Series: The Full Moon Coffee Shop #1
Publication: 20th August 2024
Genre: Contemporary Magic Realism
4 stars
One Liner: Beautiful! (but not for everyone)
Cats are a symbol of good luck in Japan and might even help a person figure out their lives! The Full Moon Coffee Shop is a celestial enterprise with no fixed location. It finds people who need help and appears with food and advice.
In this book, a school teacher-turned-screenwriter, an ambitious manager, an actress, and a shy young man find guidance from an unexpected source. How do the cats of the coffee shop help their beloved customers?
The story comes in the first-person POV of Mizuki Serikawa and Akari Nayakama and the third-person POV of Takashi, each divided into neat sections.
My Thoughts:
Firstly, thanks to Lady Clem and Jayme for their reviews. I requested the book knowing what to expect. It has cats, astrology, and magic realism. My favorites!
This is a set of interconnected stories where each character gets the limelight in each section (but also has a teeny role in others). It's a short book too. I finished it in a single sitting.
The narrative is mellow and soothing almost throughout. The first-person POV makes this more of ‘telling’ than ‘showing’ but I still enjoyed it.
The descriptions of the food (not your regular kind) are magical. I would love to taste those teas, coffees, and desserts.
Astrology is the core element of the book (even the section titles are based on it). A bit strange that the book uses Western astrology when the setting and characters are Japanese. Maybe it was done to make it easier for readers to understand the concepts.
What I love the most is how various threads were connected as the story progressed. The stakes are low, so you won’t find any angst here. But what you will find is enough food for thought to introspect about ourselves, perspectives, actions, and decisions. Quite a few takeaways from the book if we want to.
Classical music is another theme in the book. But my lack of familiarity with it meant I couldn’t fully benefit from how cleverly the songs were selected for different situations.
The epilogue neatly ties up the loose ends and manages to surprise with another little story. I wish there was an author’s note.
The bits with mercury retrograde got me chuckling. Guess what, we are in the shadow phase for another one now after starting the year with it. Haha… though it’s Mercury who will be laughing!
To summarize, The Full Moon Coffee Shop is a sweet, heartwarming, and lovely read about second chances, understanding ourselves, and hoping for a better and happier future. This is the first book in the series, so I’ll be waiting for the next ones to be translated!
Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group (Ballantine), for the eARC.
#NetGalley #TheFullMoonCoffeeShop
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