This one is hard for me. I absolutely ADORED Tokyo Ever After and was 100% okay with where we ended.

At times, if felt like this story was unnecessary. We added angst but ended up where I had anticipated in the end....so what was the point?! This one felt a bit slower than the last book which always was a challenge for me. Maybe it was because I wanted 100% more Akio. LOVE HIM,

What I did love was our girl's evolving relationship with the Shining Twins. This story line was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed the deployment.

Tokyo Dreaming was completely enjoyable, Just did not completely reach my expectations which is 100% a me problem.

Looking forward to Emiko's next story!

4 stars

Izumi is back and living her best life - or trying to - in Emiko Jean's follow-up to _Tokyo Ever After_: _Tokyo Dreaming_!

I've chosen many times to jump in mid-series, and I don't recommend that in this case. Interested readers will absolutely be able to follow the plot and engage with the characters if they read this as a standalone, but access to these characters' journeys and evolutions from the first book is the best way to get the most out of this follow-up (just in case you, too, Reader, were considering a related situation).

In this round, Izumi, her family members, and her circle are focused on relationships. There is quite a bit of romantic activity (in multiple pairings), but an equally intriguing component is Izumi's growth. Here, she's figuring out her romantic life and her academic future, but for me, the more gripping piece is her sense of duty to her parents (especially her mom) and to her friends. There are some really moving scenes mixed in with the humor and lighthearted antics readers of the first installment will certainly expect (and find).

I was fortunate to receive the audio version and highly recommend it. The narrator adds a lot to Izumi's character and to the balance of hijinks and touching moments. This is a great follow-up to the first book, and I am already looking forward to more from Emiko Jean!

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So. Where to start? I have so many mixed feelings about this book. It was enjoyable and fun, but was it really necessary? I thought Tokyo Ever After ended in a perfect place. It was nice seeing Izumi settle more into being a princess, but this book fell into too many romance tropes. Which I feel like is more of a personal opinion seeing as this is a romance book and I don't often read them because I don't like tropes. So disclaimer there.
Love triangle? No thank you. BUT it brought out a new side of Izumi and taught her some good lessons.
Miscommunication trope? Again, no.
I don't appreciate spending the whole book with a new love interest just to end up back where we started with Akio, so all the pain and heartbreak was for nothing.
And yet...
It wasn't for nothing. As much as I hate those tropes, I must say they are handled well in this book. Now, this book is for teenagers about teenagers, and I am no longer a teenager so things like miscommunication and fake dating to make people jealous now seem unrelatable to me. I also never dated in HS so my experience regarding the crazy emotions is nonexistent. But for actual teenagers who read this book I think it will be very relatable. The things I did not like are not specific to this book, but are tropes I don't like in general. It makes sense that I still don't like them here. But for people who like these tropes and this genre, Tokyo Dreaming is perfect.

I adore Izumi, and her growth in this book is admirable. I love the new sisterhood between her and the Shining Twins. I respect that she needed time from Akio to grow into herself and while it made me as a shipper sad, it was good for Izumi and good for their relationship, and I hope that teens who read this will see that too.

I was very happy that Izumi and Akio were end game. Can we please get a book set after college where they get married?? Pretty please?

To wrap up, there were things in Tokyo Dreaming that I did not like, but it was all personal preference and nothing to do with the book itself. The book is incredibly well written, and despite what I didn't like I still binged it in less than 24 hours.

A fun, light follow-up to Emiko Jean’s delightful modern fairytale, Tokyo Ever After.

Since the first book was a spin on Cinderella and largely resolved the full plot at its conclusion, there wasn’t much left for Izumi’s adaptation to her new life in this installment. Jean pivots her focus to Izumi’s parents and their desire to marry, which helps create some plot points for Izumi as she attempts to facilitate their union.

A lot of the conflict in this book feels manufactured, but it still reads like an enjoyable romp and a love letter to Japan. I could have done without the silly (and obviously very temporary from the start) love triangle, but Izumi’s deliberations over college and her future and the evolution of her relationship with The Shining Twins (aka her not-so-nice cousins) made for low-stakes but sweet and fun fodder for a sequel that probably didn’t need to be written, though I enjoyed reading it anyway.

AAAAHHH !!! This book was so perfect, I'm a big fan of tokyo ever after so this sequel made me so happy! The angst, the fluff, the coming of age vibes— all of it was perfect, and reminded me of the time I was obsessed with the princess diaries, I would definitely recommend this to everyone!

TOKYO DREAMING
by Emiko Jean
Flatiron Books
Pub Date: May 31

I loved Emiko Jean's Tokyo Ever After, and was so excited to read this sequel. We find Japanese-American Izumi Tanaka maturing in her role as a new Princess. Her father, Crown Prince of Japan, and her mother -- once college sweethearts -- have become engaged, a move not supported by the Imperial Household Council.

At the same time, Izumi's own love life becomes complicated. Can she survive all the conflict and find her own path to happiness? You'll root for her right through to the end, and wish for another sequel, as I wholeheartedly do!

Thanks to the author, Flatiron Books, and NetGalley for the ARC. Opinions are mine.

#TokoyoDreaming #EmikoJean #FlatironBooks #NetGalley #TeenYAFiction
#comingofagestories #romanticfiction #sequeltoToyokoEverAfter #bookstagramcommunity

This was a cute book and a nice read. The hardest part with a sequel is keeping your characters fresh and growing, this book was good, but it lacked the natural flow of the ups and downs from the first book. There was drama and the characters were good to a degree, just didn't feel as connected/invested in them. And even though I get the point of what her mom was saying, and wanting to not just change for everyone just because; however, it's hard to sympathize when not only do you love the prince, but then you get to be a princess! I mean, sure there's a tradeoff and all, but in the scope of life, you get to be a princess! It's hard to feel sorry for her. The love triangle was fine enough, not a fan of who she chose though, I get it, just not a fan. Anyway, for fans who enjoyed the first book, this is a good sequel and will be enjoyed by most. This book is more of a 3.5 stars, and rounded down because it fit better. A fun read, and would lightly recommend to those who enjoyed the first book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Fantastic sequal!! I loved her first book and it has continued over to the next. I liked the growth of her characters. I will look forward to her next books!

The follow up to Tokyo Ever After had so many great elements of transitional growth for Izumi. The first book reminded me of The Princess Diaries (in a good way) but the second book branches out as she assumes more confidence in her role and expectations and looks inward to find her path. I expected the romance with her beau to take over the story but the biggest growth was with her family, cultural expectations, and ability to meet people where they are. I loved the plot and while I was sad she didn’t choose what I would have in some ways, she made choices that felt realistic to her life which I can appreciate. I wish I could give the book 4 1/2 stars. It was a fantastic follow up book!

Tokyo Dreaming is a fun and sweet read. It’s the perfect follow up to Tokyo Ever After. Emiko Jean continues to immerse us in the world of Japanese culture with this heartwarming story.

In Tokyo Dreaming we get to know more of the characters better than in the first book. There is also a new character who fits into the story very well. We see more of the reality of what it means to be royalty, the pressures royalty faces, and how Izumi and her parents deal with those pressures.

This is a great read!

I enjoyed the first book, I thought the sequel does not live up to the expectations. Tokyo Dreaming takes place directly after the first book wraps up, the story focuses on Izumi working on getting into University and her mothers challenges being accepted by the Court. I felt that the writing was a bit repetitive, it felt like I read some of the sentences a few times already. I did like that we go a bit more character development of the twins, and Izumi's Mom. I didn't care for the love triangle and it just ruined the last few chapters with the whole "Who will she choose". In the first book I didn't care for the romance. In this book another love interest, Eriku is introduced and I much prefer him to Akio.....sadly i was disappointed with how that plot point was resolved.

This book wraps up everything, with possible challenges for Izumi to come with University. If the author did another book, I would like to see the twins get their own book.

Many thanks to netgalley for the review copy.

A wonderful sequel! Emiko Jean captures the magic again. Izumi's story is continued in Tokyo Dreaming with her parents getting engaged. While the family works on getting the Imperial Council to approve of Izumi's parent's engagement, Izumi needs to decide what is next for her, school or a gap year. Izumi decides that the best way to help her parents get married is to do her best to please the Imperial Council. This puts her relationship in jeopardy.

The descriptions are beautiful. The characters are compellingly developed, and you will not want to miss this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

There is a slight chance that I enjoyed this book even more than the first one, Tokyo Ever After. It had been several months since I read the first, but I was able to jump right in. There was just enough exposition to jog my memory about the characters and events that had taken place.

Now, I'll admit, I've never been a huge fan of love triangles, but this one was well executed, and I see why it was put in- Izumi definitely grew as a character through both of those relationships, and I was genuinely conflicted over which of the prospects I liked more for her. The character growth for both Izumi and her mother and father was also strong and a delight to read.

These books are so cute! In the follow up to Tokyo Ever After, we see Izumi face some big life decisions about her path after high school. She trying to make life easy for her reunited parents, do what is expected of a princess and try to figure out what she wants out of life, school and love. Izumi's character is so genuine and lovely and although we can't all relate to being a Japanese princess, we can relate on some level to the pressure she feels to be perfect and not knowing what she really wants.

What I loved:
If you love Princess Diaries, you love this fantastic series that follows the same themes but enriches Japan countryside and royalty. I loved how the teen couple in the story is portrayed—plucked from the United States of America, adapting to Japanese royalty expectations, trying to be true to herself, and getting to know her father. She is easy to love, easy to care for, and easy to feel her heartache. Then the mom and dad are so sweet, so raw, and this book will hit all the emotional points.
Final Verdict:
Tokyo Dreaming is just as good as the first, and the immersive feel of being in Japan as we follow the love birds to what we hope is happily ever after is so heartbreaking and sweet. I'm not a huge romance fan, but this one was just the right amount of quirky and endearing.

It was nice to see Izumi maturing more and dealing with the responsibilities of being a princess while dealing with her own maters of the heart. Things can sometimes feel like they are going in a formulaic direction, but Emiko Jean does it gently without making you want to roll your eyes. A great follow up to Tokyo Ever After. I really hope there is a third and final installment to this series.

I didn't think that Tokyo Ever After could be improved but I was wrong. This book deals with a ton of growing up issues and trying to find out who you are, adding that Izumi is still firmly a princess and throws herself more into the role to get her parents' marriage approved. Izumi is forced to understand more about herself as she also contends with what being a royal means to herself and her mother. I adored the growth all the characters go through. I do wish Akiko grew more a bit as a person tbh.

While I liked this book a lot, I didn’t love it like I loved Tokyo Ever After. Aiko was barely in the book at all and that’s not what I want. The fake dating to real dating had absolutely nooooo chemistry and this relationship bored the hell out of me. Izumi didn’t feel like the same character from the first book I feel like she lost all her spark. Still a solid read but just not as good as the first one.

This was an adorable sequel to Tokyo Ever After! Tokyo Ever After was one of my top contemporaries of 2021 and I've been so excited to read Tokyo Dreaming ever since it was announced. This sequel was just as charming, funny, and sweet as the first one. I had forgotten how hilarious Izumi and her friends are, and how humorous Emiko Jean's writing style is in general. I loved the bonds between all the characters in this book, such as Izumi and her mom, Izumi and Noor, Izumi and Eriku, Izumi and her cousins, Izumi and her father, and more. While I think some readers will appreciate Izumi and Eriku's relationship in this book, especially readers who are fans of fake dating, I definitely think that the love triangle was unnecessary. Akio, who was one of my favorite characters of Book 1, was barely included in this book, which was a major let down. Because of this, Izumi's final decision at the end of the novel also felt rushed and underdeveloped to me. I still recommend this book for fans of Tokyo Ever, but I do wish that the story had taken a different turn instead.

In Tokyo Ever After, Princess Izumi learned that her absent father is the Crown Prince of Japan. As she settles into her life as a princess, Izumi is thrilled when her parents get engaged. However, the Imperial council is refusing to approve of the marriage. Izumi must become the perfect princess to win the Imperial council's favor while dealing with her own romantic troubles.

Although I adored Tokyo Ever After, a Princess Diaries meets Crazy Rich Asians mash-up, I thought the sequel was cute but unremarkable. I know some fans will swoon over Izumi's new love triangle, but I was disappointed in the lack of character development and the retread drama from the first book.