I don't know what it is about this series but I give it ALL THE DAMN HEART EYES!!!!

YA is so very hit or miss for my mid-30s self, but Emiko Jean nails the perfect mix of sweet YA innocence that doesn't feel too juvenile or trivial.

I loved this sequel to Tokyo Ever After and the growth and continuation that this story took.

It makes me miss Tokyo - I can't wait for a return trip soon!

I loved this book. It was just as good as the first which I adored. It was so much fun to jump back in Izume's life. I loved the new character and getting to know the Shiny Twins better. There were both tears and laughter while reading this one. I cannot wait to read more from this author. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Tokyo Dreaming was such a fun follow-up to Tokyo Ever After. Tokyo Dreaming reminded me of To All the Boys I've Loved Before and I mean that as the highest compliment. I liked that Emiko Jean tackled some more adult topics in this book, but still allowed the characters to have fun and act like young adults who were in that weird limbo between being a teenager and an adult. I would love to see more books in this series, or more books from this author.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced audiobook!

The second book in this series continues telling the story of Izumi and her mom and how they adjust to the life change of being in Japan as part of the Royal Family. Izumi has decisions to make about college and her love interest. This was a good story which I enjoyed just as much as the first one.

What worked for me:
- Izumi is a fantastic character. I love how she strives to find a balance between being her own person but still respecting tradition.
- Love her mom and the relationship between her abd Izumi.
- Great supporting characters
- Great setting - Tokyo, Japan

What didn't work for me:
- nothing

Izumi and her mother go to Tokyo to be with Izumi's father. Izumi tries to be a better princess, there's some mishaps and heartbreaks. This book is so good, I felt bad for Zoom-Zoom and happy for her at times too. The twins are slapable but the rest of the characters are perfect. I could so see these books as movies. The covers are so beautiful. I hope this isn't the end for Izumi.

This was a wonderful follow up to Tokyo Ever After, continuing the story of a US teenager who finds out her father is Japanese royalty. This coming of age, royal, romance is a fun story, with many of the same characters from the first while introducing some new ones too.

An enjoyable book, perfect for fans who are looking for a quick, light hearted bit of royal escapism. The narration on this audiobook was really well done too.

I didn't know that Emiko Jean was planning a series for her debut till I saw Tokyo Dreaming come across my NetGalley feed and I was beyond excited. Tokyo Ever After was a favorite of mine from the previous year and I loved getting to revisit all the characters in Tokyo Dreaming. Izumi has embraced her role of princess but learns she'll have to sacrifice even more if the Royal Council is to actually approve her parents getting married. Izumi learns hard lessons and grows a lot as a character and she decides the lengths she'll go to to help with the Council's approval while also trying to not lose herself in the journey. Ali Ahn was once again a lovely narrator. For me the book is better with her reading because I am able to hear the true pronunciations of all the wonderful Japanese culture that Jean highlights in her books. My literal only complaint would be that there wasn't enough of Nora (the bff who's voice is probably my favorite of Ahn's) but we'll get a third book or even a spinoff! When it comes to fairytale books a girl can dream right?

5 Stars for Tokyo Dreaming.
Tokyo Dreaming is the second book in the Tokyo Ever After series. I enjoyed both the ARC ebook and the audio book of this title. I really liked Ali Ahn as the audiobook narrator. She did a great job narrating the story.
After reading this book I can't wait for the next title in the series. I hope there is a third book in the series. Can't have this series called "Tokyo Ever After" without the happily ever after between Izumi and Aiko.

What a wonderful and well rounded story! I loved the two love interests and that the main character was intelligent and compassionate. Japanese culture is beautifully represented and modern.

This is the perfect romance for readers who want something light and clean but with a believable story.

3.5/5 Stars

I loved the first in this series, but I was a bit disappointed by this one to be honest. It just didn't give me the same vibes and overall enjoyment I felt before. I loved Akio and Izumi together and was excited to see more of them, but when one character was barely in the story I was left wanting more. I did really love Izumi's character development though, and I am a big fan of the fake dating trope so I was all for that! I listened to this on audio, as I did the first book and I thought the narrator did a great job again with her reading!

3.5 stars


I have mixed feelings about this one. I absolutely loved book 1, Tokyo Ever After and was excited read this sequel, and I wouldn't say I am disappointed after finishing Tokyo Dreaming, but I also wish I had enjoyed this a bit more.

i think my biggest issue was the love triangle. Last we saw of Izumi in Tokyo Ever After, she was officially in a relationship with her bodyguard Akio. And that's where they are in the beginning of the sequel. An already established relationship. So maybe its my dislike of love triangles, or the fact that I loved Izumi and Akio in the first book and was expecting the story to continue to develop their romance. But what I got was Izumi with a second love interest and Akio to disappear for majority of the book. And in the end, all of it was unnecessary in the end. The author built up an entirely new relationship only for Izumi to end up choosing Akio in the end.

I did enjoy Izumi's character development and that in the end she got to choose the university major she wanted and to be with the person she wanted to be in, not caring about royal expectations or what the media wants from her.

I think for me the highlight of the story was Izumi's parents love story. I would eat a book about them up.

Overall, it WAS enjoyable but i definitely preferred book 1. The love triangle stopped me from enjoying it as much as I wanted to just because I really felt like it wasn't necessary, but there were still a lot of positives and I am excited to read more by the author in the future!

Tokyo Dreaming was an incredible sequel!! I loved it so much and the romance is swoon worthy. I adored the narrator and I liked that it didn’t feel monotone.

Tokyo Dreaming is the sequel to Tokyo Ever After. We follow Izumi's life after finding out she is of royal Japanese blood and her journey of becoming a princess... whether that is in the traditional way that Japan is used to or the way she wants to pave with her views that are tinged in her American roots.

This was quite enjoyable and honestly, I would love to see this as a rom-com! The characters are all fun and loveable, even those who I didn't like in the first book!

I really loved reading about Izumi's adventures and she found herself and navigated through her bonds of love and family.

Izumi is struggling to figure out what she wants to do with her life. Where should she go to school? What should she study? At least she has her boyfriend by her side and her friends only a text away. When her father proposes to her mother, and the marriage is not approved, Izumi learns that her actions might just be preventing her parents happiness and signs up to be the perfect princess. 

Izumi’s navigation of life in the monarchy is also just a journey into adulthood but under a level of unimaginable scrutiny.

Here, Jean explores the importance of tradition but what happens when tradition becomes stifling and hinders progress and happiness of an individual versus a wider happiness amongst family and ever broader in society. 

Yet the series as a whole is fun. It's a more diverse and relevant version of the Princess Diaries series.

I really enjoyed Izumi’s storyline in Tokyo Dreaming with the Shining Twins and while I was hesitant about an introduction of a possible new love interest. I was on the new guy’s team by the end of the book. A relationship with your bodyguard? Please, that’s so 1992. 

The narrator here is one of my favourites. She is clear, she doesn’t try to alter her voice for different characters (which I REALLY appreciate) and the way she delivers it has the way of making the contact exciting without being cheesy. 

Definitely check out this series if you enjoy a spunky YA contemporary.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillian Audio for an advanced listening copy in exchange for an honest review.

this book could have gone in many directions but i felt like the forced love triangle really fell flat for me. I think if the author had focused a bit more on the parents' relationship the book would have moved along better? but the forced love triangle, the white fanging was all to contrived and boring. there was no development of the main character besides her romance.

Tokyo Dreaming took me on a wild emotional ride. It is a beautiful story of learning what to let go of and what to fight for.

Izumi Tanaka, a Japanese-American girl who recently found out that her father was none other than Japan’s Crown Prince, is slowly getting the hang of court and royal life. However, with having to deal with the brutal press, her bodyguard turned boyfriend breaking up with her, choosing which college to attend, and bullying royal cousins, the royal life isn’t as grandiose as it sounds. And now, her parents' rekindled relationship and engagement might be on the brink of nullification by the Imperial Household Council, Izumi takes it into her hands to be the perfect princess there ever was to win their approval.

I enjoyed Tokyo Ever After but still, I had some reservations about it. However, book 2 was even better. Here we see Izumi slowly growing, learning, and even fighting for the person she could be and wants to be. I completely related to her desire to be the perfect daughter and to make the people around her proud even if it is at the expense of her own happiness. As much as I didn't like the love triangle trope (if you know me then you know I absolutely abhor this one), I love the friendships and relationships Izumi made in this book. My feelings were on a roller coaster with this book. I knew they would be a HEA but I was worried for a second that there wouldn’t be one for at least one of the ships that I love in this book.

While I loved Izumi's relational development, I was even more invested in her parents' rekindled relationship. Her mom's story was incredible and her dynamic with the Crown Prince was absolutely heartwarming and at times heartbreaking. Overall, Tokyo Dreaming is a brilliant sequel and is my favorite in this duology.

The confession towards the end was also so freaking cute. But my question is - are we getting a book for you know who?

I was excited to receive an audio-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. Fans of Tokyo Ever After will love this sequel.

Throughout the book is the theme of discovering your true identity, and in the process of her self-discovery Izumi makes several new friends. I loved her character development and these new friendships. I also loved seeing how her relationship with her parents evolved.

Although I won't post spoilers, I didn't love the ending. But I am sure that other readers will.

Since this was an audio ARC, I should note that the narrator was FANTASTIC! I thought that she did an amazing job conveying the personalities of the characters.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for the review copy.

New favorite series! I could not put these down! I finished both in two days!! Let me tell you Izumi is an incredible main character! Book two has a whole lot more Japan and a bunch of new drama. Minor spoiler alert!
The best visit from Nora
Enemies to friends with the shining twins.
Fake dating or real dating? With her new tutor?
A royal wedding.
Figuring out dreams can change and evolve over time


Will be posted to instagram @literarylu_ on 5/30/22

Last month, I finally listened to TOKYO EVER AFTER by Emiko Jean and immediately fell in love with her writing style and the characters she created. That same week, I jumped on @netgalley and requested an ALC of the sequel, TOKYO DREAMING because waiting any longer for the next book would have been torture! I was excited to learn that the same person, Ali Ahn, narrated both books, as she did such a fabulous job bringing these characters and both stories alive!

(There won’t be any spoilers in this review but just because it is a sequel, there may be some spoilers to the first book.)

TOKYO DREAMING picks up Izumi’s story almost immediately where we left her in the previous book. Her mom and dad are starting to pick their relationship back up. She is feeling more comfortable with the different customs expected of her. And her relationship with Akio, her once bodyguard turned boyfriend, could not be better. Izumi is under some pressure to decide what she is going to do for school. She’d like to take a gap year but she is expected to pick a college — the sooner, the better.

Izumi learns that her parents might not be able to get married as they would like, as the Imperial Household Council has concerns about both Izumi and her mother. Izumi, wanting her parents to be together, decides to take matters into her own hands. She will make sure to do whatever it takes to see her parents married and happy.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story. I loved getting to see more of Izumi’s mother, Hanako. I actually really loved the discussion of friendship and how that can change once you go separate ways, like to different colleges/countries. I also loved learning more about her twin cousins and the different ways their relationship changed throughout.

I felt that Izumi really blossomed as a character during this story overall. There was a trope that I am not the biggest fan of that appears in a lot of YA fiction, but I felt like it was handled incredibly well (I feel like mentioning it specifically is too much of a spoiler, though maybe it really isn’t, hah). I felt the ending was a little rushed, but I also maybe just didn’t want the story to end.

While I enjoyed it, though, I definitely prefer TOKYO EVER AFTER more. I do hope that there will be at least a third book in this series. I think that a third book would really complete Izumi’s story — and I am also just selfish and want to read more.

Many thanks to @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review. This books will be published May 31st! Plenty of time to read the first in the series before then.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, Macmillan Young Listeners, Flatiron Books, Emiko Jean, and Ali Ahn (narrator) for the opportunity to read and listen to Tokyo Dreaming in exchange for an honest review.

This book is the second in the Tokyo Ever After series, a tale similar to The Princess Diaries, but following Izumi, the daughter of the Crown Prince of Japan! The narrator for the audiobook, Ali Ahn, does a great job bringing the characters to life and is very fun to listen to for this story. 

In this second book in the series, Izumi navigates life in Japan, figuring out just what it means to be a princess. She is expected to go to a university, as well as date someone of high standing, especially when her dad wants to marry her mom, a woman not of high standing. Izumi's mom faces her own conflicts when it comes to living the life of a royal or keeping the life she has back in the United States.

Izumi begins tutoring for college in Japan and how to prepare for college interviews. When things don't work out with her bodyguard boyfriend, she turns to her tutor in a fake dating scheme to get the press of her back. Her tutor is actually the son of a top shipping firm and thus a good match. Of course the fake dating becomes an actual love interest...only to develop into a love triangle! She also has some great moments with The Shining twins in this book.

Juggling her choices with university, romance, and working through the trials of being a princess, Izumi has a lot to figure out.

This book series is such a joy. It has a light-hearted feel, but also deals with some more serious political aspects of which those of the royal class must face. The character development took an excellent step up, and there are some very fun surprises. I love the The Princess Diaries feel of this series and notion that there is quite a bit of promise with further installments. An excellent series for a young adult audience.