The White Cat's Revenge as Plotted from the Dragon King's Lap: Volume 1

復讐を誓った白猫は竜王の膝の上で惰眠をむさぼる [Fukushuu wo Chikatta Shironeko wa Ryuuou no Hiza no Ue de Damin wo Musaboru] (Novel) #1

by Kureha, Yamigo (Illustrator), David Evelyn (Translator)

Nineteen-year-old Ruri Morikawa gets wrangled into a messy situation when her selfish childhood friend strands her in another world! To make matters somehow worse, a mysterious conspiracy then gets her abandoned in a perilous forest. Through an unexpected turn of events, she comes into possession of a mystical bracelet that allows her to transform into a white cat. Now that she's in the Land of the Dragon King, she has to hide the fact that she's human—which means spending her days as a little white cat, for the time being... But how will she exact her much-earned revenge against those who’ve wronged her while stuck in the form of a small, fluffy, cuddly kitty cat?!

Genres: Light Novel, Fantasy, Manga, Romance, Young Adult, Magic, Novels

267 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 12, 2016

About the author

クレハ

Reviews

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pleasant surprise! Can’t wait for the next volume.

This book started out a little clunky in the prologue and first two chapters. Luckily I decided to keep reading, because it just got better and better the further I got into the story. By the time I reached the end I was loving the characters and thoroughly addicted to the plot.
There was a tendency to Mary Sue the main character in the beginning, but her personality and growth during the story kept things from being too sweet and made me interested to see what direction things would take next.
I really hope the author stays in the groove for the next volume and lets all of her characters learn from their mistakes and evolve.
I also liked that while the main character initially started going into the angsty/ all my fault guilt trip direction (which I totally hate) the other characters stepped in to open her eyes and she was able to move past it. Whew! Thank goodness. Hope she can avoid doing it again going forward. As a plot device it’s torturous.
To be fair, first few chapters did end up having a purpose and were necessary to set the scene for later - so they are worth the slog. There were plenty of back references to those events in later chapters, so they ended up feeling more than justified. The author’s writing style also got tighter and improved over the course of the story.
I really like the concept and world building in the book, and the neat possibilities raised. Lots of little loose ends I can’t wait to see turned into plot material.
Please hurry with the next volume! I’ll definitely be buying it.

[LG (A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nineteen-year-old Ruri has spent her entire life desperately trying to get away from her "friend" Asahi, but no matter what she does or where she goes, Asahi's always there. Something about that girl draws people in, and then Ruri has to deal with their jealousy as Asahi cheerfully misinterprets their bullying as "playfulness."

Then one day Asahi, Ruri, and a couple (?) of Asahi's fans find themselves suddenly transported to the kingdom of Nadasha, where they are told that one of them is the savior known as the Priestess Princess. For various reasons, Asahi is instantly declared the Priestess Princess, and her jealous supporters conspire against Ruri and get her exiled. Fortunately, Ruri finds a safe haven and learns that she's something called a "Beloved," a person whose powerful mana appeals to spirits and makes them want to help her.

Ruri's primary goals are to somehow go back home and stay far away from Asahi so that she can, for the first time ever, have real friends and a peaceful life.

Normally, "long title" isekai light novel series lay their whole premise out pretty quickly - the title tells you the series' "hook," and then you just have to hope that the author has at least enough ability to build on that in a reasonably entertaining way. In the case of this series, however, it takes about half the book before we get to anything like what's outlined in the title, and even then, I don't think the title gives the right impression. Ruri's idea of "revenge" is, at worst, making the priest and others who summoned her grovel and cry. She'd also like to punch them, probably while screaming "hi-yah!" in righteous fury. There would be no lasting damage, because that would make her feel bad. Basically, she doesn't have a malicious bone in her body.

Which is a good thing, because if she actually wanted revenge, she could level the kingdom of Nadasha simply by asking the spirits to do it for her. Or just by getting angry and not stopping the spirits from harming others in her defense. The amount of destructive potential Beloveds had was horrifying. On the plus side, other characters realized this as well - literally everyone's first impulse, after learning that Ruri was a Beloved, was to keep her happy and figure out how prone to anger she was.

Considering how much time was spent on establishing that Asahi's ability to instantly gain everyone's love and trust was a bad thing, it irked me that Ruri essentially did the same thing and everyone just accepted it. It helped, somewhat, that so many characters recognized the potential damage Ruri could do, but Ruri's reaction to Asahi initially felt pretty hypocritical.

So, I haven't said anything about the cat stuff yet. That's another thing that took a while to really come up. For various reasons, Ruri traveled to the capital of the Nation of the Dragon King, and a magic bracelet and a misunderstanding that wasn't cleared up as fast as it should have been resulted in the Dragon King and his court thinking that Ruri was really a magical cat. I was willing to accept that this all made sense from Ruri's perspective, but it was still frustrating knowing how easily the misunderstanding could have been cleared up.

Still, it was kind of refreshing to have Jade, the Dragon King, know Ruri primarily as a cat. True, he was instantly drawn to her for no particular reason (matching mana wavelengths!), but instead of romantic love, the result was that he essentially swore off marriage in favor of getting to pet the cute kitty and squish her paw pads. He'd only consider marriage if he found someone he could be more comfortable with than his cat.

I did like that this was written in the third person, and the scene in which the spirits threatened the Dragon King was pretty good. Despite the rough beginning, this eventually won me over somewhat, although its simplistic handling of pretty much everything (impending war, politics, character interactions, etc.) make me doubtful that it'd be worth continuing this series.

Extras:

Character profiles for Ruri, Jade, Chelsie, Joshua, Lydia, and Asahi, plus black and white illustrations throughout.

Rating Note:

This was a 2-star read for at least half the book, and then it gradually crept up enough for me to be comfortable settling on 3 stars.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

[Lissa Hawley · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I prefer the manga, it's still fun to be reading a real book.

[Tamara · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 stars

[Dantegideon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started out quite well, but then events stopped happening. Instead Ruri bumbles around doing silly things and making a fuss, but nothing of consequence. There’s never any real reason for anything. I like light novels to be light, but this is just a void.

[Glasdow Teacosy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not going to over-analyze this story. It was cute. Ruri was a delightful main character. I enjoyed the various plot twists. Never before have I enjoyed an overpowered main character so much in a Japanese light novel. I haven't quite put my finger on why that is so, however, but I promised myself I wouldn't over-analyze this story. The author is taking the long game for building the story's romance, so unless you find endless scenes of the king petting the MC while she's a cat titillating, you’re likely to be disappointed. And Ruri’s villainess friend is too vapid to be interesting. However, Ruri’s relationship with her mentor and the fairy spirits is written with an entertaining lilt. There’s a lot to enjoy here. I may revisit this light novel again sometime to understand better why I enjoyed the main character so much because there was excellent balance at work in the writing, not that I'm over-analyzing.

[Judith Daphne · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first, I was a bit unsure because the plot was so predictable, making me able to guess about what would happen next. But as the story unfolded, I found myself completely immersed in the fascinating world created by the author.


I was about to drop reading it because the revelation about Ruri being a human to Jade, the Dragon king, is so slow paced. I mean, prolonging the unveiling of Ruri being  a human to Jade is frustrating especially if the eventual reveal doesn't feel as exciting or impactful as one might hope.


One of the things I'm curious About here was what's the reason  the main character, Ruri, has been hiding her true beauty because of Asahi and his followers. It added an intriguing layer of mystery and made me really curious to find out why she's been keeping her beauty under wraps. For that reason, this made me continue reading the book


The story takes an exciting turn when Joshua the grandson of Chelsea and Euclase, the Chancellor in Dragonkin's nation found out that Ruri is a human, even more so when they realized that she was the girl the dragon King is referring to that got his attention.


In the second volume, the author manages to keep the suspense high and inject some humor into the mix. For some reason, I felt a sense of relief when Ruri was told by the spirits that they can go to Ruri’s, world to deliver her message to her family. I will continue reading as it looks like there are more to come
I also love the few illustrations added in this book


Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this review are solely  mine  and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.

[Aelvana · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Ruri is summoned to another world, the initial indignity soon gives way to an unanticipated opportunity. For years, Asahi has been stalking her in a one-sided "friendship." The country that kidnapped them is suspicious, and when Ruri tries to point this out she's left for dead in a forest full of monsters. Now, for the first time free to do as she pleases, Ruri works on getting her life together so she can migrate to a better kingdom, ruled by a Dragon King . . .

I utterly despise Asahi, and the worst thing about this book is that she is not punished (yet, one presumes). Ruri is only partially at fault for not telling her off more strongly, because it's clear that no matter how she says it, Asahi won't listen to her, and she can't get anyone around them to take her side either.

Once Asahi is out of Ruri's life, though, her situation immediately gets better. A few friendly encounters, and we start to meet people who can expand Ruri's world.

The cat bracelet is a fun touch. Ruri eventually comes to own a magical item that can turn her into a cat whenever she puts it on---and an unfortunate misunderstanding means she's more or less stuck playing the role of an intelligent cat in front of the Dragon King and his officials.

The one piece that felt really out of place was when Ruri is making her way in the woods, she suddenly points out that she has a survivalist grandfather who taught her a bunch of stuff. But this makes no sense even in the context, as Ruri doesn't behave like someone who knows anything about being in the woods.

Overall, this is a decently fun story, although my enjoyment of the series as a whole will greatly depend on whether Asahi ends up dying very painfully or not. I rate this book Recommended.

See my reviews and more at https://offtheshelfreviews.wordpress....

[Genie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tethering between a 2.5 to 3 star read. I was really hoping for more from this light novel as it was pitched with a slow burn romance. It's not bad, but the writing reads like a middle grade novel and Ruri's dialogue is really awkward. Her responses have this odd robotic feeling to it so her interactions and thoughts with the world around her feel extremely unnatural. Since this is only the first novel there's also not much romance, but despite it supposedly being a slow-burn there is an obvious insta-love between Ruri and Jade due to them having similar wavelengths in their "mana" and therefore are secretly "mates". I could just be tired of this trope, but this nearly made me want to drop it. Overall I think this story may just be better represented as a manga, which I am contemplating to continue with instead to see how they wrap up the Asahi arc.

[Robert R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable fluffy Isekai, but the problems with the genre weigh down the ending. Basically, we have a group summoned via a portal and our MC, Ruri is seemingly caught up in the action only to be discarded as unneeded baggage. While the title features "Revenge" it's honestly not a big part of this book or the series in general as the good natured Ruri is does want the bad guys to get their just deserts, but honestly doesn't spend too much time worrying about it.

As is expected with a "true" Isekai - in addition to simply world jumping, we also have language auto-translation and various other simplifications all of which serve to stream line the story, but also require a good bit of suspension of disbelief by the reader.

[Gigi · Rating 2 out of 5]

i truly do not know what it was about this book--if it was just a lackluster translation that dragged or tone of the main character, or if it was the premise itself, one thats been done a hundred times in a hundred ways, that i still find myself reading regardless-- but i found myself actively fighting to finish because of how bored i was. take a bunch of rich girls who are so magnetizingly attractive to other people and make it because of spirit magic, trapped in another world, throw in some cats for a reason that isnt really all that narratively compelling either. It just felt like trope after trope not particularly played with in an interesting way, among a bunch of kind of mild and bland characters. so it looks like i very much need to step away from the genre and read something new.

[TheOASG · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ruri Morikawa would have always assumed that if she was spirited away to another world that she would have finally gotten rid of her perpetual stalker, her childhood acquaintance Asahi Shinomiya, in the process.

But alas, it won’t be that easy! After being summoned to another world, and framed as a would-be assassin on Asahi’s life, Ruri is exiled to a magical forest and it’s there that her life can truly begin.

Creator Kureha made an odd choice in titling this series, faithfully reproduced by J-Novel Club, in referencing an event which doesn’t occur until about halfway through this first volume. Even then it isn’t super representative of the series (as Ruri is asked point-blank if she wants “revenge” on Asahi and the nation that summoned her and her response is to want petty misfortune, not revenge). The set-up for this novel also smashes together a number of isekai light novel tropes in a bit of an unusual fashion; it’s odd to have multiple people drawn into another world (beyond Ruri and Asahi a few of their former classmates came along as well) and Ruri and Asahi’s one-side, antagonistic relationship from the start also feels different from what is probably the best-known, shōjo isekai with multiple girls dragged to another world, Fushigi Yûgi.

In other ways however, Ruri’s predicament feels very “over-powered light novel hero”ish.

As Ruri explains to Chelsie, an elderly dragonkin woman whose house she stumbles upon in the forest, she has known Asahi since childhood and Asahi would simply not stop clinging to her, no matter what kinds of steps she took; moreover that Asahi seemed to have an unconscious effect on people who caused them to love her and hate Ruri by contrast (which was at play when Ruri was dumped into the woods). Both of these effects are because of magic Chelsie explains — Asahi has been unconsciously “bewitching” people to like her, something that has never worked on Ruri because the magic she possesses is inherently stronger. In this world, magic is usually done by invoking the help of nature spirits and having a “wavelength” that spirits find attractive is critical to this; not only does Ruri have a very broad wavelength (one that Asahi surely sensed and explained why she was so clingy over the years) but it’s so broad it actually puts her in the category of someone who is “Beloved” by spirits, and Ruri’s practically a national treasure without having to lift a finger!

So, while she’s perfectly happy to spend the rest of her life living in the woods with Chelsie, Chelsie knows that she has to at least make an attempt to get Ruri to the court of the Dragon King (since again, Beloved’s are a matter of national security with how their mere moods can inspire spirits to cause catastrophes or miracles). Although, I don’t think she expected Ruri to do it as a cat! Ruri uses a magical bracelet of hers to escape from some hoodlums and, one thing leading to another, she is installed in the court as a magical, fluffy kitty and concerned how these demi-humans would respond if they learned she was actually a human!

I will confess: “making one of your characters a cat” does create “plausible” obstacles to having your main couple hook up (since, like all light novel protagonists, the endgame clearly involves Ruri hooking up with the most in-universe desirable partner, the Dragon King himself), although I do hope this issue is resolved sooner rather than later (Ruri can change back and forth whenever she wants to at least). I wouldn’t mind the tension going on a bit longer, but I enjoyed this book quite a bit more than I expected with only a few minor quibbles. The first has to do with where the book ends; it doesn’t end so much as it “pauses” when there’s a lull in the action and I started wondering if it would have been feasible for this volume and the next to have been combined to create a better stopping point (White Cat’s Revenge already feels more Young Adult-ish than most light novels and combing two volumes would give it a page count very similar to one as well).

I also questioned the two year time-skip near the beginning of the story. While it makes sense for Ruri’s side of the story, we do see a brief scene with Asahi being completely distraught over Ruri’s disappearance and wanting to find her immediately (which subsequently leads her into being manipulated into starting a war with the Nation of the Dragon King). Asahi is dumb; it’s hard to articulate how dumb since she makes inanimate objects look intelligent, and the fact that this event occurs within days of Ruri vanishing, yet by the time Ruri visits the Dragon King the war hasn’t actually yet started, so it felt off to me and I wish it had been framed slightly differently. Asahi’s dumbness in general is a bit of a sticking point though: you either have to be able to get past it or you can’t enjoy the story at all.

I also wasn’t super fond of the illustrations by Yamigo. Normally I feel like light novels should have more illustrations but the generic character designs and utterly bland in-chapter drawings (usually featuring one or two characters with minimal props and no background) left me more interested in checking out the art of the manga adaptation than anything else.

Ultimately I am on-board with this J-Novel Heart series, trope-ish characters and all, and I’m quite glad that volume 2 is already being updated on the website with hopefully a full release coming soon!

- Helen

[Pumpkin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw this book and just had to see what it was about. And it was everything I wanted! That being said, there are points in the plot that don’t settle well with me and feel like they happen only because the author wanted it to, and not because it made sense.

Overall, it’s a pretty decently good light novel/Isekai. It hits all trope expectations very well (almost painfully well, almost...). The pacing is nice, the plot is nice. It’s a fun palate cleanser, really.

[Megan Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first arc is pretty fun (silly). A dragon tames a cat poorly and so there are amusing shenanigans with that. Our protagonist does pretty well as a fish out of water (summoned into a fantasy realm). She is naturally OP but her collective trauma does help keep her humble. Some of the details are contradictory but it moves at a good clip so you don't have too much downtime to consider all that. Doesn't break genre conventions but its a fine distraction.

[Crislyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pleasantly surprised! Highly recommend!

This book is the self serving daydream for girls who have someone in their life that only seems to make their life worse. Especially someone seemingly ‘innocent.’ I was very surprised, expecting a fun story about a girl who can turn into a cat. I instead got a story full of mysteries and revenge. I definitely recommend this!

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first part was a bit of a slog (that’s why it took over a month to finish…) but about halfway it picked up a bit and was,ore interesting. Ruri is super beloved by spirits (a blessing and a curse…), and is hanging out as a cat in the palace. The dragon king is smitten with her feline self, and she’s having some trouble coming clean about her human status. Asahi is…unbelievably dumb so far.

[Gioia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fantasy-romance started off as one of my favorite light novel surprises.
Its early volumes had a perfect mix of magic, revenge, and quiet strength. I truly enjoyed watching the heroine navigate her fate and the new world.
The story loses some of its charm after the wedding in the later volumes, so you might want to stop there — that way, the series will leave you with a smile.

[Lain · Rating 1 out of 5]

The crime of the "villain" that plagues the main character is that she doesn't read social cues, and that she is easily manipulated. MC never verbalizes that she doesn't want to be friends, just mentally complains. I kept reading to see if there would be any character development. lol. lmao even. there was not. its very clear this is just the type of person the author doesnt like.

[Helen M. Whitchurch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summoned to another world genre

High school girl can influence spirits in another world. Cliche. But rest pretty original. Fun to read. Cat form doted on by young dragon blood king.

[E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Comedy meets revenge fantasy meets slice of life isekai meets slow burn romance? This really shouldn't work, but somehow the mess comes together and it really is rather enjoyable. Again a solid translation, which helps - this wouldn't have worked if the prose was clunky.

[A S · Rating 4 out of 5]

pleasant - fluffy

Enjoyable enough. Ruri and Asashi is pretty funny and most of the side characters are fine. The Dragon King is kind of lame - flat, falls in love with her mana wavelength is kind of goofy, and he’s pretty boring otherwise.

[GinaS · Rating 5 out of 5]

great read

Really love Ruri’s character and how the story plot goes. Wish there was more exploring of the kingdom and Ruri trying to be more independent instead of always being a cat when she was revealed to be a “Beloved”

[Christabel Seah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first came across this in manga form and the promise of revenge and freedom from the FL's self proclaimed best friend was the thing that kept it going.

The cute murder fairies are super entertaining too.

All in all would recommend.

[Vivi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute manga, very simplistic, but wholesome. I would have like a bit more detailed artwork - you almost always only see the characters with very little background work, but looking forward to the next volumes.

[Hannah Kneuss · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have quite enjoyed the world building, the characters. I sometimes still feel bad for Ruri and the life she's led because of Asahi, but I'm glad that things really are looking up. Life is better than it's ever been.
Looking forward to the next volume.

[Jane Night]

I did not finish this book so I chose not to leave a rating.

The pacing of this is breakneck. I felt like the amount of story crammed into what I did read of this manga could have been three or four books worth and it would have worked better for me.

[Rachel Swanepoel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omg

I really like the difference in this story. I really really can’t wait for the next one and would really like to just fast forward to it coming out lol. So awesome!!

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

[J-Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly, I am enjoying this more than I thought I would. I wish that she would reveal that she is a human, but I appreciate the plot buildup.

In addition, I am sick and tired of Ruri’s “friend.”

[cece · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's terrible.