Toshikazu Kawaguchi (Before the Coffee Gets Cold) invites readers back into the magical Funiculi Funicula Café in Before We Say Goodbye. The fourth book in the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series, which can also be read as a stand-alone, introduces a new cast of characters to a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: a chance to go back in time. Visitors, drawn into the café by rumors of the special time-travel chair in the corner, are presented with the opportunity to return to the past under a strict set of rules. For instance, there is nothing visitors can do to change the present, and they can potentially turn into ghosts who will occupy the chair forever: these are the kinds of conditions they will accept for a second chance.
An absent husband who seeks one last conversation with his wife before a life-changing accident, a grieving pet parent who yearns to see her dog one more time, a woman wondering what made her ex-boyfriend change his mind, and a regretful daughter who craves amends with her father are all hopeful that they can tell their loved ones how they feel before it's too late.
Before We Say Goodbye captures the beauty of facing the past and finally being able to let go. Wistful, hopeful, and heartbroken, each character's emotional journey is a poignant reminder that life is fleeting--but love isn't. Each must decide if it's worth taking the risk to say goodbye, even if it may be their last. --Clara Newton, freelance reviewer