Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon is a story about the connections we form in life. The story is set in a world where a go-between exists between the living and the dead. A living person can request to meet with a deceased person, but only once in their lifetime. Each deceased person can only meet with one living person, ever.

The story is about one go-between and his encounters with people wanting to meet the dead. Each of the first few chapters is about a different person and their reasons for wanting to meet their person. In the later chapters, we get more of a perspective on the go-between and the greater perspective of each encounter.

I’m really glad I read this one! Normally I’ll pass on reading books like this, as I think they might be depressing, but this one really was not. The focus was more on the connections we make with people and the motivations we have in life. Overall this was a really good story about relationships and the lasting impact others have on us.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

Thought provoking and still similar to Before the Coffee gets Cold. Leaves a lot of interpretation to be done by the reader.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A young man acts as a go between for the living and dead. In the storyline, each person has one opportunity when alive to meet with a deceased person and the deceased has only one opportunity as well.

A beautiful collection of stories woven together through grief and love. I’m always a fan of Mizuki Tsujimura and I hope there will be another to make it a series! Each story was beautifully, painfully, and exceptionally written. You really fall for the characters and feel for them. This book came at the perfect time in my life and I’ll be recommending it to everyone I know.

Thank you Scribner, Netgalley and the author for the e-arc. All the opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed Lonely Castle in the Mirror, which is why I was excited to read this one. I liked the emotional core of that book.. So I had high hopes for Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon. Sadly, it turned out to be a disappointment.

The book is based on an interesting idea, someone helps people meet the dead for one final conversation. It sounds like a touching concept, but the way it’s used here just didn’t work for me. There are four separate stories, each one about someone dealing with regret or loss. Then there’s a final story that tries to explain everything and tie it all together.

The biggest issue was the pacing again. About 60% of the book is spent telling the stories, and the rest retells things from the perspective of the person organizing these meetings. That final part was the weakest for me it was overly sweet, a bit boring, and way too focused on delivering a moral message.

The only story that stood out was the fourth one, about a man hoping to see his missing fiancée again. That one actually felt emotional and sincere. The rest felt more like a writing exercise built around a neat idea. Overall, I was let down. I wanted to feel moved, but instead, it felt hollow.

Thank you for the opportunity, but I’m afraid this is a DNF for me. I’m afraid this just feels too much like Before the Coffee Gets Cold series, even down to the aloof go-between/waitress. I would leave the star rating blank, but it is a required field so I am giving three stars just in consideration of the writing minus the plot.

This is my second novel of Mizuki Tsujimura and I'm blown away by her writing again. This is such a heavy topic of grief and it was handled beautifully. This was a perfect mixture of being bittersweet and emotional but not taking it too far where it's overwhelming. I really enjoyed reading this and I look forward to reading more of her work.

4 stars...first off thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this eARC of the book. I enjoyed this book, the concept of being able to speak to a loved one who's passed for some final closure is amazing. I find I like Japanese literature that's been translated to English. I look forward to reading the next book in 2026. This book focuses on love, loss, grief, acceptance, a little bit of a fantasy/magic element and family. The characters were all likeable and I loved the plot. Yes I would recommend this to readers. It comes out in October I believe.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - It’s been awhile since I’ve read a story with magical realism, but I really adored this one! To have the opportunity to meet a beloved friend, family, or even celebrity one final time and have that chance to get some answers or closure, who wouldn’t want that? In this story we follow some individuals who seek out the “Go-Between” Ayumi to get such a chance. We get to see how their meetings with the deceased changes and affects each of them, for better or for worse. We also learn how Ayumi became an intermediary for such a bizarre but fulfilling role. I’m hoping we’ll get to explore more of his character in the sequel.

This was a great story written by Mizuki, but I was also very impressed with Yuki Tejima’s translation. Sometimes I find translated work a bit cumbersome to read as the wording can be rigid and awkward, but this story flowed so nicely that I honestly forgot I was even reading a translated story. That was a pleasant surprise for sure!

I’ve been meaning to read Mizuki’s other story “Lonely Castle in the Mirror”. Finishing this novel has me looking forward to reading that book even more!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for my review.

A haunting but fun translated fiction full of heart, detail, thought provoking themes, and macabre beauty.

Thank you to Scribner and Netgalley for providing me with a copy for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

If you had one chance to speak with anyone who had passed, who would it be? Why? Do you think you would feel better afterwards, or worse? Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon is a philosophical and contemplative novel about our relationships with each other and our relationship with death, and how the two intertwine.

Each chapter features a different character longing to reconnect with someone who has been lost, and all for different reasons. The only connection between each chapter is the presence of the Go-Between (the individual who helps to arrange meetings between the living and the dead).

This novel reminded me a bit of the experience of playing the game Spiritfarer, which also examines our relationship with death and our own mortality. Similarly, not every character was or is a good person. We see how those flaws can echo through multiple lives (and deaths) of the people around them.

I would call this novel emotional without being devastating. I cried multiple times, but it felt gently sad or bittersweet in those moments, rather than depressing. Each chapter being essentially a self-contained story means that it is ideal for taking small breaks if the reader finds themselves overwhelmed at any time, or if they simply wish to put the book down and reflect on the chapter they just read and the experience within it.

This has truly been one of my favorite reads of the year, and I highly recommend it for a quiet, pensive, evening read. The translation is outstanding and I will definitely be reading the next book.

As moving as this book was, it took me an unusually long time to finish it. I liked that the stories were all interconnected, but only a couple of the stories really kept me engaged. Some of the dialogue also seemed a little awkward and unnatural, a quality I've noticed in many books translated into English.

Very emotional story and thought provoking. Really Enjoyed this read and am ready to look more into the author. The book could have been a little shorter but I have no complaints.

I hope this book gets its flowers. This had my emotions all over the place in the best way. This just hits for anyone who experiences grief. So thought provoking and beautiful.

This was my first Tsujimura novel, and I have to say I was very impressed. I love Japanese translated fiction, especially the ones that are magical realism, and I thought this story was a charming entry into that genre. Some of it was very heavy, but it was expertly balanced with the gorgeous storytelling. I even teared up a few times. Can’t wait to read more from Mizuki Tsujimura!

This was a beautiful moving story. While I was reading it, my book felt like an escape from everything because it felt a wood apart yet very relatable. I enjoyed both the characters and the storyline and highly recommend this book!

Lost Souls tells the story of several people who are desperate to speak to someone who has passed...one last time. The Go-Between can help make this meeting happen. Only once, and only for one night, on the full moon. Each chapter reads like a short story, giving just enough background to hook you into really wanting to know why each person wants to meet the deceased. As the book wraps up, a twist is revealed that is deeply satisfying, tying the characters together in a really lovely way.

This books poignancy, semi-mystical themes and cozy atmosphere are similar to "Before the Coffee Gets Cold" by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. This book was delightful and hopeful and truly engaging.

I enjoyed much of this book, but I'm beginning to feel that this genre, much like a previous Korean novel on this fantasy theme is not for me.
Lost Souls is a series of short stories tied together by the final tale. It's about a go-between who makes matches not of a romantic nature but to arrange a meeting with a living person and someone sho is dead. The dead person, contacted by the go-between, must agree to the meeting and it can only take place on the night of a full moon and only until morning.

The translation is a good one, but the book did not check enough boxes to hold my interest.

Thans to Net Galley and Simon and Schuser for the Arc cooy to read and review. This is my honest opinion.

I'm a huge fan of character-driven stories, and this translation doesn't disappoint. My favorite development is that of the teenaged Ayumi himself and how he became a go-between; the set-up, while a slow burn, was immensely satisfying and included a twist for which I was wholly unprepared. As someone who is also still somewhat in a 'grief fog' and often looks to bibliotherapy, I appreciated the exploration of different types of losses and the kind of relationships one can still have with the loved one even after they're physically long gone.

Thank you to Scribner publishing as well as the author, Mizuki Tsujimura, for access to this ARC. I thoroughly enjoyed this book which focused on the journey of people requesting a meeting with a deceased person in order to speak with them on me last time. A young man working as “the go between” spoke with deceased people and, if they agreed to meet with those who requested, set a meeting in a hotel for them to meet. I enjoyed the variety of people who requested these meetings - and for very different reasons. There was comfort in imagining a world where this could be possible and pondering who I would use my “one chance” on to meet. (Individuals can only meet with one deceased person their entire lives). I would recommend this book to others, especially those that appreciated translated Japanese fiction and collections of stories centered on one idea.