Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi is a surprisingly sweet little novel that sneaks up on you and hooks you before you know it. In a small underground cafe in a back alley of Tokyo there is a special seat you can sit on that allows you to travel back in time, you just need to return before the coffee gets cold.

If you are able to suspend your disbelief and go along for the ride, the eclectic set of characters who patronize the cafe will give you hope and make you laugh. A soulful fairy-tale of a read that teaches us that although we might not be able to change the past, we can always change how we react to things in the present. A moving read, the first in a series.