A Fox's Love: American Kitsune, Volume 1

WARNING: Spoiler alert. Also, for those that don't think that the fourth wall should ever be broken, don't read this novel. For those with an open mind who don't mind trying something new in a novel, this may be for you.As a harem/romance anime/manga/light novel aficionado with over 50+ hours of recorded content consumption, I can say that I was very satisfied with this novel. The first thing that one must take into account when getting into a story like this that is created using very specific tropes in mind is that the story tends to be very predictable and the characters don't differ that much from other characters in the genre. This has been a major criticism of the harem genre as a whole due to repetitive storylines, stock characters that don't differ across stories, and the repetitive use of fan-service to ensure male viewers that degrades women and sexuality in the process. For the sake of this review, I'm going to ignore the last one because I feel there is content out there that does this a lot worse than anime and manga and I think it is a little ridiculous to make that argument here.Let's dive a little deeper into the reasoning behind the decisions I made when filling out the form that Amazon provides when making reviews like this, starting with predictability. First off, I'm not really looking for something entirely new when I dive into a new harem/romance stories. I know how it is going to end from the beginning and I'm okay with that. I'm not expecting someone to die or some huge twist or something, though there is nothing wrong with that and stories that do it like Clannad are very successful. But I don't make that assumption when I first pick up a story and I have no problem with a story that doesn't have an unpredictable twist in store for me. What I like are the particular tropes of the genre, how they play together, and the natural catharsis that the friction they produce when they come into contact produces as it cleanses negative stress and replaces it with a sense of enjoyment. Different emotions feel better for me: while I love mourning for a character who just died, feeling fear and the thrill over a series of events unfolding, or watching a pumped up fight in the making, I much prefer and adore the feeling of having my heartstrings being pulled by a love story between a male character that I can identify with and a magical anime girl that is as dreamy and alluring as she is out of his league. While dynamic change is really, really, nice (an adverb on an adverb on an adjective?) it isn't always necessary for the story to be believable or enjoyable.That being said, the first novel in the American Kitsune series delivers on the author's promise to be an exciting read. Though the characters are one-dimensional and the plot was entirely predictable, I still found it to be a witty thrill ride that tugged at my heartstrings and made me burst out laughing on my morning commute in every chapter. While keeping with the tradition of Eastern themes and tropes, the author puts a spin on it with a Western setting with very Western characters in a world that is based off of Eastern mythology and ideas of occultism. The fan-service, the romance, and the character friction was exactly what I was looking for when I made the decision to read this novel per the author's request. However, there is more to this novel than just fan-service, (unrequited) romance, and character friction. One of the things I thought was the most funny and interesting decisions of the novel was the author's tendency to not only break the fourth wall but to rip it down completely and even include himself as both the narrator and also a character. That right there is what makes this story unique and enjoyable and if you don't like/want that, you won't enjoy this novel.Now for some criticism and the reason I took away a star. This novel really needs some polishing and it doesn't feel complete. I know there is a real pressure on novelists right now to write short pieces with minimal word counts, but this novel feels, just as another has said, as an introduction. While the whole thing is fast paced, it is only so because of the fan-service. There really is no character development yet whatsoever and it feels incomplete to me as a reader. Couple that with a number of spelling and grammatical errors throughout the book that makes it look like less than a finished product and you have a half a star deduction right there. But what really kills is me about this novel is (spoiler alert) the end when the main characters and the villain square off and the author as a means of shortening the novel cut out the entire fight scene altogether. That is the pivotal moment of your novel and your climax and you skipped it rather than the scene at the arcade. Not only that, but the characters were exactly the same afterwards. The ending of this story is definitely in need for some improvement and frankly feels like the author was lazy with his writing. While disappointing, I still enjoyed the novel and these mistakes are not overbearing, thus why I only subtracted a star (though if Amazon had half stars, I would have only given it 3.5).That being said, I did overall greatly enjoy the novel and I just purchased the second one, which I hope will not make the same mistakes as this one though I will most likely eat it up just like I do anything in this genre. The spin on the fourth wall really makes this novel interesting and a reason among others to read it. Well done my friend.

As someone who has watched anime and is familiar with anime tropes, I understood the comedic aspects of this story. However, given that the main character Kevin is under the age of 18 and the kitsune girl Lilian is 115 years old, something just doesn't seem right here even though this is a common trope in anime where a high school-aged boy falls in love with an ancient loli. It is also a pretty ecchi story and I can't give it a full 5-star rating because I think Lilian is too sexualized and that is one of her only character traits apart from being an almost Mary Sue. Meanwhile, her being Kevin's yandere lover is something that I don't like, especially how she treats Kevin like he's her property and not as an actual person who could love her back and not care at all what he wants and only what she wants from him. Lilian is a character I would say is manipulative and just, in general, a terrible person and interfering with Kevin's real friends he's known for years and cares about just so she can have him to herself.To be honest, Kevin might have been better off calling in Coomer Eric whom the author describes as the biggest pervert to deal with Lilian's possessive desire to mate with Kevin. Or Kevin could just talk to the quiet kid and ask to borrow his AR-15 since Lilian's advances were shown to cause almost serious bodily harm and could be fatal if this wasn't based on Shonen anime and would be legally allowed to use deadly force because this story is based in America bitch. There's also the option of talking to some other yokai because there are other yokai in this universe and maybe talk to the Tanuki slum lord and mob boss Don Ringtail, just making up names here, because Tanukis don't like kitsunes and could probably deal with Lilian as a threat given that Kevin is an honest man. But then again, probably only on the day Don Ringtail is to have his daughter married.Probably the most memorable scenes though was seeing Lilian get defeated by Gunnery Sargent Coach when her manipulation failed to work on him and to a limited extent, she got what was coming for her. And even though Lindsay is Kevin's old friend, she's honestly a better character with more of a personality than Lilian and she honestly seems like she has better chemistry than Lilian and Kevin. I kind of wish Kevin had the fortitude to just be honest with Lilian and that he doesn't romantically love her and just dump her knowing she's just manipulating him. But I guess that would kill the series in book one and I'm enjoying this so I might consider reading book 2 after this.

This was something new for me. There were some funny moments, especially from the main character and how he deals with his obsessive crush. It looses a star because the formatting was off in places when the pictures arrived, but to be fair, it is an old book.

A hilarious comedy, the references to some of my favourite manga made me burst out in laughter.I was surprised, as a fairly new author I think Brandon has done an amazing job in writing this book. It had me laughing all the way through, cringing up at some parts which made me have to turn my kindle off and cool off and wipe my eyes of tears of laughter away. An entertaining read that is perfect for anyone who is well versed in harem/ecchi manga and light novels. The references are brought in well and a rather well done story thrown on top.

So i think i am the first person who both bought that book, and read the whole thing, and i want to say, that it's a very good book.What i liked: The humour, had to chuckle a lot during the reading of it, i never laugh out loud because of where i usually am while reading. The Plot seems to have potential to be entertaining in next books of the series, i can also see some influences of the Naruto: Genkyouien that Author in dedications said he was inspired by. I just ask that he not copy the amount of hero's, as that is the reason i had to stop reading that fanfiction.Things that could be improved: while i keep in mind that this is a comedy/parody book, i feel like there are a bit too many clichés put one after another, especially at the beginning of the book. Anything more that i want to comment on, i feel like i will get to know better after more books come out.Overall, a very fun read, i recommend it for anybody that looks for a good laugh, and especially for those familiar with quirks coming from the world of Manga and Anime.

Enjoyed the book though coloured pictures would have been awesome and the lore is interesting and I can’t wait to carry on reading this series.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book, if you like anime tropes and a clueless mc this may be a story you'll love