✨ A kid who went to the past to talk to his divorced parents, a woman with her baby who traveled back to speak to her deceased husband, a father who went to the future to apologize to his daughter for his regrets, and a friend who went to the past to seek forgiveness from her best friend, whom she ignored for several years.

✨ After finishing the last book in the series, I found myself wanting more. Now that I’m done with them all, I honestly don’t know how I’ll manage without them! Reading these books became part of my daily routine over the past few days, and I just keep craving more. I’m also planning to watch Funiculi Funicula, the movie based on Book 1, Before the Coffee Gets Cold. I’m so excited to see Kazu, Nagare, and Kei come to life! I think it would be amazing if this series were adapted into an anime as well!

✨ This book is set when Miki is just 2 years old. It was interesting to learn more about Funiculi Funicula’s origins, which were revealed in this story. The time-traveling moments weren't always successful, but that was okay. The author still conveyed the message really well. I also loved and enjoyed how the characters kept finding loopholes in the never-changing, annoying rules that govern time travel. The only thing I didn’t like was the ending being cut short. I’m not sure if it was just my copy, but I wanted to read more of Tsumugi’s story.

✨ Overall, I highly recommend this beautiful, heart-shattering yet heartwarming series. I just love everything about it!

✨ Thank you so much to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for giving me the chance to read this beautiful book in exchange for my honest review.

✨ WHAT I LIKED:
📌 The revelation of where Funiculi Funicula's name originated.
📌 Yuki wanting to show his parents that he was happy for them.
📌 Finding loopholes in those annoying rules.
📌 How the other characters stepped in to help reunite a father and daughter.
📌 Tsumugi realizing how her jealousy ruined her friendship.

✨TROPES:
📌 TIME - TRAVEL
📌 FAMILY RECONCILIATION
📌 GRIEF AND LOSS
📌 FRIENDSHIP REDEMPTION
📌 UNCHANGING RULES/LOOPHOLES
📌 JEALOUSY AND GROWTH
📌 NO SPICE

💻 BLOG REVIEW: https://kimthebookdragon.wordpress.com/2024/11/05/book-review-before-we-forget-kindness-by-toshikazu-kawaguchi/

🖥️ GOODREADS REVIEW: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6882368750

This book captured everything I’ve come to love in the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series: it’s reflective, emotional, and unafraid to dive into the tender side of human connection. Once again, Kawaguchi expertly weaves stories about visitors to a mystical café, who are given the rare chance to time-travel and connect with someone they’ve lost or negatively affected. While each visit brought its own emotional weight, this installment resonated with me more deeply than any since Book #2—each guest’s story touched my heart, and yes, brought some tears, even on the subway!

The novel does a beautiful job of capturing themes like empathy and compassion, which couldn’t feel more timely, especially given the state of the world today. While I only wish the author developed his female characters with the same care as the themes, the heartfelt journeys here make this book an unforgettable part of the series. Fans of this series will appreciate its profound message and familiar weepy moments—just be prepared to get a little emotional.

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am literally addicted to this series and I'm not fully sure why. The books are a bit repetitive with stating the rules and guidelines for the cafe, however in this book we learn that there are some additional rules that are usually unspoken or never come up. I cried by the second story in this book. If there is one thing I can say with complete confidence about this series is that every single book has at least one story in it that makes me bawl my eyes out. I will always turn to this series when I need a good cry. I also appreciated that this book has a sapphic-ish story (I don’t know how else to describe it without giving a spoiler which may be a spoiler anyway). Overall, it’s a decent book and a fitting addition to this series. 3.25 stars.

Yet another wonderful installment of this companion series. Every story in this anthology had me yearning for more and rushing to the next page.

I love how Kawaguchi reaches into the wide array of human emotions and manages to translate them into every single story he tells. Once again, he succeeds in making me cry. I highly recommend this title, and any of the other ones in the series if you want something both comforting and to make you feel something.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was originally really excited to read this as I loved the other books in this series, but something felt off to me about this one - I just couldn't seem to connect to any of the stories, and they were much sadder than usual. I wanted to love this so badly, but overall it was an average read.

I appreciate the premise of this series and this book, but it feels so repetitive. Each story in the book goes over the rules and I understand that as a reader I’m watching each person get the rules for the first time. But after a few times it feels redundant. The parts that are good are so good, like the lessons Yuki learns. The parts in between just feel kinda lackluster.

Three solid stars! I think the tricky thing with a longstanding series with the same format for each book is that it becomes formulaic after a while. This book was sweet and thought provoking, but lacked some of the earlier mystery and drive as the first book. Each part is about a character who wants to go to the cafe to travel back in time. The chapters are more like vignettes.

DO note that I am definitely reading them out of order as some only a few cast of our characters continue into the next book. I loved seeing some of my favorites and it is in the same setting as the first book.

Nothing quite stood out to me in this one. But overall a cozy pleasant read. My favorite was the son story.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book!

Review featured on Goodreads (linked) and will be on instagram on the publication date.

Before We Forget Kindness
Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Unlike most of the reviewers here, I have heard of, but have not read, the books in the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series. So when this ARC became available, I took the opportunity to jump in.

Despite being my initial foray, the story was not difficult to follow. It followed the premise of the mysterious Funiculi Funicula café, in which sitting on a special seat allowed one to travel back in time, from the time the coffee is poured to when it turns lukewarm. There are four discrete short stories, allo converging on a common thread. This particular installment deals with family and grief. It explores regrets over things done and those left undone.

It is a cozy, heartwarming read. It is a short book, read in one sitting or, in my case, perfect over a lazy, crisp fall weekend sitting by the fire.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin for the ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

Whatever the book in this series is, it never fails to bring love, heartbreak, and a new version of yourself into it. I will always recommend this series.

What can I say this series will always get me. It never fails to make me cry. The different stories and the overall lesson learned resonates with me each time. My favorite story was The Nameless Child. I was crying in my bed at 3am. I really enjoyed his work though the translation was a bit off at times it wasn’t much of a distraction. The reminder of the rules was fine but sometimes it was a bit excessive and new work around for the rules popped up that seemed a little unbelievable. Couple of repetitive moments but like I said it could have just been the translation. I had a blast reading and can’t wait to read it again.


Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing and Hanover Square Press for the arc I was so excited to read this I screamed!

Thank you to the publishers for an early copy of this book in exchange for a review 😊 I really enjoyed this book (and it was a fast read!). A cozy little Japanese series and I loved. each of these 4 stories! The different reasons these characters had for going back in time was intriguing to me.This was really emotional and contemplative.. it really makes you think about love, regrets, friendships, relationships… so many things! whenever I finish one of these books I’m always asking myself where I would go if I could turn back time? 🥹 huge thank you again to the publisher for sending me a signed early copy of this! 😭

Another feel-good, moving, cozy fantasy story set in the Before the coffee gets cold universe. This new series of interconnected stories has both some new and familiar characters and touches on more instances of second chances, family connections, opportunities for forgiveness and more. Great on audio and perfect for anyone who has been enjoying this series so far. It can definitely be read as a standalone though for anyone new to the magical Japanese cafe that can transport people back in time. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

I first discovered Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s Before the Coffee Gets Cold series a few years ago during a difficult time in my life. I was lost and searching for something to hold on to; to find connection in a world that seemed more disconnected than ever. Reading about this small, unassuming café in a back alley in Tokyo, which contains the power to reach beyond our timeline and heal, brought me a great sense of peace; in turn, it helped me to process my own grief. Ever since it’s been my go-to recommendation to others when they want a deeply touching emotional journey. And joining the bookshelf in my heart reserved for this series is Before We Forget Kindness.

For those unfamiliar with the café at the center of the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series, it goes a little something like this: Customers can travel to a time of their choosing, so long as they follow a strict set of rules, that begin when they are served a particular cup of coffee. They must sit in a specific seat—waiting for the ghost occupying it to vacate her spot (which she does once a day). They cannot leave that seat until their trip is over, and they can only meet with other customers who have visited the café. They also must return to the present before the coffee gets cold, giving them just a short amount of time to share their feelings. But perhaps the most important rule is that nothing they say or do will change the present.

With such a long and complicated list of rules, customers who were hoping to change the past give up and leave. But a few come to terms with the fact that they cannot change the past, or the future, and simply wish to visit loved ones—for a variety of personal reasons. And there are the café’s staff and regulars who help make that happen. This series tells their stories.

The latest novel, Before We Forget Kindness, contains four chapters. The first is about a son who wishes to visit his parents back when they were together; the second, a widow who wants her husband to meet their child; the third, a father and daughter wishing to resolve their disagreement about her elopement; the fourth, two friends with painful questions about their love for each other.

Stepping back into the Funiculi Funicula café feels like being welcomed home. By this point in the series, the staff and regulars feel like family; to new readers, they may seem quirky and at times standoffish but, with the layers Kawaguchi has built over the years, their simple acknowledgment of the rules provides a steady comfort to those going through the time travel process.

While the series often explores whether the process of traveling through time to visit loved ones benefits the visitor, Before We Forget Kindness highlights most of all how those visitors decide whether or not it benefits the person they want to visit. Will traveling back to the past bring them any pain? What is the real reason for going to the past or future? Does the reward outweigh the risk?

It’s easy to sink into the pages of each story, becoming attached to the new customers and holding their hand as they go through the emotional upheaval of visiting another time. Every chapter is carefully designed to pull gently on heartstrings, mixing melancholy and regret with hope and love. It beautifully illustrates the complexities of the human condition; how we must walk the line between what’s best for ourselves and those we love.

You’ll feel the ache of lost futures and the finality of being unable to change the outcome of fate. The writing is simple but heartbreakingly poignant, always wrapping up the revelations in new layers of life lessons. It’s as if Kawaguchi is pouring parts of his heart into the characters. Each story tackles a different form of regret or yearning, showing how even simple choices can have complicated outcomes. Through the different visitors, the novel explores new aspects of the café’s rules, testing their limits to add new twists and surprises.

Before We Forget Kindness is a moving addition to the Funiculi Funicula café universe, keeping your heart warm with tales of love persevering through time, even when it’s bittersweet. It’s ultimately comforting, wiping away your tears with profound observations that cut to the heart of each matter. Once again, this healing series sends you on your way with a wistful smile that stays with you long after the café closes for the night.

This is the third novel I've read recently, that has been translated from a popular Asian author. They’ve been very interesting but quite different from anything I've read. All three, including this one, have a mystical premise and some deep things to think about.

In Before We Forget Kindness, the magical premise concerns a cafe where one can go and, under the right conditions, briefly visit the past, but only for ten minutes. And there are strict rules. You must sit in a certain chair. You must drink the special cup of coffee you are served. You must finish the coffee before it gets cold. Finally, you are not able to change anything about the past that you visit.

For me (I am quite sure this is the author’s intent), what is captivating is not the idea of a magical cafe but rather the stories of the people who want to visit the past. What would motivate them if they can change nothing?

The first story is that of a seven year old boy who simply wants not to cry when he learns his parents are separating. He learns that they will be happier, and thus he will be happier, but he finds he cries anyway.

This is the fifth in a series of books all set in his same cafe. Those who travel to the past for ten minutes can't change anything that happened. But they can change themselves. They can learn to cope in more positive ways. They can make amends with the living and ask forgiveness of the dead. Those who have read the earlier tales will love this volume, but it isn't necessary to have read the others to enjoy it.

Another five star read from Toshikazu Kawaguchi! The entire "Before the COffee Gets Cold" series holds a special place in my heart, but "Before We Forget Kindness" rose to my absolute favorite barely after the first customer's story finished. I laughed, I cried, I felt hopeful. This series always has a way of being thought-provoking and heartwarming at the same time. I hope there are many more to come, I can't recommend this one enough. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC opportunity! It made my day to revisit some of my favorite fictional friends.

I have only read the first book but I knew the premise and the kind of emotional stories that are told. So many hit close to home and this book was no different. As a parent myself, I saw so much pain and healing in the words of the pages in these stories. A kid who feels responsible for changing how he reacted for his parents' sake, the parent who wished they had acted differently to have a better relationship with their child, the spouse who lost their partner too soon, and a woman overcome by jealousy of her now estranged best friend... so many relationships in life to reflect on and care for. I will say there was quite a bit of repetition of the cafe rules, which I know they need to tell each person, but when they say it for each story, it gets very repetitive... Otherwise, loved these touching tales!

The fifth in the series, this short read is a collection of short stories of people who take advantage of the Funiculi Funiculi cafe, and being able to go to some point in the past during the brief window in which it takes a cup of coffee to get cold. I read this because it was listed in B&N best books of 2024, although I hadn't read or heard of the other 4 books. There are 4 stories, all very heartwarming, the first being my favorite. The first was about a young boy whose parents were divorced and doing well. Both of them much happier and better parents. Going back will not change their divorce, but he wants to change his reaction. I can relate as if I had the chance to go to the past for ten minutes I would change my reactions to things. The author understands the nature of regret and writes well. Although translated from the original Japanese, I found the prose to be natural and comforting. A charming series!

Thanks to @netgalley and @harlequinbooks for the ARC. Book to be published (in the US) November 5, 2024.
#booksbooksbooks #bookstagram #booklover #arcreview #booktok #netgalley #bookrecommendations #BeforeWeForgetKindness

Once again, Toshikazu Kawaguchi made me cry during my lunch break. Before we forget kindness uses the same winning formula as the three previous novels in the series, and does not miss the mark. 10/10, buy this book for Christmas - for yourself, and for your bookish friends.

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 4⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: Fiction📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
As the fifth book in the series it can still be read alone. A quick and heartbreaking read with four different stories. The cafe is just as cozy and magical as ever. Beautiful and though provoking

This book was very thought provoking and somehow made me feel nostalgic for experiences I did not have. I was not the biggest fan of the point of view this book was told from and had some trouble keeping up with what was happening when coming back to the book. However, it was a lovely story to read.