Imprevisti d’amore al Matcha Cafè

by Lily Chen

The only person harder to match than her clients . . . is the matchmaker herself.

The Matcha Maker Café is a sweet, small-town slow-burn romance set in a charming matcha cafe, perfect for readers who love Laurie Gilmore, B.K. Borison and the gentle magic of Before the Coffee Gets Cold.

At Matcha Moments, owner Sasha Lee is a star matchmaker, helping customers find love over a smooth cup of matcha. You’d think that as the master she’d be living her fairytale ending, but Sasha is allergic to commitment.

With a growing reputation, her successes are challenged when the ‘unmatchable’ Ben walks in - a man who believes he’s too boring for love. As Sasha tries to match him, she slowly finds herself drawn to his quiet charm.

As their daily banter becomes the highlight of her day, Sasha must confront the possibility that her own love story might be brewing. Will she embrace the unexpected romance, or let her past fears keep her from true love?

Genres: Romance, Cozy, Contemporary, Adult, Contemporary Romance, Small Town Romance, Audiobook

331 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 11, 2026

Reviews

[Lou]

1.5⭐️ - I swear I thought I’d give it 4 stars at first but my rating just continually went down… The plot was original so I was interested and the first quarter of the story is actually cute, but oh my goodness that was the most repetitive book I’ve ever read! It felt like I was reading the same chapter 5 times in a row every single time, and since literally nothing happened it made for a very unenjoyable experience. They maybe had only like 4 conversations in the entire book?! Ben and Sasha do not even know each other it makes no sense that they “love” each other. Don’t even get me started on the “golden flecks in his eyes” or his “strong arms”, they barely saw each other so of course that’s all she knows about him!!! I just kept rolling my eyes past a certain point, but I hate not finishing books so I pushed through lol. ALSO, the fact that Sasha kept saying “omg I’m so intense nobody could ever love me” when she’s the most monotonous FMC I’ve read about in a while is wild. All characters lacked depth but her specifically which is not okay for a main character, and her special psychic abilities weren’t enough to make up for it. And the issue in the relationship is supposed to be that he’s her client, but it doesn’t even make sense nor is technically true?! Like no one cared besides her and it was just so annoying. Lastly, the author kept trying to make sexual references for some reason when it felt SO out of place, they came out of nowhere and since those people DO NOT KNOW EACH OTHER (!!!!!) they made me uncomfortable.

Anyways at least they had a bunch of matcha recipes that seemed very yummy which is why I still rounded up to 2 stars and not 1 lol

[carolina (semi ia)]

This seems like a big advertisement for matcha 🫠

Unfortunately I had to dnf this book! I feel like I’m forcing myself to read it and that’s not something I enjoy doing. I’m not liking the writing at all!

I want to thank Pan MacMillan and NetGalley for the arc 🫶🏻

[Lyubov]

За пореден път се убеждавам, че колкото по-кютеста е корицата, толкова по-малоумно е съдържанието 💀
Взех я за плажно четиво, ама и за такова не става, освен, че стои красиво на снимки. Имам чувството, че е написана с AI. Мозъчна смърт.

[Spencer Tyler]

Not made for me

[Cláudia Oliveira]

Adorei!!! 🥹🥹❤️

É um romance muito fofo e querido, perfeito para fãs de matcha como eu!! 🍵 Não é publicidade enganosa como muitos outros livros, não! Este livro é sobre matcha do início ao fim! Eu amei ver a descrição da Sasha a fazer o matcha, as descrições dos bolos e doces de matcha! Mas a cereja no topo do bolo e que me surpreendeu e eu amei, foi a Sasha fazer leituras de amor nas bolhas do matcha das pessoas! ❤️ Adorei!! 🥹

Foi super fofo e descreve uma small town perfeita com um sentido de comunidade enorme, pois todos se juntavam no café da Sasha para conversaram e até a ajudaram quando ela mais precisava! Foi lindo! ❤️ Para além disso, ela e o Ben tiveram conversas muito divertidas às vezes... contudo, a parte de "eles não poderem estar juntos porque ele é cliente dela" começou a tornar-se muito repetitiva e um pouco irritante mais para o fim... tirando isso, adorei!

[Mafi]

Eu até achei fofinho

[Daniela Martins]

Que livro amoroso! E delicioso 🤭 não aconselho a ler “O café Matcha Maker” com fome porque as descrições que temos dos bolos e iguarias são maravilhosas e deixam qualquer um de água na boca 🤤

Aliás, todas as descrições, seja do café, seja da vila são muito amorosas e eu adoro ler sobre small town 💗

Neste livro temos a Sasha, proprietária do café “Matcha Moments” que se depara com um grande imprevisto, o seu contrato de arrendamento está para ser renovado mas a um preço bastante elevado, preço esse que ela não tem forma de pagar.
O café que é tanto o seu refúgio, como dos seus clientes habituais pode estar prestes a fechar portas.

Eis que entra algo que adorei ler neste livro. A comunidade está lá para Sasha! Apoiam-na e ajudam-na para que não feche o seu adorado café. Paloma e Mollie, Sr Davis, Klara, Nathan .. personagens maravilhosas (e intrometidas 🤭) que foram uma verdadeira delícia.

Também temos um interesse amoroso, Ben, que depois de um “meet cute” desastroso com a nossa FMC, vai conquistando o seu coração 💗

Foi um livro leve e fofo mas que não me trouxe muito mais, é bom quando não queremos pensar muito e lê-se bastante bem

[Mariana]

Se procuram uma leitura leve, com o seu quê de fofa e romântica, e que ao mesmo tempo seja fácil e rápida de ler, então esta história é a história ideal para vocês.

Eu não aprecio matcha (odeio na realidade) mas entendi o amor da protagonista pela arte de fazer matcha e tudo o que esta envolve 🍵

Todo o setting da loja da Sasha é bastante acolhedor e é fácil sentirmo-nos bem, e em casa ao ler esta história.

Um aspeto que adorei particularmente, foi o facto de todas as personagens terem ido para esta vila para encontrarem a sua felicidade. A felicidade está na coragem de arriscar algo novo, de tentar ser diferente e de querer mais por si.

É uma história fofinha, com os seus momentos curiosos (adorei a vertente de matchmaker da Sasha), mas que no geral não é suficiente para arrebatar corações...pelo menos não arrebatou o meu.

[Asa J H]

Aiming for Cozy, Serving Cold.



The Matcha Maker Cafe clearly promises a cozy, unique spin on the cafe-romance genre, but unfortunately, it stumbles long before reaching the finish line.

Instead of a fresh, charming story, you get a play-it-safe plot that traded originality for a checklist of tired tropes. The main character’s personality starts and ends with her tea whisk, the love interest feels recycled from a dozen other light romances, and the central conflict hinges on a communication mix-up that could be solved in thirty seconds.

And don’t get me started on Matcha reading! Reading bubbles and foams!!!!!! This is the new tarot card bullshit.
It tries so hard to radiate an effortless, aesthetic vibe that it completely forgets to build genuine heart or narrative momentum.


Rating: 1.5 / 5 Whisks

Best Paired With: An actual cup of coffee because you’ll need the caffeine to stay awake.

[Mariana Lemos]

Definitivamente não é o meu tipo de livro

[Eve 🌷]

I want to begin to thanking Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for this ARC.

When I begin this book I really enjoyed the energy, mood and cosy atmosphere of The Matcha Maker Café.
I found this storied atypical: a cosy paranormal small town romance that I never experienced before.
I honestly like it even if I find the dynamic sometimes a little too long. It isn’t the kind of books you will read if you love many actions but if you want to breath, take a long road to thinking about messages and thoughts we can have.

I like Sasha. This woman is a psychic tea reader who sees visions of her clients' futures. But everything is going to change when she meets a newcomer in her town and café : Ben. She cannot read him nor see visions of his future and it’s becoming a problem for her. At the same time she feelings attracted to him, she can’t be trusted Ben. It gives her in internal conflict and tourments.

I honestly didn’t feel any sparkles for Sasha and Ben together. But I like their own characters with their failures. I enjoyed too the final plot and I had a good time.

3/5

[Arimi Reads]

Final Verdict
Bought brand new from ASDA. Not sure why this is flagged as not in print.

Lets get a few things straight: this book is indeed straight, it is extremely trope- and it is a bog standard; grumpy x sunshine. I didn't enjoy this book. So why 3 stars?

I'll cut to the chase, it wasn't awful, it wasn't good. But it wasn't my cup of tea (haha) either. I like my romance where the characters have some form of romance, something that brings them together, this book didn't in my view; do that. It was missing the spark. It was more so she's so clumsy and happy go lucky, and he is grumpy.

Now I'm either completely missing the point or there is nothing emotionally binding the two together. There isn't a spark, it felt like they were forced partners rather than meant to be together. I like tropes. I like hot rubbish. This wasn't hot and fun rubbish. But the writing? The writing wasn't awful either. I did indeed finish reading it, because I loved the vibes of the cafe. I loved the idea of this woman with matchmaking powers working in an independent cafe doing matcha readings to match people. But her match was not it. Maybe it's not my cup of tea, maybe the book went over my head- the worldbuilding itself wasn't bad. But the match of the matcha maker felt so unnatural to me. If you are going to do grumpy x sunshine, there still has to be a reason they are matched.

Every other character in this book was matched with a spark, the matcha maker, didn't feel like she was. I felt bad for the main romance couple. They felt like they would've been happier with other people; don't ask me who. I don't know. They felt unmmatched rather than matched. Dream Harbor made sense and was enjoyable in comparison. Why were they matched. Have I missed something. Please let me know.

Before reading
Unsure how I have this book if it's not been published. I've entered the isbn on the back of my book. It also has the most stunning sprayed edges I've seen in a while. I got on sale at ASDA for 4 pounds. Retail price on the pack is 9.99

Not sure if I have read the author. but I picked this up because it reminded me of the following books:
The Vanishing Cherry Blossom Bookshop
Before the Coffee Gets Cold
The Gingerbread Bakery


Cosy literature after Dorian Gray sounds great to me :3

[Iris Windmeijer]

Soms heb je zin in een boek dat je vooral leest voor de vibes. Dan moet je Het matcha maker café oppakken. Een charmant boek over een cafeetje dat gered moet worden, een small town community, natuurlijk een knappe man en veel matcha en gebakjes!

Sasha is niet alleen de eigenaar van een matcha-café, maar ook een matchmaker, net als haar Maleisische oma Por Por. Dan probeert ze Ben aan een match te helpen, maar lukt dat wel? Het ligt er wel héél erg dik bovenop dat Sasha op Ben valt, maar ze doet er een beetje moeilijk over.

'Maar nee. Het was onmogelijk. Ben was haar cliënt, moest ze voor ogen blijven houden. Dit onprofessionele gedrag moest stoppen.' Maar giiiirl je bent matchmaker, zo ernstig is het niet! Ga voor die man! Ik vond dat Sasha soms een beetje zat te zeuren hierover.

Ze neemt haar werk als matchmaker erg serieus, net als haar matcha café. Maar dan wordt haar café bedreigd: kan ze wel blijven? De sfeer in het café: daar lees je het boek voor. De leuke karakters die je leert kennen, en ik kreeg spontaan honger van alle lekkere gebakjes die voorbij komen. Ik wil ook zo'n cafeetje bij mij in de buurt! Hier kreeg ik wél warme gevoelens van.

Het boek heeft soms wat wollig taalgebruik, dat draagt niet bij aan de beleving. Met maar één semi-spicy scène valt ook de spice in het boek mee, het is allemaal meer slow burn. De scène in kwestie vond ik wel een beetje cringe door het wollige taalgebruik.

Het matcha maker café is zeker niet het beste boek in het genre, maar als je zin hebt in een middagje gewoon vibes, dan is het prima. Maar het plot is wel erg dunnetjes, en wist me niet te overtuigen. De matcha-gebakjes daarentegen wel: waar kan ik dit café bezoeken?

Deze recensie verschijnt ook op https://www.readalicious.nl/recensies...
Dit boek heb ik ontvangen van de uitgeverij in ruil voor een recensie. Dit had geen invloed op mijn mening over het boek.

[Nadieh]

3,5 ⭐️

Ik hou zelf eigenlijk helemaal niet van matcha, maar dit boek leek me zo onwijs leuk en ik ben erg blij dat ik het heb gelezen. 🩷 Ik hou echt wel van een cozy romance, maar ik ging er een beetje blind in, dus werd verrast door de magie die er een beetje in zat verwerkt. 🪄

Dit boek was echt het perfecte voorbeeld van een 'niks aan de hand'-boekje voor tussendoor. Een palet cleanser. Alsof je een Hallmark-film aan het kijken bent, maar dan in boekvorm. Don't get me wrong, er zat uiteraard de nodige drama in, maar precies genoeg. 🫶🏻

Ik heb me erg vermaakt met dit boek en geef het uiteindelijk 3,5 ster. ⭐ Met dank aan Love & Lore voor het recensie-exemplaar. 🩷

[daylightjocelyn]

Thanks to Pan Macmillan for this e-arc!

I really wanted this book to be my next favorite small town romance with a little paranormal aspect, but it sadly could not catch me at all.
I did like the setting of it, with a cute café in a small town as the backdrop of the story and lots of side characters that were really adorable at times.

But I found the third person POV to not be a good fit for this type of book, the inner monologue of our main character Sasha really confusing and at times irritating. Her psychic abilites felt misplaced in this otherwise very normal everyday life kind of story.
The writing style was my biggest issue. It was all over the place, a lot of telling instead of showing when it comes to the characters emotions and inner turmoils, really repetitive and juvenile.

Since this is a debut novel, I hope to see some improved work from the author in the future, because the potential is definitely there!

[Liz | lizzuplans]

A nice read, but too simple for my taste.

I liked the café, I liked the town and its inhabitants, and I liked the main characters.
I even liked all the matcha drinks and matcha snacks, even though they were mentioned every other world, it felt like.

The focus on the café and the matchmaking could have been fleshed out a bit more, sometimes things just felt a bit shoved together.
The moment the FMC and MMC finally got together was quite late, as was the third act breakup; and those were really close together.
The solution felt really quick and soon as well. In conclusion, the pacing was a bit off.

It also took me embarrassingly long to get that matcha and matchmaker was combined into matcha maker.

As a few other reviewers noted, this felt like a solid draft which could then be worked into a real book.

Still, a cosy easy read that was great for spring.
Solid 3 stars.

I received an ARC of this book (thanks!) and these are my own opinions.

[Kim (readerbydusk)]

Matchmaker? More like Matcha Maker. I can't get over how many times I read the word 'matcha.' So many times, it honestly stopped being a word to me.

Fair, The Matcha Maker Café has a cute premise, but it didn't feel fully fleshed out. I also felt like we were told a lot rather than shown. This is something that really irks me when I see it in books, so that's another star docked just for that aspect.

On top of that, we’re dropped into the story without much context, and the café’s whole 'matchmaking' spiel didn't feel properly explored. Normally I can enjoy a lighter, vibe‑driven story, but there just wasn’t enough here to hold my attention.

There are some charming moments, and the concept has potential, but overall it felt like a draft of a stronger book. And yes.. the matcha mentions just about broke me.

↪ 3 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Niamh]

Thank you so much to Pan MacMillan for sending me a copy of this book to review!
For starters I was constantly craving matcha and every dessert mentioned as I read this book!
I liked the cozy setting of the book and the connections that the main character Sasha made with her customers of her matcha cafe, the vibes were so cozy and had a nice community feel to it.
Unfortunately that’s where the pros end.
I felt that the writing was way to descriptive, multiple time throughout the book a full explanation of how she makes matcha is given which is really unnecessary.
Sasha has a lot of thoughts about liking the MMC Ben, however continuously turns him down and pushes him away because she wants to use her ‘powers of match making’ to find him his one true love instead?? I also think this psychic ability isn’t really explained and doesn’t really fit into an everyday non-magic universe.
The writing style sadly just didn’t work but I wish the author luck in her career as this is only her debut novel!

[Maxime Es]

2.5/3

Ik was echt toe aan een makkelijk ‘romance book’. Dit boek was daar per-fect voor!

Echter, moet ik wel eerlijk bekennen dat het niet het beste boek is. Ons hoofdpersoon is ‘te veel’ genoemd door haar ex, waardoor ze zich niet goed genoeg voelt voor liefde. Misschien zegt dat meer over hem, want dit was een probleemloos (tot het punt dat het zelfs een beetje saai was) karakter. Ik had wel wat meer diepgang in onze hoofdpersonen verwacht.

MAAR ik zag een deel twee voor Klara, en zeker dat die gekocht en gelezen gaat worden!!!

[Beth Lee]

Really struggled to get into this book, hence the time it took me to read it. I initially liked the concept and all, but it got quite boring and repetitive, it was nearly a DNF sadly :(

[Ana Rita Ramos]

Adorei este livro, a escrita é muito boa, a história é aparentemente leve, mas com partes profundas.
As personagens são interessantes; a protagonista é altruísta, preferindo renunciar ao amor, mas não deixar quem ama sem alguém.
Gostaria imenso de estar num espaço como o Café Matcha Maker.
Apreciei também a parte espiritual do livro, através das leituras das folhas do chá e das bolhinhas de matcha.
Consegui praticamente saborear os bolos e os chás e estar envolta naquele espírito de comunidade.

[Kateřina]

What a boring and stupid main character

[Rebecca Larsen]

An enjoyable read! Made me crave treats. Very lighthearted. I recommend this book!

[Danique de Groot]

Was in need of a palette cleanser.

[unravelingthepages]

Should have DNF'ed this. I don't think I have ever actually felt like this before but the main character was insufferable, and so was her best friend Klara (though they did NOT feel like best friends with Klara constantly making the MC uncomfortable with loud comments despite requests to stop).

I'm all for angst, but a supposedly cozy romance where there is only angst and feeling upset because of obnoxious decisions you take? That's not angst, that's annoyance for the reader.

And I'm really not trying to be mean but this book absolutely infuriated me.

There was no relationship development between the love interest and the MC, every page felt disjointed, and the writing style like an essay you write as a child - all exclamations, excessive adjdctives, and bad dialogue. The timeline was weird, it felt like no time passed between the events but suddenly the main character's grew from shoulder length to the middle of her bad?

[Elisabete Cunha]

O Café Matcha Maker é uma daquelas leituras que nos faz desejar entrar nas páginas do livro e passar uma tarde inteira num café acolhedor, com uma chávena de matcha e um bolo acabado de sair do forno. Com uma atmosfera quente e reconfortante, esta é uma história perfeita para quem gosta de romances slow burn, pequenas comunidades onde todos se conhecem e personagens que encontram uma segunda oportunidade para serem felizes.
A protagonista, Sasha, é dona do Matcha Moments Café, um espaço muito especial onde, além de servir deliciosas bebidas e doces de matcha, utiliza um dom herdado da avó para ajudar os seus clientes a encontrarem o amor. Através das suas leituras de matcha, consegue vislumbrar o futuro romântico das pessoas. No entanto, tudo muda quando Ben entra na sua vida. Pela primeira vez, o seu dom falha e Sasha não consegue ver nada sobre ele. E é esse mistério que desencadeia uma história de amor.
Gostei da forma como a autora explorou o crescimento das personagens. Sasha carrega o peso das expectativas dos pais, sente que os desiludiu ao abandonar o curso de Direito e vive constantemente assombrada pelo medo de falhar. Além disso, enfrenta dificuldades financeiras que colocam o futuro do seu café em risco. Estas preocupações tornam-na uma protagonista muito humana e fácil de compreender.
Ben parece reservado e algo sisudo, mas rapidamente revela um lado extremamente paciente, gentil e dedicado. É impossível não torcer pelos dois, apesar de Sasha insistir em afastá-lo devido aos seus receios e inseguranças. A relação entre ambos evolui de forma muito gradual, talvez até demasiado gradual em alguns momentos, mas mantém-se credível e ternurenta.
Adorei Bramleigh Green, uma vila encantadora onde todos se conhecem e estão sempre dispostos a ajudar. As amizades são genuínas, as personagens secundárias têm personalidade própria e facilmente nos afeiçoamos a muitas delas. Nathan, Kira, o Sr. Davis e outros habitantes enriquecem a narrativa e deixam vontade de conhecer melhor as suas histórias. Espero sinceramente que este seja o primeiro livro de uma série, porque existem várias personagens que mereciam o seu próprio romance.
Também fiquei com curiosidade para saber o que acontece a algumas personagens secundárias, especialmente Kira e Leo.
Com um ambiente acolhedor, amizades sinceras, um toque subtil de realismo mágico e a mensagem de que nem todos os futuros precisam de ser previstos para valer a pena serem vividos. É uma leitura doce, confortável que aquece o coração e nos recorda que, por vezes, o amor aparece precisamente quando deixamos de tentar controlá-lo.

[Celina]

I would recommend this book if you’re into cozy books and small town romance. It was a quick read and easy to follow. I didn’t expect that the matchmaking was done by Sasha as a shaman and the practice of actual matcha readings. The book therefore touches quite a lot upon spirituality, so if you’re a spiritual baddie, you would probably enjoy reading about Sasha and her spiritual gifts!

[Rita]

Well, the only enjoyable part of this book was the matcha!

I was really hoping for a cozy story set in a small town near Oxford. But the writing style and the character work made it extremely hard to enjoy the story or feel anything that wasn’t pure irritation!

The story is told from the perspective of the main character, Sasha, who runs the matcha café and supposedly has the hidden talent of being able to read love matches for her clients from matcha bubbles. Unfortunately, I just didn’t think the author did a good enough job convincing me of this “magical” ability. And it felt a bit ridiculous that she was judging a complete stranger (who also happens to be her future love interest Ben) for not believing in it straight away - which feels like a completely valid reaction in the real world!?

Sasha’s internal monologue was really, really difficult to listen to, and I think that mostly comes down to the writing style.

This is the author’s debut novel, so I’m hoping that with more writing her work will improve, and that we won’t have to be told how a character is feeling but instead see it through their body language and how they interact with the world.

If café books , which seem very trendy right now , are something you enjoy, you might still appreciate the vibe of this one. Or if you’re particularly obsessed with matcha.

2/5 ⭐

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Hannah]

This was a very lovely small town romance with a quirky twist. Match making using matcha is certainly something that I’ve not read before, and I would have loved to have learned more about this “power” but still, it made for a very sweet story.

This one was a super easy read that focused around the town and a very cute matcha cafe. It definitely had so much potential, and I think I would have preferred if the story was written in first person as it would have helped me connect with Sasha a bit more. I also find it odd that her “power” wasn’t questioned by anyone and that the town just went with whatever she said 😅

That being said, I did like the twist at the end. even though the third act was a little frustrating. It was a little more complex than a usual twist (not just a “reveal”) and was something I hadn’t even thought of and wasn’t expecting it.

•Grumpy x Sunshine
•Paranormal Vibes
•Small Town
•Cosy
•Matcha Teashop
•Slow Burn
•Closed Door

[Chrissie Patterson]

2.75⭐️

This was a cute, easy little romance set in a cosy small town centred around a matcha café owner who secretly uses psychic tea readings to help people find love. It ended up being the perfect palate cleanser after some heavier reads.

I enjoy these kinds of comforting romances because you always know you’re getting a happy ending, charming side characters and a cosy atmosphere you can sink into. The found family aspect was definitely the strongest part of this for me, and I loved the sense of community throughout the story.

That said, I didn’t completely connect with it. The writing often felt overly descriptive, repetitive and sometimes a bit disjointed. I also couldn’t fully invest in the psychic ability storyline, and while Sasha and Ben were both likeable enough, their relationship never felt particularly deep or emotionally convincing to me.

Overall, it was sweet, light and very easy to read, but not something that felt especially memorable or different from other cosy romances I’ve read before.