The Princess Diaries meets American Royals meets Crazy Rich Asians in Emiko Jean's new book Tokyo Ever After. This read was cute and heart-warming with Japanese culture beautifully woven throughout. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the #gifted listening copy of this read!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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This story centers around Izumi Tanaka who has never felt like she fits in, especially being Japanese American in her predominately white California town. Raised solely by her mother, Izzy doesn't know anything about her dad, until one day she discovers his identity… the Crown Prince of Japan. Izzy has not only found her father, but discovered that she holds the title of Princess! Izzy soon finds herself immersed in new traditions and customs and a culture that is her very own, even if she didn't grow up knowing it. Yet Izzy seems caught between her American upbringing and her Japanese roots, neither of which feel like they fully define her.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I loved Jean's descriptions of Izzy exploring Japan. Her immersive cultural experiences are beautifully described, joyful, and character-building for Izzy's coming-of-age journey. The dialogue in this book was a bit too cheesy for my liking, but if the description of this book sounds up your alley, you will likely not be disappointed.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Overall, this was a sweet #ownvoices listen that I think a lot of people will love! Personally, I want to watch this as a movie more than anything. I think the story is lovely and the filming in Japan would be stunning. There I've officially started my personal campaign for a #booktofilm adaptation of this one 😁

Izumi is a Japanese American high school senior. She lives with her single mom who won’t tell her who her dad is. When she finally discovers he’s the Crown Prince of Japan, she decides she wants to meet him. She’s in for quite a culture shock coming from a small town in the US to having to behave as royalty in Japan.

When Izumi develops feelings for her royal guard, things don’t go well for her. Should she stay and try to forge a relationship with her father, or go back home to her mother?

This was a really cute book. I have seen it compared to The Princess Diaries, which is a pretty good comparison.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Tokyo Ever After is a royal coming-of-age story perfect for fans of The Princess Diaries. Set in Tokyo and Kyoto, this young adult romance provides an immersive armchair travel experience. With a sweet, smart, relatable protagonist, and an endearing love interest this is a guaranteed favorite for fans of young adult romances. I would highly recommend this for teens and adults looking for an escapist read that tackles tough topics like parental illness, the impact of media and finding a sense of belonging. I would highly recommend the audiobook -- the narrator does a fantastic job of relaying the protagonist's emotions.

Well this was just a delight to read.

Tokyo Ever After is a laugh-out-loud lost princess story about average-as-can-be teen Izumi Tanaka, who discovers she's the illegitimate and secret daughter to Tokyo's Crown Prince. Izumi must navigate the culture shock of Japan, discovering who her father is, and maybe a romance with her royal guard (!!!). There was so many moment listening to this that I laughed out loud and Izumi is such a wonderful fish-out-of-water character to follow. She makes mistakes, but she has a lot of heart and I really loved her.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

🎧📚 Audiobook Review you @netgalley and @flatironbooks for this ARC audio.

If Crazy Rich Asians met The Princess Diaries...THIS rom-com would be the result!

I really enjoyed this story. Princess Izumi, a Japanese-American teen, is thrust into a world of royalty with hopes of developing a relationship with her father. She has difficulty assimilating in Tokyo...new father, new family, new customs. All the while developing feelings for her personal security guard and dealing with conniving family. Good thing she has The support of her all girl crew back home. The ease of Japanese language and culture is easily explained and understood. I hope a series ensues with the rest of the AGG!

This book has been selected for a pretty famous YA book club, ahem @ReeseWitherspoon. Add it to your TBR!

I am so beyond grateful that I was provided the audio book for Tokyo Ever After in exchange for my honest review. After reading the synopsis, I knew I was going to love this book (secret royals might be one of my guilty pleasures) but this was so much more than I could have hoped for. Emiko Jean's book was so spunky and so heartfelt that you can't help fall in love with Izzy, her friends, and, of course, her gorgeous body guard.

Before I get further into my review of the plot and characters, I do want to mention what I thought of the audiobook specifically. Long story short, it's great! Ali Ahn provides the exact right amount of sassiness but also vulnerability. If you need a pick me up to listen to on your way to the office or some other dreadful task (as I often do), I highly recommend this on audiobook.

Honestly, I really can't say anything negative about this book. Sure, it's predictable but that's half the fun. It really is the perfect mix of a modern Princess Diaries combined with the glitz and glamor of Crazy Rich Asians. I can't wait to find out what happens next for Izzy and Aiko and I'm eagerly awaiting the moment when the Shinning Twins get what's coming to them.

Thank you to Macmillan Young Listeners and NetGalley for the opportunity.

I see a lot of comparisons of Tokyo Ever After to The Princess Diaries, but it’s not accurate since the entire premise of this story is the MC getting to know her father, who is very much still alive. Instead, if you remember What A Girl Wants starring Amanda Bynes and Colin Firth…bingo that’s what this story reminded me of, and I loved every minute of it.

Izumi ‘Izzy’ Tanaka is a Japanese American teenaged girl who was raised by her single mom in a majority white small, Northern California town. Everything changes when Izumi and her friends (deemed the AGG: Asian Girl Gang) stumble upon info revealing that Izzy is actually the daughter of the Crown Prince of Japan. Naturally, Izzy wants to meet her father and jets off to Japan to do so, and that’s when Izzy realizes that she just doesn’t know where she fits in or belongs.

First things first, I LOVED the Asian Girl Gang and the female friendship and solidarity that was reinforced. The girls are all of different Asian descent, but considering they are the only Asians in their school, the sought solace with one another. They hype each other up, and I just loved watching them interact.

Izzy is such a relatable character to me. She’s surrounding by a mostly white community and doesn’t fit in being that she’s Japanese, but when she goes to Japan, she doesn’t really fit in either because she’s American. This balancing act when it comes to identity is so common for BIPOC from diasporas.

One of my favorite aspects of this story was watching the relationship build between Izzy and her father as well as her being able to learn both her mother’s and father’s heritage in Japan. I am so incredibly jealous when people are able to do such things, and you can tell that with Izzy these experiences were invaluable . There’s also a romance subplot that I definitely really enjoyed as well. I’ll let y’all experience that on your own though.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for providing a review copy. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Tokyo Ever After gave me princess diaries meets what a girl wants vibes. I honestly love both movies and I was very excited with all the vibes I was getting while listening to this book. It's safe to say that I'm probably going to dive into one of those movies tonight. Maybe even both just to satisfy the vibes.

In it, you will meet Izzy. She's a very relatable and likable girl due to not really knowing the royal life. So when she would make a mistake from time to time it was always blown out of proportion. Which honestly made me laugh so much because it made me keep thinking of the two movies.

Now while I liked Izzy, I think her mom and her friends were the stars. Don't get me wrong Izzy is great but her friends just made laugh and smile so much. They always had her back no matter what and I think every girl needs a strong bond within their little girl gang. Powerful and dangerous ladies.

As for the romance? Well, it was cute in some ways. Not really the star of the book for me because I figured her getting to know her own dad was a lot more important. Doesn't mean I didn't enjoy what I got because I most definitely did. I ate it all up and would like some more please.

In the end, the little betrayal sort of shocked me. It also let other things fall into place a bit better and I'm very happy with how this one ended. Not sure what the next book will be about in this series but I'm excited for it nonetheless.

This was such a sweet and fun YA book! Reminded me of The Princess Diaries. I thought the narration was great and done so well. Quick and enjoyable!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook for an honest review.

This book is definitely a cross between The Princess Diaries and What A Girl Wants, which just happens to be two of my favorite movies, so I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! The book also goes into those pangs that most BIPOC people go through. The main character, Izumi, and her best friends go through those annoying microaggressions like the "where are you REALLY from?" question all of the time, and she also talks about the feeling of going to Japan and being in a place where everyone looks like her, so she doesn't have to constantly explain her existence. She also experiences the flip side of going to Japan, which is having to learn pieces of the culture and of her royal roots, so still feeling like a bit of an outsider. It's a third-culture-kid space that I haven't actually seen too often in literature.

I loved the narration because it was easy to hear the difference in each character. I think that's part of what makes for a good audiobook. The other thing is you can hear things like sarcasm from the narrator well, so the narrator puts enough emotion into the narration to convey certain emotions throughout the book.

Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean is such a wonderful story! Izumi Tanaka has been raised be a single mother and never felt like she fit in. When she discovers the identity of the father she never knew, she travels to Japan to become acquainted with him and the culture...and to learn how to be a princess.

I absolutely loved this book. Izzy's character was so relatable and definitely acted her age. I truly enjoyed the aspect of the story where she was learning about the culture and herself. There was a little bit of romance running throughout the story as well, and I'm always here for that! The overall story gave off Princess Diaries vibes with so many added layers.

The audio for this title was narrated by Ali Ahn, and she did an exceptional job of voicing the characters and bringing the story to life for me. It was an enjoyable listen. The audio comes in around 9.5 hours, and this time absolutely flew by for me. I didn't want to stop listening to Ali Ahn's performance. I would definitely recommend checking out this title, and if you're a fan of audiobooks I believe you'll enjoy!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ALC of Tokyo Ever After. This did not affect the contents of my voluntary review, and all opinions are honest and my own.

Tokyo Ever After is The Princess Diaries meets Crazy Rich Asians mixed with some forbidden romance.
Izumi is a self proclaimed “average” Asian teenager living in a mostly white city being raised by her single mom, never knowing her father. Upon discovery of a love poem, she begins searching for him and he turns out to be the Crown Prince of Japan. Izumi jets off to Tokyo to meet him and the rest of her newly found family where she quickly finds out the good and the bad of princess life.

This is a cute story with lots of Asian representation, which I loved. I loved the banter and sass of our MC and there was a great group of side characters too. I could have used more of the romance, but I can always use more romance. There were some plot points left open, but I learned there is a sequel coming in 2022, so I will wait patiently to learn what happens next with Princess Izumi.

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillian Audio for the ALC. Tokyo Ever After is out today!

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Emiko Jean for the opportunity to read and listen to Tokyo Ever After in exchange for an honest review.

This is a review of the audiobook version, which I listened to using the NetGalley Shelf app. The narrator, Ali Ahn, is a fantastic reader and portrayed the main character, Izumi, with absolute flare.

Izumi lives with her mom, but a chance upon a letter reveals her dad's name. Izumi's friend looks into this and finds out that Izumi is actually the daughter of a Japanese prince! Izumi has a million questions for her mom, but when her identity is revealed, she has the choice of visiting Japan to meet her dad and learn what the royal life is like.

Izumi is more than thrilled to visit Japan and meet her family, but it's not as easy as one might think. Even just getting off an airplane can be done improperly, when one wears basic clothes and happens to be a newly revealed princess to a country. Izumi finds that she enjoys learning about her father and Japanese culture, but there is still so much to be mindful of. Her cousins, the other princesses, continually try to set Izumi up to look bad in front of the press. What country would want a negatively received princess?

On top of learning who her father is and struggling with the other part of her identity that she hasn't really known most of her life, she also falls for her body guard. A body guard and a princess is certainly not a proper match. Just another thing for the tabloids to blow up!

This is a fun, flavorful, and cultural book. I enjoyed the little bits of Japanese history strewn about throughout the novel. This book very much has a The Princess diaries feel, but the country in question is Japan (a real country) as opposed to Genovia (a fictional country). The characterization was perky and fun, and there is a nice blend of romance, politics, culture, and self-identity. This is a fantastic listen (or read) for any teenage girl or lover of secret princess romances.

If The Princess Diaries took place in Japan and was more teen and less tween, then it would be Tokyo Ever After. Highly recommend as a teen “beach read”!

Diverse reads:
- Izzy is Japanese. Her mind is second-generation and her dad is the Crown Prince of Japan.

This was such a cute, fun YA read. It really did remind me of the Princess Diaries and Crazy Rich Asians, which I loved! A Japanese American teen finds out her biological father is in line to become Emperor of Japan!

I absolutely loved the romance plot in this book. I'd like to see it go even deeper though. Overall, I enjoyed the theme of finding yourself and your identity. It was great watching Izumi build a relationship with her father and sort out her issues.a

I would totally read the sequel to this book. I would even love to see her become Empress! How fun that would be.

I only took off a star because sometimes it was a little too corny for me. I know it's YA but some of the dialogue was a little cringey. I think a younger audience would absolutely love this though.

The book was ADORABLE and I’m so glad I got the chance to pick this one up. Izumi is such a sweet (if maybe a little air-headed) character, and I loved that the trials she went through would be similar for people of any age who just found out they were long lost royalty, not JUST teenage drama. The narrator for the audiobook did an amazing job, although she did a teenage girl voice almost TOO well for Noora, causing me to not like her as much as the other best friends. While obviously cliche, cliches become popular for a reason. The body guard to lover trope is always excellent, and this one was very cute (wish there had been a bit more physical drama there where he would have had to protect her, but loved that she could take care of herself). All in all, an excellent spring read!

Audiobook provided by NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Macmillan Young Listeners in exchange for an honest review.

NOTE: The audiobook did not include the end of the book, it cut off mid sentence and went right into the end credits (I double checked to see that it didn't skip ahead but nope, it literally isn't included). Luckily the hardcopy of the book I ordered arrived at the library today so I was able to flip to the end and complete the book. The audiobook missed the last page of the story.

Booklist is calling this THE PRINCESS DIARIES meets CRAZY RICH ASIANS, and I don't think that's far off. But I also feel like TOKYO EVER AFTER is good enough to stand on it's own without being compared to other known YA books.

Izumi Tanaka has never felt "American enough" in her mostly white small town community in CA, even though she was born in American and doesn't even speak Japanese. She lives a happy, simple life with her mom and is enjoying her senior year of high school with her best friends - Noora, Hansani, and Glory... otherwise known as AGG (Asian Girl Gang). Seriously... the friendship these four girls has is something to strive for. Izumi even has a four legged best friend in her dog named Tamagotchi (seriously, so cute!).

While she's always been curious who her father was, she never did anything about it... until Noora finds a poem scrawled in a book on Izumi's mom's nightstand. Cue AGG as detectives. Not only does Noora figure out who Izumi's father is... it turns out that he's none other than the freaking Crown Prince of Japan. YUP.

Now Izumi is traveling to Japan... a country she's always wanted to visit. And quickly finding out that she has a lot to learn about how to be Japanese royalty. She's traded in standing out as foreign in America to looking the part, but not acting "Japanese enough".

Oh and what's the deal with her SUPER HOT bodyguard, Akio anyway?

This is both a coming of age, and a coming to terms with your cultural identity, mixed in with teenage love and the stress of meeting a parent you didn't know about. At times funny and heart wrenching, Emiko Jean crafts a story that readers will get swept up in and be left wanting more as they turn the last page.

I look forward to seeing what's in store next, and I hope in the second book that we get to learn more about Reina. I think she might be my favorite character out of everyone in this book.

Ali Ahn does a great job with the audiobook as well.

3.5 stars

This is a fun, lighthearted read about a girl who discovers she's a princess and has her life thrown into chaos. It kind of reminded me of the Princess Diaries, especially the parts when Izzy accidentally does something wrong and it scandalizes the royalty around her. Izzy is pretty cute and I appreciate her optimism. She really tries to make friends and do as she's expected, but sometimes she goes rogue and I adored her.

I didn't feel like the story was super original, but the twist of her being the princess of Japan was nice. I'm happy to read an Asian princess story and even happier that Izzy friends are all of Asian decent (though from different countries) and call themselves the Asian Girl Gang or AGG for short. Her friends were hilarious and supportive and made me happy.

The romance could have been better. Akio was okay but I would have liked more depth to him. I just felt like we didn't see enough emotion from him. I also think more romantic scenes would have been appreciated and helped them be a couple I rooted for.

This goes by quickly and the narrator for the audiobook was fantastic. I'm wondering about the sequel now...

I voluntarily read and reviewed this audiobook. Thank you to Macmillan Young Listeners and NetGalley for a copy.

Tokyo Ever After was a fun and fast story that I wish had been a little longer and a little more developed. Izumi was a great main character; she was smart and snarky and read like a real-life teen. I enjoyed following her on her journey to get to know her new family. Jean did a great job of highlight aspects of Japanese culture that are not normally found in YA books. My only issue with the book is the plot felt rushed. Izumi never really develops relationships with her father and Aiko, her guard turned love interest, quickly without many interactions or a real foundation. The book was entertaining and I enjoyed the world Jean created but it would have been better with a few more pages.

I was given a chance to read Tokyo Ever After and I enjoyed the book. I was happy to see that the audiobook of this title was available for review. If you enjoyed reading & or watching the Princess Diaries series that came out many moons ago then you will most likely enjoy Tokyo Ever After which is similar in the main plot line. Izumi is an American teen hailing from northern California. She doesn't know who her father is only that it was a quick romance between her mother and father back in college. Upon discovering she who her father is and her connection to Japanese royalty her journey begins in a whirlwind. She quickly immersed into Japanese life, the history, the culture, and the people. This book reads as a Young Adult / New Adult Romance book. There's a bunch of cliches in this book but I think it works out in a good way. Some of the cliches includes, finding out who the missing parent is (he's alive in this one), working out one's identity and how she fits into both worlds and accepting that she does fit into both worlds. Izumi aka Zoom Zoom falls for her royal bodyguard whom she didn't like in the beginning but grows to love him and while that is going on there is also troubles tossed her way. But in the end she ends up with her love. All in all this was a quick and fast read with a happy ending.