rainbowbrarian's Reviews (1.85k)

 I had been hearing about this book for a long time so I was excited to finally be reading it.  It did take me a little while to get into the book just because of the writing style.  A book in translation is often going to just a little bit awkward because of the flow of the words in translation.  

The story revolves around four people who frequent a small cafe in Tokyo where if you sit in a particular seat you can travel back in time.  But there is a very specific set of rules you have to follow, and you only have the time it takes for your cup of coffee to cool.  

I enjoyed meeting the cafe regulars as you slow got to know them more and more throughout the story.  

Read This If You - Enjoy a slowly unfurling story that is deeply rooted in characters, like a non traditional time travel story, like stories set in Japan 

Miserable lesbian couple slowly breaking up because Sean, the main character, is emotionally immature, unavailable, cold, and selfish.  Have I mentioned how much I hate reading stories about miserable adults being miserable to each other?  

Add to that Sean's casual racism, lack of empathy, and massive refusal to give a single shit about anything but what she wants?

I hate books with miserable queer protagonists and I don't think it's progress to be all "Oh look how far we've come, queers can be miserable like everyone else".  If that's something you need to find queer people relatable, you're beyond missing the point.

Thank you to @netgalley and @avonbooks for the digital ARC copy of this book.

Friends, I loved this book.  I was head over heels for the first book in the series (We Could Be So Good), and so it’s no big surprise that this one hit a “home run” with me!  See what I did there?  Baseball romance.  Home Run?  I made a SPORTS JOKE, folks.  

Ahem, okay, so yes, this book, set in 1960, is the story of Mark, a journalist who is grieving the loss of his long term partner, William.  And it’s the story of Eddie, a rookie player who just got traded to a new team and is in a terrible batting slump.  ... and they fight crime!  Am I dating myself as terribly ancient with that?  Maybe I am.  I’m keeping it anyway.

Mark is assigned to write a series of stories about Eddie, and Eddie is pretty much instantly smitten with him. A lot of the story is Mark trying desperately to convince Eddie that being with Mark would be a terrible idea because it’ll ruin Eddie’s career.  And the rest is Eddie completely ignoring Mark’s grumpy tendencies and being stubborn about what he wants (a future in baseball and Mark’s affections).  Also there is an ADORABLE dog named Lula who is SUCH A GOOD GIRL.

Favorite Parts - Mark being a TOTAL tsundere and pretending he doesn’t have feelings for Eddie, the way Mark’s grieving for the loss of William is handled was so heartbreaking and beautiful, Eddie being an idiot loud mouthed goofball, the friends that surround both Mark and Eddie and help support them.

Read This If You Love - Found Family, Grumpy Sunshine, Historical Romance, Second Chances, Baseball, and Dogs Who Know What Family Is