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.

Izumi Tanaka is a Japanese-American teen born in America and raised by a single mom in a mostly white northern California town. Weeks away from graduation, Izzy and her friends track down her biological father. Who happens to be the crown Prince in Japan. That is how Izzy became a princess overnight.

Tokyo Ever After reminded me of the 2000s movie What A Girl Wants. So of course I loved this book.

Also can we talk about the gorgeous cover?! I’m obsessed!

Izumi was a breath of fresh air. Yes she’s a princess but also super relatable! I found her to be exactly how you would picture a high school senior.
I enjoyed reading her path to self-acceptance. As a POC I completely understand what it feels like to not fit in anywhere.

One of my favorite aspects about the book was the descriptions of Japanese culture! I would love a trip there ASAP.

This was such a fun book and I’m looking forward to the sequel!

I listened to the audiobook thanks to @macmillianaudio for the ALC
Ali Ahn did a fantastic job narrating! I found it so easy to listen to.

How does a little bit of The Princess Diaries, sprinkled with a smattering of Gossip Girl, and finished with a dollop of Crazy Rich Asians sound? It sounds a lot like the delightful story of Tokyo Ever After.

Izumi (aka “Izzy” because it’s easier) Tanaka is a Japanese-American teen born in America and raised by a single mom in a mostly white northern California town. Just weeks away from high school graduation, Izzy tracks down her biological father--who not only lives in Japan--but is also its Crown Prince...yup, that makes Izzy a princess.

Izzy’s dad welcomes her into his world with open arms (well, as open as his Japanese upbringing will allow ;)... the lack of displays of affection is just one of the cultural differences Izzy is trying to learn. It was a unique story of a teen coming into her identity in not just one culture, but two. As a Japanese American, Izzy has never felt quite like she was American enough--in her small town. In Japan, she doesn’t feel Japanese enough. I spent some time looking up facts about Japan’s monarchy, and it is so fascinating! I loved seeing Izumi navigate the empirical world. (Yes, there is quite a bit of opulence, but the family was still fairly relatable and likable btw.) I would love to see this developed into a series.

I LOVE the AGG. How fun were those convos?! Those girls were absolute friend goals. I loved the cousin interactions. As an enthusiastic romance reader, of COURSE I loved the romance storyline involved. Finally, since I listened to the audiobook, I can say that I HIGHLY recommend that format! It’s just shy of 10 hours and narrated by Ali Ahn, who does an outstanding job with the story! Seriously, she epitomized an enthusiastic California teen girl without being “extra”. She seamlessly transitioned between Japanese phrases and English. It was such a great listening experience. Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for an ALC to review this title. I’m looking forward to chatting with the author for a book club discussion this month!

Thank you to the publisher and @netgalley for ALC of Tokyo Ever After. This was a mix of Princess Diaries and the Bodyguard. This was such a fun YA read. Not only is Izzy graduating from high school but she finds out she is a princess. She meets her dad in Japan and learns a whole new part of her heritage that she was never exposed to. I felt for her for not a Twinkie which I have been told before when I went to visit Hong Kong growing up. It’s tough to ever meet everyone’s expectations. I love how Izzy comes to herself throughout the journey. The book doesn’t say how old Akio is but I am assuming he is in his mid 20s which kind of grossed me out since she is a senior in high school.

I loved Tokyo Ever After! I love that YA books often center around the protagonist discovering who they are, realizing their strengths, and choosing a path to follow, even if just for a while. This book had all of that plus great characters and wonderful descriptions. Think The Princess Diaries & American Royals set in Japan. Izumi (aka Izzy) is American, raised in California, and then she suddenly finds out her father is the Crown Prince of Japan. I enjoyed listening to this one and hearing the correct pronunciation for Japanese names and words. I already pre-ordered the hard copy of this book (that cover is gorgeous) and I found out there’s a sequel coming next year.

Okay, this was such a fun book!

Izumi was a delightful character and I loved her journey of self-acceptance. Identity is definitely a big theme of this book, as she was raised in a mostly-white town and feels like she doesn't quite belong anywhere. I'm sure many young POC will see themselves in her and I really hope they find comfort in this story.

There are some plot holes and inaccuracies, which are very easy to find, but I think the beauty of this book is that it's just a fun, light YA read that isn't meant to be taken too seriously. I had a great time escaping into this world.

The romance, however, left a little to be desired. They were enemy one minute, and crushes the next. I didn't feel fully convinced of their connection, though I loved both of them dearly.

And as a bonus to such an entertaining book, Ali Ahn did a great job capturing the feel of the story and characters with their narration!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Emiko Jean's book Tokyo Ever After is such a delight. And, it is definitely going to be a hot book of the summer for young readers and adult readers alike. It has already been selected by Reese Witherspoon as a YA pick for her book club and for good reason.

There are comparisons between this book and The Princess Diaries, and while those aren't wrong, this book adds nuance of what it's like navigating life as a Japanese American in a mostly white town and then in Japan. This exploration of being an outsider adds a layer of depth to the book in addition to the delicious plot lines of romance, wealth, indulgence, and jealousy.

I had the chance to listen to this as an audiobook, and it was a delight. This is a book I'll definitely be recommending.

Many thanks to the author, narrator, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

I have a long history of feeling like I don't fit in. However, none of my experiences have even come close to Izumi Tanaka's Princess Diaries-like situation. When Izumi and her friends discover that her dad is Japanese royalty, Izumi confronts her mother, and subsequently is swept up in the whirlwind that is royal life in Japan when she opts to visit her father in Tokyo. While in Japan, Izumi often finds herself upsetting tradition, whether she means to or not, and falling into the traps of her meddling cousins (whom she dubs "The Shining Twins"). Throughout her journey, however, she learns not only about her dad's side of the family that she never knew, but things she never expected to learn about herself as well. Emiko Jean has written a beautiful tribute to family, heritage, and coming of age, and I'm sure you'll find yourself just as enamored with Izumi's story as I did

I think I would have liked the plot more if I had read this versus the audio book. There are weaknesses in the writing, aka the teen way of talking, that are really highlighted in vocal media and especially in a 90's Whatever voice. I don't blame the reader rather the writing.

The book itself, its best read letting go of some real world logic, aka parental controls and teenage "suck it to the adults. I know better." That aside, I did have fantasy of being a princess far away as a kid and this fits it exactly. The dad plot point was weak and the dad in the book did acknowledge it himself. So I'm expecting a second book that actually really explores the purpose the first book was meant to be.

One other writing comment. Too many asides and too frequently. Maybe it isn't so harsh in reading it, but in hearing it, the main flow of conversation tends to get lost with her insert thoughts. Or even a couple times, due to her word barf tendencies, her asides are actually said aloud and its jarring.

I get she's a teen and teens want romance, but if I was in her shoes, I'd be all Japan focused. I'm in a foreign country! Bodyguard toy is nice, but being allowed into a castle that no one else is allowed in? Dream come true right there. Also Akio and Izumi are nice as people but they don't really seem to have chemistry besides Izumi's one sided hate to love.

Overall 2.5/5.0, the ending did pickup and come smoother but the journey was a little hard to get through.


Posted on Good reads:
** spoiler alert ** 2.5/5.0. Listened to the audio book ARC provided by Net Galley. *below contains some spoilers*

The cover is gorgeous and the premise my teenage dream. I love the inclusions and mentions of Japanese culture and all the descriptions take me back on that trip. That was my favorite part of the book.

I expect this to be made into a movie or TV show. It has the good bones for it and the visual media of filming in Japan will really benefit from it. If you quint away from some logic issues, it's a fun light read.

I really wanted to love it. However when it comes to the actual book, I didn't like it as I wanted to. This book suffers from the case of an older writer trying to sound teen hip. It's been a few years since I can be categized as a teen, but no teen I know talks or sounds like this. With the audio book adopted a valley-girl-like voice for the teen friends, adds to the cringeness.

Ignoring the glaring question that doesn't spoil too much of the plot, but why didn't the mom go to Japan with the Izumi, the main character? As a parent, even if your out of wedlock inlaws are royalty, you'd be a little concerned about letting your teenage daughter that doesn't know the language on their own.

Izumi as a character is a classic smart aleck teen who thinks they're smarter than the world and doesn't really think large picture in actions. She's generally likeable but makes some questionable decisions (besides the standard teen ones). I wished the author had focused more on the "in between" world plotline more than the romance. The romance between the bodyguard and her felt forced and rushed. First she unreasonable hates him because she thinks he's judging her from something she's judging herself? Then with very little change in her or his actions, they go on a whirlwind love plot. So to put a lot of plot pages into that part versus her learning about her culture seems kind of wasted to me.

** SPOILER COMMENTS***







-For the paragraphs mentioning she always wished to learn about her dad and history, why didn't she read the dossier? Her entire family history is there and if she's so anxious to not look like a fool in front of her dad, well easy solution there. Also considering the whole "hate to Love" plot stems from this one action, totally on her part, weakens the plot a little. I eventually dropped the nagging thought, but it really undermined her character and reason for going to Japan.

-I didn't grow up with a friend like Nora and I don't want to. She sounds questionable as a person...

-Couldn't she have waited until after graduation to make the japan trip? for a mom whose a professor, you'd think she'd value her daughter finishing out high school and not being persuaded by a bunch of teenagers. Also that would have given her time to get royal assigned tutoring.

-the "evil" conniving twins get such little plot in the book. why include them at all?

-Also why so mad he put a tracker on you? You're royalty. Be glad the blurb didn't have a kidnapping plot in it. It's not all about you. People's jobs are on the line.

-also Akio is too perfect of a human being. I want 10 of him.

Izumi has felt like she never belonged in her white Northern California town. But her world gets turned upside down when she learns who her father is: the Crown Prince of Japan. She reaches out to her father and next thing she knows she is on her way to Japan and being called Princess. Her trip to Japan is filled with missteps and she isn’t sure she belongs there either. And to make things even more complicated, Izzy develops feelings for her bodyguard.

Fans of the Princess Diaries will LOVE this one. This was such a fun book to listen to, and I found myself not wanting to turn it off. Izzy is such a likable character and I was rooting for her the whole time. I also loved getting descriptions of Japanese culture along with Japanese phrases sprinkled throughout the book. This one was really so cute and fun!

I’m so excited there is a sequel coming because I definitely want more of this one!

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audiobook!

Tokyo Ever After is reminiscent of The Princess Diaries.

Izumi has never felt like she belongs in her white Californian town. She adopted the name Izzy as her peers kept butchering her real name. Izzy's almost out of high school but then she learns that her father is the Crown Prince of Japan. She tries to make contact with her father and the next thing she knows, she's been invited to Japan and is being called Princess Izumi. But will Izzy fit in in Japan more than she has in California? After all she doesn't know their culture or their language. After some cultural missteps Izzy realizes that life is complicated and even more so when you're falling for you bodygaurd.

This was a great book to listen to. I enjoyed the narration and found myself not wanting to pause the story. Izzy is a loveable teenager that has some missteps, but overall is someone I was rooting for. It might help that we have the same nickname. I loved watching Izzy learn more about her heritage and find herself and understand that she can be part of two worlds.

I can only hope that book two has more about Izzy's family in it!

Thank you to MacMillan Audio and Flatiron Books for an ALC of Tokyo Ever After!

Tokyo Ever After follows Izumi, an 18 yo Japanese-A,erican who finds out her father is none other than the crown prince of Japan.Izumi travels to Japan to spend some time with him and face her future, but in Amaerica she is not American enough, and in Japan she isn't Japanese enough. And when she falls for her handsome bodyguard, can she stand beneath the weight of the expectations?

As an audiobook, this was fantastic. The narrator is wonderfully, and it was easy to listen to. I love that this is basically The Princess Bride meets Crazy Rich Asians. I don't think you can come up with a more perfect dexcription for it! Just absolutely loved it, and can't recommend it enough!

One reason I love reading is because it enables to me to learn and experience perspectives outside of my own. This is one reason why I particularly enjoyed and appreciated Tokyo Every After by Emiko Jean.

Synopsis:
Raised by a single mother, Izumi "Izzy" Tanaka has never really felt like she fit in. When an accidental discovery gives her the opportunity to finally meet her father, Izumi reaches out, hoping to find a piece of herself she's never known before. There's just one complication: her father is the Crown Prince of Japan. Thrust into the international spotlight, Izumi begins a journey full of love and self-discovery that will change her life forever.

Book Review:
Tokyo Ever After is a wonderfully written YA that explores so many important topics including personal identity and cultural belonging. I learned a lot about the Japanese culture and loved Izzy's perspective on what it is like to be Japanese-American. Also, the love story in this novel was delightful! The writing was beautiful, bringing to life fantastic settings and delightful characters that will stick in my memory for a long time to come.