Review: The Full Moon Coffee Shop

Title: The Full Moon Coffee Shop

Author: Mai Mochizuki

Publisher: 27th August 2024 by Hachette Australia

Pages: 240 pages

Genre: Japan, Magical Realism, fantasy, cats

My Rating: 3.5 cups

Synopsis:

Translated from the Japanese bestseller, this charming and magical novel, inspired by the myth of cats returning favors to those who care for them, reminds us that it’s never too late to follow our stars.

In Japan cats are a symbol of good luck. As the myth goes, if you are kind to them, they’ll one day return the favor. And if you are kind to the right cat, you might just find yourself invited to a mysterious coffee shop under a glittering Kyoto moon. This particular coffee shop is like no other. It has no fixed location, no fixed hours, and seemingly appears at random to adrift young people at crucial junctions in their lives.

It’s also run by talking cats.

While customers at the Full Moon Coffee Shop partake in cakes, coffees, and teas, the cats also consult them on their star charts, offer cryptic wisdom, and let them know where their lives have veered off course—because every person who visits the shop has been feeling more than a little lost. And for a down-on-her-luck screenwriter, a romantically stuck movie director, a hopeful hairstylist, and a technologically challenged website designer, the feline guides will set them back on their fated paths. After all, there is a reason the shop appeared to each of them…

My Thoughts

The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki is a magical novel about a Kyoto pop-up café that will suddenly appear (no set location or hours) to people needing advice and guidance in their life. Out of this cafe come talking cats, consulting astrological charts. 

‘In the middle of the temple grounds was what looked like a mobile coffee shop … Just then, a large tortoiseshell cat wearing an apron emerged from the truck and set out a sign. The sign read: The Full Moon Coffee Shop.’

The cafe suddenly appears to select people who have lost their way in life and the cats not only serve food and drink but also a reading from the character’s astrological chart. This will assist them to overcome their current obstacle and guide them once more in the right direction. It’s a cute and very quick read about understanding what motivates us and channeling that to lead a fulfilling life. 

‘And that is the story of the strange moonlit night on which I learned to know myself - and finally move forward with my life.’

If you like cats and you like astrology and you are a fan of Before the Coffee Gets Cold, Days at the Morisake Bookshop and Butter, then you are in for a treat. 

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: A Novel Love Story

Title: A Novel Love Story

Author: Ashley Poston

Publisher: 3rd July 2023 by HQ Fiction

Pages: 357 pages

Genre: General Fiction (Adult) | Romance | Romantic Comedy

Rating: 4.5 cups

Synopsis:

Have you ever found yourself lost in a good book … literally? 

Eileen Merriweather loves a good love story. The fictional kind, anyway. After all, imaginary men don’t break your heart.

That’s why she’s so excited for her annual book club retreat – instead, when her car breaks down en route, Eileen finds herself in Eloraton. A town where every meet is cute, the rain always comes in the afternoon, and the bookshop is always curated with impeccable taste.

It feels too good to be true … because Eloraton is the setting of her favourite romance series. And Eileen is sure she must be here to bring the town its storybook ending.

But there’s one character she can’t place. The grumpy bookshop owner with mint-green eyes, and an irritatingly sexy mouth. He does not want Eileen to finish this story, but how else can she find her happily-ever-after?

My Thoughts

‘These books were like arms I fell into, armour that protected me from the world when life got too hard.’

Ashley Poston is back with her third magical realism, modern romance story and I could not be happier! This book has been highly anticipated and her followers are sure to enjoy this one.I believe it is the pure creativity that Ashley brings to her romance writing that makes it such a unique and engaging reading experience. The writing is heartfelt and I was thoroughly invested with the storyline from the outset. I loved the short, sharp chapters and even the good old fashion chapter headings that give you clues as to what will be upcoming. I would flick back and give that knowing nod upon completion. Brilliant. Not to mention, the wonderful love of all things literature scattered throughout. Equally heartwarming and heartbreaking with the use of the magical realism being so ‘magical’ and ‘real’ that Ashley makes it look so easy. 

This story is a love letter to book lovers everywhere as it is filled with so many beautiful quotes highlighting the great passion we all have towards literature. A heartbroken girl finds herself stranded in her favourite fictional town (think Brigadoon). Elsy will meet all her favourite characters and a certain bookshop owner who must be a forthcoming character. Or is he?

Books by Ashley Poston get me so excited because I know it will be infused with so much magic that her writing is bound to sweep you away. So allow yourself to get swept away in this witty, whimsical tale filled with pure refreshing escapism. 

’I think that’s why I love these books so much … to show me that there were still happy endings to be found … even if they weren’t mine.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: A Love Song for Ricki Wilde

Title: A Love Song for Ricki Wilde

Author: Tia Williams

Publisher: 13th February 2024 by Hachette Australia & New Zealand, Quercus

Pages: 352 pages

Genre: General Fiction (Adult), Romance, magical realism

My Rating: 4.5 cups

Synopsis:

Leap years are a strange, enchanted time. And for some, even a single February can be life-changing. 

Ricki Wilde has many talents, but being a Wilde isn't one of them. As the impulsive, artistic daughter of a powerful Atlanta dynasty, she's the opposite of her famous socialite sisters. Where they're long-stemmed roses, she's a an adorable bloom that's actually a weed, born to float wherever the wind blows. In her bones, Ricki knows that somewhere, a different, more exciting life awaits her. 

When regal nonagenarian, Ms. Della, invites her to rent the bottom floor of her Harlem brownstone, Ricki jumps at the chance for a fresh beginning. She leaves behind her family, wealth, and chaotic romantic decisions to realize her dream of opening a flower shop. And just beneath the surface of her new neighbourhood, the music, stories and dazzling drama of the Harlem Renaissance still simmers. 

One evening in February as the heady, curiously off-season scent of night-blooming jasmine fills the air, Ricki encounters a handsome, deeply mysterious stranger who knocks her world off balance in the most unexpected way. 

Set against the backdrop of modern Harlem and Renaissance glamour, A Love Song for Ricki Wilde is a swoon-worthy love story of two passionate artists drawn to the magic, romance, and opportunity of New York, and whose lives are uniquely and irreversibly linked.

My Thoughts

In this leap year - here is one leap year book you simply must read! I don’t know what I was expecting … but it wasn’t this. It’s a story and I don’t want to give too much away to avoid spoilers. However, if you love exceptional romances and magical realism this is the book for you. A little slow to get going but then it gallops away with all the feels.

‘Ricki had never felt like a loser. She simply felt misplaced. Like a duck raised by squirrels. She’d always suspected that, given the chance to do what she did best, she’d succeed.’

Briefly I will tell you that the characters are rich and inviting - Ricky and Ezra will go down as one of literary great couples. Della and Tuesday (two stories that most likely deserve their own novel) complete a great cast. This is a tale infused with many things, magical realism being at the top of the list. I love the way Tia writes on topics such as family, friends, fears and futures - all seamlessly interwoven. The nod to black history is rich and wonderfully incorporated - everything from Harlem in the 1920s to key musical events from that decade to the present day. 

‘To Ricki, a lifelong lover of bygone eras, the entire building felt like a gift delivered through time. Magical.’

For all of these incredible themes, it is at its heart a wonderful romance between two memorable characters. Slowly but surely this book snuck up on me and captured my heart. If magical realism/romance is a combination that gets your heart a flutter then take this journey with Rick and Ezra - it’s unique, it’s special and it's truly romantic. 

“I’m not scared of you,” he said. “I’m scared of us.” Ricki’s confusion was growing by the second. “But there is no us.”

And then she divulged her truest, scariest thought. “I’m afraid that I don’t belong anywhere. Do you ever feel like that?”

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: The Seven Year Slip

Title: The Seven Year Slip

Author: Ashley Poston

Publisher: 30th June 2023 by Harlequin Australia, HQ

Pages: 352 pages

Genre: romance, contemporary, magical realism

My Rating: 5 cups

Synopsis:

Sometimes, the worst day of your life happens, and you have to figure out how to live after it.

So Clementine forms a plan to keep her heart safe: stay busy, work hard, find someone decent to love, and try to remember to chase the moon. The last one is silly and obviously metaphorical, but her aunt always told her that you needed at least one big dream to keep going. And for the last year, that plan has gone off without a hitch. Mostly. The love part is hard because she doesn’t want to get too close to anyone—she isn’t sure her heart can take it.

And then she finds a strange man standing in the kitchen of her late aunt’s apartment. A man with kind eyes and a Southern drawl and a taste for lemon pies. The kind of man that, before it all, she would’ve fallen head-over-heels for. And she might again.

Except, he exists in the past. Seven years ago, to be exact. And she, quite literally, lives seven years in his future.

Her aunt always said the apartment was a pinch in time, a place where moments blended together like watercolors. And Clementine knows that if she lets her heart fall, she’ll be doomed.

After all, love is never a matter of time—but a matter of timing.

My Thoughts

Oh.My.Gosh! I LOVED this book. Absolutely brilliant! There is so much to appreciate about this book … so much. Go read it. The End. 

Wait, should I tell you more? Well ….. 

"I want to tell you a story," I replied, "about a magical apartment. You might not believe me at first, but I promise it's true."

The apartment is like a character itself, it’s magical, it’s perceptive and it's clever. I loved the relationship between it and its occupants. I loved the relationship between Clementine and her Aunt. I loved the relationship between Clementine and her friends. The relationship between Clementine and her love interest - it’s beautiful. And I especially loved the relationship between Clementine and herself - what a journey. This is such clever and engaging writing. 

‘It felt nice to do something for me again. To just be.

No to-do lists to keep pushing myself through, no expectations.

Just me.’

The writing is exquisite and I was thoroughly invested with the storyline from the outset. I loved the short, sharp chapters and even the good old fashion chapter headings that give you clues as to what will be upcoming. I would flick back and give that knowing nod upon completion. Brilliant. Not to mention, the wonderful love of all things literature scattered throughout. 

‘I loved how a book, a story, a set of words in a sentence organized in the exact right order, made you miss places you've never visited, and people you’ve never met.’

This book is so complex and so smart, I used almost an entire packet of tabs with my underlining and note taking. It’s intelligent, moving, heartwarming and equally heartbreaking. The use of the magical realism was so ‘magical’ and ‘real’ that Ashley made the sequencing look so easy. This is an intricate and clever tale with themes ranging from grief and change, to friends and lovers. 

‘… she lived in the moment because she always figured it was her last …. I used to love the way she saw the world …. drinking in everything … she spent every moment making a memory, every second living life wide and full.’

The Seven Year Slip is absolutely delightful and will stay with me for a long, long time. Its layers and nuances, the relationships, the love of family and friends, the romance, the special relationship with Clementine and her aunt are all truly remarkable and memorable. However, the journey Clementine has with herself, the realisations and lessons she has to learn … well, mind blowing. 

Do yourself a favour. Go read this book.

‘If you do it right … once is all you need.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.