Synopsis: Down a little alley, on a little street somewhere in Tokyo is a one hundred year old cafe serving coffee that takes people back in time. There is a long list of rules  to follow when going back in time such as only one chair can send you back, you may not leave that chair while you’re time traveling, and most importantly you must leave before the coffee gets cold. Over the course of a summer four people desperate for a do-over visit the cafe in the hopes of visiting the past and changing their future. 

My Opinion: It’s hard to write about Before the Coffee Gets Cold without giving away too much information. I would love to talk about the extensive and ridiculous list of rules to follow, which may or may not involve serving a ghost so much coffee that they have to pee. But discovering those rules is half the fun of reading this little book. What I can talk about are the amazing characters. This is a little book with a small cast of characters, ten to be exact. The book is broken up into four stories with the characters spilling over from one to the next. Each character is imbued with a distinct personality that drives their decisions throughout the stories. 

I don’t want to give any spoilers away, so I will summarize the book like this, “you can’t change the past, but you can change your future.” Every character has a moment when they feel a tugging to say something, but don’t. These hesitations and omissions are directly tied to each person pursuing the time traveling cafe. If you like inspiring stories of redemption and growth then this book should make its way to the top of your TBR pile.