Izumi always felt like a bit of an outsider. She was Japanese American in a mostly white California suburb. She was raised by a single mother and has only been told that her father was a one-night-stand. Izzy doesn't even know her father's name. But, after Izzy and her friend do some sleuthing on the internet, they discover that Izzy's dad is the crown-prince of Japan. She zooms off to Tokyo to meet her newly discovered royal relatives. Once there she finds that she doesn't quite fit in there either. She makes some social fumbles and isn't helped at all by conniving twin cousins. She starts to wonder if she fits in anyplace.

This was a fun, sweet read. I mean, what little girl hasn't dreamt of discovering they're a princess?!?! Izzy was a relatable character. One who is simply trying to find her place in the world. I liked this twist on the princess tale a la Princess Diaries. It is refreshing to see an #ownvoices modern fairy tale. I didn't previously know much about Japanese royalty but this book made me want to learn more. BTW-- I listened to the book on audio and it was awesome!

What to listen to while reading...
Nobody by Mitski
Royals by Lorde
Princesses Don't Cry by Aviva
Sky Full of Stars by Coldplay
Be Sweet by Japanese Breakfast

I adored this book! It was basically a Japanese version of Princess Diaries and I loved that! The Princess Dairies is one of my favorites and this version did not disappoint! I enjoyed following Izumi as she discovers that her father is the Crown Prince of Japan. The book was rich with Japanese culture and I felt like I was transported to Japan with her. Such a great read! I hope there are more to follow this one!

If you're a Princess Diaries fan, be sure to add Tokyo Ever After to your reading list.

This book is adorable, especially the main character Izumi. She is bold, funny, but also very human. She makes mistakes and owns them. I love how her relationship with her mom and her friends are portrayed throughout the book as well.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced audiobook copy of ‘Tokyo Ever After’ by Emiko Jean. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was a mashup of movies like What a Girl Wants and Princess Diaries in Japan vibes. I was immediately sucked into the story and the travel and the drool-worthy food descriptions. This is a contemporary book but I could see this appealing to fans of anime. Just read this and tell me Akio versus the bamboo wasn’t a total anime moment.

Izumi had such a great character voice and often made me laugh with her humor and how she phrased things. I also loved her strong bonds with her amazing friend group as well as how she made new friends in Japan.

I felt like I wanted more page time with Izumi and her father, but maybe that was the point for readers to feel his absence alongside Izumi. I saw some reviews take issue with the plot of Izumi reuniting with her father taking a backseat to the romance. I do think I would have liked more of Izumi and her father and especially at the end of the book. But I also loved the romance between Izumi and Akio so I didn’t mind that element.

This was such a fun book that I flew through. I would definitely pick this story up again.

4/5 stars

An adorable story with a hate-to-love forbidden romance. Tokyo Ever After is perfect for fans of The Princess Diaries. I love the way this played out. This is so much more than a love story, the family dynamics and friendships in this are also great. The audiobook is well done and had me listening for hours at a time. I could not put this one down. I did figure out quickly some of the twists, but that didn't make the story any less enjoyable.

Tokyo Ever After was such a fun read for me. It gave me Princess Diaries vibes, and I loved that the storyline took us to Japan and had an Asian American main character. I loved that it explored themes of belonging and feeling like an outsider. The characters are relatable, witty, and I wish I could be friends with Izumi.

In addition, Tokyo Ever After is a YA novel, so I am less concerned with the writing style and plot holes (even if I thought there were a few of them). The plot is quick and predictable, but I feel like I appreciate that when I read a YA romance. I loved that we got to explore a different culture and follow a teenage girl through a coming of age.

Disclosure: I received an audiobook ARC of Tokyo Ever After from Macmillan Audio and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am so IN LOVE with this book.

I grew up reading and eventually watching The Princess Diaries. I love that series so much so I was SUPER excited to hear this book being compared to it.. BUT set in Japan with a Japanese-American MC. I was sold and immediately knew that I needed to read this story!

My high expectations were met and more.

Izumi is an ordinary teenager who simply wanted to find a piece of herself that she always felt was missing. Searching for her father led her to a world she wasn't too sure she belonged in. It was heartwarming to read about Izumi and her father's relationship, and how hard it was for Izumi to find pieces of herself that were always missing in her life. I related to her feelings of "am I too American?" or "will I ever be Japanese enough?" because it's something I struggled with growing up, too. Her self-discovery journey was really special and I think a lot of young readers will be able to see themselves in Izumi's story.

The cherry on top was the romance! I could cry because it was so sweet. I can't even explain it to you just know that it's GREAT.

I listened to the audiobook version of this story and I would highly recommend it! The narrator did a WONDERFUL job with this story.

Please please please read this story! Highly recommend.

I found this book to be cute and spectacular. The main character, Izumi was a down to earth kind of gal who just recently discovered where she comes from when she found out who was her biological father. This led to some series of discovering who she is and what does she really want.

I believe the romance was a plus because all i mainly got the gist is her trying to win over the new family. I love that the author included included facts of Japanese sights and cultural etiquette. Feels more like motivation of traveling to Japan. In a way it’s like that movie, First Daughter, Katie Holmes starred in.

This is definitely a cute summer read to lighten your mood and just appreciate another culture. I recommend this book! I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

I loved this book. It was just terrific! The setting, the food, and the characters were so excellent.

This was an adorable fun read. Izumi has no clue who her father is until her friend does some digging and it just so happens her father is a prince. Izumi has never really felt like she belonged until an opportunity to meet her family in Japan. This was so entertaining. She is not familiar with the customs of a Royal and finds herself like a fish out of water. However, that may just be what this royal family and the country needs. A must read with a slow burn romance.

This book completely charmed me! It’s all the best parts of Princess nostalgia from my youth, but combined with a fresh new perspective and characters that steal your heart.

My favorite thing about this book is that the teenage characters actually sound like teenagers. This is due in part to Emiko Jean’s writing, and in part to Ali Ahn’s versitile narration style.

I definitely recommend giving this fun, light read a chance!

Sometimes taking a chance on a new author pays off and sometimes it doesn’t. So I’m always a bit hesitant to try. But this book was a recommendation from a friend and, let’s just be frank here, look at that gorgeous cover. I couldn’t look away and I’ve been in love with this cover since the first time I saw it.

If you read the blurb for this book it will clearly tell you this is a mix between Princess Diaries and Crazy Rich Asians and honestly it really was. Izumi is Japanese American, growing up in California feeling like she didn’t belong. By chance, she finds something that reveals her father’s identity. Turns out he’s the Crown Prince of Japan and now that he knows of her existence, she’s invited over to spend time among royalty and learn about her position as the Princess.

TOKYO EVER AFTER was sweet and adorable all at once. Izumi is such a likeable heroine and I was rooting for her the whole time. I liked that she brought a bit of her American ways with her when dealing with the royals as much as she also tried to learn about her culture and history in ways she didn’t imagine before.

Now there’s also a romance. Izumi and her grumpy bodyguard. Yeah a bit cliche and maybe not the best romance ever but it felt perfect while reading this. What I was so invested in seeing more and we didn’t really get hardly anything is the second chance romance between Izumi’s parents! If there’s ever a second book, this needs to be explored!

Looking for a feel good, fast read? This is it!

Izumi, Izzy, grew up in America with her single Mom. She always dreamed of knowing her Father. Lo and behold she finds out her Father is the Crown Prince of Japan and takes a trip to Japan to meet her Father and find out what life as a Princess is like.

I love a book that is rich in a culture I’m unfamiliar with and this one meets the mark. Izzy’s a fish out of water learning about Japan and her royal heritage. In addition to the romance the book is built around, it is a story of self discovery. Izzy is outspoken and spunky and has spent her life not fitting in. She is trying to forge a relationship with her father and see if she can fit into his world. You can’t help but root for her.

While billed as Princess Diaries meets Crazy Rich Asians, I thought it was so much more than that and any young adult trying to find their place in the world will appreciate her journey. Told in a light, fun voice, it’s easy to see why this was a Reese Witherspoon YA choice.

I listened to the audiobook and thought Ali Ahn was fabulous. She brought the author’s story to life.

If you’re looking for a lighthearted book filled with culture and self discovery, I think you’ll love this book.

If you love The Princess Diaries you will LOVE Tokyo Ever After! Seventeen-year-old Izumi, who usually goes by Izzy, has never felt like she belongs in her small mostly white town. Being Japanese-American she has always felt Other, which is why she has always wanted to know who her father is, but her mother shuts the conversation down every time. When Izumi accidentally stumbles upon a letter written to her mom by her father and discovers he's the Crown Prince of Japan her whole world turns upside down. Suddenly there is paparazzi, tabloids, a handsome body guard, a lady-in-waiting, new customs she's not used to, and a father who wants to get to know her in Japan. I loved getting to know more about Japanese culture, foods, and traditions, all through Izumi's eyes.

One of my favorite things about this book is Izumi's friends back home. They fully accept her for who she is, just as she does for them. They are caring, hilarious, sassy, and are always there for her when she needs it, even when Izumi's halfway around the world.

The romance between Izumi and Akio is so cute and yes a little cliche, but Akio is very sweet and protective.

Izumi's relationship with her mom is the best. Her mom loves mugs with puns and t-shirts with feminist sayings. The two of them are thick as thieves and Izumi knows she can go to her mom about anything and everything. It's a wonderful relationship.

It looks like there will be a second book in Izumi's story and I cannot wait!

I have no idea how I ended up reading two different lost princess books back-to-back, but this one was also a retry for an author I had not read since their debut (I'm talking one of my first ever ARCs!). While the book can be predictable, as all books with tropes can be, it was well written and balanced the serious with the funny.

"Tokyo Ever After", by Emiko Jean, is the first novel in the upcoming Tokyo Ever After series. It follows Japanese-American Izumi on her journey of self-discovery and identity acceptance, as she discovers that the father she knew nothing about her whole life is, in fact, part of the Japanese Royal Family. It was a very cute story, humorous at times, and more emotional at others. It's not a story that has not been told before, but that does not mean that it's not worth telling.

The audiobook narration, performed by Ali Ahn, was very good and made it easy to get immersed in the story. The narrator was very expressive and did a great job conveying all the characters' emotions. I am not a big reader of YA, mainly because of the writing style and dialogue that most times does not appeal to me, but I find it that audiobooks help with that, and in this case it definitely did. I would recommend this, both for the story and narration, to fans of YA and romance, but also to readers who find comfort in familiar romantic and coming-of-age storylines. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Just earlier today I was remarking on how infrequently I enjoy romantic comedies- I often joke that I’m obviously dead inside 🤷‍♀️… annnd then I happened to dive into this Arc!

This is a story about a princess… except she’s spent her life so far in small town America, not a palace.

This was such a fun, light romp. I laughed at loud during a couple points, and unlike when I’m reading thrillers, I didn’t mind the predictability of a happy ending. It was similar to the Princess Diaries in the obvious ways; however, I felt like the exploration of cultural differences and elitism made for a more interesting adventure.

Thank you so much NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for this ALRC!

Tokyo Ever After was a cute YA romcom/ coming of age story. It definitely had vibes of The Princess Diaries - which I LOVE - so I was hooked from the start!

Izumi is a Japanese American high school student who doesn’t feel like she really fits in - she feels like she’s too Japanese and not American enough. When she finds a clue to who her father is - she finds out he’s the crown prince of Japan - making her a princess!

But when she travels to Japan to get to know him, she finds she’s too American in Japan and not Japanese enough.

I really loved Izzy’s story about finding your family, finding yourself and finding where you belong.

I listened to Tokyo Ever After as an audiobook thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio. The narrator was such a joy to listen to and really brought Izzy to life for me!

I attempted to listen to this audiobook, but no matter what I did, it just would not play. I deleted my Netgalley Shelf app and reinstalled to see if that would fix it, but now the audiobook just isn't showing up on my shelf period. I'm guessing this is because the audiobook has been archived on Netgalley. Rating 5 stars so at to not mess up the average rating on this audiobook, but given I wasn't able to listen to it, I cannot review it.

I loved this book. It was my most anticipated read for June and I was not disappointed. I got such Princess Diaries vibes while reading. Izumi was a fabulous character. I loved her and the AGG!! Her relationship with her mama was wonderful. I cannot wait to read more from this author. Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for sharing this review copy with me in exchange for an honest review.