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The Chicago Spirit Cafe
Chicago is full of spirits. Normally, they're invisible, going about their business as they feed off of the energy left behind by humans. Dust, dreams, and even bagels, there's nothing spirits don't collect. Unfortunately for Arnold, he's started seeing them - and they're everywhere. On the train, in the library, even in his apartment.
One day, trying to avoid yet another spirit, Arnold ducks into a newly reopened bakery, where he finds Helen, a beautiful baker secretly whipping up magical cakes. But for all the vivid memories her cakes evoke, she doesn’t think she deserves the bakery her grandma left her and is haunted by its attic full of regrets.
What Helen doesn't realize is that there's also a tiny mushroom spirit named Nüste in her attic. He's a spirit of new beginnings, and he won't be free until Helen faces all her memories. Nüste recruits Arnold into starting a cafe for spirits upstairs, hoping one will have enough magic to break Helen out of her rut. But to help Helen, Arnold will have to face his own past.
Like an animation come to life, this cozy rom-com will take you on a tour of a world hidden right beneath your nose. Can love set these two free, or will they drag this lovely cafe full of spirits down with them?
One day, trying to avoid yet another spirit, Arnold ducks into a newly reopened bakery, where he finds Helen, a beautiful baker secretly whipping up magical cakes. But for all the vivid memories her cakes evoke, she doesn’t think she deserves the bakery her grandma left her and is haunted by its attic full of regrets.
What Helen doesn't realize is that there's also a tiny mushroom spirit named Nüste in her attic. He's a spirit of new beginnings, and he won't be free until Helen faces all her memories. Nüste recruits Arnold into starting a cafe for spirits upstairs, hoping one will have enough magic to break Helen out of her rut. But to help Helen, Arnold will have to face his own past.
Like an animation come to life, this cozy rom-com will take you on a tour of a world hidden right beneath your nose. Can love set these two free, or will they drag this lovely cafe full of spirits down with them?
146 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 29, 2025
About the author
J.H. Tomen
14 books45 followersHi, I'm JH Tomen! I live in Chicago and write science fiction and fantasy novels (and a climate blog called The Carbon Fables). Whether I'm writing about magic or robots, I think stories are a great way to speak to both life's beauty and its struggles.
I think of my books like animations painted by an Impressionist - beautiful abstractions that aim to get at something true. And like many authors, I'm also trying to share a moral vision with the world and myself. Many of my books are about instrumentalism, focused on characters who have turned themselves into tools and want to go back to being human. I think many of us get lost in modernity, in needing to be useful when we deserve to simply be.
This, ultimately, is the great power of novels. They are a practice in empathy. They are not utilitarian. And yet, they are more than just a break from the world. They are a way to transform it. I hope you enjoy these books. I hope they remind you that you are worth every joy the world has to offer.
I think of my books like animations painted by an Impressionist - beautiful abstractions that aim to get at something true. And like many authors, I'm also trying to share a moral vision with the world and myself. Many of my books are about instrumentalism, focused on characters who have turned themselves into tools and want to go back to being human. I think many of us get lost in modernity, in needing to be useful when we deserve to simply be.
This, ultimately, is the great power of novels. They are a practice in empathy. They are not utilitarian. And yet, they are more than just a break from the world. They are a way to transform it. I hope you enjoy these books. I hope they remind you that you are worth every joy the world has to offer.
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