Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe by C.B. Lee

TL;DR: A very cute sapphic romance with alternate universes.
Source: NetGalley – Thank you to the publisher!!

Plot: Two girl discover portals between their worlds and have to work to stop disaster but also fall in love.
Characters: They were very cute and by the end I loved the girls, but we might have also spent too much time with them.
Setting: For such a big part of the story this was pretty well drawn early out but left alone for the later half.
Fantasy: The ideas here were very cool. I liked them a lot.

Summary:

When Brenda’s internet goes out right before an important scholarship deadline, she stumbles right into Kat’s family’s coffeeshop. Brenda is swept away by cool, confident Kat, who actually cares about Brenda’s 19-step plan to save the world through science. Meanwhile, Kat can’t stop thinking about Brenda, who is smart, passionate, and doesn’t seem to care that Kat is the prophesized Chosen One.

The only problem? Kat and Brenda are from different universes. Like need-to-find-a-portal-to-go-on-a-second-date different universes.

As their universes collide and things spiral out of control, can a girl who is determined to save the world find love with a girl determined to outrun her destiny?

Thoughts:

I really wanted this to be a five star, I really did! But I think maybe I’m just a little too old for this pacing and style to work for me. The driving plot of this story is the idea of these portals opening between Kat and Brenda’s worlds. They seem to be connected to the surges of mana on one side and earthquakes on the other.

At the same time the story really focuses hard in on the romance between these two girls. And honestly, that felt a little bit like a distraction at times. We would have a pretty intense chapter, big information drops or big twists! Then we’d jump to the next and it would be prom, or the coffeeshop, or something slower and I ended up feeling quite frustrated by the end.

The ideas are so cool, and perhaps for a younger or more patient reader this could be a real hit. Give it a shot if you don’t mind that abrupt back and forth. The girls are adorable, I loved their friends and the emphasis on their culture. But the pacing frustrated me to no end.