This book is hard to review for me. I have not read the first book which put me in an interesting position. The story itself is very well-written and was mostly a very enjoyable read. I was well on my way to giving the book a solid 4 stars until I hit the 80% mark at which point it became very clear that the book was a part of a duology and did not stand alone at all. The author went to great lengths to make sure that fans of the first book would get their happily ever after, without considering the fact that those fans were probably no longer reading the book after the first few chapters completely negated the romance she set up in the first book. She then wrote a completely new romance, which was cute and fun, only to also destroy that one and revert back to the original romance with a character barely seen in the book at all.
If this is the story the author wanted to tell, it should have been all in one book, or this should have been the middle book of a trilogy in which this book ended with the main character choosing neither boy, leaving the love triangle to be sorted out in the final installment. Or better yet, made Mom and Dad's romance the main focus of this book and just had our lead deal with separation rather than doing a noble idiocy plotline and then pretending it was all fine in the end.

In and of itself, this is a terrible book. Fans of the first story will be mad at the main portion of the story. Fans of the second story will be mad at the unwarranted ending. Fans of the first book who manage to stick it out and not rage quit might enjoy this ending, but it felt like a betrayal of the story being told in the second book and wasn't a particularly believable ending given the character fleshed out in the pages.

The audio was decent, but slow. I listened on 1.5x speed for most of it with no noticeable distortion. Also, the writing style doesn't lend itself well to audio. The author's lack of contractions makes the dialogue very stilted at times.

I loved book 1 so much, I was so excited to dive into this one.
It’s hard to give a review of book 2 without spoilers especially when some main plot points were the things I disliked about this book. Let’s just say I don’t agree with the direction this book took, but I still enjoyed reading it and I devoured it. I love learning about Japan and the imperial family and I loved the new character introduced, so it was a 3.5 for me when book 1 was a 4.5… still good and I would keep reading more from this author and these characters, but not the choices I would have made 😂

I got this ALC from @netgalley and @macmillan.audio in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you netgalley for a chance to get an Audio arc of this I liked Tokyo Ever After but I loved this one! We got to see more Izumi. This was very princess diaries meets what a girl wants. I loved it!

Picking up where Tokyo Ever After left, this sequel continues Izumi (Izzy's) journey to explore her Japanese cultural identity after discovering her absentee father was the Crown Prince of Japan in the last book. This book focuses on her parent's reunion and engagement and Izzy has big decisions to make about her future: what college will she attend and which boy will win her heart.

I usually don't love YA love triangles but this one was done really well. The Royal guard Izzy fell in love with bows out when his involvement threatens the approval of her parent's marriage. In the meantime Izzy starts fake dating her tutor and grows more attached to him than she counted on.

Perfect for fans of The princess diaries, American royals or I love you so mochi. This was also great on audio narrated by Ali Ahn (who voiced the To all the boys I've loved before series). Much thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for my ALC in exchange for an honest review. Plus can we all just pause to appreciate the gorgeous covers created for this series?? They may be one of my favorites for a YA romance!!

I thought that ‘Tokyo Ever After’ was adorable, in the best way. Thanks to @netgalley I was able to listen to the follow up- 𝗧𝗢𝗞𝗬𝗢 𝗗𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗚,⁣
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“I 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘐’𝘮 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦.”⁣
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I relished being able to see what new challenges Izumi faces in her new role as a princess. Including impending decisions about college, changing friendships, a complicated love life and oh yeah- her parents are getting back together. ⁣
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I spent a year in Japan as a Rotary Youth Exchange Student and I loved revisiting the traditions and culture through the eyes of a Japanese American. It made me nostalgic for the sights, smells and sounds I remember so fondly. ⁣
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AUDIO: I loved this story on audio. The characters personality and humor really shown through in this format.

Picking up where Tokyo Ever After left, this sequel continues Izumi (Izzy's) journey to explore her Japanese cultural identity after discovering her absentee father was the Crown Prince of Japan in the last book. This book focuses on her parent's reunion and engagement and Izzy has big decisions to make about her future: what college will she attend and which boy will win her heart.

I usually don't love YA love triangles but this one was done really well. The Royal guard Izzy fell in love with bows out when his involvement threatens the approval of her parent's marriage. In the meantime Izzy starts fake dating her tutor and grows more attached to him than she counted on.

Perfect for fans of The princess diaries, American royals or I love you so mochi. This was also great on audio narrated by Ali Ahn (who voiced the To all the boys I've loved before series). Much thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for my ALC in exchange for an honest review. Plus can we all just pause to appreciate the gorgeous covers created for this series?? They may be one of my favorites for a YA romance!!

This was a fun read that was your typical enjoyable rom com. The plot was entertaining and kept me engaged throughout the entirety.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy to honestly review.

Unlike many coming of age books where the teen makes life changing discoveries, Tokyo Dreaming parallels Izumi’s self-discovery with that of her parents. TD is a refreshing sequel that is as much about being honest with yourself as it is about learning how to separate duty to others from a duty to being your true self. A well-paced book with just the right amount of fun, romance, and family time. I loved how most of the book focused on Izumi understanding and building relationships with her newfound family & friends. And, colour me surprised when I started to love the Shining Twins as much as Izumi did. Thank you for the advanced copy. TEA & TD will be getting prime shelf space in my library.

I really enjoyed Tokyo Ever After, so I was so excited to listen to the sequel, Tokyo Dreaming. We pick up with Izumi in Tokyo. Her mom has come to visit, and her parents are planning an engagement.

But Izumi has to figure out how much to cater to public and political sentiment, as she decides what she wants next. I really enjoyed seeing Izumi self-reflect and learn more about her role. Her interactions with her family were more prominent in this book. I missed her group of friends from My. Shasta a bit, but also found the change in their relationship after high school realistic.

I found the ending a bit abrupt and surprising. But overall, I really enjoyed revisiting this world.

I found that the audiobook just flew by. I blinked, and I was 70% through because I was that engaged in the story. Ali Ahn did an excellent job narrating.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the advanced listener copy. These opinions are my own.

3.5 stars rounded up

Thank you Macmillan audio for a copy of this audiobook. I loved the first book and was so excited to continue Izumi's journey to learning to be in the public eye while growing up.

I enjoyed seeing the pressure from her perspective to become the princess the public wants her to be back what she wants to do. I love seeing her parents pressure as well to be married as well.

I am not usually a love triangle fan but thought it was well done here.

I did not love this one like I loved the first one.
The biggest take away and part I loved was, the focus on her mothers happiness and the relationship built with the twins.

Overall it was a good second book. But just didn’t live up to the first for me.

In the sequel to Tokyo Ever After, we see Izumi struggling more to find herself and her place in Japan after choosing to move there for college.

Personally, much like in the first book, I feel like there are sort of too many things going on in the story so some storylines get ignored (like Izumi’s relationship with her parents in this one), but this is written primarily to be a YA coming-of-age/romance and it delivers on those fronts. I think my high school self would’ve been very pleased with this book.

I loved Tokyo Ever After so much and was excited to receive this ARC! Thank you netgally and Macmillan audio!

My favorite aspect of Tokyo Dreaming was getting to know more of Izumi’s family and their evolving dynamic. Izumi’s character development was great.

I didn’t particularly like the ending. Maybe if we got to see more of that character through their pov while Izumi was doing other things, I’d understand more? I thought it was odd that they were only in the beginning and end, when they were so prominent in the first book.

Overall, I enjoyed this audiobook, the narration was great!

Thank you @macmillan.audio @flatiron_books for my NetGalley ALC!

Pub date: 5/31/22
Genre: YA romance, royals, coming of age
Series: Tokyo Ever After, book 2
In one sentence: Izumi's Crown Prince father is finally set to wed her mother in Japan - but when society starts to question the marriage, Izumi does all she can to be the perfect daughter.
Do I need to read book 1? YES! You will be able to understand what's going on - but you should definitely get all the background on Izumi and her dog Tamagotchi before diving into this one.

This series gives me all the Princess Diaries flashbacks, but it also keeps the YA royals subgenre fresh. Izumi is a great MC - I loved seeing her work to support her family, but not lose her identity now that she's a princess. Some teen MCs seem like adults more than kids, but Izumi feels like a real teen, and listening to the book made me reflect fondly on those exciting pre-college times. Of course, there's also a love story to keep things interesting.

Izumi's identity struggles are also an important part of the book - she feels neither fully American nor fully Japanese, and I love this representation. Narrator Ali Ahn brings Izumi to life, and I recommend listening to this one if you enjoy audiobooks.

Looking for some great #BookTravel? This one's got you covered!

Review posted to Goodreads and Instagram 4/15/22.

A pretty good continuation of Izumi's story. I loved the focus on her mother and her happiness, after she sacrificed so much to give Izumi such a wonderful childhood. However I didn't love the pacing and the overall story was just kind of whelming.

I definitely liked the first book a lot better in this series. Izumi is sweet, and I did love her growth… until the end. Spoilers for who she picks out of the “love triangle” but… Akio literally broke up with her at the beginning and then goes “oops! My bad, I still love you even though you’re now into someone else, I hope you pick me!!” And then… she picks him because “he challenges her” and doesn’t agree with her. Also, he forced her to read her poetry aloud to him, and it just felt very odd. I just didn’t really like the romances at all in this.

I did love that we got some family bonding on all fronts, and that’s what held the book together for me. Overall, not a great sequel, but still good enough.

I loved Tokyo Ever After and was so excited to see that the story continues. I pre-ordered Tokyo Dreaming months ago. When I saw that the audiobook was available to listen to. I jumped at the chance to continue the story and find out more about Princess Izumi and her journey in Japan.

Princess Izumi is learning what it means to be a princess. Trying to conform to the world around her and learn to be a perfect princess. The institution doesn't think her mother is a perfect pick for her father, the prince. Izumi will do everything in her power to help her mother become the perfect fit.

I loved this book and the audio especially the pronunciation of all the names. I loved being on Izumi's journey to finding herself amongst the institution. Her choice for love and her goals in life. I loved learning more about the monarchy in Japan.

Thank you Netgalley and FlatIron books for a free ALC of this book for an honest review.

I just love this series and world so much. Tokyo Dreaming was the perfect follow up to Tokyo Ever After!

In book two of the Tokyo Ever After series, we find Izumi much more confident in herself but faced with many more decisions than she ever thought possible. Her parents are happily together, but she learns it's going to take nothing less than the perfect princess to help the Imperial Household decide to vote in favor of her parents' marriage.

Faced with important decisions about her education, relationship, friendships and more, Izumi decides to dramatically change her princess game to hopefully help her parents finally be together.

The audiobook performance was really good for this, but I think I enjoyed actually reading the first one better. Izumi's humor and snark came through on the page a little more.

The people pleaser in me loved to see how Izumi grew while she was trying to be the perfect princess, and I absolutely adored the fake dating trope that develops.

She may not have ended up with who I wanted her to (does she really have to have a boyfriend?), but I enjoy the way everything was written and wrapped up so nicely! I don't think this series would have to have another installment, but I will be first in line to read it if it does!

I wanted to love this book as much as the first. I just didn’t. I did love that there were more family dynamics (I love the Shining twins) but it seemed like a lot was going on and nothing going on at the same time? Love triangles just ruin things for me. A lot of the struggles for the characters is too many really great options and it’s hard to sympathize.

This was a great sequel and perfect way to end this duology. I loved to see Izumi strengthen her relationships with her family, watch her discover what it is she is passionate for, and see her and her mom fight for their version of happiness. I loved some of the new characters added and how they impacted Izumi’s story as well.