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clovetra's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
oh. i didn’t expect to be this sad. i am broken yet somehow not. this book is very confusing for my emotions. like on one hand i want to bawl my fucking eyes out, but on the other hand it’s somehow uplifting????
i’ll say this book really starts off slow. after reading the first chapter i really thought this was gonna be a 3-star for me. but my god that fucking second chapter. THAT SECOND CHAPTER. my grandpa is going thru dementia right now so i’m not kidding i was sobbing like a little baby. the third chapter was pretty sad as well, but then that final chapter hit me like a tonne of bricks. how is this book pulling on my major heart strings. first an old man with dementia and then a kid without her parent????????????? i think this book was engineered to psychologically break me /j
the characters felt pretty flat and one-dimensional apart from kei, and after the first chapter the plot felt kind of predictable. but i mean i think i just loved this book because it knew how to tug on my heartstrings.
i’m very conflicted with this because on the one hand yes i did cry and usually a book that makes me cry is an automatic 4-star (at least), but man the actual book itself was quite mediocre. i think if this book didn’t hit my tear triggers i would be very Meh on this.
i will say tho i really liked how when someone travels, if the people in the cafe are aware of the time travelling chair, they realise that person is from the future. idk i thought that was a neat addition you don’t see too often in books where people time-travel. like instant “oh hi ur from the future!” no ifs ands or buts.
anyways shout out to hirai she seems cool
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Medical content, and Dementia
Moderate: Child death, Car accident, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Abortion
experimentalaudioscene's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Short in page quantity and easy to read, but very repetitive which makes the narrative feel slower. This was more than a cozy sci-fi, it was also philosophical because the cafe can be interpreted figuratively as a thought experiment. The rules, while plentiful and arbitrary, makes the parts of the process accessible to the reader themselves to project into their own past or possible future. I don’t think I read this at the right time for me (I finished it for a book club) and I would have DNFed it under different circumstances but I don’t regret reading it, I don’t plan on re-reading any time soon.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Dementia, and Grief
Moderate: Medical content, Car accident, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Fatphobia, Suicide, and Fire/Fire injury
peanutfor15yrs's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Generally a “Meh” experience. Intriguing universe/world rules for time travel. However I probably wouldn’t have made it through the book without it being an audio book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Dementia, Grief, and Death of parent
lostinthelibrary's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I've been hearing great things about this book for a long time so I figured it was a good opportunity to recommend it to my book club and it didn't disappoint. I loved the tender storytelling with intriguing vignettes that all drew closer together by the end. The themes of loss and regret make this a very emotional book at times but it is handled with a gentleness and hope that were really refreshing. Very deserving of it's devoted fans!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Pregnancy
matcha_cat's review against another edition
emotional
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? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death
Minor: Car accident and Pregnancy
caitlinteresa's review against another edition
3.75
3.75/5 rounded up
In Tokyo, there is a cafeé that allows you to travel in time. The catch to this is that there are several rules-- one of which is that you only have until your cup of coffee gets cold to return to the present.
This book was a short, quick read. I found it to be a good blend of emotional and uplifting. I loved the characters and employees of the café. I enjoyed the way each chapter was set up to focus on a different character, but I did find myself longing for some substance. The emotional scenes would have hit a little harder had we had a chance to get to know the characters more through a plot-- even a small subplot!
A different reviewer had mentioned that this would have worked well as a play versus a book. I have to agree. I feel this would do well on a stage, but did not quite perform as a novel.
Overall, I enjoyed this, and I'm glad I explored a different type of novel than I tend to read.
In Tokyo, there is a cafeé that allows you to travel in time. The catch to this is that there are several rules-- one of which is that you only have until your cup of coffee gets cold to return to the present.
This book was a short, quick read. I found it to be a good blend of emotional and uplifting. I loved the characters and employees of the café. I enjoyed the way each chapter was set up to focus on a different character, but I did find myself longing for some substance. The emotional scenes would have hit a little harder had we had a chance to get to know the characters more through a plot-- even a small subplot!
A different reviewer had mentioned that this would have worked well as a play versus a book. I have to agree. I feel this would do well on a stage, but did not quite perform as a novel.
Overall, I enjoyed this, and I'm glad I explored a different type of novel than I tend to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia and Grief
Moderate: Death and Car accident
Minor: Abortion and Death of parent
itsbumley's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Car accident, and Alcohol
erikalynny's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Grief
Moderate: Dementia, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
kyriannaj's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I think a lot was lost in translation when it comes to the emotional pull of this book. The plot beats were emotional, but the writing and words used were very blunt and to the point. The world building around time travel was incredibly well done and drew me in. Although this is commonly talked about like a short story collection, it’s much more a novel with recurring characters, a singular setting, and plot points building on one another throughout. Apparently the author first wrote this as a play, and thinking about it like that makes perfect sense.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia and Grief
Moderate: Chronic illness, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
Minor: Death, Medical content, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
nineinchnails's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
i spent 60% of this book mildly disappointed by this book because it hadn't made me cry but it hit me like a truck. i thought the prose was a little plain (maybe because it was translated) but it kind of works for a story like this so i liked that! there was a couple of characters who weren't as memorable so their stories didn't really stick with me but the ones that did more than made up for that. i will probably reread this in the next couple of years :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Dementia, and Grief
Moderate: Car accident, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Grief