Book Review: The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki
Full of cats, hope, and sweet treats, The Full Moon Coffee Shop is sure to leave you feeling warm and tingly inside. Check out my full review of The Full Moon Coffee Shop below!
Book Information
The Full Moon Coffee Shop appears only during a full moon, but can appear anywhere: a field, an alleyway, or even a city park. It feels like a wonderful dream when you enter and are served one of their celestial treats by talking cats. The best part though? The cats and the coffee shop will change your life for the better. Following several strangers as they navigate through life’s hardships, The Full Moon Coffee Shop shows you what it’s like to be human and how it feels to finally find the path you’re meant to take.
Review | Heidi Dischler
So, I went into this book very blind. I had no idea what I was getting into, but I was like, hey, why not?
I read this while on vacation in Japan and it honestly immersed me into the whole story. I loved being able to see the culture written into the pages while simultaneously experiencing it for myself. It was definitely a wonderful way to read the book.
As far as the story goes, you’re following these strangers who all end up being inexplicably tied together by their past. They’re all down on their luck and The Full Moon Coffee Shop is there to show them exactly where they need to go.
I’m gonna be honest here, I was a little lost in the beginning once you switched to a new person after the first person you read about visits the coffee shop. I wasn’t sure where the book was going or what it was trying to tell me. After the second person, though, I started to guess. It turned out to be a wonderful portrayal of our humanity and how the world often finds a way to give karma back. I believe in karma to an extent, but think of it more as mindset. You set your mind negatively? All you’ll see is the negative. However, when you look at the world in a positive light, you’re more likely to only notice the good. It’s worked for me so far at least!! But this book encapsulates this idea and I absolutely loved it.
I think I could’ve used a little more with Mizuki since a lot tied into her story specifically, but everyone else’s stories were fine being brief.
Overall, this was a short book that reads like a fairytale centered around the idea that if you do good, good comes back to find you, too. I really enjoyed the arc of the story and the characters, but would’ve liked a little more exposition on Mizuki. 3.5/5 stars rounded up to 4/5 for all the social platforms. A huge thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC of the English translation for The Full Moon Coffee Shop.
Source: Advanced Reader Copy from NetGalley
(P.S. You can read this book for free by signing up for a free trial of Audible, which gives you two free audiobooks of your choice!)
