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Before I Knew I Loved You
Before the Coffee Gets Cold (Related to this series)
- Author
- Toshikazu Kawaguchi
- Narrator
- Kevin Shen
- Publisher
- Pan Macmillan
- Publish Date
- 21 May 2026
- Run Time
- 6 hours 8 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
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What to expect
The sixth book in the multi-million-copy bestselling series about a cosy Japanese cafe that offers its visitors the chance to travel back in time.
In a special seat in a fabled Tokyo cafe, you’re offered something irresistible – not just a warm, comforting coffee, but the chance to go back in time to revisit the ones you love . . .
In Before I knew I loved you, Toshikazu Kawaguchi takes us back to the warm heart of the mysterious Funiculi Funicula Cafe, with another four guests whose luminous stories of love, lost and won again, will reaffirm your belief in its eternal potential. In this book, we meet:
- The girl who wishes to make amends with the mother she never accepted
- The man who waited for a reply from his girlfriend, and never heard from her
- The woman anxious to travel ahead to know what her future holds
- The student who travels back to meet his father again, who passed away many years before.
Yet the same rules always apply – you must return before the coffee gets cold. And while it does, memories are revisited, people are changed forever, and the enduring power of love transcends the boundaries of time.
The sixth book in the phenomenal, bestselling series, translated from Japanese, Before I knew I loved you asks the irresistible question: what would you do if you were offered the chance to go back in time?
Critics Review
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A global phenomenon . . . Kawaguchi certainly has crafted a perfect recipe; may his resonating reunions live on and on and on
Booklist
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The narrative is deeply moving
Chicago Review of Books on the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series
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Heartwarming, whimsical . . . offering comfort at a time when the world seems off-kilter and chaotic
The New York Times on the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series
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Endearing
New York Times Book Review on the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series
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A complete page-turner from the start to the end
Buzzfeed on the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series
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Heartwarming, quirky, and wistful
Huffpost on the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series
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Interwoven into what initially feels like a whimsical escape are existential conundrums of love and loss, family and freedom, life and death
Christian Science Monitor on the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series
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Charming
Star Tribune on the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series
User Reviews
No reviews yet.
Details
- Author
- Toshikazu Kawaguchi
- Narrator
- Kevin Shen
- Duration
- 6 hours 8 minutes
- Release Date
- 21 May 2026
- ISBN
- 9781035046331
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Pan Macmillan
- Genre
- Magical realism, Fiction in translation, Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general, Narrative theme: love / relationships, Narrative theme: sense of place
Synopsis
The sixth book in the multi-million-copy bestselling series about a cosy Japanese cafe that offers its visitors the chance to travel back in time.In a special seat in a fabled Tokyo cafe, you’re offered something irresistible – not just a warm, comforting coffee, but the chance to go back in time to revisit the ones you love . . . In Before I knew I loved you, Toshikazu Kawaguchi takes us back to the warm heart of the mysterious Funiculi Funicula Cafe, with another four guests whose luminous stories of love, lost and won again, will reaffirm your belief in its eternal potential. In this book, we meet:- The girl who wishes to make amends with the mother she never accepted- The man who waited for a reply from his girlfriend, and never heard from her- The woman anxious to travel ahead to know what her future holds- The student who travels back to meet his father again, who passed away many years before.Yet the same rules always apply – you must return before the coffee gets cold. And while it does, memories are revisited, people are changed forever, and the enduring power of love transcends the boundaries of time.The sixth book in the phenomenal, bestselling series, translated from Japanese, Before I knew I loved you asks the irresistible question: what would you do if you were offered the chance to go back in time?
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