“Regret comes in two flavors: actions taken and opportunities missed.” The fifth installment of the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series, we are transported back into the mysterious magical cafe with four new guests: the father, the Valentine, the son, and the nameless child. As always, the same rules apply: the time you spend in the past begins the moment Kazu (the waitress) has poured your coffee, and it ends just before the coffee gets cold. Having read Before the Coffee Gets Cold, I loved going back to this heartwarming place. It does get sad and emotional at times, but what can expect from Kawaguchi? Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

I have read all the previous 4 books by Kawaguchi of the Coffee gets cold series and hence had to pick this one up. The story has the same premise of visiting your past in cafe Funicula Funiculi and in this book like the others the theme revolves around grief. Of moving on, acceptance and love. It starts with the story of a young boy who is struggling with the divorce of his parents, the child who has to be named, of an incomplete love. It touches the chords of heart and shows that sound reasoning and logic would not necessarily lead to a right path and one has to listen to the heart at times in relationships.
I liked this book a lot. But I now strongly hope that the author writes a new book with a different story and not the same premise. His beautiful imagination and understanding the complexity of relationships can be put forth with a newer premise and his readers would look forward to a new story.

Thank you Toshikazu Kawaguchi and the publisher for an e-ARC via NetGalley🫶🏼

This is my first time reading on of the books from this series and I was pleasantly surprised.
Each of the stories, as the title alludes, is about kindness.
I found myself teary-eyed at the end of each story and read through the entire thing on a flight home from a work trip.

Excellent writing. The rules got a bit confusing, but I loved learning more about the rules as the book went on.
Has me thinking a lot about how small moments to me may be bigger moments to others, and to lead with kindness when possible.

*Before We Forget Kindness* is the fifth book in the *Before the Coffee Gets Cold* series, set in the time-traveling Funiculi Funicula café in Tokyo. The café allows visitors to revisit the past under strict rules: they must stay seated, interact only with people who have visited before, and their actions won’t change the present. The novel explores themes of regret and reflection, with moving character arcs, especially Yuki and Riuju. Though the repetitive explanation of the café's rules can be tedious, the emotional depth of the story makes it a poignant read.

Four heartwarming stories of people who travel to a past time to see people they have unresolved issues with.
While it will not change what happenned, it gives them closure and the ability to move on with their lives.
#Before We Forget Kindness #HarlequinTradePublishing #HanoverSquarePress #NetGalley

Before We Forget Kindness is the fifth book in the Before The Coffee Gets Cold series and just like the previous four books, it follows four different stories of customers at the Funiculi Funicula cafe who want to go back in time.

I did like this book however, I do think that it was my least favourite in the series. At this point, I feel like the series is getting a bit too repetitive.

Overall, I still love these books and will continue to recommend them to others!

I really love this series and I liked this book too. All the books in this are basically the same thing, having 4 different stories mixed into 1 but with different scenarios and people. This one made me cry with the second one and there’s always been that 1 chapter that made me cry in each book.

It was very enjoyable and heartwarming. I also just love the whole time travelling system and how you still have some of the same characters from the previous books because of the café itself.

My First Read from Toshikazu Kawaguchi

"Before We Forget Kindness" is the fifth book in the bestselling "Before the Coffee Gets Cold" series. This novel, like its predecessors, is set in the mystical Funiculi Funicula café located in the Kanda area of Chiyoda City, just outside Tokyo. The café offers a unique experience: customers can travel back in time. Many visit the café hoping to find closure with loved ones and to move forward with their lives.

The Rules of Time Travel in Funiculi Funicula

The time travel experience at the café comes with specific rules:
1. Stay Seated: Customers must remain seated in a particular chair at all times.
2. Limited Scope: They can only visit the past to meet people who have previously been to the café.
3. Time Frame: The journey begins when the coffee is poured and ends when it gets cold, giving them roughly eight to ten minutes.
4. Unchangeable Present: Actions taken in the past will not alter the present. Lives cannot be saved, and events such as divorces cannot be prevented.

Despite these limitations, customers are drawn to the café by their regrets. They seek a chance to relive moments and respond differently, armed with the knowledge they have in the present. Unspoken words, moments of anger, and tears shed are often the driving forces behind their desire to revisit the past.


My Impressions:

Kawaguchi excels at capturing the depth of human regrets and the profound impact of hindsight. While reading the previous books in the series can provide additional context, this novel stands well on its own. At just under 250 pages, it is a relatively short read. I particularly enjoyed the characters Yuki and Riuju. However, I found the repetition of the café’s rules for each character a bit tedious. Despite these minor critiques, the story moved me to tears.

Acknowledgments

I extend my gratitude to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC.

Another hit from Toshikazu Kawaguchi! I've enjoyed this series so much and am so happy the publishers and Netgalley let me read this arc! I love the way the people and their stories get me thinking in different ways. I will be buying a copy and recommending to other readers!

Before We Forget Kindness is the fifth book in the Before The Coffee Gets Cold series. This book follows four different stories, with each character having a regret and wanting to go back in time to fix it. While this installment is my least favorite of the series, it still managed to make me cry. Also, this book can be read as a standalone but I highly recommend the other books in the series as well. Overall, I enjoy these short stories and will probably pick up the next book as well. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the arc.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC
I loved this book. I have been a big fan of all the books in this series and will continue to read more if more is ever published. This particular book is my favorite of the series so far!

The book is split in to four sections, each telling the story of one individual who wishes to go back in time at the cafe. Each person's story tugs at the heartstrings and I wanted to wrap all of them up in a hug. This is another soft, gentle addition to the 'Before the Coffee Gets Cold' universe.

Netgalley ARC: 2/5. Before reading this, I tried to read BTCGC #1 and DNF’d at 45%. Unfortunately the different stories did not have a different effect on me, but I did finish each. These stories all gave “if you could back in time, what would you say/do differently” but at various stages of life’s journey (dating, adulthood, starting a family). Overall, each story felt monotone to me. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC and for a platform to voice all opinions!

Before We Forget Kindness is the fifth book in the bestselling Before the Coffee Gets Cold series translated from Japanese about the mysterious Funiculi Funicula café in the Kanda area in Chiyoda City outside Tokyo. In this legendary café, customers visit hoping to travel back in time often in hopes of finding closure with loved ones in order to move forward with their lives.

There are, however, a few stipulations regarding time travel in the café. Customers must remain seated in a certain chair at all times. Customers can only travel back in time to visit with other people who have previously visited the café. The time travel period begins once the coffee is poured into their cup and ends when the coffee gets cold, leaving approximately eight to ten minutes to visit the past. Lastly (and perhaps most importantly), customers are reminded that there is nothing they can do or say during their time travel that will change the present. For example, a life cannot be saved, nor can a divorce be prevented.

Knowing all the rules that come with the café, why are customers compelled to go back in time? The answer is almost always regret in some form or another. Words that were left unspoken, tears that were shed, anger in the heat of a moment. A chance to react differently knowing all they do in the present moment is what these customers seek.

Toshikazu Kawaguchi introduces us to four new characters with heartbreaking stories:

1. The Son
2. The Nameless Child
3. The Father
4. The Valentine

Overall, I find Kawaguchi has a real gift for capturing the depth of regrets humans carry and the power of hindsight. Although it helps to read Before the Coffee Gets Cold, I believe this can be read as a stand alone. At just under 250 pages, this is a short read. For the most part, I enjoyed it (especially Yuki and Riuju). However, I found it unnecessary for the rules to be repeated for each character in such excruciating detail. The third-person omnipresent POV can be a bit overwhelming at times as well. That said, I definitely still shed a few tears!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this arc!

The most recent instalment (5th book) in the series.
Before We Forget Kindness delves into various emotions and themes while the concept of the cafe remains the same.
It is tender and touching as always, and thanks to its readability, it is a 3.5 stars rounded up.

BEFORE WE FORGET KINDNESS
RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
GENRE: Japanese Fiction, Sci-Fi

This is the 5th book in the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series and focuses on the concept of kindness with our new cast of characters; a wistful young boy, a confused new mother, a regretful father/daughter pair, and a remorseful friend. Just as all the previous books, the story takes place in Funiculi Funicula with Nagare and Kazi returning to help guide our patrons into the magic of the cafe. We also get appearances from previous cafe time travelers now turned regulars to instill their wisdom onto those who wish to travel to the past.

I have enjoyed this series as it explores humanity, regrets, and compassion from different angles. However, I did feel that these four new stories were a little lack-luster compared to the previous one that usually left me wanting to bawl my eyes out. I did enjoy the stories and the outcomes as always. This book seems to focus on the ‘kindness’ of the cafe-goer’s person that they intended to meet. We get to see what happens with that person after the ‘coffee gets cold’ and the cafe-goer has to return to the present. We tend to focus on our own concerns, not realizing that others may view a situation differently and it allows us to have on different perspectives.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing and Hanover Square Press for the opportunity to read more of this beloved series as a eARC. Please be on the lookout for this book on shelves 11/4/2024. I can’t wait to add to my collection of Japanese fiction.

Deeply moving and beautiful! I’m happy to revisit the cafe with new characters! I will never forget this series and these stories.

We are back in the café; we are back to get our hearts ripped from their sung places. Five books later, it is the same story: you can go back in time, you cannot get up from your seat, you cannot alter the past (or future), you need to drink your coffee before it gets cold.

While it is the same thing, regrets and what led people to those regrets differ a lot. This time we are reading stories of following characters: a boy who wants to show his smile to his divorced parents, a wife holding a child with no name, a woman who couldn't give Valentine's Day chocolates to her loved one, and a father who could not allow his daughter to get married. They were all in the café to tell those people who were gone from their lives that what they said before meant nothing

Like I said b5th book in, I still love it and I shamelessly wait for the 6th installment. I read this series as a reminder to not to do anything that I might regret later. I think twice before I say or do something

“What could anyone accomplish in the time it takes for one cup of coffee to get cold?”

Before We Forget Kindness poses the above questions, and it’s one of my favorites in the series. The limited time never puts people off to going back to the past, it’s actually more the following rules that get them.

I think these story collections are incredible, even though this one wasn’t my favorite out of the bunch! I think the previous installment has stuck with me for so long that I just haven’t been able to get over it.

To answer the question though, a lot. You can accomplish a lot before the coffee gets cold <3

Thanks so much NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts :)

Starting off with Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and Toshikazu Kawaguchi for the opportunity of receiving this as an arc.

Ive read all 4 books in the Before the Coffee Gets Cold collection and have loved every single one of them. All of them give you an emotional impact in a way that you don't expect. Yoko's story had me the most emotional as her relationship with her parents is relatable and in a way hit close to home. I found myself relating a lot to her having to hide things that had gone on in order to not disappoint her parents, as i've experienced that myself.

This book was such an enjoyable and emotional journey, while having many lessons that you learn which can be translated to your life. I also love the concept of being at a coffee shop and sitting down to drink a cup of coffee while traveling back to the past. I wish we could do this in real life as there are many things in the past I would love to experience again.

These books always seem to come into my life at just the right time when I’m making a big decisions, having regrets or grieving. And they know just how to soothe.

The chapters featuring fathers really got to me this time and I know I will read and reread this book just like the other 4