I cried with the first two stories!!

Before We Forget Kindness is a collection of very genuine, very human stories. Each of the four chapters covers the story of a person who wants to travel to a time to make amends with someone they love for something they regret doing.

Each story is an example of the human experience, and how sometimes in our lives, we say or do things out of spite, envy, or pride - although these actions may not feel BIG in the moment, they have a butterfly effect that alters the story of our lives, or how we feel about ourselves.
In this book, although these characters can't change the past or future by traveling in time, they do have the opportunity to apologize for their wrong-doings, or make peace with the things that have happened. Sometimes the peace that comes from that is all you need. I think the sentiment in each story can be sympathized with by anyone. It's a reminder of how human we all are, and how important it is to make peace with your actions so you can live more freely. I loved this book.

I'll be posting a more in-depth review on my tiktok, @digi.reads closer to the release date (November 3rd) and have posted the same review to my Goodreads and Fable accounts.

Wow, each of the four stories was emotional but so good. Truly about the regrets we have in our lives and hope we should confront our feelings so much earlier. The last story really broke me and it was the best one in my opinion. He has such a way with words that it truly makes you think. If you already read this series this one you will absolutely love, and if you haven't read any, this is a great book to read either way.

My thanks for the ARC goes to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing | Hanover Square Press. I'm voluntarily leaving a review.

Genre: Asian Literature, Magical Realism, Fantasy, Cozy Fantasy, Japanese Literature
Language: A couple of words were said but nothing overly vulgar
Spice Level: Kissing
Representation: This seems obvious, but the characters are Japanese. There is also one gay character
Format: One thread pulls the story together, but it's really a series of vignettes or short stories. You do not need to read the previous books to understand this one.

BEFORE WE FORGET KINDNESS is perfect reading for warm and cozy feelings, and the right length for a commute read / listen.

Why go back to the past if it won't change the future?
That was my biggest question.

Kawaguichi explores regret and how changing what we say maybe doesn't change the future, but it changes our perceptions and feeling of closure. I thought each of the characters' goals were interesting. There's one dealing with a child that made me teary too. The sense of belonging and all coming to the right ending is wonderful. This is something I've found in Japanese literature—a sense of space and time to ruminate and become easy with who you are.

This is a thoughtful book and delightful.

Happy reading!

This is the fifth book in the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series. We’re back at the café where visitors can go back or froward in time to meet someone who’s also visited the cafe, but only if they follow the rules, especially that of returning before their coffee gets cold. This time, we meet four new characters, each person goes through a kind of transformative journey. The son, the nameless child , the father and the valentine.

I always enjoy these book , though each persons goals and stories are different they are all connected by the theme of regret, while longing for closure which ultimately leads so some form of transformation in the characters. I also, liked how this time the author included an explanation of the Japanese culture, history or way of thinking to help those who don’t know about Japan have a deeper understanding of the situation of the characters. The café setting is cozy, relaxing, magical realism atmosphere. This books stories has more positive emotional outcomes so I didn’t need a box of tissues for this read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing | Hanover Square Press for the ARC. This is my honest review.

Thank you for providing me with this ARC! I loved this series and I am glad to see it continue. The cover is beautiful and so was the story. It was difficult to follow at times, however, I enjoyed the ride.

Four new characters have a chance to revisit their pasts in the latest in this heartwarming series set in a cafe. Those who have read the earlier books know that this follows a bit of a formula and that nothing bad happens. Thanks to the publisher for the arc. It's an easy read.

Firstly, thank you to the publishing company for allowing me to read and review this book.

I absolutely enjoyed reading this book, very heartfelt and really gives a great message about how easy it is for us to be constantly trying to live in the past versus living for the present day.

Thank you to Hanover Square Press and Netgalley for the advanced readers copy of Before We Forget Kindness by Toshikazu Kawaguchi.

Having read the first four books in the series, I was looking forward to this newest installment of the Before The Coffee Gets Cold series. Though there were a couple of stories in this one that definitely made me cry like the others, I felt like this book felt more forced. It didn't quite land as emotional as some of the previous installments. This one was quite repetitive in the rules of moving through. This book also spent more time moving to the future which is what stood out in my mind.

I think most who love this series will love this one too.

This series is some of my favourite book, and Before We Forget Kindness is no exception. The short stories make the books easy to pick up and put down, while still making one think about how they might interact in these situations. They can certainly be sad tales, but they are heartfelt and often make me smile. Would certainly recommend to reads and non-readers alike

"Before We Forget Kindness" is the 5th book in the "Before the Coffee Gets Cold series." These interwoven collections of short series really explore the emotions of human nature. It’s heartbreaking and heartwarming. It’s about human relationships, regrets, forgiveness, and coming to terms with the past.

In this novel, we have four new distinct stories. A 7-year-old boy who wants to show a smile to his separated parents, a mother who wants her late husband to name their child, a father who regrets opposing his daughter’s marriage, and a woman who was unable to confess her love on Valentine’s Day. There is so much emotion and depth in these characters journeys. Each story beautifully captures the regrets that human carries. My favorite was "The Nameless Child" and "The Valentine." These two stories completely brought me to tears, because it shows that going back to the past not only brings closure to the people who goes back, but also the people who are visited, since we learned in the last book, their memories are not affected. I also love how we learn a loophole in this novel. We learn that “there was no rule stating that only one person could go back in time.” Knowing this, I am excited to see what new stories the author will come up with in the future.

Overall, I still continue to enjoy this series. Although I wish the rules of the café wasn’t so repetitive with the start of each new short stories, I still found them engaging and thought-provoking. Can’t wait for the next book to come out!

Thank you Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC. All opinions are my own.

As always, thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC!
I have been looking forward to this book since I read the other 4 books in the series in May. I devoured those books in 4 days, which meant crying my eyes out for 4 days.
...I don't know what happened but I feel like a different person wrote this book compared to the other 4 books in the series. The way the different stories were told in this book was completely different than the previous books. The stories were so matter of fact and perhaps 3 or 4 pages of each short story was really engaging and as emotional as the previous books, but this one fell flat. I caught myself skimming half the book. I am so disappointed. Luckily, you can read each book as a stand alone so this one isn't needed to fill in anything from previous books.

Any book in the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series should brace itself for my fierce admiration of it. Kawaguchi possesses a remarkable talent for weaving together stories that delve into grief, loss, love, and the complex tapestry of human emotions. While this latest collection begins with a somewhat less engaging narrative, the subsequent three stories deliver a powerful emotional impact. Returning readers will find it a quick read; just like in previous installments, the cafe’s time travel rules are revisited with each new customer, making it easy to skim through the familiar setup and dive straight into the heart of each character's journey.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Before We Forget Kindness by Kawaguchi Toshikazu is a third person multi-POV Japanese magical realism continuation of Before the Coffee Gets Cold. The coffee shop that allows people to travel back in time is back with four new stories and so are the employees (Kazu, Nagare, and his daughter Miki) and several guests from previous books to help guide new customers to achieving a sense of peace.

The first story was about a young boy who wants to go back in time to not cry when his parents told him they were getting a divorce. I loved how this story reflected the maturity a lot of young children express when their parents are going through a separation or divorce as they don’t want to cause more stress or be difficult. The real cherry on top was the boy realizing that his parents were happier apart and with new partners because we so often have these kinds of stories featuring the parents bad mouthing each other to get the majority of the child’s affection. It’s an ideal situation for a divorced couple in some ways, but it’s still something painful for their child to work through even if that child is happy that their parents are happy.

My favorite of the four stories involved a new mother wanting to go back in time with her newborn daughter to meet her husband so he could name their child. I actually cried while reading this one because it hit me quite hard. Like a lot of these stories, there’s emotional depth in the mundane aspects that make a tragedy all the more tragic and it really exemplified what I think this series is really all about: having the chance to achieve closure for something you cannot change. Reading the husband talking about everything he wanted for his daughter and all the things he’s going to miss is so heartbreaking but the whole reason his wife is there, so he can give their child one final gift, is undeniably beautiful.

I would recommend this to fans of magical realism, readers who enjoy grief stories with a bittersweet ending, and those looking for an episodic speculative that focuses strongly on the characters’ emotions

This series continues with four new individuals who come to the Funiculi Funicula Café trying to come to terms with something from their past. Their stories are both heartbreaking and heartwarming to read. The final tale about Valentines Day had me (and both the the characters) in tears as I read of what could have been.

Lovely book that everyone should read. The cover pulls you in immediately. I had heard about this author from tiktok. So glad to have received an ARC of this.

This fifth book in the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series was such a touching read! We’re back at the mysterious café where visitors can go back in time, but only if they follow the rule of returning before their coffee gets cold. This time, we meet four new characters, each with their own emotional journey. There’s the father who couldn’t accept his daughter’s marriage, the woman who never gave her Valentine’s chocolates to her love, a boy who wants to show his smile to his divorced parents, and a mother holding a nameless child.

I loved how each story was so different, yet all connected by the theme of regret and longing for closure. The book is relatively short but manages to dive deep into these characters’ sorrows and hopes. What always gets me about this series is how quietly powerful it is. The café setting is cozy and almost magical. Each visit feels like a comforting return, even though every story hits me right in the emotions.

This one, just like the previous books, had me feeling so much by the end. It’s not flashy or full of plot twists, but that’s part of its charm. It’s all about human connection, forgiveness, and finding peace with the past. I’d recommend this to anyone who has read the earlier books because it definitely continues to deliver that same quiet, bittersweet beauty. If you’ve followed the series this far, you won’t want to miss this next chapter.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

There is only a month or so until release day for this lovely book, and I must say it is the perfect fall book. Every short story enraptured me, and I loved each of the unique themes that the story had. The characters were all so different, and each learned an important lesson from their time travel.

The magic, the vibes, everything was so perfect for fall! I definitely recommend it!! I cannot wait to read all of the other books from this series <33

I've really enjoyed this series, this latest installment was just as enjoyable as the first few in the series.

This book was extremely emotional and hard hitting. I’ve been a fan of this series from the first book, but this one has been the most impactful to me. I love how each of the stories gets very personal. There is always something for everyone, but this installment was for the parents. I will continue to revisit this book in particular, when I need a reminder of how important family is and how grateful I am to have the one I have.

This series is similar to the books that come before, and that is a good thing. I really enjoyed the stories - most sad and I cried. Anyone reading this book may have read some of the others in the series and knows what to expect. This book can also be read by newbies - there is no need to read in an order. At 240 pages, it is a short and poignant read.