Best Wishes from the Full Moon Coffee Shop

Best Wishes from the Full Moon Coffee Shop / Mai Mochizuki
trans. from the Japanese by Jordan Taylor 
NY: Ballantine, 2025, c2021.
224 p.

This was an unexpected Christmas read! I read the first book in this series earlier this year, and so when this one came out, I grabbed it. And to my surprise, it is set at Christmas -- and I didn't realize that Christmas was celebrated so widely in Japan. 

Three women, all at a crossroads in life, encounter the magical Full Moon Coffee Shop in Kyoto, right around Christmas. We start with Satomi, a career woman in Tokyo who suspects her boyfriend is going to propose on Christmas Eve -- and she's not sure how she feels about that, since he is based in a smaller town and of course she'd have to follow him, not the other way around. 

The next is Koyuki, who works for Satomi. Her father died on Christmas Day when she was a child, and ever since she has felt guilt and unhappiness at this time of year. The cats of the Full Moon Coffee Shop give her a chance to see the truth of what happened all those years ago. 

And last is Junko, Satomi's sister-in-law, and her daughter Ayu. When Junko has to come home because her estranged father has fallen ill, she faces many decisions. Both Junko and Ayu experience the Full Moon Coffee Shop too, and it changes both of them. 

The magical cats of the Full Moon Coffee Shop are astrological planets who take the form of cats to serve people what they need - there is no ordering at this coffee shop, they simply bring you what they think you need. And they talk about the astrological background to each character and how that affects their lives and fortunes. In this novel, the astrology bits are less prominent than in the first, and I think that improved the story - it flows more, and feels more based in the characters and the stories than just an astrology explainer. The first one was heavier on this angle and it did disrupt the flow a bit. This is one of those unusual times when the second book in a series is even better than the first one. I'd say read them both, though, as you'll understand the astrology elements better if you get all the worldbuilding info in the first book. 

This was charming and a delight - an unusual Christmas set story but one that offers uplift and peaceful resolutions - very Christmassy.