This is such a cozy and heartwarming story; I think fans of Before The Coffee Gets Cold and What You are Looking for is in the Library will adore this book because it’s a similar premise but with its own unique twist.
I absolutely loved the idea that the cats in the story who are taken care of by the children come back to return the favor when the now grown children need them most.
And this book has me so curious about astrology! I wish there was an explanation included as to how to read those charts - even just as an extra in the back of the book.

I absolutely love Japanese fiction; I’m so glad to see this is going to be a series! I’d like to say thank you so much to Random House and NetGalley for my e-copy!

Love the cat aspect but unfortunately not enough magical cats to make me continue reading this one. Had to dnf It had its whimsy and charm and I normally enjoy translated copies but this one just wasn’t for me.

I thought this was a charming story and a great way to remind the reader to be yourself. The characters were all connected in some way and the lessons they got at the cafe all helped them. The cafe itself was the star of the book. I would love to stumble on such a place! It was magical.

The cats in the book were whimsical, insightful and clever. It was not what I expected and worked well for this story.

Whether you are into astrology or not, the addition of astrology to the book was easy to follow and believe. I enjoyed how music, cats and food were all woven into the story. Thank you Netgalley for the chance to review this book.

I completely adore this book! I loved the mix of astrology and magical realism. I haven’t come across many books that centered on astrology like this. It was interesting to learn more about natal charts and how it may affect a person. The Full Moon Coffee Shop is a novel of entertainment and education.

3.5🌟 this was such a fun and unique book. I really enjoyed the way the author took each characters story, and weaved them into each others. Each new character revealing more information on how they are connected. This was a simple and quick read, but enjoyable, and a great reminder to trust yourself and to fully be you, always.

A fun, quick read perfect for readers who enjoy astrology. If you are looking for a single session read I highly recommend The Full Moon Coffee Shop.

The Full Moon Coffee Shop is a charming and whimsical tale that draws readers into a world where talking cats, astrology, and the magic of Kyoto nights come together to guide lost souls back to their fated paths. The novel weaves together the lives of a down-on-her-luck screenwriter, a romantically stuck movie director, a hopeful hairstylist, and a technologically challenged website designer—all of whom find themselves at crucial crossroads when they stumble upon the mysterious, ever-shifting coffee shop.

Mai Mochizuki's novel bears a striking resemblance to Before the Coffee Gets Cold in its cozy, character-driven narrative, but it sets itself apart with a delightful twist: the coffee shop is run by cats named after planets, each with their own unique personality and wisdom. These feline guides read star charts and offer cryptic yet insightful advice to the customers, nudging them toward self-discovery and helping them realign their lives with the stars.

The story is steeped in the gentle, reflective atmosphere typical of Japanese literature, making it a perfect read for those seeking solace in the simple pleasures of life—like a warm cup of tea, a slice of cake, and a quiet moment of introspection. Mochizuki’s focus on the characters’ personal journeys and the soothing presence of the mischievous, star-savvy cats creates a narrative that is both heartwarming and thought-provoking.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

-Honest review in exchange for early access on Netgalley-

This book is a very short read, only about 100 pages. I don’t mind that it’s short, sometimes you’re looking for something like that! I found the concept very interesting. The book mentions a lot of astrology and I enjoyed hearing about the natal chart meanings and things like that. I did have trouble connecting to the characters though. I couldn’t find myself really caring about them or what they had going on. Despite that, I did enjoy it for its theme.

I know some people believe that it has too much astrology and that it takes away from the book. I personally did not mind it as I knew what I was getting into and expected it to be astrology-heavy. However, if you do not find it interesting to hear a lot about astrology and natal charts and what each part of different charts represents then I would not recommend the read as it is brought up a lot.

I love this book!
Cats, Coffee, Astrology the easiest cozy read so far this year
The self discovery and character development was also super good!
If you want a cozy self discovery read with a lot of astrology this is your read!

The Full Moon Coffee Shop
by Mai Mochizuki
Pub Date: Aug 20 2024

The Full Moon Coffee Shop in my opinion is more of a book about astrological charts than it is about cats. The story is told in the first-person POV of Mizuki Serikawa and Akari Nayakama and the third-person POV of Takashi, each divided into neat sections. The story is about second chances, understanding ourselves, and hoping for a better and happier future. It's the first book in a series, I'm looking forward to the 2nd book coming in the future.

Synopsis: Translated from the Japanese bestseller, this charming and magical novel, inspired by the myth of cats returning favors to those who care for them, reminds us that it’s never too late to follow our stars.

Many thanks to #TheFullMoonCoffeeShop #NetGalley and #RandomHousePublishing for providing me with an E-ARC of this book.

The Full Moon Coffee Shop is deliciously cozy and magically sweet. Following four timelines (which all intertwine in the best way), each character goes through their ups and downs, only to end up at the Full Moon Coffee Shop, where cats read your fate in the stars and serve you without taking your order. I think this will be the perfect bite-sized fall read!

I will say, the writing was a bit blunt and simple for me. It's impossible to tell if this was due to the translation, or if this was just how the writing was to begin with, but sometimes it felt clunky in a way. That's pretty nitpicky, and I know most people don't care about things like that, but if you're looking for whimsical, flowery prose, this will probably not deliver on that.

Overall, fun and fast!

I enjoyed readingThe Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki. You will fall in love with all the characters. I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely. Happy Reading!

The Full Moon Coffee Shop is a charming story told from the multiple perspectives of seemingly loosely connected people. It’s full of whimsy and lessons in astrology. I loved this books for the rich character development & vivid visual descriptions. Each person and place in this book feels real and relatable to the reader. The astrology material in the book reads as both scientific and magical, making for an engaging reading experience. Without giving too much away, I recommend this book to anyone who believes in fate but also in the power we have to make our own destiny.

The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki in the book we meet Mochizuki Serikawa, A woman in her 40s she is single and a script writer for video games. She wants wrote scripts for TV shows and was celebrated for it she even left her teaching job to write full-time but these days she can only get secondary characters stories Life isn’t going the way she thought it would she even recently broke up with her long time love who she thought she would be with forever. So when a friend from her days and television calls Mochazuki is excited but hesitant just that morning she saw a calico cat on her balcony and thinks it may be a sign of good luck. When she arrives at the hotel her friend apologizes but says she’s a good writer but it isn’t what they were looking for and needless to say this breaks Mochizuki‘s heart. After her friend rushes off and leaves her to drink her cold coffee her thoughts are interrupted by a young boy at the next table who tells Mochizuki her writing is dated and people nowadays are looking for something else, his enthusiasm comes off as arrogance. and an older man walks up and boxes his ears and is much kinder to the brokenhearted Author. They also tell her about the full moon coffee shop in being a coffee lover she is perplexed as to why she’s never heard of this place but then almost blows it off as a prank. Thankfully Mochizuki decides to visit and it changes her life profoundly. This is a short but a gorgeous story. It is a unique original coffee shop where you don’t order anything but get exactly what you want and over each course will learn things that in the end will only help. If you love fairytales then you will definitely enjoy the story it has three talking cats in by the end you will love all of them I certainly did. This is so so so so so so awesome I absolutely loved it! I like the writing style I like the kindness people in Japan treat each other with I love the story I loved Mochizuki, The three felines the book was so interesting it has a lot to say for a fairytale and I also love that it’s not a woman looking for a man to fulfill her but a woman looking to do it for herself.#NetGalley, #RandomHouse, #MaiMochizuki,#TheFullMoonCoffeeShop,

This genuinely might be my favorite read of 2024. I was so shocked and pleasantly surprised by how large an impact such a comparatively short book left on me. I cannot stop thinking about it and I will not stop recommending this to everyone I know. I just hope to one day be worthy of the full moon coffee shop myself.

In this book, we have three interconnected parts, but really five people. All five people knew one another in the past but don't interact much in the present AND their present selves are going through it. They need some kind of guidance or reminder of who they are and why they do what they do. *Cue to the full moon coffee shop* Each of our main characters find themselves at the coffee shop, run by cats, who offer them drinks and desserts based on what they most need at the time...as well as some astrological counseling.

This is such a poignant, thought-provoking story. It is really going to stick with me for the foreseeable future.

This book is about a mysterious coffee shop run by cats that appears only when a person needs it and helps them set their lives back on track. While this is an interesting premise, the story is so brief that there isn't time for that much development or to get to know enough about the characters to care about them that much. The characters did seem likable, however, and it might have been more interesting if more were revealed about them and the story was longer. However, characters coming into and out of the story so often made it hard to keep track of who was who. Plus, unfamiliarity with the Japanese names which sound similar to each other made it even more difficult. Maybe, the book was so popular in the original Japanese because the Japanese consider cats lucky so that was enough to get people invested in the story whereas here it just doesn't go over the same.

Thank you Ballantine Books for my free ARC of The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki — available Aug 20!

» READ IF YOU «
🌙 enjoy low-stakes, cozy fantasy vibes
♓️ love discussions of astrology and zodiac characteristics
☕️ have ever let a server/chef decide your meal

Translated from Japanese by Jesse Kirkwood 🇯🇵

» SYNOPSIS «
It's a full moon tonight, so if you're lucky you might stumble across the Full Moon Coffee Shop — where orders aren't taken, but chosen for you. And if you're feeling a little down on your luck or stuck in place, the extra-helpful celestial staff might be able to help you out of a jam.

» REVIEW «
This book exemplifies what I've come to expect from Japanese fantasy — low stakes, mythology vibes, simple relationships, uncomplex language. If you enjoy learning about astrology and natal charts, you'll have a great time here. Personally, I didn't realize that this would be SO much of the focus, and I already know a lot about this so it was a little boring for me. I loved the way all the characters were connected, as well as the resolution at the end. A lovely, lighthearted read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Cute and cosy, though it was ultimately a little too shallow for me. While I do enjoy a bit of astrology talk, it would have been nice if the respective main characters gave and took a little more insight into their lives and personalities before ascribing everything to simply astrology. Bonus points for the characters being full adults with their own lives and careers though, I always appreciate that!

The Full Moon Coffee Shop is the first book in a cozy fantasy series by Mai Mochizuki. Originally published in Japanese in 2020, this English language translation is due out 20th Aug 2024 from Penguin Random House on their Ballantine imprint It's 240 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

There's a vibrant sub-genre in Japanese food related cozy fantasy (Kamogawa Food Detectives, Tales from the Cafe, Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, Dallergut Department Store (which was Korean, but same basic genre), etc), and this one fits right in with the others. There's definitely a dreamlike, slightly trippy, aspect (the cafe is ephemeral and changes location depending on circumstances dictated by the patrons' needs, always on the full moon, oh, and it's staffed by giant anthropomorphic talking cats).

The book has a dreamlike quality, and the cats wax poetic to their patrons about Japanese astrology (quite a lot) and philosophy, and music. It contains a fair bit of "woo-woo" pop psychology, but overall it's entertaining, full of whimsy, and fun with a serious bent.

The prose is beautifully wrought and although slightly discursive and meandering, manages to make some good points about the meaning and trajectory of life, growing up, acceptance, and being truthful (and kind) to ourselves. The translation work, done by Jesse Kirkwood, is seamless and invisible. The text flows very well, and it doesn't read as though it's been translated (which has to be the goal).

Four stars. Well written, professionally translated, and full of whimsy, it would make an excellent choice for public library acquisition, home use, and a challenging and enjoyable book club selection/buddy read.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

This book is a beautifully whimsical, dreamy, feel-good, cozy, contemporary fantasy that captures the magic of Kyoto under a starry sky. Mochizuki weaves a gentle, enchanting tale where talking cats guide lost souls back to their true paths. The unique, ever-changing setting of the coffee shop adds a mystical charm, making each visit feel like a dream. The characters, from a struggling screenwriter to a love-struck movie director, are relatable in their search for purpose and direction. The cats, with their cryptic wisdom and star charts, are both endearing and mysterious, embodying the magic of the myth they represent. Mochizuki’s prose is lyrical and soothing, drawing readers into a world where kindness is rewarded in the most unexpected ways. The story is a heartwarming reminder that even when we feel lost, the universe has a way of guiding us back.

If you love cats, astrology, a touch of magic, and a coffee shop where they know exactly what treat will hit the spot without you having to order, this is the perfect read for you!