Book Three in the <I>Before the Coffee Gets Cold</I> series is another heart work of art by Toshikazu Kawaguchi.

This time, we are introduced to a second cafe which also has the magical ability to send someone back or forward in time. We learn a little more about the history of both cafes and the family who runs them.

Again, four stories tell four different journeys into time and the lessons learned. Hearts may not always be healed in these stories, but threads are offered so that the stitching of healing may begin. It's always left up to the traveler to finish the work. I appreciate how this mirrors true life. Not everything is magical in these stories.

This is a series that must be read in order. The first title is the strongest, but the preceding two titles carry the same weight and feeling. While all of the stories do not feel connected on the surface, they most definitely are. And the story of the cafe is woven through all of the stories in each book. The magic gathers its strength from the stories, so this is fitting. And, if you love the little cafe and the people who occupy it, you'll want to catch up with them. We see many of the characters again, with a small mention of how their life is going since their time of travel.

I listened to the first two titles on audio last year and immediately requested the digital ARC of <I>Before Your Memory Fades</I> when it appeared on Netgalley. If you have trouble with the print version, give the audio a try. I think I liked these stories on audio the best.

My sincere thanks to Netgalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, Hanover Square Press, and Toshikazu Kawaguchi for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book is part of the series but you do not need to read the whole thing to get the concept of the book. I love time travel books and was so excited to read this one and it had the weirdest parameters for time travel but it made for such a good book I love the chitchat between the workers at the café in the customers are really enjoyed the story and highly recommend it. I love books set in other countries in this certainly met that criteria. If you like time travel and odd tales you really need to read“Before your memory fades.“ it is certainly different from any time travel story I have read before and if they write another I would definitely want to read it. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Before your memory fades is another in this series, I loved the time travel and seeing each character's perspectives. It can get a little repetitive at times.

Another great visit to the café! I love reading these short stories and revisiting the characters I've grown very fond of over the last two books.

Much like the first two books in the series, there are parts of the story that are a bit repetitive such as the discussion of the rules multiple times and how you cannot change the present by visiting the past which take me out of the story a bit when I have to hear them over and over again. I do enjoy the characters and finding out why they are wanting to time travel. I love seeing how revisiting someone can alter your attitude and outlook on life even when your present day can't change all that much. It goes to show that you have the power each day to make your life what it is by how you choose to view it.

Read if you like:
-Short character stories within books
-Time travel
-Thinking about different perspectives

As I have said in previous reviews, I highly recommend that you read all of the books in this series in order so you might understand just a bit more.

The thought of visiting a café where you could visit the past or present is naturally intriguing, and Toshikazu Kawaguchi did not disappoint. I love the stories in this latest novel in the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series. In this particular novel, several of the stories dealt with locals and regulars to the café. I enjoyed all of the interconnectedness.

The quote at the end really resonated with me when I read it. "Something I strongly believe is that we mustn't allow the death of a person to eb the cause of unhappiness. The reason for that is simple: if we let everyone who dies be a cause for unhappiness, that would mean people are being born to become unhappy. But opposite in fact, it's true. People are always born for the sake of happiness."

4 out of 5 stars. Great quick read!

Thank you to Hanover Square Press and NetGalley for this complimentary e-arc for honest review.

Before Your Memory Fades by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (translated from Japenese by Geoffrey Trousselot)

⭐️⭐️⭐️

* Thank you to @netgalley and @harlequintradepublishing for providing a digital copy of Before Your Memory Fades in exchange of a honest review.

Another great addition to the series! I didn't enjoy this one as much as the first two books. The stories didn't impact me like the previous ones but I did enjoy them never the less.

I've always had a fraught relationship with this series. Even the first book (which I gave 5 stars and stand by that) felt manipulative and overwrought. The second installment felt even more so but still managed to get the appropriate response from me. This one failed to do so, didn't just feel manipulative (it is), it also feels repetitive and unimpactful. Maybe the tank of very niche going to the past to tell a loved one something vignettes has been wrung dry. I know I sound jaded (and after reading a bunch of books that felt too sickly sweet this week, maybe I am) but I couldn't connect to this book in the same way that I could with the others in the series. The writing is the same (which is fine) but the plots are also the same (which really hurts this entry into the franchise). If this series is to continue, the author needs to come up with something new to do with their "emotional" vignettes.

This has been out for a while and has lots of reviews, so don't have much to add. I plan to read the rest of the series, and I'll recommend this.

Thanks very much for the free review copy for review!!

I adore this series. The ideas and how they are executed are inspiring, tragic, heart-warming, you get the drift. I have really enjoyed the descriptions of the atmosphere and the desperation of the characters to get their chance in the cafe hot seat. I love the rules being strict and time-limited. This third book offers a second location with the chance to travel back in time, always with interesting results and insights for the characters.
I highly recommend this whole series for a holiday read or a gift for a reader in your life.

#BeforeYourMemoryFades #NetGalley #HarlequinPublishersHanoverSquarePress

I really love this series. There are a lot of characters to get straight when reading these books but that doesn't change the enjoyment of the stories. I would like to have a book in the series that delves into the magic of the cafe more but maybe that would take away the magic of the series. Overall, I will continue to read anything from the author.

I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ok so, I will admit that I haven't read the first two books in this series. It doesn't feel like it's absolutely necessary though? The author does a great job explaining what's going on.

The overall feel and theme of this book has got to be grief. People visit this café in Tokyo that allows one to travel in time-as long as they agree to all the rules. The last one being that you must finish your coffee before it gets cold or else you are stuck. We have four parts to this book that feature people who visit someone that they lost too soon.

Things do start to feel a bit repetitive and I find that there are a LOT of characters. This annoyance could just due to me not reading the first two books, but it was hard for me to track who was who sometimes. I found myself going a bit back and forth tracking the characters.

This book kind of feels like a sad but hopeful hug and I'll be sure to go back to read the first two.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing, Hanover Square Press, and Netgalley for the chance to review this ARC.

I really really like the stories told in this series of books! Both the individual stories and the continuing narrative about the families and workers at the cafes. That all being said, I do not know if it is a cultural difference in story telling, a product of perhaps how these stories are originally published (like are they short stories published over time and then combined to make the book), or something else, but the repetition got incredibly annoying while reading this third installment in the series. Yes, I appreciated that young Sachi's reciting of the rules before pouring the coffee was abridged but other moments felt repetitive, almost like a formal ritual in the story telling itself. Otherwise, in a similar fashion, this installment presented four new and interesting stories of people looking to reach out through time to connect with loved ones.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade for a copy of the book. This review is my own opinion.

If you could go back, who would you meet?

To begin, I should point out that this is book three of a series, and it really does matter. It’s almost like reading one continuous story- while each scenario is different, you have recurring characters, and nods towards past adventures. You want to read Before the Coffee Gets Cold, Before the Coffee Gets Cold: Tales from the Cafe, and then Before Your Memory Fades. You could, if you wanted, read each alone; but you would be missing a lot. Here, Nagare is at his mother’s cafe, Cafe Donna Donna, which has the same offer as Funiculi Funicula. His daughter, now fifteen, has been left in Tokyo to keep the coffee flowing and meet an important visitor. I loved Nagare’s character here, how he stepped in at the cafe to keep it open, and how he gave up his own chance to see his loved one so that they could do what they needed to do. Kazu is with him, as is her daughter, Sachi- seven years old and now pouring for the cafe.

While Sachi was my favorite, with her love of reading and inquisitive nature, all of the new characters spoke to me. I will admit that some of the characters/ scenarios in this one had a lot of things in common. The death of a lover, illness that was hidden…. it didn’t detract from each story, though. I loved that Sachi had the book of questions she was going through with cafe regulars that kind of gave us insights into their headspace and made them more real to me. I also loved that we got to know the character of Yukari, Nagare’s mother and the owner of Donna Donna through flashbacks and postcards, even if we never see her (she’s off in America helping a boy find his father).

For me, book one was a little choppy in it’s writing- it had been changed from a play to a novella and it showed a bit. Book two had much better pacing, and the writing style was smoother…. this book was perfect. I felt like it had a steady flow, but would slow at times to let you breathe- there’s some deep emotions here. I felt for these characters- I lived for them. I didn’t want to let go… which is why I will most likely be rereading all three books again when I have time to get ready for a series review after the fourth one (that’s right, there’s more!) is translated to english. Judging by the speed in which the books have been coming out translated in America should be late next year or the year after (here’s hoping anyway).

Sweet and deeply insightful, this book mesmerized me- just like the others. I would rate it five stars- definitely one of my favorites in the Magical Realism genre.

On the adult content scale, there’s not much really. There’s some language, and some scenarios may be hard emotionally, but there’s nothing here that I wouldn’t have handed to my niece when she was ten and wanting to read the “big books” (she’s actually why I talk about adult content in my reviews). I’d say this was written more for an older teen to adult, it’s absolutely fine for any age.


I was lucky enough to recieve an eARC of this book from Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing in exchange for an honest review. My thanks! I have actually already bought and received my paperback copy and am thinking of gifting atleast one copy to my reading buddies for Christmas.

This book is the absolute pinnacle of cozy fiction. Each tale crafted with care and thought. A little bit of sorrow weaved throughout, but the heartfelt narrative of the café that transcends time is one of my absolute favorites. I cannot recommend this series enough. The writing is immaculate. The delivery is a warm hug in a cup of coffee.

Thank you netgalley for the arc.

In a small back alley in Tokyo, a café has been selling brewed coffee for over a hundred years, but it also offers customers a unique experience: the chance to time travel. However, the journey doesn't come without risks, and those who make the trip to the past must obey strict rules. In each book, Kawaguchi introduces the readers to four customers who wish to time travel to confront their pasts.
This sequel takes place eight years after the second in Hokkaido and has the most vital connection to book one. The stories are all fascinating, but the first tale, The Daughter, destroyed me. This book mentions incidents from previous books quite a lot, so reading the first two or having a quick refresher might be necessary to orient yourself.
The COFFEE series is a fascinating concept that inspires me to reflect on the limited time with my friends and family. Through beautiful writing and exquisite storytelling, Kawaguchi asks the readers: what would you do if you could travel to the past to see your loved ones one last time?

In the third installment of the series, we are introduced to a new cafe, this time in Hakodate, where Negare, Kazu, and Sachi have taken over while Negare's mother, Yukari, is travelling in America. Despite the new setting, the rules for travelling to the past are the same: Nothing about the present will change, you can't move from your seat, and you only have until the coffee gets cold. 
What follows is more of the same, although some of the charm seems to have been lost. This could be that its the third book and there aren't new stories to tell- lots of visiting of loved ones who died young. It could also be that this is the first one I've read instead of listening to on audio. 
I found these stories and the writing to be repetitive and felt like I was being spoonfed the characters feelings at times through the inner dialogue. This could be in part due to translation but I just felt like I was being told things I already knew over and over again or character's feelings were already well-expressed through description and the inner dialogue wasn't necessary. 
I still enjoyed reading this book for the most part but it doesn't compare to my experience with the first book. I think it was such a beautiful and unique idea when the first book came out and now the story has grown a bit tired and the lessons learned are a bit pat: someone was unhappy, travels to the past to speak to someone again, and their life turns around. 
I definitely don't recommend starting here. In fact, I don't know that I'd recommend ending here. Stick with When the Coffee Gets Cold.

Adored the first book in the series. What a brilliant idea for a book but not sure if it needed to be a series. These books are thought-provoking and hopefully will make you cherish your loved ones and the precious time we are give with them. I sometimes got confused with who is who so having a notebook nearby is handy. A big thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for this ARC.

This was a slow-burn enjoyment for me. I wasn't completely invested in the first story because I was still getting used to how the universe worked (but that's on me for not reading the previous installments in the series before picking this up lol), but by the time the second story ended I was hooked. I loved the chararacters, even if I didn't have the experience of reading two other books with them. I was so invested in their lives and stories that by the time I finished the last chapter I was devastated by the ending. I do think that especially the third chapter was brought down by some unnecessary pages of detail after the time traveling was over. This, and some of the other parts of the book, definitely could have benefited from being more concise. But overall, this was a hugely emotional read that came *this* close to making me cry, and I highly recommend picking it up (even though maybe you should pick up the first two books first).

Before Your Memory Fades is the third installment of the Before The Coffee Gets Cold series. It picks up directly where the second novel, Tales From The Café leaves off. I thoroughly enjoyed the first novel and loved how the second one tied up loose ends; this third novel follows with the same pace, cadence, and story. For those who love the way the past and present and future intertwines and the mythology of the series, Before Your Memory Fades will feel like a warm welcome in an old and familiar place (the Cafe Funiculi Funicula, of course!)

For me, personally, Before Your Memory Fades made less of an impression on me than I expected. I think I had tired of the story; indeed, there was nothing necessarily new in this novel that the previous two had not delivered. The emotional payoff for me was spent, but this does not lessen the potential payoff of the novel for a fan of the series: There is a ghost, albeit a new one, in The Seat in the café and there are new eager patrons who come to use the time traveling device to correct some wrong they have committed in the past or have yet to commit in the future. Then there is the same terrible lesson they learn: that love and obligation are on the same sides of the coin and that they cannot change the events fated to them, but the knowledge they learn in the past or future can change their hearts and souls in their present.

We are reintroduced to familiar, new, and newish characters, Nagare and Kei's now teenaged daughter, Miki, and a new employee, Reiji, who works at another café in the "family", Café Donna Donna, which also has its own time-bending seat, its own ghost, and its own crew of café regulars, Nanako and Dr Saki Muraoka, There are familiar characters: Nagare and Kazu. There is also Kazu's daughter, Sachi, who is the newest Tokita woman to wield the power of the coffee and time travel. There are new patrons who arrive at the Café Donna Donna to rewrite their pasts: a daughter who seeks out her parents and a way to manifest her vengeance, a comedic celebrity who needs to tell his wife something important, and others.

All in all, Before Your Memory Fades delivers on its promise. It is a fantastic addition to the existing two novels. It continues the tradition of the Café Funiculi Funicula, giving the reader more of what they fell in love with in the first novel.

Before Your Memory Fades is an exquisite continuance of the Before the Coffee gets Cold series. In this book, we fall in love with new characters, as well as the old. All the stories are beautifully written and tug at our heartstrings.
I only gave this 3 stars because some parts got to be a bit repetitive as I have read the previous two books. However, I think this would be incredibly helpful to someone who has not read the previous books.