If you could travel back in time to relive one specific moment would you? But there are strings attatched. You can only go to one particular place. A small cafe in a backstreet in japan, the person you want to meet must have been there before, you can't leave your seat, you can't change what happened and most importantly you must finish your coffee before it goes cold. What happens if you break the rules? You become a ghost. Would you still do itl ?

This book focuses on 4 main characters who do just that. A woman who's boyfriend broke up with her, an old woman who's husband has Alzheimer's, one who wants one last meeting with her dead sister and lastly a mother who wants to travel to the future to meet her unborn child.

I've heard a lot about this book and was curious to read it. I didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped. Maybe because it was translated from Japanese or maybe it was the writing style. It just didn't seem to flow.

I enjoyed the stories but missed a connection with the characters. I liked the concept. I might be picking up the sequel.

A beautiful audiobook listen thatvtakes us on a magical storytelling journey based in a small cafe. It is no ordinary cafe. One special seat occasionally become free for a very short time. A coffee is offered that provides a one-time only chance for an occupant to time travel with the condition that you must return before the coffee gets cold. There are several different stories followed that offers us some very moving glimpses into the different lives of the customers. A character driven and emotive narrative. #beforethecoffeegetstold #toshikazukawaguchi #netgalley

Such a beautiful book and story had me hooked from the start, Loved every second and especially enjoyed the narrator.

I personally did not like the narration, but because I enjoy the stories I got used to her. The joy in the stories is how the author gets around the tight constraints of the time travel rules - they are very clever stories. I felt the narrator was trying to do something with her voice but wasn't successful. I wouldn't listen to a podcast by her. I have given the book 5 stars - the narration 3

I am so torn writing this review. I read the novel last year and it was 5 stars - I enjoyed the characters, the setting, the idea and the message.
However, I really struggled having this book narrated. The pace and tone were so different to how I read it previously and I didn’t feel as immersed with the story.

I would definitely recommend reading this book as it is beautiful

Unfortunately this was not a book I enjoyed. I thought the female characters were rather odd and not like real female characters. I’ve struggled in the past with getting my head around the Scandinavian names but always found it worth it in the end but the Japanese names proved too hard for me. That of course is my fault and not down to the author but it just added to my dislike of the book.

I really enjoyed this story. I liked the depth of emotions it was willing to explore and not shy away from the negative

This novel centres around a café in Tokyo where customers can be transported back in time according to a set of rules in order to reflect on life events and relationship dynamics.
Essentially the book compromises of four short stories, with four sets of people taking the journey back in time. I understand this was originally a screen play which explains why the rules of the time travel are repeated for each time travelling situation. Unfortunately this repetition made the book a little tedious and impaired my overall enjoyment.

In spite of the repetitive writing style the concept of the book is great and some pertinent issues give rise to some interesting and moving reflections. The audio version was very well narrated and enjoyable.

Overall a great concept but the execution is a little lacking in my view.

I am grateful to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy of this audiobook and am leaving my honest review voluntarily.



Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is an incredible book. It flows really well whilst being moving and heartwarming. I definitely understand why it is so well loved.

I love everything about this book! I like how each chapter is a different story, and how we get to learn more about the cafe and the main characters as each story progresses. The writing is beautiful and works so well as an audiobook. It made me smile, it made me cry. I cannot wait to read more from this author!

This has been on my list for a while as I have heard nothing but good things about this book series!

I’m glad I was finally able to dive into this book as it was a brilliant book with many different tales within it! The storytelling was beautiful and I loved that each of the stories were unique, but still intertwined with one another!

It was such an easy book to visualise and that’s what I look for in Fantasy/ Sci-Fi books. I breezed through this book and will definitely be picking up the rest of the series to add to my TBR list! I would recommend it to anyone who wants a quick read that hits some harder subjects but in a really beautiful way!

I listened to the audio version of this book.

I can’t fault the narrator, she had a great voice and expression in her reading.

The story was about a cafe where you can visit the past, but it’s with some rules. The book is written very simply, that could be the translation of it though. It’s descriptive to the point you know everything and too much about everything. The book was read in 4 chapters, but loads of little parts in those chapters.

I’ve very neutral about this book, can’t decide if I liked or disliked it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.

Before The Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi is a short book with a longlasting impact. A Tokyo café allows its patrons to travel back in time but, of course, there are rules. Not only must they drink the coffee before it gets cold but, nothing they do when in the past will have any impact on the present. For the patrons, it’s not about changing their future but, rather, reconciling their pasts. The four stories are ever so moving, particularly the woman who wants to spend one last moment with her husband back before Alzheimer’s had caused him to forget her. Like much Japanese fiction, the author has an uncanny ability to go deeper into the human psyche that is not often seen in western writing.

I did not like this book. I was excited for the premise and had been recommended it by friends, but it did not live up on two accounts.
I found the writing clunky. It was direct and felt like it was just dumping information on me. I'm happy to take this as a result of translation and a different culture.
The main thing I couldn't stand was the treatment of the women within this book. They are constantly displayed as being 'not like other girls'. They are beautiful, but only because they don't know their beauty. They are hit on by other men, but are only desirable because they turn them down in fun, smart ways.
It was painful to listen to.
The narration was good though.

A well narrated, thought provoking and emotional read in the style of parables set in an old fashioned and secluded cafe in Tokyo. The cafe is famous for its mysterious properties which allow customers to travel in time, but with a series of strict rules which must be followed.

The rules are so onerous that many people do not bother, especially since one of the rules is that going back cannot change the present. But we follow a handful of characters who feel compelled to see their loved ones that one extra time and explore the effects this may have.

A little repetitive but very strong at first

Probably H.G. Wells was not the inventor of time-travel narratives but "The Time Machine" might have been the first iconic story in that vein. So from the start, the genre has had philosophical overtones.

Toshikazu Kawaguchi establishes an interesting set of rules for time travel, the most intriguing being that visiting the past will not change anything about the present. And yet, the short trips in time are never for naught.

This book contains four stories of short-term time travelers, and that is a little to its detriment. Yes, there are of course differences in the details but the overarching plots are too similar to be totally convincing as a collection.

It is, though, a superior guide through what is important in life than anything written by John Strelecky, so that alone should be enough of a selling point.

This audiobook was narrated very well, I enjoyed listening to the narrator. I thought that the concept of this book was intriguing and was excited to see where it would take us. The first story was nothing special to me. The motivation to go back in time was very generic but perhaps this was done for accessibility and so the reader could relate to the character whilst getting to grips with the rules. I found the rest of the book very charming and whimsical and I was deeply moved by some of the stories, particularly the one about the man with Alzheimer’s. Overall I would recommend this book to customers who are fans of Matt Haig or are interested in character driven stories.

I thoroughly enjoyed the concept of the story and why the book has the title that it does, I found the first two chapters were solid, but I lost interest after that. It got somewhat receptive, and I believe it could have been shorter.

Some reviewers also said that its intent to make you cry was so obvious, and I get that. I love a book that can break my heart, but when it's done so purposefully it can really take you away from the story.

“Kazu still goes on believing that, no matter what difficulties people face, they will always have the strength to overcome them. It just takes heart. And if the chair can change someone's heart, it clearly has its purpose.

But with her cool expression, she will just say, "Drink the coffee before it gets cold.”

TW// death, dementia, terminal illness

It looks like a basic coffee shop in a back alley in Tokyo with a mysterious ability to remain cool even in the height of winter. That isn’t the only peculiar thing about the cafe: it also offers its customers the chance to travel back in time.

During the novel we meet 4 visitors who are hoping to travel back in time, all for very unique reasons: to confront the man who left them, receive a letter form their husband who has recently succumb to Alzheimer’s, to see their sister for the final time and to meet the daughter they never knew.

BUT!!! There are many rules and so this might not be quite the opportunity that it seems. The customers must sit in one particular seat that they cannot leave, they have to return to the present before the coffee gets cold and finally, they cannot change the present...

I think this is a love-hate book and for me I loved it!! I totally understand what people mean when they say it’s a book that makes you feel cosy inside. I enjoyed the short stories (all around 50 pages long) that focused on one character, with the underlying story about the cafe being continued throughout.

I honestly don’t think I’ve ever written a book quite like this one, it was heartwarming even though it discussed some extremely sad issues.

Highly recommend this one!