Tokyo Ever After (Tokyo Ever After, 1)

I came across Tokyo Ever After when I saw it on Reese’s Book Club, and I am so glad I did! This is the first I’ve read by Emiko Jean, but it won’t be the last.

The idea that Izumi Tanaka finds out that she’s a long-lost princess of Japan seemed far-fetched, and I wondered how that was going to play out over the course of the story without sounding utterly ridiculous. I worried for nothing.

Izumi is the perfect kind of girl character. She’s confident in who she is as a person, she’s smart and clever, she’s funny, and she’s fiercely loyal. But how that translates to the Japanese culture and the imperial family is what makes the story so engrossing.

She’s grown up in northern California in a small,, predominantly white town, often feeling as if she’s too Japanese. Her best friends feel the same way, all of them of different Asian descents. Together, however, they are everything that’s good about female friendship. And they support her in every way when her world is tipped upside down with the discovery that her father is the Crown Prince of Japan. Izumi hopes that she’ll find that other part of herself in Japan, her Japanese side. And she does, to a point. But she also discovers that she just might be “too American.” The journey she goes on with her new family, and herself, was everything I want in a book.

And the romance… it was beautiful, even if slight instalove and slightly fluffy. It was perfect for the moment when you just need something good and pure and right,

This is a story about friendships and love, about loyalty, about finding yourself, and finding the courage to be who you really are… unapolegetically. It was beautifully written, each character distinct and interesting. And some of the themes were very deep and thought-provoking. I loved everything about this book!

Tokyo Ever After was immediately added to my TBR when I saw the Princess Diaries comparisons. That is one of my favorite book series and movies, so I was excited to read a familiar story with a different take.

Tokyo Ever After follows Izumi, she has never known who her father was growing up with her single mom. The book doesn’t dwell on this for too long, and it is quickly revealed who Izumi’s father is and how this will drastically change her life. Izumi has always wanted to belong but never felt like she did in her predominately white hometown. She sees this as an opportunity to learn her history and have a chance of calling someplace home.

This book was completely wonderful, and I couldn’t put it down once I picked it up. I mean honestly who hasn’t dreamed of secretly being an actual princess. This book is sweet and laugh out funny at times. I loved Izumi’s relationship with her mother and her blossoming relationship with her father. The family aspect of this novel is incredible. You really feel Izumi’s frustrations and heartbreak along with her. Now let’s get to the romance! Bodyguard and Princess romance, sign me up. Seriously, their romance was sugary sweet and I loved every moment of it.

I can’t say enough good things about this book! It’s fun, sweet, and hopeful with a dash of drama mixed in. There was even a genuine surprise for me toward the end. Please add this book to your TBR and read it immediately! I will be counting down the days to the sequel.

If you liked the Princess Diaries, you’ll love this one! Izumi has great friends, she might not be popular but she has fun and life is okay in small town that reminds her, she will always be an outsider. Izumi is Japanese/American teen. She has never had the courage to ask about is her dad....until now. A photograph of a man in her sparks a search for her dad. Izumi knows what a one night stand is, which I love it’s realistic to the topic of baby making and marriage don’t always go together. So when her dad turns out to be a prince? Um yeah didn’t see that coming! Izumi doesn’t want to have expectations on her dad. But she does! She really wants that connection. Izumi is thrust into the spotlight and while some welcome the scandal of a new Princess. Some people like her Shinning cousins don’t. And on top of that suddenly developing feelings for a certain bodyguard?! What’s a girl to do?! Between etiquette lessons and fancy dresses, suddenly in line for the throne, and meeting her dad, Izumi is in for a wild ride!

I cannot tell a lie, I loved the hell out of this book. I found the book fun and engaging and love all of the characters in it. Honestly, the world feels extremely lived in and just slightly different than our own so that we can have this fairy tale story. It's adorable and I definitely am here for this entire series. The characters are all extremely engaging and they feel just as real and present as the world that they happen to live inside of. Even when they do things that feel extremely frustrating, you're routing for them!

The writing in this story is gorgeous and lush, making each part of the protag's world feel distinctive and real. In many ways, it's like the like a duel love level to both where she lives and the separate world that happens when one steps into royal life and all that contains.

I'm super excited to see where the next books are going and cannot wait to read them. If you enjoy modern fairytales like The Princess Diaries, but done in ways that aren't so white I really suggest this book for you.

I just want to start off by saying that the cover of this book might just be one of my favorites. As for the book itself, I found myself dragging this book out for days. Not because it was not good, but because I was not ready to say goodbye to the characters or the story and I wanted to savor it as long as I could. Izumi is a girl who just wants to be accepted and loved for who she is, in both worlds that she is apart of. She grows and learns throughout this book and her journey was beautiful. I was upset when finding out who really went behind her back about her and her bodyguard, but I think Izumi handled it perfectly when she confronted the person who betrayed her. The ending? Well, I loved it :)

I did enjoy this story in terms of a different take on a sort of Princess Diaries trope, although the pace moved a little too fast for me in terms of Izumi discovering about her father and then, basically, moving to Japan to live with him and the rest of the Imperial Family. I would have liked to see the time lapse, and the character growth that came with all the anxious waiting and impatience, as well as the mother-daughter relationship being affected during that period.

I also really loved the inter, and cross, cultural components, as well as reading about the struggle of being Japanese-American, especially where familial ancestors sought to assimilate as much as possible into US culture and society.

I really enjoyed the basic character outlines, although they have fallen a little flat on this second read through. We get sketches and actions, but they aren’t as well-developed as I thought they would be. This book definitely feels like it skips some pacing and that leads me to feeling like the book has left me behind. While I understand the why of the time leaps, at times I wish the book has given more space for Izumi, and other characters, to grow into the places and areas they found themselves in.

Also, as much as I adore the bodyguard trope, especially in terms of princess/royalty, I had a hard time believing the romance fully. While YA does write for more teenager-y romance, I think it’s hard to believe the relatability of such a romance when Izumi herself is trying to find who she is, who she thinks she wants to be, as well as dealing with a whole new life and the immense pressures that come with being royal; as well as all the relationships (new and old) that she has to try and both establish and maintain. I think the romance would have been more believable if it has been slow-burn and had hints of the romance through this first book. I would have loved to see the relationship develop more between Izumi and her father also, as I adore her father. I would have loved to see more depth of character besides the glimpses we got through Izumi’s eyes.

Overall, I found this book enjoyable and relevant in terms of the growth of society and culture, especially Western.

Cute, definitely, and for an audience, totally, and providing some deep insight, yes!