I am at a disadvantage reading this book. I know nothing about Japanese symbolism or good luck icons. Plus, I am not one to read fantasy.

That said (or written), this is a sweet story about being kind and connections. It felt that there was something missing. Though I cannot say exactly what it was. Maybe some nuances were lost in the translation.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy..

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for allowing me to read this early! This was a very interesting read, but not the exact vibe I thought it was going to be. I was expecting this to be a bit more cozy cafe and not a more futuristic space kind of cafe. It was really fun to see how astrology was incorporated into the story as well.

Interesting premise. Magical realism is always a favorite.

Three different stories of people that are wanting a change in an aspect of their lives when the full moon cafe appears and the human sized cat employees give them just the right treat with a heavy dose of astrology to show them their path forward.
I would have liked more focus on the cafe and was surprised by the amount of astrology. Definitely for people that really love astrology.

Thanks to netgalley and random house for an eARC.

3.5 rounded up! ⭐️⭐️⭐️.💫

I really enjoyed this story!

The Full Moon Coffee Shop was such a quick, cute read! I’ve been a fan of cozy fantasy books and movies since I was little, and from the moment this story took a magical turn, I felt as though I’d stepped into one of the whimsical worlds I’ve loved since childhood 🌿✨

Read if you enjoy…

✨ Magical realism
🐈 Talking cats!
🌕 Astrology

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing, and Mai Mochizuki for providing a digital arc in exchange for an honest review!

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. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
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More links will be updated later

What a cute and fun book! Life lessons, invisible string, and celestial cats? What more could you ask for? This was a quick read and I think the translation was really well done. I love how the author connected each section to make a cohesive story.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Four interconnected stories about cats teaching astrology to adults in a mystical cafe!

“ I’d always been much more interested in fictional love stories than in any romance of my own “

➸ I couldn’t figure out target audience!! Talking cats running an astrology cafe giving advice would strike me as middle reader, but the characters were all full adults.
➸ There was a heavy focus on explaining astrology, which honestly I found fun even though I was expecting more of a cat cafe vibe.
➸ It was such a cute and fun read, it was super quick and just what I needed to help me get through a reading slump.

“ Whenever you feel lost, stop for a moment. Get your bearings. You need to take a look at yourself, and accept what you see, before you can take a single step forward.”

“ Even a washing machine won’t spin right if it’s not level. ”

Not everything has to move forward all the time, you know …”

thank you to netgalley for giving me the opportunity to review this

link to goodreads review : https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6657902294

A short, breezy, low-stakes read.

Various people, including a scriptwriter, TV producer, IT entrepreneur, and hair stylist, feeling a little lost in life, encounter a cafe at night run by cats. Over coffee drinks and desserts, they get advice and astrological readings, and come away with some perspective.

This was a charming novella (I think? The length suggests a novella) and I loved the little illustrations of the desserts. It was a little odd how all these people who happened to be in primary school together somehow encountered each other around the same time, but it kind of made sense by the end. Seeing the original Japanese title, I think if it was translated more literally I could have gone in with more accurate expectations, but I had no idea astrological readings and zodiac stuff were going to be so heavily featured. I personally don’t have much interest in that stuff so it didn’t appeal to me, and I didn’t find the lessons/themes particularly deep. Not much of a plot or a strong arc, but I don’t think that’s what this story was going for, so I enjoyed it as an easy bright read.

Thanks to Netgalley for the eARC!

I would give this a 2.5/3 stars. It was a really cute shorter story and made me want to go look up my own natal astrology chart and dig into what it all means. I find stuff like that interesting so I think the concept and topic were what kept me reading, but I don’t know if it was the translation, or the way it’s written, but some of the dialog wasn’t very captivating. I think the delivery method of the message was a little off. The dialog between the character at the cafe and the cats seemed rushed on some and drawn out on others. It seemed like they were just trying to offer some guidance on their journey in life and redirect them on the paths that they were on.
I did love that all the stories tied together in the end and that each person was connected through how they helped the cats and their relationship with Mizuki. I like the idea of the cats being tied to the full moon coffee shop, but it did get a little weird with the full-size cat.

Full Moon Coffee Shop could be described as cozy magical realism. The characters' stories overlap in tidy ways that keep the reader interested. No deep lessons for living your life here - unless you want there to be. All-in-all, a gentle, fun read. I would not be surprised to see a future Netflix (Prime, Hulu...) series based on this charming book.

The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki (Author) and Jesse Kirkwood (Translator) is set in contemporary Japan and opens with a former tv scriptwriter whose career took a downward turn; she is now writing scripts for a dating game. The eponymous Full Moon Coffee Shop appears, as you might imagine, at the full moon; the waiters are talking cats who can read your birth chart and help you with your problems. I felt this was a mosaic novel; there are different narrators who all experience similar events, but their life experiences in the past have a link that is fully revealed at the end. The experience of reading it, from a narrative standpoint, is fairly static, an exploration of character rather than a plot that surges forward and up into a climax; it was very mindful, if that word can be applied to reading. I felt it could definitely fit into the "cozy vibe."

What a lovely cozy fantasy! Fans of Legends & Lattes, You Cant Spell Treason without Tea, Bookshops & Bonedust will all love this one.

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC copy gifted in exchange for my honest review.

The Full Moon Coffee Shop is a whimsical and magical read about a coffee shop run by cats who have the ability to speak. These cats serve drinks and wisdom and make people believe in themselves.

Highly recommend for those who love Before the Coffee Gets Cold.

4.25 stars!

This was absolutely spellbinding and adorable!

I loved all the interconnected stories about careers, friendships, love, and, above all, happiness. Going into the book, I didn’t expect to have, essentially, short stories featuring each of the customers mentioned in the blurb, but I really liked this layout. These snippets into their lives were well done, descriptive enough to get a feeling for each person but not too much to dwell on any of them for too long. I loved, most of all, how all of the customers were linked by an event in the past (no spoilers!), and the author slowly unwrapped their connections as each story went on. I love when series bring back characters from other books, and I really dug how this book did that with each new person introduced. It was like “Oh! I know her from the first story!!”

I really liked the ending and how everything was tied together (no spoilers!). And everyone got a HFN/HEA, which was great!

I loved the astrological components to the café. It was fun to hear all about what the signs of the customers were and what houses everything was in. I’m into astrology probably about as much as the next female millennial, so this was right up my alley!

Lastly, this was such a quick read!! Fun and quick is always a plus 😊

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and Mai Mochizuki for the opportunity to read this book. The thoughts and opinions expressed above are honest and my own.

This is something along the lines of What You Are Looking For is in the Library or Before the Coffee Gets Cold. Short stories related to people that are all loosely related in some capacity figuring things out about their lives that may help us in our own. Maybe. Okay, that’s what those two books are about and The Full Moon Coffee Shop feels like it should be going down the same path and it is, but it doesn’t necessarily feel like the lessons the characters take away are always things that we can take away. Why? Because of the heavy involvement of astrology.

As one of those girlies who know a bit about which sign is in which house, I was interested in how well the astrology and the star charts were going to figure into the story. Each character has a problem and the cats help them by consulting their star charts and offering them a little push in the right direction. However, I don’t feel like any of the pushes in the right direction made me sit back and go, “Oh yes, this is something that could apply to my life, my friend’s life, a relative’s life…” Most of these types of stories I can find one that either reminds me of myself or someone I know so then I can recommend it. This didn’t really do that for me. However, I will say that it does explain Mercury in Retrograde pretty well for those that are curious.

The star charts while being one of the most frustrating aspects is one of the most unique aspects though. We actually get the star charts of the characters on the page. Those who are really into them might get an extra layer of information and insight because of it. However, those of us who aren’t as into it may just smile at the whimsy of it all and hope for something a little more plot or theme aligned. The cats and their different personalities really added a lot of magic to this. The idea that this shop could pop up anywhere from a train to a garden was magical in itself, but then to be waited on by cats either the size of humans or who had transformed into a human form was quite magical and honestly my favorite part of this.

Overall, this is a quiet and soft book. It’s short and easy to read with a lot of whimsy. I personally am not sure if I’ll read the next ones if they’re translated into English. I might give it another go because it is just so quirky and the next set of characters may just really hit. The inclusion of recipes would be really cool too, but as someone who likes to cook and bake, recipes make everything better. I think there is an audience for this, but I’m not quite sure that it is me. Like I said though, it’s fun and quirky so if you’re curious you should pick it up.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC of this novel, however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was honored to be chosen to receive an E-Copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This book is warm and fuzzy and feels like you’re sitting down to enjoy a latte at your favorite indie coffee shop. Everytime I grabbed my kindle and jumped back into the story I was quickly whisked away into this fictional world. This is a short story and could easily be read in an afternoon or great to divide Into small delicious bites. The characters and setting were both memorable and relateable. I loved how they were all interconnected. The story telling is both whimsical and deep at the same time. This would make a great read for a book club as there are a lot of elements that would make for great conversation. I thoroughly enjoyed the authors story telling and look forward to picking up future pieces of their work. I highly recommend.

The Full Moon Coffee Shop, by Mai Mochizuki, translated to English by Jesse Kirkwood, is a magical book. Each chapter of the story is told by a different character, each a little lost, a little stuck, in their own way. We meet a character while hearing one person's story and then that character takes up the story in the following chapter. In turn, all the characters happen upon the Full Moon Coffee Shop, a pop-up cafe that is run by talking cats. The cats know exactly what each customer needs. They serve up fantastic treats and desserts along with some astrological advice to help them get their life back on track. At one point in the book, I wondered if this was going somewhere or if the stories were all random. The good news - there is a connection between the characters. It seems flimsy at first but in the end, we discover a shared experience is the reason each character has been treated to this fantastic and life-changing visit to the cafe. The ending will leave you full of warm fuzzies and a longing to find the mysterious cafe yourself.

The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki is a cozy, feel good story, translated from Japanese about a cafe, run by cats that only appears to those who need it. Heavily reliant on astrology, each person is guided by the cats to use astrology to see their problems differently. An unusual and interesting novel.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

This book is the first in a series and is seamlessly translated from Japanese. I’m not sure I’ve ever read a Japanese translated novel, and it was a lot of fun. I enjoyed the pictured that were scattered throughout which aided in understanding the story. This book didn’t focus on one human character necessarily, but they were all connected, and I really enjoyed that. The true main characters, though it didn’t feel that way at the start, were the cats of the Full Moon Café. They read the astrological characts of the human characters and offered them guidance for their life. The astrology was so well explained and introduced some deeper terms than I had experienced before. But because of how they were explained, I had a firm understanding of the concepts and really enjoyed the story. This book and how well it was written is why I love magical realism.

I highly recommend this book to cat and astrology lovers alike, and it was a quick read.

This was a really wholesome, fun, easy read. It's a relatively short book, the writing is simple and easy to follow, and I really enjoyed the characters. The premise absolutely delivers on everything it promises. I wouldn't say it's overly deep, but it is a lot of fun. I'm not big into astrology, so some of that stuff went over my head, but I do think astrology lovers especially will enjoy this one. If you're looking for a short book about cats, coffee, and life, I definitely recommend this one.

*Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!