A CAFE RUN BY TALKING CATS??? HELL YEAHHHHHHH
okay in all seriousness though, I couldn’t really take this book seriously LOL because the cats were walking on 2 legs and were acting like humans :( like nooooooo you were so close but so far….

I’ve enjoyed several translated Japanese reads in the last year or two, but this one was decidedly not my cup of tea (ha). The hyperfocus on astrology charts was unexpected and, for me, unwelcome. And while the plotlines did loosely weave together at the end, it felt like the story lacked a through-line that moved it forward. The brief sections on each character’s experience with the cafe felt superficial and strained, more of a magazine horoscope notation than a more comprehensive short story. The descriptions of the food and beverage offerings were pretty creative, though, and I appreciate what the author was trying to do in terms of guiding readers towards self-reflection some kind.

Reading this book was like taking a nice cleansing breath. I enjoyed the experience and felt refreshed for having read it. No notes!

The Full Moon Coffee Shop written by Mai Mochizuki and translated by Jesse Kirkwood is based on the Japanese tradition of the maneki-neko or beckoning cat. The book requires the suspension of disbelief - magical cafes, astral charts, cats who run magical cafes. However, for the kind lessons it teaches, I willingly go along. In a world with much negativity, it is wonderful to see a reminder of the vast impacts a seemingly small act of kindness can have.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2024/11/the-full-moon-coffee-shop.html

Reviewed for NetGalley.

A charming piece of translated fiction, if you like a lot of the books coming out of Japan recently (think: lots of cats) then you're bound to enjoy this one too!

I thought this book was going to be like the Before the Coffee Goes Cold and The Dallerguy Dream
Department Store and in a way it is. It’s a fun story with lots of magical realism but this is based on the Japanese myth that if you help a cat they will return the favor.
The Full Moon Coffee Shop has no set location and no set time of opening. It opens whenever people nearby are at a critical junction but the most magical thing about this special cafe is that it’s managed and run by cats! Using astrology charts the cats help 4 patrons figure out why they are stuck in their lives and how to make changes that will bring them happiness.
I love the style in which this book is written. Like the two books I previously mentioned, each chapter is a freestanding vignette that has some overlap with the other chapters. I found the bits about Astrology to be interesting and I really enjoyed the lightness and length of this. It’s a great pallet cleanser for after a long and/or heavy read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Ballentine for an advanced copy of this. I’m sorry it took me so long to get to. The Full Moon Coffee Shop hit the shelves August 20.

This is a sweet and charming little book. Set in Japan, author Mai Mochizuki relates the stories of several people who seem lost in life. All of them unexpectedly come across the Full Moon Coffee Shop, which "magically" appears in various locations. Operated by a band of talking cats, these coffee shop cats guide their human customers on a journey of self-realization. And, as you can guess, these cats give their customers exactly what is needed to steer each human customer into a better and more satisfying life.

Yes, the story is implausible and more than a "little out there," but it's also charming, magical, and full of wisdom. A lovely read.

Thank you to #RandomHousePublishingGroup and #NetGalley for providing an electronic ARC of #TheFullMoonCoffeeShop.

Who wouldn't want to visit a magical coffee shop run by cats??

This was a really enchanting story. It's the perfect rainy day read. It's one of those books where you pick it up because you just know you're going to love it. It's interesting, cozy, and has freaking cats.

As someone who doesn't know a lot about astrology it was just a touch difficult to understand in the beginning but the author does a great job at helping you into the world.

**3.5 stars**

This was like eating a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup on a bad day…pure comfort food. I rarely read cozy fiction like this but this was so charming and sweet that I am glad I did. Highly recommend for cat lovers and cozy fiction lovers.

I see on Goodreads this is the first in a series, if the others are translated into English I will read them for sure.

*Thanks to the author and publisher for the e-arc I received via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.**

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC.

Another one for the shelf of cozy magical realism, with brethren like Before the Coffee Gets Cold and We'll Prescribe You a Cat. Somehow, this sort of book doesn't get old for me. There's a nugget of some wider world beyond the human one, yet it remains focused on the growth of the individuals and the connections between them. It also sets up wonderfully for a sequel if the author chooses to, and I hope there will be.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7002784800

https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/dd7c1b7c-28b2-4e0c-a4a1-5ccae6104332

Check out this review of The Full Moon Coffee Shop on Fable. https://fable.co/review/fad6568a-b1b0-4f09-b2f1-1afc651237fc/share

This book was first released in 2020 but it got a new shiny edition that was translated to English just a couple months ago and I had to read it because it’s literally about a coffee shop run by cats which makes it heartwarming as heck.
Though it does lean really heavily into astrology which I am not into whatsoever. I’ve seen so many instagram posts that are like “Sagittarius are like this” and I’m like no, not even the slightest bit is this true about me. Anyways, I love the concept of this book. These mysterious cats appear out of the blue when people are facing their problems, and read astrology to give advice to the main human characters. The main characters are intertwined and it’s fun to discover the connections between them all. Bonus are the illustrations and descriptions of food. It all sounds so good and I don’t even drink coffee though I do love the smell of it. I wish I could visit the full moon coffee shop myself. Again, not into astrology, so I didn’t really enjoy the astrology parts of the story. However, it is very relatable how the characters reflect on themselves at the cafe to improve and find a solution to make their own way in life. But hey if you like astrology and cats and coffee then the stars have aligned because you were clearly born to read this book. I don’t make the rules.

This was a very fast read and very interesting collection of short stories that revolve around the same people all going to this magical cafe run by cats. It’s a little weird at first especially with all the astrology talk but by the end you see how it all comes together.

This was a cozy and magical fantasy filled with cats and astrology. I found myself enjoying this book and the interweaving stories and lives of the characters. This coffee shop is a magical place and I wish I could go to one and have my star chart read by talking cats. This was also a very fast read, but you don’t want to read it in a rush. It’s the kind of book that you want to curl up on the couch with a blanket while reading.

Overall, this was a cozy fantasy that I recommend!

tl;dr
The literary equivalent of a good cup of coffee: A warm, comforting piece that goes by quickly with no complications.

Thoughts
This book is cozy AF. A magical coffee shop shows up once every full moon, revealing itself to weary adults who feel lost in life. Also, cats do horoscope readings. If that sounds like your cup of tea (or coffee, as it were), you can probably stop reading this review and just go read the book. If you're scanning the reviews wondering "Sure that's a premise, but what is this book ABOUT?" I am here to tell you that the premise is it. Full Moon Coffee Shop is a series of vignettes from various POVs that follow the same outline. An adult is struggling with their life. They find a coffee shop. A horoscope reading happens, and they decide to make changes in their life. Move on to the next adult. It's extremely charming and low stakes, without too many complications or plot twists. There is a narrow thread that stitches everyone's stories together, so we don't fully abandon characters after their chapter is over, but overall the book feels like it's designed to be a comfort read without any extra complications. There's a bittersweet nostalgia at play; you can practically hear the piano soundtrack set against a beautifully moonlit scene as characters consider the decisions that brought them to where they are. The prose dedicates space to enticing descriptions of food and magic. Seemingly mundane moments of human connection are the pillars of the story in a way that I found genuinely touching. The translation feels very straightforward, especially in the horoscope portions.

Overall, recommended for fans of astrology, magical cozy vibes, or anyone who has called themselves "literally Kiki" from Kiki's Delivery Service.

I absolutely enjoyed this book very much! The style of writing was done well, that at times I found myself feeling apart of this world. I definitely recommend reading this book.

Didn't quite connect for me. The cozy genre just might not be my cup of tea. Also might be due to disconnect in translation, but wanted to love this one!

This is my second translation from Japan this week and there are many similar themes. The protagonists in The Full Moon Coffee Shop are workers that are having a crisis of some sort. As they search for answers, a coffee shop appears on a full moon. The servers are unique and their answers are not conventional. Cats feature prominently! To say more will spoil the fun. This small book is a delight.

Rating: 4/5
I received an eARC for my honest opinion.

This book is made up of several interconnected stories: a 40-yr old scriptwriter, a TV producer, an actress, a hairdresser and a tech entrepreneur. They all have something in common, they all feel as though they’re missing something more in their lives. It’s not until they go to the Full Moon Coffee Shop where they get a little help (from some adorable cats) with a little astrological therapy.

It’s a short and fast-paced read, I loved getting to know the characters and their individual hardships. I liked learning about astrology. I liked that this book shows how important cats are to the Japanese and seeing how they interact with the different characters. This book was short, and I do wish that it was a little longer, but I found it to be a fun and easy read. I really enjoyed the mercury retrograde, because I don’t know about you guys, but I felt that last year a little bit this year as well, so I had to laugh at that. This was translated but I didn’t have a hard time understanding it at all.

I haven’t read a book like this before and now it will not be my last. If you want to read a fast, easy, heartwarming, second chances, and understanding that it’s not the end of the world just another door opening you need to read this book.

I want to thank NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to review this book.

This is a really cute book and it's short, so it can easily be read on a road trip or a plane ride. Can you imagine a place that pops up randomly (like a pop shop) and they serve you something amazing that isn't just good food, but it fills this need you have like magic. It's like having a craving for something and you don't know what you're craving, but you need it and only after you've gotten it do you realize exactly what was missing and what you needed. This book is that feeling. That quenching of something you are craving and it being better than you expected.

This book is translated from Japanese, so there is a style and flow to the words that might be undesirable for American English speakers. However, if you are familiar with the speaking style of Japanese and how entertainment is both serious and flippant, then this book will be a delight.

I read this whimsical book - a short cozy read set in a coffee shop with talking cats that are master astrologers. They help different people at different stages of their lives that are loosely intertwined through the primary school they attended or taught at and this was just cozy to read ~ and now l'd love to have my astrology chart explained by a talking cat !
This was a little out of my comfort zone but I am quite grateful I received this book - it was a joy to read.