? Absolutely! Do I generally consume RomCom material in any form? Not to this extent, and not anything that is primarily RomCom as the main subgenre.

Now, for a bit more detailed - with some critiques...
First off, I love the dual POV of getting to see scenes from both Kate's and Cress's perspectives, even if some readers would deem it as a "rehashing" of information. To me, getting both sides of the story makes me love it even more, even if it means reading the "same scene" twice (realistically, in my opinion, they're two different scenes because of the difference in perspective, but I digress).

However, as someone who has read countless books from best-selling authors to self-published indie authors, and all sorts of authors in between, I do have a pet peeve for certain... linguistic quirks that are more common from indie authors... With this book, in particular, it was the overuse of the word faeborn. I won't lie, that is one that grated on me enough that I almost DNF'd the cozy, sweet, coffee-laced words because I will be honest - faeborn was used as often as a stereotypical valley girl uses "like" or at the very least, that's how it seemed. That is not to say that Jen's writing is bad by any means, just is a personal thing that did lower my rating of the book because it was enough that it impacted my enjoyment of the story. So if you're a reader with the pet peeve of a single word being overused - that is something to bear in mind when reading this book.

The pace is slow, it's gentle, and it's definitely softer than some popular best-sellers in the Fantasy/Romantasy genre, but that isn't a bad thing, especially if you prefer something that's not going to run you ragged through an emotional rollercoaster. It still has its ups and downs, it gets a little faster at times, and slow and steady at others. The ending does come across as a little rushed, and definitely leaves me with some questions, but it helps build anticipation for book number 2 of the High Court of the Coffee Bean!

With that being said - if you're looking for a cozy fae RomCom and the adventure of a human teaching four fae who came to the human realm with the intent to de-life her how to run a coffee shop and blend in the best they can, this is definitely the book for you! Grab a snuggly blanket, a pillow, a coffee/tea/cocoa of your choice, and join the fun...
Welcome to Fae Cafe! (Beware: Your beverage or pastry might be enchanted - Never trust the Fae)

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