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Writer's pictureEmilia Dodge
Aug 204 min read

The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki



Hello everyone!


Today’s book is a cute and quick read about cats, astrology, and human connection. I had the opportunity to read The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki translated to English by Jesse Kirkwood. I really enjoyed this book, a lot more than I thought I would. I am always afraid when I read books that have been translated that the English translation causes the book to lose some of its spark but that doesn’t seem to be the case for this book. Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the advanced copy of this book. This post may contain spoilers. 


Let’s get into it!


Here are the quick facts:

eBook

Publishers: Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine

Publishing Date: August 20, 2024

Genre: Sci Fi & Fantasy

Rating: 4/5 stars

240 pages


The Full Moon Coffee Shop is a magical coffee shop that is run by cats who each represent a planet in the solar system. They explain western astrology and how it impacts each of the characters. There are four characters who have visited/visit the coffee shop within the book. The first is Mizuki Serikawa. She’s a down on her luck screen writer whose last show was a flop and now writes characters for dating sim app. Before deciding to stick with screenwriting, she was a school teacher and was the teacher of all the other characters. She’s the first person we see visit the Full Moon Coffee Shop. 


The next character is Akari Nakayama. She’s a tv producer who strives for perfection but is really hard on herself. She’s struggling with feeling as if she’s ruining other people’s careers. When we meet her she’s telling Mizuki that the tv company she works for doesn’t want the show she submitted to Akari. Akari doesn’t go to the coffee shop alone. Satsuki Ayukawa is a TV actress who loses her job on Akari’s show after having an affair with a married co-star which ruins her reputation. 


The last pair of characters to visit the coffee shop are Takashi Mizumoto and Megumi Hayakawa. Takashi is a young man who owns an IT startup who finds that sometimes he has a hard time keeping his life together. He runs into Megumi who asks for his help making a website. Megumi Hayakawa is a successful hairdresser who visited the full moon coffee shop and quit her job to work at her parent’s hair salon after visiting the coffee shop. Megumi also happens to be friends with Akari. 


Though the characters are intertwined as adults, the characters have a connected past. All the characters used to walk to and from school together, Mizuki was their teacher chaperone. On their walks they would pass an older man’s house who was a famous conductor turned pianist. On one of their walks they passed the man’s house only to notice that he was not playing the piano. When Mizuki went to the door and didn’t get an answer she called emergency services and they came and took the man to the hospital who then died there. The older man had a house full of cats that he loved very much and Mizuki and the kids promised to look after them. When the conductor’s nephew came to sell his house they saved the cats from being sent to a shelter, Takashi’s family had a shed where they could foster the cats until they were adopted out. Because of this, each character was rewarded a visit to the coffee shop.


I enjoyed quite a lot of things about this book. I like that it was a super quick read, it was less than 250 and I was able to zoom right through it. I also enjoyed that even though the stories of the characters are distinct they were intertwined but not in an unrealistic way.


One of the focal point of this book is western astrology and how it affects people. The author explains birth charts, planet placements, houses and even mercury retrograde. While I enjoy astrology those parts of the book felt a bit clunky. Part of the narrative lost it flow when they used technical terms and explanations for the astrology. This could be because the book is translated from Japanese and the phrasing came out that way. The perspective of the story also changed when the characters were at the Full Moon Coffee Shop. The narration was in third person, but when the character was at the shop it switched to first person which I wasn't a fan of. It took me out of the story the first time it happened and kept being disruptive each time it happened. Again, this could be because the book is translated.


The Full Moon Coffee Shop is out now, August 20, 2024. I really think everyone should check this book out, especially if you're looking for a quick read to get out of a slump or reach your reading goal. Thank you again to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the advanced copy of the book.


Until next time! 


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