Another catastrophe is brewing when somebody figures out Nekoyama’s secret but is way more interested in making friends than anything else. Then Erina gets some distressing news about the transformative power of kissing and deals with it the same way she always does: poorly.
Listen, if there’s more you need from this book than watching a cat sass-mouth his “owner” because she’s half-assing playtime, this is not the story for you. Fine, there’s also a slap fight with a Pomeranian and a hilariously orchestrated bit of BL just to cater to everybody.
The big addition here is Inui, said boy/dog, who thankfully isn’t a rival, but is definitely just as up in our leads’ business as one. He’s super keen to be friendly and a bit of a dope, which befits his animal form and provides a strong, if obvious, contrast to Nekoyama.
Yeah, Inui unintentionally goes a bit far and can be too hyper and annoying, but, again, he fits hyper dog mode to a tee. And when everybody meets the family, we learn that the apple doesn’t fall from the tree (and Erina finds a kindred spirit in Inui’s mom).
As for Erina and Nekoyama, they continue as they always do, which is fine because they’re so ridiculous together. Erina using cheesecake to break down Nekoyama’s willpower and his tail giving him away is just fun, y’know?
The dinner with Inui’s parents throws a wrinkle into things and, yes, this is one of those books where five minutes of conversation would literally solve every problem, but the consequence of this is that we get tons of the usual zaniness and naked pretty boy times to boot for those of you who partake. You’d think Erina would have figured out when not to kiss Nekoyama, but curiosity killed the shojo heroine.
Really, if you liked the series to this point, do not fret, this is still the same silliness and romance you’ve been enjoying and it continues to deliver. There is just something about Nekoyama curling up on the floor and sulking and every other goofy cat thing that just brings a lot to this deeply ridiculous book.
And, yeah, that cliffhanger is a little ‘well, duh’ but it completely fits in with Erina’s own tendency to just assume a lot of things at the best of times. All those misassumptions lead to a lot of Nekoyama thawing out during this volume, so possibly the cure was worth the disease.
3.5 stars - just as good as before and a worthwhile addition to anybody’s library if they love cats and shojo because they are literally the laser-pointer-focused target for this tail. Tale. Whatever.