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.

I absolutely adored this story! I love the idea of a mobile coffee shop that pops up when you need a little bit of direction most! Each character’s story was different enough to pull you back in when one ended and I loved how they were all interconnected. Also the planets as cats to explain astrology’s effects on their lives was such a neat concept. I had a great time reading this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the chance to read this! All opinions are my own :)

This just wasn’t for me. I can see why people would enjoy this, but it fell a little flat for me. Just not the right book for me unfortunately.

not doing much for me. its about a mysterious pop-up cafe that only open when the moon is full and it's staffed by cats. deeply explores astrology which i couldn't make sense at all. so. i'm sorry.

Rating 2.5/2.75
If you know anything about me it's that my ultimate reading niche is Japanese short stories that either involves food, books or cats---usually all at once. I love a good collection of interconnected short stories so this book was naturally on my radar. Unfortunately, it wasn't as meaningful of a reading experience compared to other books in this category I have read over the years. This is by no means a bad book but this was just alright for me. It was your typical book in the genre about a group of people seemingly lost in different aspects of their lives and receiving some guidance from unsuspecting sources. While usually this does it for me alone, this one missed the mark for me. I was all for a cat run cafe, I mean why not...but the info dumping about astrology and star charts became too much very quickly. I think if astrology is your thing then maybe give this a go but I don't really recommend this as your introduction into this niche genre. Maybe Trying What You are Looking for is at the Library by Michiko Aoyama. Same concept but was easier to digest.


I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4*

Let me preface this by saying I loved this book but I understand it's not for everyone.

This is a short book, created from a lot of different intertwining narratives and with the first person narratives, it can occasionally feel more like an exposition dump than a true expression of feelings from character POVs.

None the less, it was a low-stakes and comforting with some astrology and magic thrown in food good measure.

I felt like this was a let down for me. The writing wasn’t bad but the storytelling wasn’t there. I had high expectations from the way this was marketed.

Oh this book is just so cute! It's whimsy, it's fun, it's creative, it's beautiful. There are star charts, cats, coffee, and so much astrology. The writing is soothing and comforting, I've read a fair bit of magical realism but have never quite been so soothed and calmed after. Beautiful story!

I loved everything about this sweet little book. Each character you meet in this novella has something that makes them feel stuck in their life. Until, that is, they visit the Full Moon Coffee Shop, where the lines between reality and the dream world become blurred. While at the coffee shop, they learn things about themselves from none other than giant cats.

The story unfolds in a series of vignettes that are all tied together beautifully. I really loved how the characters found the support and guidance that they needed from the most unlikely of sources. I highly recommend this to anyone who likes cats, has ever felt stuck in the their life and searched for answers, or likes daydreaming about the dream world.

Thank you to netgalley for the advanced readers copy in return for my honest review.
#TheFullMoonCoffeeShop #NetGalley

3.5

I love a cozy Japanese novel with magical realism, and this one involves a coffee shop that only appears at the full moon and who serves life advice alongside decadent, tailor-made coffee and desserts.

The book, like many others in this niche subgenre, is primarily told through slice-of-life vignettes. I love how the characters were all linked together in some way and how their stories intersected more and more as the story progressed. There is quite a lot of astrological material in the book, and as someone who is not particularly interested in (or knowledgeable about) astrological charts, these bits didn’t really keep my attention. Aside from those, though, the story and life lessons learned were lovely to read. The characters grew as they pursued new interests, reinvigorated career goals, and took a chance on love; each learning that it’s never too late to follow the stars and make a life change.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and Random House for the advanced ebook copy!

🐈🐈🐈🐈 / 5

THE FULL MOON COFFEE SHOP by Mai Mochizuki

thank you to @randomhouse and @netgalley for access to the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

quick thoughts:
☕️ magical pop-up coffee shop in Kyoto run by cats
🪄 Japanese literature, magical realism
🍡 sweet, light-hearted, thought-provoking
👍🏼 would recommend to fans of magical realism!

wow, this was such a sweet read, and it made me miss Japan even more! this gave me an excuse to post some pictures from our trip earlier this year 😌

i enjoyed the cozy vibes of this story and thought it was the perfect time of year to read it. i loved learning more about astrology and star charts, and it’s inspired me to learn more about my own star chart. the writing and translation were exceptional, and i was immersed in the story. i can’t wait to check out more of this author’s work!

This is a difficult book to describe, particularly if you aren’t familiar with this type of Japanese literature centering around cats and the lore surrounding them. Cats are a symbol of good luck in Japan. The legend of cats is that they return a favor to those that treat them with kindness—a metaphor for how we should all treat one another, perhaps.

The book is told in three vignettes that each center around a different person but all of whom connect as well. The Full Moon Coffee Shop can be anywhere, we learn. And it can’t be found, it will find you. The shop is run by magical cats, and it finds people when they are lost and not sure what is next in life. The cats know exactly what you want to drink without you saying, and they know how to help you.

The book opens with Mizuki, who is a former teacher who writes scripts for games. Mizuki is in a bad place, she’s lost any interest in her life. She’s stopped taking care of herself. She lives on instant ramen. After failing a pitch for a television series to a producer named Akari, Mizuki is in a deep depression with nowhere to turn. She finds herself encountering fans. Unexpected, though she was very popular previously. She is invited to a café she has never heard of, and she reluctantly drags herself there. The café is run by cats instead of humans, and it’s surrounded by cherry blossoms. The cats bring her pancakes and use astrology to help Mizuki see her life in a different way.

The next primary story is Akari’s, the producer who turned down Mizuki’s script. Well, the executives turned it down, Akari respects Mizuki since they worked together early in her career. Akari is also in a place where she was searching for something. We learn that Mizuki was her teacher when she was in primary school, so telling her that they weren’t interested in her script was particularly hard. She finds the café along with the shamed actress from her show, who was publicly humiliated for having an affair. Akari also has a history that she has pain from. The café brings them both what they need.

The third vignette will make sense when you get to Akari’s, so I won’t spoil it here. I found this book to be completely charming. A magical café that was much more than a café. It’s where those who are lost find their path in life, and the most magical part is that the café finds them first. It was nice how the stories intertwined, and a message of the serendipity of life. People who enter our lives for a purpose and then later that purpose is clear, but we don’t always see it at the beginning. Chance encounters, paying forward kindness, and celebrating the past and the future. Lovely!

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑭𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝑴𝒐𝒐𝒏 𝑪𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒆 𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒑 by Mai Mochizuki and translated by Jesse Kirkwood is a lovely feel-good story offered to me by @randomhouse Ballantine thanks to @netgalley, and then @prhaudio also granted me the audio to go along which was a perfect pairing.

This story follows a magical coffee shop, run by talking cats, that somehow manages to offer hope and a way forward for lost souls. This particular set of patrons are loosely connected which lent a feeling of continuity through these stories. These cats are heavily invested in astrology, which for me, was a bit of a disappointment. I had somehow hoped for more insight than star charts.

The audiobook had narrators who gave the character's voices a real life, and better pronunciation than I would! Especially for translated works, I love to listen to the names from a native tongue of the author. This aspect did help me appreciate this story more.

For a quick read for cat-lovers and fans of astrology, this will be a true delight.

A story, much like the game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, involves quite a few characters who all went to primary school together, but don't totally remember each other. As adults, they've seen to gone astray until they come to The Full Moon Coffee Shop. A magical pop up café hosted by cats that guide you on astrology based on your natal chart.

This was a feel good easy read, and I quite enjoyed how the characters lived intermingled.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. Opinions are my own.