Tokyo Dreaming is a solid follow-up to Emiko Jean's first title in the series, Tokyo Ever After. It's a little less focused than the original on romance and a few other l relationship arcs, but there are still plenty amour and good fun. The development of Izumi's relationship with her twin cousins does a great deal to offset the depth in the more romantic relationships in this volume. I recommend reading the first book in the series first so you get a strong context/background, but even without doing so this is a good read.

This book felt like the summer before my first year of college. That year, life hung in the balance between fried dough at the local fair and picking courses. Between the warmth of old friends and the rush of making new ones. Between who I was and who I wanted to be.

TOKYO DREAMING melts down all of that in-betweeness and sandwiches it between a royal wedding, new romance, and the day-to-day of being a princess. 👸🏽

Izumi’s love for her mom and their relationship was really beautiful to see shine in this book (it reminded me a lot of my own with my mom 🤍). Izumi tackled problems a bit differently this time around–seeking to learn and adapt rather than run–and we got to develop much richer connections with different characters because of it (shoutout to the shining twins)!

I do wish the pacing at certain points was a bit different (many “the next few weeks went on like this” moments) but overall loved this sequel and Izumi’s journey.

A book series that doesn’t fall to the dreaded sophomore slump? Color me shocked.

This was pretty adorable; just like Tokyo Ever After. If you loved the first one, you’re going to love Tokyo Dreaming (although it doesn’t stand alone well imo, so don’t try- you need that background and character development from the first book.)

I loved the growth of Izumi and seeing the choices she made in her life and all the funny situations she encountered. This one had a lot of good humor in it like the first book.

The author makes a suffering plot choice in this novel that I didn’t like that removes a main character from the first book for about 2/3rd of the novel…..and that’s where it loses the 5th star. But. I spy potential for a third book. Although I’d be happy if it ended here.

Tokyo Dreaming is a beautiful love stories. This is a book I can read again. It is the perfect sequel. The way the characters developed was amazing. I learned a few things about Japanese traditions that has created appreciation for Japanese culture. Books like this are needed to understand different ways of life. Izumi has finally found where she belongs. It was the HEA I needed.

This romance is adorable. If the ending of Tokyo Ever After made you swoo, then this second book Tokyo Dreaming will definitely do the same. The themes are very similar and the romance is so sweet.

I loved this sequel! Izzy's story continues as her parents decide to finally marry, she tries to decide whether to start college or have a gap year, and her romantic life hits some bumps. As with Tokyo Ever After, the audiobook was excellently narrated, which is nice with all the Japanese words thrown in to the narrative. And I would totally read a third installment in the series.

The sequel to Tokyo Ever After, Tokyo Dreaming picks up the story of Izumi in the imperial palace. I thought this was a cute story and love all Japanese cultural references. However, the plot wasn't as strong as in the first book. The romance storylines and wedding of Izumi are at the heart of the story and were not especially compelling. Still, I appreciate the book for focusing on a different culture and I think the younger target audience would love this.

I loved Tokyo Ever After, and although I didn't enjoy this one as much, it was still a fun sequel!

Tokyo Dreaming follows Izumi as she strives to perfect her image as Japan's lost princess after her parents' engagement. Like its predecessor, this book was full of heartwarming moments, social commentary, and plenty of royal drama. I was fully invested in Izumi's love life and the anticipation was what kept me reading. The teenage angst was something I haven't read in a while, and it was both stressful and lots of fun. I wasn't a huge fan of the new character, but by the end of the story it all wrapped it so well, leaving me completely satisfied. However, I do wish the author had left Tokyo Ever After as a standalone, so Izumi's ending was more for the reader's imagination.

This series really has me smiling for ear to ear. I love how lighthearted it is and the experience of learning about a new culture. Izumi is growing into who she is meant to be and I am hoping there will be at least one more installment! The narrator has a great voice when it comes to change characters, which helps a lot when listening to an audiobook.

This was a good sequel. The story was continued naturally and wrapped up well. The love triangle felt a little forced - they didn’t have chemistry at the get go and so the fake dating felt fake…because it was. So when it turned into real dating, it didn’t feel that way. But that’s the only main criticism. A nice ending to Izumi’s story.

Tokyo Dreaming was a fantastic follow-up to Tokyo Ever After. This sequel continues to give off Princess Diaries meets Crazy Rich Asian vibes. Somehow, despite the fact the book is about royalty, the story still manages to touch on relatable teen issues such as friendship, getting ready for college, how friends change as your life changes., as well as race and fitting in. This is a fun, light, perfect summer read.

This one was not as good as the first. I just don’t enjoy love triangles especially when they heavily focus on a new relationship and then a previous person comes back right at the end and they decide to go with that love interest.

A sequel that somehow beautifully recaptures the bright, breezy, and charming atmosphere we loved from the first installment with even more royal drama.

Tokyo Dreaming is the perfect follow-up to Izumi's entrance into the Royal family! I thoroughly enjoyed the character development of some of our favorite characters from Toyko Ever After (especially Izumi's father and "The Shining Twins" Akiko and Noriko).

We will also see a little bit of a love triangle in the sequel and, while I can usually be pretty critical of them, I'm here for it!

I do recommend the audio book. Ali Ahn does a fantastic job and she has really captured Izumi's character so well.

Japan has a new princess and Izumi is determined to win the hearts and minds of her critics. She needs to win over her “Shining Twin” cousins, get her grades up for the Japanese college entrance exam, and navigate heartache and romance. Can she walk this path without losing herself?

🌸 Book Review: TOKYO DREAMING by Emiko Jean 🌸

A light royal rom-com with a great cast of characters, all expertly read by Ali Ahn.

This novel picks up where the previous book, TOKYO EVER AFTER, stopped. Izumi is now older and figuring out her next steps—college or a gap year. As Izumi explores new terrain and heavy expectations, she finds new alliances and friends. There’s romance, both for Izumi and between her parents, but this book is really more about Izumi finding her path and herself.

“It is so much easier to be led than to blaze your own trail. Actually, ‘blazing’ sounds too easy. It is more rigorous than that. Pulling up weeds. Unearthing trees. Laying down gravel. It’s hard work becoming who you are.”

I recommend starting with the first book, but it’s not entirely needed as the author cleverly brings readers up to speed on what has transpired since the previous book.

Ultimately, TOKYO DREAMING, is a fun, light read, especially for those interested in commoner-to-royal storylines. I loved the talk of food and that Izumi got to see more of Japan in this book. Her spunk remains admirable. I still prefer the first novel, but this is a strong sequel.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.5/5)

TOKYO DREAMING is out today! Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC audiobook!

In this sequel to Tokyo Ever After, Izumi Tanaka is thrilled that her father, the Crown Prince of Japan, is finally engaged to her mother, a commoner, but the powers that be are hesitant to give their blessing to such an unusual arrangement. Izumi takes it upon herself to do everything in her power to convince the Imperial Household Council that her parents union shouldn't just be approved and it should be celebrated! But will she lose herself in the process?

I really enjoyed the first book and am pleased to report that I liked the second one just as much. As in the first book, Izumi is still struggling with the expectation placed on her as a princess, finding her place, and the right path to take moving forward. She reminds us that it isn't always about finding the right place, but making it instead. The tutor/ shipping heir fake dating trope bits were fun. I thought that Ali Ahn, the narrator, did a great job bringing Izumi to life, and you should totally listen to this one if you enjoy audiobooks.
Rating: 4 stars

Special thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance listener's copy of Tokyo Dreaming for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

Tokyo Dreaming is a great followup to Tokyo Ever After. I enjoyed getting to see Princess Izumi growing up and making decisions, and making the hard decisions about what she has to do to make others happy and if that's worth it. I again loved the cultural aspects of this book that are so different from what we experience in the USA. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the audio ARC copy. As always the narration was amazing.

A fun and light-hearted sequel that didn't quite hit all of the same marks as the original but was still enjoyable. The narrator does a great job of voicing so many characters and keeping the reader engaged.

This is the sequel to "Tokyo Ever After" which came out in May 2021, and really should be read in order to really understand. I really enjoyed this one, it managed to keep the "girl out of her element" aspect while also showing some real progress in the character's growth - academically and socially. There were some new characters and expansion of characters from the first book, all of which I really liked. The love triangle I had some issues with, but I'm still going to recommend this one. If you liked The Princess Diaries, you'll like this one. I listened to this one on audiobook courtesy of Macmillan Audio and Netgalley, and really liked the narrator and having the Japanese names read out loud.

The sequel to Tokyo Ever After delivered the same rich details about Japanese history and customs, as well as covering the expectations of the royal family.

Izumi is learning all of these things thanks to her new tutor, Eriku, a handsome young man around her age. She’s desperately trying to be the perfect princess so that her parent’s wedding will be approved.

But should she be sacrificing who she is for their union? And what about her growing feelings for Eriku? This story was charming and delightful. I’m hopeful we will get another story in this series.

I really enjoyed the first book in the series that I read before it was even chosen as a Reese Witherspoon YA pick, so I was super excited to see where the story was going to go in the second book.

There were new challenges in this one like navigating her parents rekindled relationship, being away from her friends, deciding between starting at university or taking a gap year, and dealing with a break up to name a few, but seeing these challenges from the POV of a princess was different.

I did like the part where she makes up with her cousins as they bond over the forced manual labour. I didn't love the new love triangle and the way that she dropped the one boy and chose the other so quickly. I personally just felt that the story was lacking some of the charm from the first book though I still enjoyed it. I think the topics will resonate with a lot of teenagers as they navigate similar changes in their lives.