The crown princess Lune Renard has been captured by the revolutionary army, condemned to death as the vixen who threw the nation into chaos by hiding her past as a lowly orphan. However, Lune never wanted to be the crown princess, and her marquis adoptive father practically sold her to the crown prince. But as she and her family are executed, the Great Fox Spirit Reineke hears Lune's prayers and sends her back in time to avert this terrible fate. What's more, she now has fox ears that can hear the voices of spirits!

Lune is determined to save her people, but she must first win over House Renard, the family that adopted her but always treated her coldly—especially her brother Liam. She was sure that Liam hated her, but now he's always doting on her! With Liam and the spirits by her side, Lune will find a happy ending for everyone!

Fluffy-Eared Realm Restoration: Taking It Slow With My Cool Big Brother is written by Iota Aiue, with illustration by Tsukasa Kuga, and English translation by Raenoire. Published by J-Novel Club (May 5, 2025).

Lauren Orsini
Rating:

If you got a do-over at life, what's the first thing you'd redo? If you answered "my brother," have I got the book for you. Fluffy-Eared Realm Restoration: Taking It Slow With My Cool Big Brother is your typical isekai reincarnation wish-fulfillment story with a (not blood-related) incest twist. Clocking under 200 pages, it's a very quick, easy-to-read tale about a orphan turned daughter of a marquis making the most of her rags to riches turn of fortune. With an extremely conspicuous naming system (the good guy is named Baldr and the bad guy is named Hodr and I'm not joking), this overly indulgent power fantasy works best for a middle-grade audience.

The story begins with Lune's first death. After marrying the prince, she is executed by guillotine. In the afterlife, the foxes who govern all of time and space (what, you didn't know?) decided that Lune suffered so much she deserves another chance—and this time they give her fluffy fox ears and a tail as power-ups! She immediately wakes up in her 8-year-old body alongside Lord Reinecke, the all-powerful fox god in his cuddly animal form. In her past life, this was when her icy big brother rescued her from orphanhood and adopted her into the family for purely political reasons, but something's different this time. Her previously chilly brother, Liam, adores fluffy things and now that Lune has fox attributes, he can't get enough of her. From there, Lune rights every wrong from her past life and saves the realm of House Renard (yes, that means “fox”) using her newfound knowledge from the fox gods of such exotic things like “yoga,” “tofu,” and “curry” to strengthen and feed the populace. Really it's just one good thing after another for Lune, but nothing lights up her day more than her adoring big brother. (You can probably see me rolling my eyes while I type this.) The story is fluffy in more ways than one.

A friend recently asked me why I keep reviewing J-Novel Club light novels when I don't seem to enjoy them very much and here's the reason: JNC's ebook formatting and localization are always of the highest quality. Translator Raenoire and editor Austin Conrad made this book smooth and easy to read. None of the stiffness or typos that I sometimes find in light novels. Apart from one misunderstanding about what it means to “pay me back with your body,” this squeaky-clean story would be good for younger teen readers and anyone who wishes they could restart life with animal ears this time around.