Reviews with content warning for Terminal illness - Before the Coffee Gets Cold

Before the Coffee gets cold reflects on the idea of loss and change that people have not dealt with and plays on the question about the point of returning to the past if you cannot change the future. Is there any point? And what choice would you make if you had the option to return but no power to change the outcome?
It follows multiple kinds of relationships over a variation of characters and shows how their decisions change their mindsets of their present selves if the present hasn't even changed. The characters themselves are reoccurring so you meet them multiple times throughout the book and can see them develop as their experiences and choices effect them themselves even though the situation and life around them has not.
And man... the last two stories had me crying

Content Warnings

sarasreading's review

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emotional hopeful mysterious reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

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

3.5

This took me a bit to get into, as I didn't warm up to the characters for a while. The story really grew on me as it went on though. I didn't love the repetitive lines and over explaining (one of my usual pet peeves), but I'm taking into account this is a translated book, and it might read as more poetic in Japanese.

I love the concept, and the cafe, and I'm looking forward to possibly visiting again with the others in the series.

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kelly_e's review against another edition

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emotional reflective 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? No

3.0

Title: Before the Coffee Gets Cold
Author: Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Series: コーヒーが冷めないうちに #1
Genre: Magical Realism
Rating: 3.0
Pub Date: September 19, 2019

T H R E E • W O R D S

Peculiar • Intriguing • Fragmented

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Funiculi Funicula Café in Tokyo has been serving coffee for more than a hundred years. But this coffee shop is a little different, offering its customers the opportunity to travel back in time. This opportunity doesn't come without risks, and has some rules, most notedly that they must return before the coffee gets cold.

💭 T H O U G H T S

Written in four parts, Before the Coffee Gets Cold combines four interwoven stories, each following a different character who travels back in time. The subject matter was so appealing, unfortunately the execution didn't work for me. It felt overly repetitive, and I'd have liked the stories to be more interconnected. After learning that this was originally written as a screenplay, it explains a lot. I also think some things were lost in translation.

Overall, the concept could have been great, as this is a reflective book exploring relationships, love and why you'd want to travel to the past knowing you cannot change the present. But it reads more like a play than anything else.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of the time travel trope

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"At the end of the day, whether one returns to the past or travels to the future, the present doesn't change."

"Water flows from high places to low places. That is the nature of gravity."

Content Warnings

queenfury's review

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dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

3.0

Content Warnings

hannasreads's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

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

2.5

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namesmilo's review

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emotional hopeful relaxing slow-paced

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

3.0

a very nice concept that was executed well. the fact that all of the stories were connected made it quite a fascinating read. yet i still thought it was a little bit boring. the "twist" at the end was shocking tho, in a good way.

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fesd5's review

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reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

This book broaches on very intense emotional concepts while remaining calm and somewhat positive. It is an adaptation of the play by the same name (by the same author) and this is clear to see in how the characters act, speak and how the setting is affected. Translated for Japanese, it is a bit flat at times, but understandably so and seems otherwise to be a fast and easy read.

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