I haven't read the first 4 books in this series, but damn. I'm going to need 5-7 business days to recover emotionally before I even think about going close to another one of Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s books.
From the first story with Yuki, I was so sad by the end. That child is so kindhearted and has such a high EQ that he puts the adults in his life before himself is so sad. I just want to wrap him in a hug.
Megumi taking their daughter to Riuji was so beautiful. She gave him the opportunity to his daughter and hold her, and she was able to give her the gift of having been named by her father. I couldn't stop crying after I realized that he drank the coffee for her, so Megumi wouldn't have to deal with the fact that that was the end.
Yoko's relationship with her parents because of the way they viewed her, and how she treated them in return to match that image they had of her. Her having to hide what was happening to her to not disappoint them. Both father and daughter trying to reach each other, luckily they both got the closure they so desperately needed in the end.
All the stories were so compelling, but the last one had me bawling my eyes out. The pure love, friendship, agony over what could have been, and regret for what can't be changed.
Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and Toshikazu Kawaguchi for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Before We Forget Kindness is a collection of short tales in the universe of Before the Coffee Gets Cold. There is a café in Tokyo that will allow visitors to travel to the past—so long as they follow very limiting rules. The stories in this collection feature the young son of divorced parents, a mother desiring her late husband to name their baby, a father and daughter at odds, and a Valentine’s Day of regret.

The first story, “The Son”, was short, but very emotionally driven. Through Yuki’s eyes, you almost forget what you know is coming. And then, it devastates you again. The second story was also very sweet. I didn’t get quite the same emotional feedback from the latter two stories, but they were very interesting in their own rights.

I liked Yuki in the first story and Riuji in the second the most. They both have childlike ways of thinking that make the emotional beats hit harder, and balance those beats out.

I’m usually not a fan of the third person omniscient POV (narrator is in everyone’s heads at once) but I think it works with this style. It took me some getting used to, however it seemed to really lend itself to the quasi-magical-realism of this café and the world the café inhabits. It added to the atmosphere, rather than took me out of it, almost as if the café itself was the true narrator.

I wasn’t very invested in the recurring characters—those who work at the café. Probably because I haven’t read the previous four installments. I don’t think doing so is necessary to get a lot out of reading this one, though.

While some aspects of each story were predictable, it didn’t take anything away from their meaning. These tales are at their core a study of the human experience, and the regrets and choices that come with time. Predictability is common in real life, yet consequences can still break us. These stories mirror those feelings well.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I know I keep saying this, but this series has been so painfully healing for me. I just love the simple yet impactful way Kawaguchi writes his books. Grief and regrets are such human experiences and I feel like he captures them so well.

The last story hit me so hard I felt nauseous for a minute. Dealing with the grief of a close loved one is never easy, especially when their passing leaves so much unsaid. Kawaguchi did such an incredible job writing this emotion.

Random point: I really like how Kawaguchi gives readers glimpses into Japanese moments and bits of Japanese lifestyles. I’d like to believe he’s doing it to give his international readers a peek into the nuances of Japan.

This story is largely set in a café called Funiculi Funicula in Jimbocho, in the Kanda area in Chiyoda City, Tokyo, with a sign on the corner of an alley. The name seems to have no particular reason. But what makes this café stand apart from others is that it seems, as word gets around, that the coffee one could order could also take you back in time. Not permanently, there is a set amount of time, but enough time to connect and ask their questions or share their regrets, all within a limited period of time - the time it takes from the beginning to end is from the time the coffee is poured, and ends just before the coffee gets cold.

In order to begin the journey to the past, there is a special chair in the café, which one needs to wait for a particular chair in the café, which a certain customer will be occupying, and you must wait until that person to leave the chair, and visit the restroom. Then you may sit in the chair which will take you back in time, but you must stay on the chair while you are in the past. And there is another stipulation, who you can go back to meet is limited to those who have visited the cafe previously.

This is the fifth book in the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series, but not having read the ones that preceded this one, I enjoyed it as a stand alone read.

At 240 pages, this is a relatively short read, but it explores so many regrets that people have had over the years, and the sorrows that follow. The questions never asked, the questions never answered.


Pub Date: 05 Nov 2024


Many thanks to for the ARC provided by Harlequin Trade Publishing / Hanover Square Press