The Full Moon Coffee Shop is a magical treat that whisks you away to Kyoto, where cats serve coffee and cosmic wisdom! Translated from Japanese, this charming novel follows lost souls who stumble upon a mysterious café, where feline baristas guide them back to their fated paths over delicious drinks and pastries.

The blend of Western astrology with Japanese culture is a quirky choice, but it makes the story relatable. Each character—think struggling screenwriters and confused creatives—gets a dose of cat-infused clarity, making for a cozy, low-stakes read filled with introspection and heartwarming moments.

With a delightful epilogue that ties everything up with a twist, and hilarious nods to Mercury retrograde, this book is a delightful romp through second chances. If you’re looking for a sweet escape that serves up warmth and wisdom (with a side of talking cats), grab this one! I can’t wait for the next installment!

I would like to thank Ballantine Books, NetGalley, and the author for a gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

Read if you like:
🪄 Magical realism
♓️ Astrology
🧶 Intertwined storylines
🐈‍⬛ Cats

4️⃣ POV
📍 Kyoto

It is a Japanese myth that if you care for a cat, they will return the favor. In the Full Moon Coffee Shop, the pop up cafe is run by magical cats who analyze start charts and give advice. The book is broken into four characters whose lives have taken an unwanted turn. The coffee shop appears during the full moon and the characters find themselves having coffee, tea, and cakes served by these cats who help them see where they’ve missed their path. As the characters learn about themselves, the reader begins to see that they all have a special connection in the end.

This was a fun, cozy story. The characters were interesting and their problems seemed relatable. The book has a strong sense of place and I enjoyed getting a glimpse of Japan and the dream-like atmosphere of the cafe. The astrology was a bit heavy for me, I don’t follow it or understand natal charts but it was still fun to read about. I just accepted the astrological reasoning as part of the book. I had a sense that the characters were connected and I enjoyed learning how it all fit together in the end. I recommend this book if you’re looking for a bit of magic in a character driven story.

I really love Japanese books in translation - the novels are so good. This was very cozy and has a few people go to this coffee shop open during the full moon and run by cats. The premise totally had me. But there was *a lot* of astrology and reading star charts - like whole passages. Which is very much not for me. So just ok overall.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy of the book.

What an enjoyable story! The Full Moon Coffee Shop is a mysterious coffee shop that is open under the full moon and is run by cats. Only select people are invited, and it is pretty magical what happens when they are there. I loved the characters, the story was very well written, and the setting was fantastic. It was an unforgettable read.

In Japan the cat is a symbol of good fortune and often considered a lucky charm. In Mai Mochizuki’s wonderful tale of The Full Moon Coffee Shop the magical shop appears to be run by cats who change the lives of its’ patrons. Appearing in pop up locations during a full moon, there is no menu, but drinks and food are chosen for the individuals. The cats also explain the astral charts that are influencing their lives, forcing them to look inside to see what they really want. Mizuki was a script writer with a string of hits until her shows started to flop. Now she writes scripts for secondary characters in video games. She finds herself at the cafe after receiving a rejection for a script that she submitted to her old studio. Akari also worked in the studio. When she had to fire Satsuki, an actress who had an affair with a married colleague, they both end up at the cafe, receiving life changing counsel. Other patrons are a hairdresser unhappy in her profession and Takashi, a security engineer. All of these people had a history together. Part of the charm of this story is discovering what the connection was. They were all unknowingly chosen to attend the cafe because of an act of kindness when they were children with a special teacher. They are also troubled in some way, but each is offered hope after deciding what they wanted in life. This was a quick read that charmed me from the first pages. It will bring a touch of magic into your life that will stay with you long after the last page. I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House - Ballantine for providing this book.

A magical coffee shop only opens occasionally and moves locations. It serves selected customers and provides carefully chosen foods and drinks for them.

In Kyoto, a few people visit the Full Moon Coffee Shop one night and are treated to items that the servers deem just right for them.

And … it just so happens that the staff are all talking cats.

These human-sized cats provide a listening ear and lend a helping … paw … to these few people who happen upon the café. Each of these people is facing a point of decision or concern in their lives. The cats explain the visitors’ star charts to them and how they are affecting their lives. Each person leaves the café with plenty of astrological insights and a measure of hope for better things to come.

The Full Moon Coffee Shop is a cute little book. It’s told in vignettes that follow each person who is served in the café. The people are connected, though they don’t know it. The cats have the big picture, though, and are returning favors.

The idea is cute but I thought the amount of astrology in the book was far too much for such a slim volume. The book might as well be a primer on this pseudoscience, which I have no interest in at all. It’s also so short that each person gets a very brief part to play, with not a lot of development. It’s not written in a way that you get attached to them.

If you love cats and astrology, though, and a whimsical take on the Japanese myth of cats returning favors to people who help them, you should really enjoy this.

Thank you to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for allowing me to access an advanced reader copy for an honest review.

This book was slow and had a nice message to people feeling lost or like it is too late to change their life. Overall, I found the book to be boring. I think it will work for some, so if you enjoy slow philosophical books this may work for you. It has deities in the form of cats giving out advice to people trying to figure our their next steps.

I have read a few of these translated Japanese books, particularly involving cats! This is another sweet one. It's so cozy for the fall too. Sometimes it can be hard to understand the writing style because of the translation (pretty simple) but that is okay! A very quick read and just overall really cute and thought provoking. I would definitely recommend! Especially to cat lovers.

There was really something magical about this book. There are four stories that are entwined around a pop up cafe that appears when the characters most needed guidance. I think that the astrological concepts were so far removed from anything I have experienced before and this made it quite a bit tougher to understand many of the elements in this book. I liked the coziness and warmth of this book, however it just ended up being ok for me. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

A perfect bite-sized read. Clocking in at only 99 pages on my device, I finished this book in about two days, and loved every second of it. The pop up nature of the coffee shop, how the dishes the cats made (yes, cats!) exemplified the needs and desires of the shop’s patrons, and how all the stories coincided with one another at the end of the story. There were some poignant lil lessons on life threaded through the story, and I just found it cozy and warm and brilliant. On the whole, I give it 4⭐

*Thank you again to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

Super cute!

I finished this in a day! It was a very sweet story about people finding themselves through some advice from a magical source. The source ends up being cats who run a Full Moon cafe that appears when needed. This sounds really childish but it works for the story.

It reminded me of a Studio Ghibli movie. I saw on Goodreads that this is potentially a series to come? I probably wouldn't have chosen it to read if I knew it was a series to begin with but I think I'd check out more now!

Thank you to NetGalley, Mai Mochizuki, Random House Publishing Group and Jessie Kirkwood. I have written this review voluntarily.

This was a fun and quick read. I loved the astrology aspect and how all the characters were connected. The morals behind the story were also great and always good reminders. Loved the overall message of the book.

I was gifted "The Full Moon Coffee Shop" to read and provide a review. The concept of a quaint coffee shop appearing under a full moon, complete with talking cats, was both fun and entertaining. It offered a swift read, and I appreciated how the stories were interwoven.
In Japan, cats symbolize good fortune. Legend has it that kindness towards them will be repaid. If you're kind to the right cat, you might be invited to a mysterious coffee shop beneath a shimmering Kyoto moon, managed by talking cats.
As customers savor cakes, coffees, and teas, the cats provide consultations based on star charts, impart cryptic advice, and reveal where lives have strayed — every visitor to the shop feels somewhat lost. For a struggling screenwriter, a love-torn movie director, an aspiring hairstylist, and a tech-challenged website designer, these feline mentors will realign them with their destined paths.
I anticipated a whimsical, cozy tale, but the heavy reliance on astrology and birth charts was off-putting for me. While I believe many readers would enjoy this element, and a touch of it could have been delightful, its overemphasis somewhat spoiled the experience for me.

In the vein of "Before the Coffee Gets Cold" series, this Japanese bestseller translated for an English audience features a coffee shop run by cats appears exactly when you need it most to help you find the right path. Interweaving the tales of four people who are at crossroads in their life, the story follows them as they stumble upon the Full Moon Coffee Shop, discover the people who run it are really cats, and are counseled by these feline astrologists to make better choices. Cozy but also packed with life lessons, this book will make even the most skeptical curious about astrology.

Already a best-seller in Japan, this debut gentle fantasy is based on the belief that if you are nice to a cat, one day it will repay your kindness. Even if you aren't a cat person, this book is perfect for readers of feel-good fiction or those looking for a quick read. It's expressive and witty style make it a dessert worthy of being served at The Full Moon Coffee Shop.

A gentle fantasy that takes several individuals struggling with where they are in their lives and gives them a chance to explore their choices and situations as they visit the mysterious Full Moon Coffee Shop and the cats that run it.

This is the kind of magical realism I love enough to read the insane novels Japan sometimes releases. It's relatable even as the idea of talking cats serving you drinks and helping you figure out your life is so out there. You might not be in the same situations as the characters who walk into the Full Moon Coffee Shop, but you get inspired to look at things from a different angle. And the way they're all connected is a lovely little extra that ties up the story in the most delightful way.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the excellent read!

A pop-up coffee shop run by talking cats with a heavy dose of astrology, this one surprised me. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I ended up enjoying this one mainly because it was just...different. It was a quick read, with a heartwarming dose of magical realism, perfect for this time of year.

Rating: 3.64 leaves out of 5
-Characters: 2.5/5
-Story: 3/5
-Writing: 2/5
Genre: cozy mystery, fantasy, japlit, magical realism
-cozy mystery: 3/5
-fantasy: 5/5
-japlit: 5/5
-magical realism: 5/5
Type: Ebook
Worth?: Eh

Want to thank Netgalley and publishers for giving me the chance to read this book.

The story was okay, I liked the cats and astrology bits but the writing is what threw me way off.

THE FULL MOON COFFEE SHOP is a sweet tale with interwoven stories steeped in Japanese folklore. If you are familiar with Japanese culture at all, you will get a kick out of THE FULL MOON COFFEE SHOP and its talking cats, magical beverages, and how everything will work out if you just follow the rules laid out in your birth chart. This is a short novel (240 pages) that provided some much-needed comfort during a hectic week.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine for the ARC in exchange for this review.

This was such a cute novel especially as the cats was involved. You get talking cats that work to solved peoples problems and you have a success.