Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Before the Coffee Gets Cold

Author: Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Series: Before the Coffee Gets Cold

Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Publish Date: November 2020

Read: July 2025:

Story Synopsis: In Japan, a coffee shop exists with one seat that allows the sitter to take a trip back in time. The catch: you must return to present-day before your coffee gets cold. Through a few characters, we see how lives unfold and are intertwined through this magical time-traveling spot at a coffee house.

Why does this book beguile? I’ve seen this book at my local bookstore and I’ve seen people absolutely love it. Unfortunately, it was not for me. While I enjoyed the premise. I feel like the book was trying to be profound regarding grief and regret, but came off as pretentious to me. The magical realism element of time-travel/magic also felt weird. At the start of the novel, there were five rules, but then more got made up to finish the story. Meh.

Bookshop.Org Link*: Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Amazon.com Link*: Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

If you’re interested in this, read*: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

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