Tokyo Ever After

'Tokyo Ever After' is definitely going up there with my favourite YA romances - the ones that I end up reading over and over again whenever I am feeling in the mood for a pick-me-up.Izumi lives with her mother in the US and has never known anything more about her father other than he was a one night stand in college. But in a country where being Japanese makes her feel like she can never quite fit in, she longs to know more about her history. Turns out, her father is actually the crown prince of Japan and she is a princess (think The Princess Diaries). But when she arrives in Japan she realises that she may be too American to ever feel like she truly belongs there either. The shinning light is her forbidden romance with her new drop-dead gorgeous body guard (think The First Daughter).Ah I just loved it! It was perfectly binge-able and left me with that butterflies in my stomach feeling. My only change would be the cover - I have seen the US one floating around and I am in love with it!

Okay, this book was so sweet and interesting and was PACKED with the pomp and circumstance and opulence that I just adore in any kind of media about royalty.I don't often read YA, but in the best way, this book doesn't feel like a typical young adult book. It follows Izzy, a young Californian woman who discovers that her father is the Crown Prince of Japan and she has a whole other part of her life that she never knew about. She agrees to travel to Japan for a fortnight, where she's whisked into a whirlwind of etiquette training, paparazzi and royal life that she wasn't prepared for.It's a very sweet story with an incredibly compelling protagonist - and especially supporting cast. There are certainly issues, no book is perfect. I felt it was rather rushed as a plot - there was a lot to get across - and the development of the central romance could certainly have been stronger. It was though the plan was to have this be multiple books (e.g the American Royals series) but ended up getting condensed down into one. It could have certainly done with some breathing room, I think. But the plot is decent and it makes for a very compelling book.One of the things I massively appreciated - and what set this book out from the other 'discovering you're a royal' type books is that it was about the culture and traditions of a Royal Family other than the British one. I get it, they're quite prominent, but they're not the only one that exists - and discovering about the Imperial House was entirely fascinating. Jean does a brilliant job of weaving the history of the monarchy into the story, adding little touches of detail here and there that round out each chapter. You can also see where the author has alluded some real-life contemporary touches into the plot - especially with the intrusive nature of the tabloid press - and I think that adds an extra brilliance to the writing.Overall, this is a wonderful fish-out-of-water story that'll charm anyone who dreamed of being a Prince/ss as a child (and sort of still wants to be).

Very predictable but fun to read. It was what I needed at that point, I might read the second book. BTW, I don't like this cover, I prefer the other one!🥺

A special thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the eARC of this book.Tokyo Ever After is about Izumi Tanaka, a Japanese American teen who discovers that her father, who she has never known, is the Crown Prince of Japan. Having never felt like she fit in in America she decides to take a leap by going to Japan for two weeks to discover more about herself, her Japanese roots and her father.Whilst there she has a short amount of time to adjust to the language and all the cultural customs as well as being a member of the Japanese monarchy. Izumi’s character is relatable and I really enjoyed reading about her journey especially the aspect of the story of trying to fit in, having never felt American enough and still feeling like an outsider in Japan where she thought that she would find all the answers. Her AGG is goals and I adore their supportive friendship. She also has a great loving relationship with her mother. The romance was sweet and fluffy and the romance between her and Akio was adorable. It was well written and I found myself laughing, feeling annoyed, upset and overall just very invested in these characters! I’ll definitely be buying this book and adding to my growing collection of books once it is released.

The short sentences. The improbable… and very Americanised … plot lines. The non-twists. The lack of any depth to the characters. Bleurgh

"𝙄𝙯𝙪𝙢𝙞, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙖 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛. 𝘽𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙚. 𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪."'𝐓𝐨𝐤𝐲𝐨 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫' 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰Have you ever wondered what it's like to belong to royalty? 👑 Like, what if you were, say, a princess/prince and you didn't know for all your life and then, one day, you find out about it? What would you do?Princess Izumi. That's right. Our main character is a princess, the bastardo daughter of the Crown Prince of Japan. When her quest to finding out who her father is finally pays off, she finds herself traveling to Japan to meet this man and find answers about herself. Of course, Japan is charming in more ways than one. 💙Oh, this book! What an adorable and romantic story! Oh, the butterflies in my stomach couldn't be contained! Akio is Izumi's bodyguard and let me tell you: they're absolutely adorable! 🥺 One true pair! Absolutely beautiful!Emiko Jean's writing is flawless and superb in a way that will never get you bored nor wishing things could be different. She has this aura about her that's completely transparent on her words: sweet, coherent and never enough! You find yourself wishing to read more and more every page!This is the perfect young adult: the absolute definition of perfect! Couldn't have asked for a better book to read this month!𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

If you enjoyed Crazy Rich Asians, this is for you. If you didn't this is still 10 times better. It is so cute and fluffy I am so in love!

So, after I struggled and finished "Destination Wedding", another book on "self-discovery" where an American woman of colour travels to her home country, wondering if she'll ever fit in, falls in love in the process, and decides to stay back (apparently for no reason, because the plot was extremely weak), I began to read "Tokyo Ever After" which surprisingly has a similar story, only a hundred thousand times more interesting and enjoyable, with a very intelligent and relatable protagonist."Tokyo Ever After" is one of those stories that you simply cannot get enough of. You simply do not want it to end. Set in 2021, Izumi's story inspires conversation on different cultures, elitism, racism, freedom of expression, sexism, casual sexual harassment, identity crisis, and underrepresention of minorities in art, to name but a few social issues that command our attention. And the writing is soo good! The humour is SPOT ON and I was laughing my a** off the entire time! She captured the Gen Z mood pretty well!And Japan. Oh Japan! I've always wanted to visit and now I want it even more. I don't think anyone could have represented the country with more honesty and respect than how Ms. Emiko Jean did. The characters are so individualistic and have their own quirks. And that twist in the end? I SAW IT COMING! I'm getting better - so better - at predicting these twisted endings!All in all, it was a DELICIOUS read. I wish they make it into a movie, it would fare so well!

One of my favorite books by far. I totally recommend this one <3

A light, cute read

Great story!