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genieinanovel's Reviews (752)
The sequel to the novel, Before the Coffee Gets Cold, takes place six years after the original stories. The café is still running and still sending people into the past. This time we meet four more people who would like to travel to meet with someone of their past.
Some of the stories are just as heartbreaking as the previous ones. I won’t lie, I teared up quite a few times, but pushed on before I could really be an emotional mess. As with the last book, I liked how each tale was connected to the rest, and there were even mentions of the previous book’s travelers. The only thing about these tales is that they’re quite repetitive… which is understandable as each character introduced ends up traveling.
What’s new in this one though is that we learn the identity of the ghost woman who sits in that chair. It was a bittersweet reveal (mostly bitter, though), which leads to a bittersweet ending to close the novel. I’m not sure if there will be another, but I kind of think this was a good way to end the tales of the time-traveling café.
If you read and enjoyed the first novel, you’ll likely enjoy this one as well. Again, it’s a bit repetitive, but the characters and their reasons for traveling are interesting enough to keep reading. As well as finding out just who the ghost-woman in the chair is.
Some of the stories are just as heartbreaking as the previous ones. I won’t lie, I teared up quite a few times, but pushed on before I could really be an emotional mess. As with the last book, I liked how each tale was connected to the rest, and there were even mentions of the previous book’s travelers. The only thing about these tales is that they’re quite repetitive… which is understandable as each character introduced ends up traveling.
What’s new in this one though is that we learn the identity of the ghost woman who sits in that chair. It was a bittersweet reveal (mostly bitter, though), which leads to a bittersweet ending to close the novel. I’m not sure if there will be another, but I kind of think this was a good way to end the tales of the time-traveling café.
If you read and enjoyed the first novel, you’ll likely enjoy this one as well. Again, it’s a bit repetitive, but the characters and their reasons for traveling are interesting enough to keep reading. As well as finding out just who the ghost-woman in the chair is.
Reread 2022
First of all, let me say that I might be completely biased here because the author of this book is my great-uncle Steve Gulyas. Well, okay, I am biased, but that doesn’t change the fact that this man had an incredible journey in his life before becoming a missionary and after he did. Reading this book a second time made me wish I’d asked him more about his missionary years when he was still alive.
In this book, he gives a bit of background prior to his becoming a missionary, which I think always helps when understanding how any missionary or preacher of the Word (or Christian in general) gets to where they are in the current time. Included in this part of the book is a bit of his parents’ history, as well as his and my grandfather’s experience in Germany during World War II. There were times when they were certain they were going to die, but my uncle narrates how God kept them safe from danger with impeccable timing. Even in later years, when my uncle returned as a missionary and was arrested and detained at times, he never showed fear due to knowing God was in control.
My uncle here is very factual, meaning he doesn’t really use a lot of descriptive narration unless necessary. In that sense, I can see how other readers might find this book boring. But also keep in mind that English is not my uncle’s first language – it’s Hungarian, then Romanian is his second. He didn’t learn English until he and my grandfather immigrated to the United States in 1950, and uncle Steve was still learning the language while in Bible school!
To be honest, reading this book was a trip at times because it hit me that the chapters where my uncle talked about his parents’ lives along with his family and upbringing, that this is my family history. I mean, how cool is that?! There are even some pictures included of my uncle and grandfather’s hometown, along with their family, and subsequently my grandfather’s family after he married and had his nine children.
So, while it’s a more personal read for myself, there is also a lot of learning about life as a missionary in Eastern Europe (particularly Romania) prior to the removal of Communism. It’s a great, short read that is not only loved by our big family, but even people in our community (as the book is available at our public library and in some local churches).
First of all, let me say that I might be completely biased here because the author of this book is my great-uncle Steve Gulyas. Well, okay, I am biased, but that doesn’t change the fact that this man had an incredible journey in his life before becoming a missionary and after he did. Reading this book a second time made me wish I’d asked him more about his missionary years when he was still alive.
In this book, he gives a bit of background prior to his becoming a missionary, which I think always helps when understanding how any missionary or preacher of the Word (or Christian in general) gets to where they are in the current time. Included in this part of the book is a bit of his parents’ history, as well as his and my grandfather’s experience in Germany during World War II. There were times when they were certain they were going to die, but my uncle narrates how God kept them safe from danger with impeccable timing. Even in later years, when my uncle returned as a missionary and was arrested and detained at times, he never showed fear due to knowing God was in control.
My uncle here is very factual, meaning he doesn’t really use a lot of descriptive narration unless necessary. In that sense, I can see how other readers might find this book boring. But also keep in mind that English is not my uncle’s first language – it’s Hungarian, then Romanian is his second. He didn’t learn English until he and my grandfather immigrated to the United States in 1950, and uncle Steve was still learning the language while in Bible school!
To be honest, reading this book was a trip at times because it hit me that the chapters where my uncle talked about his parents’ lives along with his family and upbringing, that this is my family history. I mean, how cool is that?! There are even some pictures included of my uncle and grandfather’s hometown, along with their family, and subsequently my grandfather’s family after he married and had his nine children.
So, while it’s a more personal read for myself, there is also a lot of learning about life as a missionary in Eastern Europe (particularly Romania) prior to the removal of Communism. It’s a great, short read that is not only loved by our big family, but even people in our community (as the book is available at our public library and in some local churches).
So, I simultaneously liked and disliked this book. I’m not really sure how that’s possible, though maybe it was because of the side characters that I even kept on reading this book. As well as the main character, Tessa, being a writer. I’m a sucker for protagonists who are writers as I love writing myself, so I definitely related to her struggle when the words stopped.
Let’s start with what I didn’t like, only because I want to get it out of the way. My main problem was Tessa, honestly, as she was just kind of… not smart, in this book. Not intelligence or social-wise, but when it came to her crush(es) and how she handled her best friend’s plan to get her writing mojo back… not so much. Obviously, she fell for Nico, a popular guy at her new school, because why wouldn’t she? But once she found out the dude had a girlfriend, she never should have continued to pursue him, and said best friend, Caroline, is at fault as well for encouraging Tessa to do so. Tessa was also self-absorbed, which is confronted at one point, but it led her to play victim at times and not face her issues head-on.
I also have to make a mention of this, because I said to one of my book groups that I would, which is the not one, but two times the characters make a statement of their parents like an ancient boy band from the nineties (referring to the Backstreet Boys). Excuse me, but the nineties weren’t that long ago. I know it feels like it, and teenagers today are dramatic like that, but most of the 90s kids are still in their twenties… not that much older than a sixteen or seventeen-year-old. Just, really?
Anyway, the good stuff. I loved Tessa’s brother Miles, and the fact that he’s her older, disabled brother, therefore acting more like her younger brother. His character is the main deciding issue of Tessa’s dilemma between the two boys she likes, because one of them treats Miles like he has a disease and the other treats him like a human being. Most of the other side characters were great as well, especially Sam, Lenore, and Theodore.
As I mentioned before, I did enjoy the fact that Tessa was a writer and how her best friend was the only one to see her work. It reminded me of, well, me in high school because it was the same thing. I only shared my writing with my best friend. I also related to her struggle when the words just stopped because I get to that point multiple times a year, and it sucks, but writers get through it. It was interesting to see what exactly led Tessa to find her words again.
I can’t say I loved this book, despite loving the beginning and the last few chapters the most. I probably have more issues with it than not, but I guess I can appreciate that the main character was flawed. Even though that really doesn’t excuse going after another girl’s boyfriend.
In any case, I wouldn’t recommend nor tell anyone to not read this book. Just because I have mixed feelings about it doesn’t mean someone else won’t love it.
2.5/5 stars
Let’s start with what I didn’t like, only because I want to get it out of the way. My main problem was Tessa, honestly, as she was just kind of… not smart, in this book. Not intelligence or social-wise, but when it came to her crush(es) and how she handled her best friend’s plan to get her writing mojo back… not so much. Obviously, she fell for Nico, a popular guy at her new school, because why wouldn’t she? But once she found out the dude had a girlfriend, she never should have continued to pursue him, and said best friend, Caroline, is at fault as well for encouraging Tessa to do so. Tessa was also self-absorbed, which is confronted at one point, but it led her to play victim at times and not face her issues head-on.
I also have to make a mention of this, because I said to one of my book groups that I would, which is the not one, but two times the characters make a statement of their parents like an ancient boy band from the nineties (referring to the Backstreet Boys). Excuse me, but the nineties weren’t that long ago. I know it feels like it, and teenagers today are dramatic like that, but most of the 90s kids are still in their twenties… not that much older than a sixteen or seventeen-year-old. Just, really?
Anyway, the good stuff. I loved Tessa’s brother Miles, and the fact that he’s her older, disabled brother, therefore acting more like her younger brother. His character is the main deciding issue of Tessa’s dilemma between the two boys she likes, because one of them treats Miles like he has a disease and the other treats him like a human being. Most of the other side characters were great as well, especially Sam, Lenore, and Theodore.
As I mentioned before, I did enjoy the fact that Tessa was a writer and how her best friend was the only one to see her work. It reminded me of, well, me in high school because it was the same thing. I only shared my writing with my best friend. I also related to her struggle when the words just stopped because I get to that point multiple times a year, and it sucks, but writers get through it. It was interesting to see what exactly led Tessa to find her words again.
I can’t say I loved this book, despite loving the beginning and the last few chapters the most. I probably have more issues with it than not, but I guess I can appreciate that the main character was flawed. Even though that really doesn’t excuse going after another girl’s boyfriend.
In any case, I wouldn’t recommend nor tell anyone to not read this book. Just because I have mixed feelings about it doesn’t mean someone else won’t love it.
2.5/5 stars
This was a great story of character development, which I see a lot of in Dessen’s books. At the beginning of the novel, Auden is very reclusive and all about making sure she’s her parents’ perfect child, as her older brother is more of a free spirit. After she gets a gift from her brother, she gets the urge to do something for herself for once, so she ends up spending the summer in Colby with her dad, step-mom, and new baby sister.
As the summer goes on, Auden breaks out of her shell a bit, after meeting the girls who work for her stepmom, Heidi, and the brooding night-owl, Eli. Between the four, Auden gets to experience almost everything she never did in high school, which was mainly socialization. I connected with Auden on this level because I’ve always been somewhat of a recluse with only a couple of friends, and I shy away from interacting with new people. This connection I had really made Auden feel real to me. I am her; she is me.
What I really enjoyed about this book was that the characters all had layers. No one was who they really seemed when Auden got to know them (except for Jake, he was a tool). Maggie and Heidi were two characters that I was sure I’d hate, but Maggie ended up really surprising me in a good way, and I ended up feeling for Heidi and her struggle with a newborn and distant husband. Auden also changed her perspective of her step-mom after witnessing firsthand how her father only cared about his writing and not his marriage or newborn daughter. Heidi was a well-rounded character and I was glad she got the rarely seen “step-mom redemption” in this book.
Concerning Auden and Eli’s friendship/budding relationship, I felt like there wasn’t enough of it. They were totally adorable together, and did have their bumps, but I felt like we were ripped off with getting to know more of Eli. He’s still dealing with something from his past, and while it’s talked about, it just doesn’t seem like his vulnerability of the subject was shown enough. The way he went from an apparent hermit (according to Auden’s new friends) to being pretty much normal as soon as Auden came into town was a bit, eh, to me. I just really thought that, given the synopsis, we’d get more of Eli.
Still, I loved Auden and Eli’s nighttime adventures. There were a lot of cool things that Auden got to see thanks to Eli, and he really understood her “not being able to sleep at night” thing. I thought that was a great aspect to these characters – that they had this night-life that no one knew about. They didn’t get into trouble or do any illegal… they just can’t sleep at night, so they make the most of it.
In any case, I really enjoyed reading this book. It was a book that actually helped me to relax after a long day and I looked forward to reading it each day. I only ever got frustrated with Auden’s parents, who were just cringe-worthy for most of the book, but other than that… it was a good read.
As the summer goes on, Auden breaks out of her shell a bit, after meeting the girls who work for her stepmom, Heidi, and the brooding night-owl, Eli. Between the four, Auden gets to experience almost everything she never did in high school, which was mainly socialization. I connected with Auden on this level because I’ve always been somewhat of a recluse with only a couple of friends, and I shy away from interacting with new people. This connection I had really made Auden feel real to me. I am her; she is me.
What I really enjoyed about this book was that the characters all had layers. No one was who they really seemed when Auden got to know them (except for Jake, he was a tool). Maggie and Heidi were two characters that I was sure I’d hate, but Maggie ended up really surprising me in a good way, and I ended up feeling for Heidi and her struggle with a newborn and distant husband. Auden also changed her perspective of her step-mom after witnessing firsthand how her father only cared about his writing and not his marriage or newborn daughter. Heidi was a well-rounded character and I was glad she got the rarely seen “step-mom redemption” in this book.
Concerning Auden and Eli’s friendship/budding relationship, I felt like there wasn’t enough of it. They were totally adorable together, and did have their bumps, but I felt like we were ripped off with getting to know more of Eli. He’s still dealing with something from his past, and while it’s talked about, it just doesn’t seem like his vulnerability of the subject was shown enough. The way he went from an apparent hermit (according to Auden’s new friends) to being pretty much normal as soon as Auden came into town was a bit, eh, to me. I just really thought that, given the synopsis, we’d get more of Eli.
Still, I loved Auden and Eli’s nighttime adventures. There were a lot of cool things that Auden got to see thanks to Eli, and he really understood her “not being able to sleep at night” thing. I thought that was a great aspect to these characters – that they had this night-life that no one knew about. They didn’t get into trouble or do any illegal… they just can’t sleep at night, so they make the most of it.
In any case, I really enjoyed reading this book. It was a book that actually helped me to relax after a long day and I looked forward to reading it each day. I only ever got frustrated with Auden’s parents, who were just cringe-worthy for most of the book, but other than that… it was a good read.
