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Before the Coffee Gets Cold... may explore similar ground to its predecessors in the genre, but it inventively limits the mechanics of its time travel to the confines of a small cafe, and is all the more resonant for it... the narrative is deeply moving."
-Chicago Review of Books "Heartwarming, quirky, and wistful." -Huffpost
"A charming novel about a mysterious Japanese coffee shop in which customers who sit in a certain chair can go back in time - but just while their coffee is cooling." -Star Tribune
"Kawaguchi... has a surprising, unerring ability to find lasting emotional resonance. Interwoven into what initially feels like a whimsical escape are existential conundrums of love and loss, family and freedom, life and death." -The Christian Science Monitor
"By cleverly weaving fantastic strands into what turns out to be an entertaining tale... Kawaguchi builds suspense from scene to scene, carefully selecting his narrative clues." -The Arts Fuse
"The story is gold. Before the Coffee Gets Cold is perfect for anyone who wants to feel connected right now." -BookReporter
"Before the Coffee Gets Cold is able to create pathos for the characters who yearn in earnest to change the past... Check out Kawaguchi's work if you fancy a break from the inescapable reality of the pandemic." -The Mancunion
"Toshikazu lays out a system of time travel that is unconvoluted and beautifully simple... This charmingly magical novel is about discovering happiness despite the pasts that we desperately want to revisit." -The Harvard Crimson
"An affecting, deeply immersive journey into the desire to hold onto the past. This wondrous tale will move readers."--Publishers Weekly
"This is a sweet, fable-like tale about a magical seat in a cafe where you can, if you wish, go back in time... An odd read, but also a charming one."--The Sydney Morning Herald
"A story about human relationships, missed opportunities and the enduring power of love."--The Gryphon
"A thought-provoking and at times tear-jerking realization about what we would say if we could go back in time."--Palatinate
"It is full of soul, presented through clever world building and unfolding of its characters and relationships."--Books and Bao
"A complete page-turner from the start to the end."--Buzzfeed