A review by lfp_reading
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Short and sweet, Before the Coffee Gets Cold is a wholesome little read with a delightful atmosphere and beautiful morals. 

The prose read simply and, at times, slightly stilted, but this may be an issue with the translation. I also found that points—especially the 'rules' of the café —were unnecessarily repeated a few too many times, considering how short each story was; this time could have been better spent developing our cast of characters. Each character had a lot of potential, but being only around 200 pages, I don't feel like I spent enough time with them for them to stick with me for long after finishing. 

Although it likely won't stick with me forever, this was a sweet and heartfelt little book that I'm glad I read.