I really enjoyed how adorably cozy and magical this was. Considering its magical realism, one of my fav genres. The cats were adorable and stood up on their little hind legs to interpret star chats and impart their glowing wisdom on those that need it. It was a perfect lil book!

If you like an astrology class taught by cats, this is the book for you! I loved the ways the stories of the different characters came together. I love cats. -But pedagogical cats, not so much. Rather than an enchanting story with a lesson to be learned, it felt like a lesson with stories to emphasis its points. I'm afraid that for me it felt a bit heavy handed.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballentine for making ad advance copy of this title available for an honest review.

Whimsical concept. It wasn’t really my taste. The astrology kind of threw me for a loop, but I liked how it weaved it into the plot.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the e-ARC

This is a short book of three interconnected stories following people who are feeling unsatisfied with their lives and the decisions that got them there. They all stumble across the mysterious Full Moon Coffee Shop, staffed by talking cats who all seemed to be named after the planets. While talking with the master, everyone we’re following has their star chart read by the cats, which helps explain why their lives have turned out how they have, and how they could change their lives moving forward.

When I started reading I was a little skeptical, because the horoscope element was so strong and was feeling a little like an astrology lesson. But as I continued and eventually saw how everything connected, I really loved how it all came together, culminating with a bittersweet epilogue that completes the story. It’s a very short read, so I would recommend to anyone, but especially anyone who in interested in translated fiction and magical realism!

The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki

This is a psychological or perhaps astrological series of stories that are loosely tied through a script writer or substitute teacher.
The Full Moon Coffee Shop only appears at a full moon and seems to appear to people who may be as a cusp in their life.
The unusual serving staff prompt the patrons to evaluate their personas.
This was a bit of a strange book that I wasn’t overly captivated by regardless of some of the interesting characters.

“The Full Moon Coffee Shop” is a sweet and hopeful story. The major characters are all stuck in life in some way — career not fulfilling; lack of love life; strange problems at work; public figure exposed for making poor choice; career derailed; etc. Each person will come across the Full Moon Coffee Shop when the need is right. And this is no ordinary coffee shop. Not only does it appear unexpectedly, but the servers choose your food and drink for you and the offerings have a celestial flare to them. Also, the shop is run by talking cats who are representations of the planets, and who will read the customers star charts and help them understand why their lives have progressed in the manner that they have and what needs to be done, in a more general sense, if they want to get their lives back on track. There are connections between the various characters, personal or professional, but they all share a common connection that they do not realize initially, and which is an integral reason why they were privileged to experience the Full Moon Coffee Shop.

The Full Moon Coffee Shop is a quick and interesting read. Imagine a coffee shop that only appears during a full moon and only to people who need a message from the cats that run it. All the astrology stuff, the cats were quite knowledgeable, didn’t interest me so I didn’t connect on that level. Thecharacters seem disconnected or have minor connections for much of the book but it all comes together in the last part. I liked the cats a lot and there was significance to them in the end. Great ending.I received an advance copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

It is a magical novel about a cafe run by cats who use astrology and philosophy to help guide their human customers in the right direction. Based on the myth that cats will always return the favour to those who care for them.

This set of serial short stories — able to be read in one setting or slowly by the reader's choice — interweaves each character’s story slowly until we see the map of how everything is connected. It is an interesting way to offer life lessons—a fun quick read — which is written in a light-hearted tone about serious life topics.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Ballantine Books for this ARC. This is my honest review.

Cute novel about a magical coffee shop in which you are given what you need. It is a sweet novel about redemption and second chances.

This was so precious. The kind of book you want to read on a rainy day. It felt like watching a cute slice of life anime. Would definitely recommend to someone who wants a light feel good read.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC, in exchange for an honest review!

If you’re looking for a cozy read, THIS IS IT! I absolutely loved it. I was emotionally invested in all of the characters and their stories. It was refreshing to see characters with realistic lives and problems, and makes the reader not feel alone in their struggles. Also, the perfect description of the food and drinks made my mouth water! I wish the full moon coffee shop would come to me! I saw that this book is a part of a series that has not been translated into English yet, and you best believe I’ll be one of the first to read them! Overall, I loved this book so much.

The Full Moon Coffee Shop was cute, but lacked the "big magical realism" vibes I was hoping for - it was basically limited to the pop-up/disappear element of the cafe.
Great if you're interested at all in astrology, but not a story about magical cats. I came for the magical cats, and stayed for the Japanese culture.
It gave an interesting peek into daily life in Japan and the translation does a good job of it. They chose to translate instead of localize, and there are spots where extra information is added in case a reader doesn't know something about Japanese culture which is tastefully done and doesn't spend too much time on it or rely on footnotes.

Full moon

A series of short stories that show the interconnections between lives. They speak of growth and acceptance and blooming where you’re planted.

My sister in law passed earlier this week, so having these stories to comfort me has been a blessing.

You are able to walk through their struggles and mistakes as the cats who host and run the Full Moon Cade give their guests the space to accept and move past what they have been through.

At times the writing and plot are simple, but at this point, it was just what I needed

This was a quiet, thoughtful read to kick off my summer. It follows four people at various crossroads of their lives who stumble upon the Full Moon Coffee Shop at a time of need. The cats who run the coffee shop offer insight, perspective, and much-needed wisdom to those seeking it, and help alter the course of their personal and professional lives.

I expected to enjoy this book and did so for the lessons it imparted. I did not expect the heavy discussion of astrology and star charts that influenced so much of the cats’ advice to our main characters. This alone was what threw me off and led me to rate the book as I did. I may be missing some cultural reliance on astrology (my own culture relies heavily on star charts to determine compatibility for marriage, auspicious dates, etc) and that is my own shortcoming; maybe I should have expected some reliance of the narrative on astrology and the sky given the coffee shop only appears on a full moon night. Regardless, it did take away from the story for me but did not prevent me from enjoying it otherwise.

I especially enjoyed the conclusion and the string drawing those narratives together was lovely and unexpected.

Thank you to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the ARC.

I can truly say I have never read another book like this one! The setting of this book is a coffee shop run by soothsaying cats. Take a chance on this book, and you won't regret it. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for a copy of this book for an honest review.

Honestly, I did not like this book. It reads like an excuse to talk about astrology and the characters and whatever plotline there is only serve to support that. I realize it's a little silly as a phrase, but I did not find anything in it to be believable. I read a lot of fantasy and sci-fi, I have no problem at all suspending disbelief if given reason to, but this just didn't give me any reason to. I did finish it, and I was not displeased by everybody's happy ending, but it took some effort to get through it. For such a short book, I wouldn't call it worth it.

The Full Moon Coffee Shop is a quick magical realism story about finding direction and learning to understand ones self. Set in Kyoto, Japan, the story follows three individuals as they visit the Full Moon Coffee Shop and discover its unique services.

The Positives:
1. This is a quick and easy read, good for plane rides or a laid back afternoon. I also think it's very approachable as far as translations go, so this might be a good choice for people just dipping their toes into translated literature.
2. I enjoyed the running theme within this book of the importance of learning to understand yourself and to recognize your individual needs.
3. The magical realism within this book was cozy and whimsical without feeling too fantastical. Plus lots of cute cats.

The Negatives:
1. At times this book felt more like an astrology textbook rather than a novel. Astrology is an important part of the plot, but the pages of information explaining astrology throughout the book seemed to break up the flow of the story in a jarring way. I think this could have been avoided by including a few pages of "intro to astrology" at the beginning of the book rather than trying to include it throughout the novel.
2. I felt the character voices blended together in many portions of the book, especially the first two characters, and I wish they would have been a bit more distinct.

Who I Think Should Read This Book:
People looking for a quick read, fans of astrology, and cat lovers

I received this DRC from NetGalley.

This is a cozy short story; the resolutions were sweet, and I liked the connections between the stories. Maybe it's because this is a translation, but some of the dialogue felt too simple and stilted. The exposition also was too simple in some places, and also could overexplain certain things. Since this was a short story, it didn't affect my reading as much as it would have otherwise, though.

Three separate tales converge into one story line by the end of this short novel. In each of the three tales, something has gone wrong in the person's life and by chance, they stumble into The Full Moon Coffee Shop which appears and disappears seemingly at will. Run by a team of cats who may also be the planetary gods (Jupiter, Venus, Mars, etc.) they will offer the customer a drink or dessert which will enlighten them as to the source of their unhappiness. The cats will then proceed to read the persons zodiac chart in the heavens and give guidance on what path the person should pursue.

Translated from the Japanese, character names and places retain their original names. It might have been a bit easier to follow the separate story lines if the characters had been renamed into names more familiar to a western audience. I was really expecting something a bit more engaging and even though it is a relatively short novel, I had to make myself finish reading this.

This was such an interesting book with unique characters and bonus talking cats! It was translated really well and I enjoyed it a lot. There is a lot about astrology which isn’t as much by thing but for those who love astrology you will enjoy the book even more. Will be adding to our library.