In September of 2022, I reviewed the first book in this cafe series, Before The Coffee Gets Cold, by Kawaguchi. Today I am reviewing the next three books which are just as intriguing and heartfelt as the first book. I encourage you to read this series because of its profound and simple question: If you could travel back in time, who would you want to meet and what would you want to say or ask them?

In the first book we are introduced to a coffee shop in downtown Tokyo where if you sit in a certain seat  and order coffee you are able to go back in time to meet someone who also frequented that coffeee shop. There are rules, however, one of which is that you must drink your coffee before it gets cold.

In the next books we meet various people who have unfinished business that they want to resolve. There is the girl who resents her parents who died and left her orphaned, or the the young woman whose grief over the loss of her older sister has become all consuming, or the daughter who drove her father away, and the husband who had something important to say. In every situation they come to the coffee shop hoping for closure or some kind of answer to their suffering or grief. In every situation they find answers but not always the answer that they sought, instead they gain insights that change their perspective and give them hope.

Interspersed throughout these stories we learn more about the people who run the cafe, and the strange ghost of a woman who sits in the chair where you can travel back in time.

These books are short, and each story has its own arc which makes it perfect for reading in a doctors office or waiting for your prescriptions to be filled. They are also medicine for the soul- a brief dose of hope, joy and understanding that helps you keep going!

Brenda’s Rating: **** (4 Out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this book to: Everyone!

Books Study Worthy? Yes!

Read in e-library format. (Tales from the Cafe, Before Your Memory Fades, Before We Say Goodbye.