The Full Moon Coffee Shop is a cozy, quick, and easy read. It's written in the style of short stories that are all intertwined/interconnected, which is common in Japanese literature. All in all, it was a fun and quick read that you can easily finish in one sitting, or go at a leisurely pace, since each story is different. However, as I said, they are all ultimately connected. Every chapter focuses on a different character. Despite their differences, they're struggling with something, whether it's their career, love life, etc. They are all inevitably guided to the pop-up café known as The Full Moon Coffee Shop. I learned a lot about astrology and natal charts from reading, and I particularly enjoyed the magical elements and how the stories are interwoven. The book has some heartwarming moments, and it's an excellent palate cleanser!

This was interesting. I think there may have been some cultural nuances I didn’t understand. The story felt a bit disjointed. Almost like I was reading an anime show with my son. I always feel like there is something lost in translation for me. The themes and ideas feel so big, but then the dialogue feels almost childish. I suspect that in its original language the dialogue has much more depth and flows better with the story. But all of that aside, I can see what this is meant to be. I just wish I had connected better to the characters.

*I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.*

“The Full Moon Coffee Shop has no fixed location. It might appear in the middle of a familiar shopping arcade, by the station at the end of a railway line, or on a quiet riverbank. At the Full Moon Coffee Shop, we don’t take you or order, isnstead we bring you desserts, meals, and drinks selected jus t for you. Who knows - maybe it’s all a dream.”

I picked this up expecting a story with cosy, magical, and slice of life elements, but it failed to deliver. The FMCS is written in 3 main parts, each featuring a character or pair of characters who are currently facing a challenge in their life. The FMCS appears to them and they are served by what seems to be human sized cat beings who basically read and explain to them their astrological charts. Literally. There are pictures of charts in the book and it felt like being lectured to. For someone with no background or interest in astrological readings, it really added nothing to the story - it evoked no emotion as it was presented in a matter-of- fact way.

The characters then magically are at peace with their current life crises and have a newfound outlook on how to change for the better. Just after some desserts, coffee, and a rant about their Venus sign. (I guess in some ways, a good pastry CAN be life changing, but cmon).

There were no notable quotes that stood out to me or that I wanted to save. The only parts I really enjoyed were the descriptions of the beverages and desserts that the characters ate.

The story didn’t evoke any feelings or emotions for me, I was kind of disappointed by how two dimensional the characters were. There were also very large chunks of back and forth dialogue that drove the entire story that felt very winded, especially when it was again, just talking about star charts. The writing also suffered from the downfall of first person narration where the character “tells” you everything about their backstory and thoughts, leaving nothing to interpret or “show “, and no space to linger in scenes or ideas being conveyed.

It was quaint to see how these characters’ lives connected at the end but overall there was not a lot of substance. The characters kind of just existed for the sake of having a problem for the FMCS to appear and fix by telling them that this is just how their life is fated to play out. Not my most enjoyed read this year.

Thank you very much to NetGalley for the ARC and the privilege of writing this review.

This was a quick book. I rather liked the idea of a cat talking cafe. I really liked the descriptiveness of the book. The one chapter with pancakes sounded so good it made me want some. It’s a nice story

2 ⭐ 0 🌶

DNF @ 52%

I was really excited for this book, a magical café with mystical cats giving words of wisdom sounded like such a fun and whimsical read. But it ends up feeling like an astrology lesson with barely a story arc... I ended up not finishing after getting just over halfway...

If you are a fan of cats, coffee, and astrology, this book would be great for you. In fact, the idea of talking cats running a cafe under the full moon sounded whimsical to me, which is why I started reading this book. However, I did not expect this coming-of-age story to come out of it. When we think about coming-of-age, I think we normally think about growing out of childhood and other similar stories. Yet this story reminds me that adults are still working on stages in life and that we have more growing up to do. I love the dreaminess of the writing so much though. It explains the stages of life using astrology in a meaningful way, and even though I do not know much about astrology, it was explained to me so clearly. However, as much as I praise the book, I do think that there were moments, especially the end, where you are told a little too much and that does not save enough space to explore the story's meaning. Even so, I felt emotionally fulfilled with where each character ends up. It is a short read, but there is a lot to take out of it!

My thanks for the ARC goes to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group, Ballantine Books. I'm voluntarily leaving a review.

Genre: Fantasy, Japanese Literature, Asian Books, Magical Realism, Cozy Fantasy
Language: I don't remember any profanity

If you're looking for a warm hug of a book, *THE FULL MOON COFFEE SHOP* is the perfect choice. It feels like three intersecting short stories where people need a nudge in their lives. The cats help each one of the people to understand themselves and others better.

This Japanese book has a plot line more similar to western literature than some of the other Asian books I've read. If you've never read a book originally from Japan, this is an excellent one to try. It's delightful and short, giving a good taste of an Asian culture.

When each customer arrives, the cats help the person by analyzing their star charts—which happen to correspond to the Greek zodiac. That was a surprise. The food isn't order but the proper and perfect item is served.

Happy reading!

Thank you NetGalley and Ballentine books for reaching out to offer me this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review. I don’t know that I would have pulled this book out of a larger list on my own but receiving the invite I was intrigued. It was a quick read but I just think the style/content wasn’t for me. I have realized that translations stylistically do not always “translate” for me and I have a feeling this was beautifully received in its original language. I think culturally I don’t understand the characters so it was hard for me to relate to them at all. The book would probably resonate more with a reader who knows about astrology or has more interest in it. I’m also not really a cat person so talking cats.. meh. I like that all the characters were intertwined and the connections revealed through each of their experiences with the cafe but that and the simple morals (don’t be too hard on yourself, surround yourself with things that bring joy if you want to feel joy etc) were the only things I really enjoyed.

3.5
We love a magic kitty coffee shop. So basically, a magic coffee shop truck shows up during the full moon, only to those in need (e.g. going thru a crisis) and the "baristas" provide knowledge based on astrological theory and overall reassurance that they are exactly where they are supposed to be and tips to assist them in manifesting their true self.
I really enjoyed the parallels between the celestial "phases" and Erik Erikson's Developmental theory.
While I could also appreciate the astrological knowledge, I thought it got repetitive toward the end. It would've been stronger if the main 2-3 characters were expanded upon rather than bringer others in.
I did find some of the "lessons" and fable-like quality of the story enjoyable and found some parts to be even therapeutic but the redundancy of the astrological info dumps made it drag.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my eARC.

A café that mysteriously appears on full moons and is run by talking cats helps those who find their way to it explore their destiny and selves in The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki and translated by Jess Kirkwood.
A screenwriter who finds her career in a lull and writing for video games under a pseudonym while waiting for her next success, a movie director whose love life has been stuck and a tad scandalous, a website designer whose sites seem to keep going awry, and a hairstylist who is hopeful of forging a new path of her own all have a connection to one another in some way and find themselves either visited by wise cats or visiting the cats as they work at a mysterious café that appears under a full moon, where they each have an experience that helps guide them forward on their directions in life having gained a deeper understanding of themselves.
Presenting narratives of four people’s lives, which are conveniently interconnected to more cohesively tie together the three vignettes depicted, a surreal experience of self-exploration is offered through the randomly appearing café run by talking cats who provide an opportunity for learning for those who are open to it and at a turning point in their lives. Astrology was a heavy focus and discussion point within the conversations carried in the vignettes, which while not everyone’s cup of tea (ha!) was entertainingly incorporated, especially through the characters of the cats, who through the wonder of magical realism were occasionally human sized and walking on two legs – a jarring image to reconcile with that of a standard-sized cuddly cat. The stories are quick to read and can be easily consumed in one go or parsed out over a longer time, but either way they are a thought-provoking way to refresh the palate, both with the ideas and menu items described.
Overall, I’d give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Yes, well even though I'm not entirely sure what to make of this, it's the stories of the people who come to the cat cafe that make this an interesting read. The premise that cats representing the ruling planets (I'm not sure I've got this right) can read a person's star chart and find a point in their lives that will enhance their present is intriguing but let's fact it, pretty preposterous. That said, this isn't really about those cats but about how we all have good within us. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. Over to other.s.

Thank you to netgalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC! I’m a little conflicted on how I feel about this book. I like the individual stories and their interconnecting storylines. But I think the book ends up falling flat when it starts to describe astrology and natal charts in detail. I think the biggest takeaway of needing to know yourself to make your own way in life is something that everyone can benefit from. Overall, the book was good but I think it falls a little flat for me from being great or a book that I would want to re-read over and over again.

I found The Full Moon Coffee Shop to be a delightfully cozy read with magical realism. I appreciated what a short quick read it is as I was able to read it start to finish in one sitting. I enjoyed how it focused on multiple people whose lives were intertwined and how it tied in astrology to the characters’ lives. This is a low stakes read that focuses on character development to further the story, which I felt was incredibly well done. I also really enjoyed the personality injected into each of the different cats who ran the coffee shop. Overall, this is a short, simple yet thought provoking story that was well worth the read.

Thank you NetGalley for the free ARC. Unfortunately this did not meet my expectations from what I gathered from the synopsis. I liked the individual stories of each character until they got to the cafe. Once they meet the cats it’s like the story came to a screeching halt. And then we’d do it all over again for the next character. Just not what I was hoping this was going to be.

I love the idea of a coffee shop run by talking cats, especially one that appears when a person needs a bit of direction in their lives. It also felt delightfully Dickensian, the way that the stories of the five main characters were interwoven.
What I did not care for was the role that astrology played in the story. The cats read each person’s sky chart and offered suggestions based on the presence or absence of a planet in a particular house. It also felt a bit preachy when the cats were urging each person to take stock of their lives, and change something in order to move forward.

The Full Moon Coffee Shop is suitable for one who like/have interest to cat and astrology, beside Japanese Lit.

This book is about solving current challenge of the characters. Where the full moon coffee shop emerges to help them solve it by tell them their stars readings and advices. The readings and advices given by the master of the coffee shop is one make this book philosophical and I'm quite like it. Even tho, I'm not into star reading or astrology or horoscope.

This book is easy and enjoy to read. Not overwhelming because the writer packs the messages through conversation between the characters. So, it feels like the read just listening to their convos.

This book is also not complicated tho there are several characters who link to each other in past and present. I like how the writer connect the puzzle of stories in the end of the book seamlessly.

This book makes me even more excited to visit Japan next year! Talking of Kyoto, Osaka, and Toyko, all the places I will be visiting! I knew when I read the description I just had to read it. I love cats and the idea of them giving advice and serving planetary treats was too good to pass up! The story line is very "6 Degrees of Separation" in that each story and person are tied together. Four people that are connected from the past find themselves reconnecting in the present. Each of them are currently struggling with something in their lives and the cats appear with their Full Moon Coffee Shop and divine treats to help steer them in the right direction based on their star charts.

The concept of this story is super cute, but it didn't quite hit like I hoped it would. The story isn't terrible it just wasn't quite what I expected, although it is exactly what it claims to be! I'm not super into star charts and astrology, but I do find it interesting. I think I just mostly felt lost because they went super in depth with each reading. I do think it's neat how there is an illustration for each star chart, and they do a great job of explaining it. It just didn't give me the feeling I was looking for. Thankfully it's a quick read but that also didn't allow me time to connect with any of the characters. All in all, it makes a really good short story.

Thank you NetGalley and Mai Mochizuki for providing me with a copy of this book to review!

This was not what I was expecting, but l liked it...
The Full Moon Coffee Shop follows a different character in each chapter, all of them going through a difficult moment in their lives, and the way this book resorts to helping them is through astrology. It is generally based on the myth that if you're kind to cats, they'll one day return the favour, and they do it in a very unique way in this novel. Each character in one way or another finds themselves in a sort of pop-up café run by talking cats (bear with me). Each cat represents one of the governing planets that influence your horoscope, like Pluto, Venus, and so on. They explain to each character how their natal chart influences how they are as people, and how they behave and respond to others. This knowledge can help them learn more about themselves and try to figure out a way out of the uncomfortable situation they're in at the moment.
This Japanese novel is part of the "healing fiction" sub-genre that's been trending nowadays, which I love, but, even though I liked the book, it wasn't my favourite out of the bunch. The talking cats were a bit too much for me, but I loved the descriptions of the food and drinks they served each character. It all sounded delicious! I also quite liked the connection between the characters (which you only find out towards the end of the novel).
All in all, this was a quick and cosy read, so if you're looking for that kind of vibe and you love cats, this might be the book for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for an ARC of this book.

This was a sweet, cozy tale about a mystical coffee shop run by cats. It sort of centered around astrology and the choices you make in life and where they lead you and about how it’s never too late to change the direction of your life.
I saw this book was translated from Japanese and the premise looks new and interesting so I thought I’d give it a shot. Ultimately, it’s not quite the type of book I prefer to read so I did get a little bored of the astrology and reflective parts of the story. I’m sure that you’d certainly enjoy it if you’re into that. It was definitely unlike anything I’ve ever read before, so that part was refreshing.

I had a feeling I was going to like this one based on the premise alone, but I was pleasantly surprised by just how much I enjoyed this short, cozy read! The Full Moon Coffee Shop had such a warm and cozy feel to it and I found that it was the *perfect* book to read either before bed or with a morning cup of coffee.

Vibes:
-cats! so many cats!!
-TALKING cats
-coffee shop
-magical realism
-reconnecting with old friends
-astrology

If any of these appeal to you, I think you'll really enjoy this book. From what I can tell, this is the first English translation released from a Japanese 5-book series. I really look forward to reading the rest of the books in the future!

Thank you so much to the publisher and to NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.