Really enjoyed it! Fun, likable main character trying to figure out who she is and where she belongs. Students will really enjoy this one!

This book was absolutely entertaining! I definitely agree that this is a twist between Princess Diaries and Crazy Rich Asians! That's the best part about this story. This is a story about a seventeen-year-old American-Japanese girl who discovers that her father is the Crown Prince of Japan. I am obsessed with Japan after visiting so the title alone of this novel caught my attention. Emiko Jean does an AMAZING job taking her reader to Japan and allowing them to step into Izumi's shoes as she learns about her family and herself. I'd like to thank #NetGalley for the #Arc. I was lucky enough to listen to the audiobook, which made this story more enjoyable.

The main character, Izumi (Izzy) Tanaka has never really felt like she fit in in her small town in Northern California. We learn that it isn’t easy for her to be an American-Japanese girl growing up in her mostly white town. On top of living in a mostly white town, Izumi was raised by a single mother. She isn't aware of who her father is but that's just the start. The adventure begins when Izumi discovers a clue about her unknown father's identity and it leads her to travel to Japan. What's that clue you may ask? Oh, he's only the Crown Prince of Japan.

In a whirlwind, Izumi travels to Japan to meet the father she never knew and discovers the country she always dreamed of calling home. I have gone to Japan myself and being able to go again through Izumi was so much fun and honestly kept my attention. Not only is she discovering who her birth father is, but she's also discovering family she didn't know about. Her small quiet life just became something even bigger. While traveling to Japan, she is introduced to conniving cousins and press that can't get enough of finding out the Prince of Japan has a daughter and other life. A K-drama can't be complete without a scowling male character. The handsome bodyguard who just might be her soulmate steps into the story and all readers will immediately fall in love. Coming to Japan means that Izumi has to learn and become familiar with thousands of years of tradition and customs and practically learn them overnight.

Izumi soon finds herself caught between worlds of who she once was and who she wants to become. Her life in America verse Japan is complete opposites. She either needs to accept her life in America or make new grounds in Japan by following her destiny. Izumi is constantly reminding herself that back home, she was never “American” enough, and in Japan, she must prove she’s “Japanese” enough.

Going on this journey with Izumi was so entertaining. I found myself giggling, smiling, and even at times, my eyes became teary with the hardships she has to overcome. I loved seeing the growth between Izumi and her mother as Izzy takes this live changing journey to discover the other side of her life.

If you're a fan of a traveling romance k-drama with family growth and everything in between, I definitely think you should pick up this story! Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillian for the arc audiobook!

This was such a cute book! All of the characters were well developed and I loved Izzy, she had such a good, easy to like personality. The story was interesting and sweet with some added drama. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series, I really enjoyed this one!

A "surprise, you're a princess!" story is going to get me every single time. It's inevitable when Anastasia was my favorite film one summer and I watched it every day. These lyrics may have run through my head randomly throughout the entire time I listened:

"Heart don't fail me now
Courage don't desert me
Don't turn back now that we're here"

Izzy has known nothing but a single, hard-working mom and - in her own words - an aptitude for mediocrity. Her mother refuses to tell her anything about her father. With the help of friends and Google, Izzy finds out her father is heir to Japan. Izzy is a delightful MC. She's curious and balances confidence and insecurity as well as any eighteen year old would.
I enjoyed the narrator, Ali Ahn. Her tone and pacing were a perfect accompaniment for Emiko Jean's writing.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the alc. All thoughts in this review are my own.

The Princess Diaries meets The Bodyguard is this refreshing new take of a long lost princess returning home, this time as part of the empirial family of Japan.

Izumi is a Japanese American who has always struggled to find her place in the world, never being japanese enough or american enough. That's something any BIPOC or immigrant can relate to and I certainly did. I loved the author's take on it, while we learned more about the japanese traditions, royalty, and saw a cute love story develope.

I loved the characters, everyone played their roles very well and the chemistry was amazing. Izumi's friends were supportive and never jealous which I apprecite, the book battles between tradition and feminism just like the characters do.

My only complaint was the ending felt a bit rushed and I wanted more... perhaps a book 2? I listened ro the advance copy of the audiobook and the ending looped so maybe I missed some important information, which I will check as soon as the book comes out on the 18th of May.

Oh this book was so wonderful.

Izzy and her mom have always been a pair, just them against the world. But Izzy has never really felt like she knew who she was, or that she fit in. Being Japanese American in a small, mostly white town in Northern California has been really difficult. But when some sleuthing by her best friend uncovers who Izzy’s father is she starts to see how the pieces might fit together. There’s just one catch…her father is the Crown Prince of Japan. Which means….Izzy is a princess.

At first, it seems like a dream come true, the chance to meet her dad, and visit Japan where she assumes she’ll seamlessly fit in. Turns out being a princess is hard work, and she is criticized for being ‘too American’ and not royal enough. Add a sexy bodyguard, evil twin cousins (she calls them The Shining Twins) who are constantly trying to trip her up, unrelenting press and paparazzi, and Izzy is left feeling more confused than ever.

I just loved all the characters in this book, Izzy was kind and funny and I thought she was very self-aware for her age. I particularly enjoyed Izzy’s friend group too. They called themselves the Asian Girl Gang (or AGG) and their banter was so funny. Even the baddy characters were pretty great.

I could have used a little more build-up on the romance side, although I do love an enemies-to-lovers story. Was it predictable, sure, did I love it anyway, yes, yes I did.

The audiobook was performed by Ali Ahn who did an amazing job of bringing the characters to life. You might recognize her from the All the Boys I’ve Loved Before series. The audio is 9 hours and 33 minutes and I binged it in a day.

And guess what?! There is going to be a second book in this series, coming in 2022. I can’t wait!

✨Review✨

Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean
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"People are always rooting for those above them to fall."

"I know I'm not the man you or your family need me to be, but I'm on my way. I promise if you give me this chance I'll spend my lifetime being worthy of you."

Izumi (Izzy) is a Japanese American being raised by a single mother. When she gets a hint into who her father may be, she jumps at the chance to meet him and it turns out, Izzy is literally a Japanese Princess.

This book was so cute and definitely had me flashing back to The Princess Diaries as promised. I really liked how there was a mix of everything in this book instant love, self discovery, forbidden love, a multitude of entertaining characters, and a huge multicultural aspect which is always a plus.

I listened to the audio version which was great. I really appreciated listening to this book so that I could hear the correct pronunciation of the Japanese terms. The narrator's pacing was a little too slow for my preferences, but I was able to adjust the speed of the narration up to 2x which kept the book moving at a good pace.

Thank you NetGalley, Flatiron Books, and Emiko Jean for the opportunity to listen and review this book in return for an honest review!
•
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️(4)/5

Though it was a bit cheesy, predictable and required some serious suspension of disbelief, this book was such a fun ride. Who wouldn’t love a combo of The Princess Diaries and Crazy Rich Asians?

The way 1.) Izumi’s friends tracked down her father, 2.) her mother just happened to have a way for her to get in direct contact with him, 3.) the Japanese monarchy didn’t question this illegitimate child and sent an entourage to America to pick her up (before even ordering a DNA test to confirm), 4.) Izumi instantly agreed to join her father in Japan with her mother barely protesting, and 5.) Izumi didn’t even read the documents she was given to prepare her for meeting with monarchs (despite emphasizing how much learning about her family meant to her and how anxious she was to impress them) made me raise my eyebrows. And that was just within the first 15% of the book.

Despite this, once we got to Japan it was fun riding along with Izumi as she discovered the country, culture and her place in the royal family, and see her exploring what it was like fitting in in America vs. Japan. The descriptions of Tokyo and the Japanese countryside were fantastic; I felt like I was there and it did a great job immersing me in the story.

Overall, the main characters were fairly well-developed and memorable. I loved how bold, quirky and self-assured Izumi was, even if some of her decisions were frustrating. The dialogue and humor in the book felt a bit forced (like what an adult thinks teens say and joke about), but it wasn’t so off that it became grating.

Another aspect that didn’t connect with me was how Izumi often spoke of how difficult it was for her to fit in anywhere and how she was often stereotyped and put down; however, she and her friends did the same to others on several occasions.

Unfortunately, I had mixed feelings on the audiobook narrator. While I loved how she voiced the descriptive prose between dialogue—with the right balance of engaging, conversational and energetic—she tended to overemphasize the dialogue of any teenage characters to the point that it was annoying and made the characters feel like vapid, overly perky stereotypes. If she would have voiced them like she did the rest of the audiobook, I would have had no issues.

As an aside, can we take a second to talk about the cover?! Stunning. I absolutely love the paper cut illustration style.

Overall, this was a very fun and enjoyable quick read that I can easily see as a favorite among younger teenagers. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Izumi, the 18 year old protagonist, accidentally discovers who her father is. The only problem is... he just so happens to be the crown prince of Japan. In order to get know him, Izumi has to fly to a foreign country, learn the language and customs, as well as, step into her role as princess of Japan. Luckily, she has the assistance of her cousin and a cute bodyguard; but, even the relationships with her allies end up going awry.

This story was so cute! A great fit for fans of movies like Crazy Rich Asians, The Bodyguard, and The Princess Diaries.

I really really end this book. So cute and the romance was subtle, just how I like it. I absolutely love Izumi, she is so humble, adorable and funny as hell. The narrator did a great job, over all this is a 10/10. I stayed up until 1 am reading , this a great summer read. I highly recommend. Thank you, Flatiron Books for this gifted copy via Netgalley.

Tokyo Ever After is a novelized version of what would happen if you combined the 2000 films The Princess Diaries and What a Girl Wants.
Like, almost exactly. Just, thankfully, much less white.

There was some stiff areas of this novel (particularly the romance...) that made it harder to enjoy. After finishing this, I don't think any characters were fleshed out enough, they seemed very static.

It was a decent read, but I found it hard to stay interested.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an alc of this book!

After living 18 years without knowledge of her father, Izumi stumbles upon a note in her mother's room that reveals her father is crown prince of Japan, and she is secretly a princess. When her father finds out, she is invited on a trip to Tokyo and has a whirlwind two weeks trying to discover who she is.

This book was very adorable. I seriously love Izumi as a main character. She is so funny, and bold, and interesting to read about. I loved her personality, and that was definitely my favorite part of this book. I also really enjoyed how everything happened with her family. We were able to see Izzy's struggles to fit in, the way she was tried and tested, and her spirit and attitude to never give up even when it got rough! I really loved that.

I honestly didn't think this book needed a romance sub-plot. The romance was cute enough, but I thought the characters didn't have enough time together to really develop that relationship enough to make it worth it. I would have enjoyed this book more if the romance was left out and it really just focused on her family and culture and friends instead.

All in all, a great read! And the narration is excellent.

Pub Date: May 18, 2021
Content Warnings
Moderate: Dementia, Bullying, Misogyny , Racism, and Sexism

I really loved everything about this book. A 'fairytale' set in the realities of today. So beautifully told. Izumi is such a wonderful character. A strong young girl (or should I say young woman), far from perfect, but full of determination and charisma. I especially loved the realness of the life she was born in to and how it clashed with, and then blended with her exploration in to her culture and experiences in Japan.

So many wonderful characters surround Izumi: from her friends and mother at home, to the new family she discovers, her father and her bodyguard. This story soars with imagination and promise.

Emiko Jean has brought to life a story that I hope finds its way in to many people's lives. So glad it found me.

The audiobook version, narrated by Ali Ahn is perfection. Ahn is the perfect storyteller for this edition.

I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Izumi "Izzy" Tanaka have never felt like she has fit in. Raised by her single mother, Izzy has always never felt quite at home as a Japanese American in her small, mostly white, Californian town. But with the discovery that Izzy's birth father is none other than the Crown Prince of Japan, Izzy is shocked to learn she's an actual princess. In a whirlwind, Izzy travels to Japan to meet her father, discover where she comes from and to hopefully find herself. Complete with meddling cousins, sneaky tabloids, and a handsome bodyguard, her trip is anything but ordinary.

Tokyo Ever After hooked me from the very first chapter and I could not put the book down. A cross between The Princess Diaries + What a Girl Wants + Crazy Rich Asians, Tokyo Ever After grapples with themes of self discovery, identity and family. This book is perfect for fans of American Royals/Majesty.

Every character was so well developed and I loved experiencing Japan through Izzy's eyes. Izzy is extremely mature for an 18 year old and absolutely hilarious. I loved her inner monologues and the sharp wit she threw at her guard. Her group of friends back in California stole the show for me; their group text messages had me laughing out loud.

I listened to the audiobook and was blown away by the narrator. She does a fantastic job with all the different characters and I appreciated knowing the correct pronunciations of all the Japanese words included in the book. Listening to the book completely immersed me in the story and made it hard for me to stop listening!

This book has it all! Deception, secrets, first love and self discovery. Tokyo Ever After is out May 25. Thank you to MacMillan for advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

I received this an audio ARC through Netgalley. Tokyo Ever After I felt did a wonderful job of showing how hard it is to fit into the world you live. Whether you are just a typical teenage girl, with average grades or a princess of Japan, finding your place in life is not always easy and there is no magical formula. Izumi takes us on a journey finding family, friends, and the discovery of what she is really made of, princess or no princess.

Note: the low star rating is mostly for the audio narration, which I could not get past. The narrator sounded like an adult trying to mimic what she thought today's teens sound like. The result was that all the characters in the first few chapters ended up being thoroughly unlikable, vapid, stupid, and just mean. I would recommend anyone getting this book in audio version to listen to a sample first to make sure it doesn't grate on them as it did me.

I would have bought the book version but the characters were also problematic in those first chapters. E.g., at the same time that the main character was upset about being stereotyped she was putting down the gay boy next door for dressing too loudly and for having a crush on her mother, "Like a cat bringing a dead mouse to the door." Her group of friends hate on others just as they are hated on. It made the whole book unlistenable/unreadable for me.

I couldn't get past the first few chapters. Perhaps it gets better and there is character growth and our heroine realizes that she was being just as ugly as the people were to her. I did like that her group of friends were racially diverse and each had to deal with different types of harassment because of it - we need more awareness of this unacceptable situation in books. But it defeats the purpose when those characters are just as bad in their stereotyping. Reviewed from an advanced listenter version provided by the publisher.

Tokyo Ever After was the YA novel I didn’t know I needed in my life, but it was oh so good. Imagine The Princess Diaries set in Japan and that’s a pretty good base point.

Izumi has never quite felt like she fits in to the mostly white Northern California town where she’s grown up. Her hair is black and her skin isn’t white. She’s the only child of a single mother and one day while snooping, she and her friend find a clue about her father’s identity. With some googling and an email, it’s discovered that her father is a Japanese crown prince.
Fast forward a bit and Izumi is in Japan learning the ropes of being a Royal and trying to earn the approval of the ancestors.

I realized as I was reading that I haven’t read a lot of fiction that takes place in Japan and how unfortunate that is. From that aspect alone, this was a win. But I also just thought it was really cute. I wanted a little more from the end, but I could also imagine a sequel here. Pick this one up for yourself or your teenage daughter for summer reading.

I listened to the audiobook for Tokyo Ever After and the narration was so well done. I love it when a narrator adds so much life to the story.

Princess Diaries II. Yep. That’s this novel in a nutshell. Quirky, independent young woman finds out that the father who is never talked about is actually the heir to the throne in a foreign country. Said girl boards plane to said country, gets into scrapes because of language and cultural mishaps, falls in love with a commoner, runs away; cue the fast forward to happily ever after. There’s even a lovable pet waiting at home for our leading lady.

That said, this is an adorable YA appropriately romantic novel that most of my upper-middle and lower high school students would thoroughly enjoy. (Especially since most have never seen or heard of The Princess Diaries.)
Izzy, her mom, and the AGG are likable and relatable; the “evil cousins” (all THREE of them!) are perfect foils; and the handsome, strong bodyguard is notably swoon-worthy.
It’s clear that this book was written to start a series, and I’d be inclined to read the sequel when it inevitably comes out. The story wasn’t hugely compelling but it was sweet and I think readers will want to see if Izzy can pull off a historic coup and be considered as a successor for her father, when he eventually ascends to the throne.
If nothing else, I would add this to my class library because I’m always struggling to find culturally diverse choices for my students.
I considered a higher score for the book, but it just didn’t have enough originality for me. Lots of rehash of already used plots, characters, and even settings.

Just finished listening to #TokyoEverAfter by @emikojeanbooks. A huge thanks to @macmillan.audio, @flatiron_books and @netgalley for this wonderful listening experience. This story starts with Izumi, a young woman in Northern California who is just finishing up her junior year of high school and is palling around with her friends, telling us of her experience as an American Japanese girl of a single mother. This story tells the tale of the awkwardness, hopefulness, and longing of youth for their place in the world, for the truth of their roots, and for their identity. For Izumi, she is completely cut off from her Japanese culture, and yet still finds that the people around her have stereotypes of what they expect her to be, what they expect her to eat, or what they believe about her propensity for math. Izumi knits together a small group of fantastic girls of different heritages who are her lifeline and besties. Her ride or die girls. And let me tell you, these girls' conversations had me cracking up more than once with their witty spars and jokes. I loved those conversations, they were so fun! One day, when snooping around in her mom's room, one of the girls reads a note that they suspect might be a love letter from Izumi's father. She has never known who her father was as her mom only told her it was a fling when she was in college, pretending not to know his name or how to contact him. Izumi finds this to be totally untrue when her friend's investigation turns up the truth: her father is the Crown Prince of Japan!??!?
As the story unfurls, she gets whisked away to Japan to learn the culture, language, and of course, to meet with her father. She also falls for the hot royal guard sent to be her personal bodygaurd, which would be completely forbidden due to her newfound status and his "lowly" station in life. They go from hate to love and that trope is always one I love!
This audiostory is alot of fun. I enjoyed the modern, and cultural parts of this story. I like how this illegitimate daughter of royalty may just change up some long held prejudices and patriarical rules of the empire before she's done! Highly recommend!! in ❤️with the cover too!!!!

This book has total The Princess Diaries vibes and I loved those movies, so of course, this book was a really good read. The whole premise of an ordinary girl finding out her dad is a prince, making her a princess, and then having to try and learn how to be a princess when you have been living your life like a normal human, is totally
book I can binge read.

This book is categorized as romance, and it does of course have romance, but I like that this book isn’t super touchy, feely, or overly gushy about love. Those types of books throw me off and aren’t ones I like reading. When the characters are all lovey-dovey from the start it makes me cringe but this book had the perfect amount. What made me love the romantic relationship in this book is that their relationship grew naturally. It wasn’t like somehow they are magically in love without even speaking. At first, they hate each other and I loved to see the bickering between each other. She is the type of fly however she wants and he is all for the schedule. Then through the book, we can see how their relationship grows naturally. Their love wasn’t forced just for the sake of having them end up together. What made it realistic, was that it wasn’t all smooth sailing for them. They both had things that got on each other’s nerves but you could also still see the attraction. Then even when they do fall for each other it still keeps a good balance of having that romance while also not making them consumed with their love.

There are of course a lot of cliché things and the whole book is basically one big trope. Princess falls in love with her guard. A commoner becoming a princess etc. But I actually think that even people who aren’t big trope lovers should still give this book a shot. There are elements of Cinderella thrown into the book, but not over the top and I think it was done in a very unique way. The tropes in this book are recognizable but aren’t overdone or overly emphasized in the book.

The main thing I loved in this book was Izumi's personality. This girl is sarcastic and definitely not born or raised like a princess. She is sassy and those side comments she says in her mind had me smirking a lot. Some of them I had to read twice just to grasp how funny it was. There were moments where she would think in her mind a very snarky comeback but then would control herself and give the appropriate response. This is what made it so funny because I saw myself in her. We all can admit we think a lot of things we don’t say.

I also love her funny group of friends from back home. Throughout the book, they pop up as she runs stuff by them, and even though they are side characters, having them in gave the book a lot of character. They fuel Izumi and bring out her sarcastic side. Her friends said a few things that had me cracking up. I just love how strong Izumi is portrayed in this book. She isn’t going to be talked down to just because of how she was raised, she is strong and for the most part confident.

The book also does address the prejudice against Asians and so this book also contains a very good message, on top of the entertaining story. Izumi deals with the struggles of being Asian and what comes with it being surrounded by white Americans. It is shown in the book how going to Tokyo and finding people like her has an effect on her. She also tries to figure out where she comes from in the book. All very good inspiring lessons are learned in the book.

I read this book via galley audio and so I did want to touch on the narration. I think the narration fits the character so well. We could hear the attitude in her voice as she thought things and then switched the dutiful prince's daughter when she actually spoke. I think the narration did a really good job drawing us into the story. There weren’t any special sound effects, but the voices did slightly change for each character, and different accents were used for different people. The narration was a little slow. I read it at 1.4 speeds which I do for all of my books but I probably could have read it at an even fast speed. But that isn’t something that can’t be adjusted for each person's preferences.

A great story with a new take on the classic The Princess Diaries.