I think I missed judged this series. I read the first book and I don’t think I really appreciated it. I thought it was a bit boring. But upon reading this book I’ve changed my opinion of the story. I actually really like the characters and the flow. Not every story needs to be jam packed with action every second and even in the most seeming simplistic stories one can gleam some important lessons. Though a straight forward story that follows a similar pattern in every chapter, this book has a lot of heart.

My first time reaching for a book from the “Before coffee gets cold” series and I’m afraid it will be the last. I like simple things, but Kawaguchi’s writing has no charm to it. The structure and base elements of the four stories feel so repetitive and many characters are overly annoying.

The premise is always the same throughout the book and the series’ earlier installments. A local cafe allows customers to go back in time but with conditions including their inability to change the outcomes of past events. The people that interact with the time travelers remember their encounters but are unable to change fate. So much potential, but the author filled the pages with too much nonsense. I do like most of the endings, but when you enjoy only two pages out of each story, you cannot call the book pleasing. I don’t know if it’s the fault of translation or the writing, but the author simply doesn’t have the right flair. Everything here is too plain, and not in a nice way. The biggest issue of the writing is that the author spoon feeds us everything without leaving anything to the reader’s imagination. At any moment, we are being told how the characters are feeling without any room for nuance or subtlety.

I gave it an additional star as it did get me thinking. Time is always the best solution, but sometimes we don’t have enough of it to make things right, to finally give up pride and live without regrets. I really enjoyed the rejuvenation of the characters post time travel as we all have similar situations in life, so it is easy to relate a character’s redemption after making human mistakes.

At times the book seems loud, with characters contained in a small space shouting one over the other. I was hoping for some poetic prose to balance it out or Japanese life wisdom to pour over the pages, but no such thing transpired. Everything drags when it could just be an Instagram reel. Magical realism is such an enjoyable genre but there is an ocean of more interesting titles that make this little-not-so-lovely book feel a little stale.

Another stellar book of short stories from the series: Before the Coffee gets Cold — Where people go to the cafe to meet people or pets that they have lost. These are all stories about getting the chance to say goodbye and move forward with your life. It was another tear-jerker, moving, and heartwarming book. I related most to the second story — with the loss of a pet who was like a child to the woman. I also related to the last story as well — the girl with issues with her parent. I enjoy falling into the stories and sometimes wish it was possible to go back in time. I look forward to the next book in the series. Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, Hanover Square Press for this ARC - this is my honest review.

This is my fourth visit to Cafe Funiculi Funicula under Toshikazu Kawaguchi's careful guidance. In this set of stories, we seem to focus on grief in the coffee travels. I was a little disappointed to not read more about the cafe itself and to visit with some of the past cafe visitors, as has happened in the previous 3 books. I still love the magic of the cafe and the magic of the coffee and the magic in the healing process. This entire series often hovers between heartbreaking and heart healing. Before We Say Goodbye is no exception. I did have high expectations going into book #4. I found that, much like book #3, I didn't fall in love with it as deeply as I did books #1 and #2. However, this is a book series which I do recommend often to my patrons and I will continue to do so. Toshikazu Kawaguchi has a gift to make the reader feel incredibly big feelings in these short stories.

Full disclosure: I skipped the story involving a woman who goes back to visit her dog. My heart cannot handle stories with animals and I knew this would be well beyond what I could handle.

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

My love for this series is endless. Another touching & heartwarming journey in the cafe. If you liked the previous books, you’ll love this one.

I’m not crying, you are😭

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher & the author for a copy of the ARC!

I have thoroughly enjoyed Before the Coffee Gets Cold series - and the latest installment in the series certainly does not disappoint!



In Before We Say Goodbye, we return to Cafe Finiculi Finicula to travel in time with a new cast of characters. In the four new short stories we see a man who wants to talk with his wife one more time, a woman who wants to say goodbye to her dog, a woman who wants to answer a proposal, and the daughter who became estranged from her father.



Each short story is poignant with how it deals with loss, grief, guilt, and love. The stories were engaging and deeply heartfelt, and at times, gut wrenching. Like the others in the series, you feel and grapple with difficult emotions alongside the characters. I absolutely loved the second story about Apollo; it definitely brought me to tears. Though, I wish I got to see more of the staff in this one (like in the third book). Overall, would highly recommend!



Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade/Hanover Square press for the ARC!

Thank you NetGalley and Hanover Square Press for the ARC! Before We Say Goodbye is the fourth installment of Toshikazu Kawaguchi's Tales from the Cafe series and returns once again to the Cafe Funiculi Funicula with four new, emotional tales: The Husband, a man too swept up in his career to appreciate his family until a sudden illness snaps his life into focus, and he has one regret; The Farewell, a woman regrets not being awake for the passing of her beloved dog; The Proposal, a woman regrets not accepting her boyfriend's proposal; The Daughter, a daughter regrets turning her father away years before and her sorrow over his subsequent loss during the tsunami from the aftereffects of the earthquake (this story was modeled after Kawaguchi's "One More Cup of Coffee?" radio drama written on request and broadcast on the seventh anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake). Each story in Before We Say Goodbye is emotionally intense, but remains heart-warming overall.

BOOK REVIEW
Before We Say Goodbye by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

The 4th installment of the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series (and also my 4th book by Kawaguchi this year). 🎀💗☕️🌺🩷🌸

This is easily my favorite Before the Coffee Gets Cold book. For those unfamiliar, the series centers around Café Funiculi Funicula, a coffee shop with a reputation for supposedly allowing its visitors to travel back in time. Each series follows a new set of visitors all seeking to travel back in time (or to the future).

Toshikazu Kawaguchi explores a lot of new situations, which is incredibly exciting and refreshing to me. I don’t think I will ever get tired of this series, but this installment bolsters Kawaguchi’s ability as a writer and makes me even more excited for future iterations.

I adore the glimpses we get into the lives of the Cafe workers that appear in every story, especially given that this series is all connected by a location and less by the characters. Getting to know the Cafe employees really connects me to the series and it’s easily become one of my favorites.

This story is for you if you’re looking for a light, heartwarming story that values the human spirit and connection. Or if you’re a fan of magical realism or Japanese literature. Regardless, I highly recommend this book and the entire Before the Coffee Gets Cold Series. ☕️🌸

Thank you NetGalley and Hanover Square Press for the ability to read this beautiful ARC in exchange for an honest review. Before We Say Goodbye releases on 14 November 2023.

Before we say goodbye

I finished this book with a tear!

Before we say goodbye is the 4th book of Tales from the Café series, and it is formed by 4 short stories. The setting is the Funiculi Funicula Café which is a very peculiar coffee shop with its own magic. Costumers have a chance to go back in time, and they become fascinated by the idea of traveling to the past but there are very specific rules, and it is not as easy as it sounds.

If you have read the book series it will be nice to relate this one with the first one but if you haven’t it would not be a problem to follow these stories because each includes the background context. I only listened to Before the Coffee Gets Cold and used it as an introduction before grabbing this new one but I think even if I hadn’t listened to it, it wouldn’t have been a problem to connect with this one, which I found very easy to read, and heartwarming.

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing and Netgalley for the e-ARC.
Pub date: November 14th, 2023

This is the latest installment in the story of Café Funiculi Funicula, where the customers have the chance to time travel to reconnect with loved ones in the short time before their coffee gets cold. Overall, another enjoyable read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

Rated 3.5 stars

The 4th installment in the Before the Coffee gets Cold. 4 short stories situated in the Café Funiculi Funicula. All 4 stories are about loss and regret. Emotional and tugs at the heart strings. A distant husband, a dog, a missed opportunity for love, and an ungrateful daughter. Easy read and makes you think about how we treat the people in our lives.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this free Ebook. This review is 100% my own.

These books a beautiful and this might be my favorite one yet.

Thank you to netgalley for the advanced reader copy.

3.5*

Thank you NetGalley for giving me access to the e-arc. All of my opinions are my own.

I am so thankful to be able to read this novel. I absolutely loved the other three installments in this series. I enjoyed reading this last installment but I can’t say that it was as good as the other ones. I loved the shorts but they felt kind of short. This installment seems to be for people who loved the other installments in the series. We get to see characters that were introduced and got to know in the other installments. The way the writer can create a world where you get sucked in emotionally is a great storyteller. I don’t know how many times I have cried while reading these installments. I would highly recommend this to anyone who loves the series and wants to revise the world again. For anyone who has never read this series before I highly recommend the first installment first, Before the Coffee Gets Cold.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of book 4 in one of my favorite series. I’ve read them all but I have to say this book was by far my favorite. I was drawn to all four main characters and their families. This series is about a magic coffee shop that allows visitors to travel back in time. People with regrets are drawn to the shop to try to change the past to in turn, alter the future. When they discover changing the present is not an option, they must decide whether the risk of going back in time is worth it to see a loved one one last time. Each person in book four who visits the past touched my heart so much. Such a tender hearted story that will leave you thinking, who would you visit if you could go back and what would you say to them? I only wish they were longer ❤️

I was glad to see another title in this series, as they’re always fun. The short stories and the series itself are great because they’re all connected but you won’t miss much if you drop in the middle. Like the previous 2 books in the series, the constant explaining of the rules is a bit much.

This book seemed really short, although that may be just me wanting more. It is fascinating to see people why choose to go back in time for 15 minutes or so even if they can’t change the future. One man created a whole big plan to meet his fiancée there after he died, which assuaged his guilt in advance and hers after the fact.

I’d recommend this book to anyone interested in human relationships. Big thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I requested this as an ARC without having read the other books connected to this so I started it with a reasonable amount of confusion.

I cried a little during every section, but the Farewell really got me. I don’t think I’ve cried that hard in a while. Mutsuo is such a kind husband who recognizes and understands his wife, Sunao’s, grief. Apollo was truly the goodest pup ever and the nostalgia that hit me when Sunao sees him in the cafe in the past reminded me of losing my cat after 18 years. I resonated with it all so much that it broke my heart.

This book addresses so many dilemmas and challenges that we’re forced to deal with when grappling with grief. The ebbs and flows of life continuing on despite loss.

I will be going back and reading the backlist of this series. I value the message so much. Doing things for the sake of doing them, saying them, feeling them. For yourself, for closure.

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing, Hanover Square Press, and NetGalley for the arc. Truly enjoyed each minute with this work.

If you've read the other books in this series, the format is the same. Four stories of traveling to the past for the length of the warmth of a cup of coffee. This volume seemed more sad than previous books. It was centered around final goodbyes, one of which was a woman's pet dog. I definitely will recommend this book and the series, but this one will come with a gentle nudge that is more depressing than the others.

Kawaguchi's writing style has something so very emotional in it, that every short story in this book brought me to tears. This book is in line with the previous three in this series : short, easy to read, and deeply reflective on grief and love as an essential part of human life. I can only whole-heartedly recommend this to anyone looking for a beautiful book to gift to a loved one this autumn - I will definitely be buying a copy for my husband!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance review copy in return for an honest review.
This book was amazing but the dog story killed me and the whole book tugged at my heartstrings.

I've read every single book in this series and loved every single one! This one of course is no exception! Genuinely so happy I didn't have to wait till November to read it. This whole collection looks so pretty on my bookshelf.

This book follows the same format as the others, with different mini stories. As a reminder, there is a ghost who occupies one special seat in the back and only gets up once a day to use the bathroom. When this happens, someone else can sit in it and visit someone who also has been to the cafe. They must return before the coffee gets cold or else they become the next ghost.

There are four different stories in this book each dealing with someone wishing to say just one more thing to someone important to them. Bring some tissues. The wonderful thing about these series is for the most part, we can relate to each of these stories, either personally or we know someone similar. I love books that make me feel like I am reading about my life.

I believe this might be the final installment in the series, and if that is the case, I just want the author to know what immense comfort these books have brought me and thank you for writing them! I will definitely check out whatever the author comes up with next as well!