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beckyyreadss's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I wanted to read this book because I enjoyed Mika in Real Life and wanted to read more of Emiko Jean’s work and decided to read this series. I really enjoyed this book and I love Emiko’s style of writing.
This book is based on Izumi Tanaka, and she has lived an uneventful life for the last seventeen years in her small town, keenly aware of all the ways in which her family is different from most of her classmates. But then Izumi discovers a clue to her previously unknown father’s identity and he is the Crown Prince of Japan. Soon she’s traveling overseas to meet the father she never knew and discover the country she’s only dreamed of. But being a princess isn’t all ball gowns and tiaras. There are conniving cousins, a hungry press, a scowling but handsome bodyguard who just might be her soulmate, and thousands of years of tradition and customs to learn practically overnight. Izzy soon finds herself caught between worlds, and between versions of herself – back home, she was never “American” enough, and in Japan, she must prove she’s “Japanese” enough. Will Izumi crumble under the weight of the crown, or will she get her fairytale?
I loved the aspect of this, and the Princess Diaries vibes and Izzy was such a fun character, and she was so chaotic, but I wanted to hug her so much during this story. She had such a great character development and I loved how she went from trying to please everyone to standing up for herself and just deciding to be herself. I love her friendship and how brutal and loving they were at the same. I loved that they were like get out of your rut and get the hell back to Japan to fix things. I loved the romance between Izzy’s mum and dad and hoping they get back together in the next book and have a great love story! The love story and the tension between Izzy and Akio was so adorable and I wanted more from them. You could tell instantly that Akio had feelings and connection to Izzy. The poems were also so sweet.
I would have loved for this to be multiple POV with Akio and the side characters especially her mum and dad. The third-act breakup wasn’t needed at all either and especially that it was miscommunication. If the guard said, “he’s gone because he’s quit” rather than “he’s gone” and implying that he had been sacked just drove me nuts a bit. I managed to guess who was involved with the press because I knew the twins were the obvious suspect, but even though it was a bit predictable, I still enjoyed it.
This book was so sweet, and I cannot wait to read the next book in this series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and Racism
Moderate: Vomit, Xenophobia, and Sexism
Minor: Dementia, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault
moendchen's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Xenophobia, Racism, and Vomit
Minor: Sexual harassment and Sexism
km4reading's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
As someone who comes from two cultures, I found Izumi relatable and very well written as she struggles to balance her identities.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming
Minor: Sexual harassment and Vomit
borrowedbyaudrey's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Sexual harassment and Sexual assault
abitbetterbooks's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
So cute so sweet! A perfect YA romance. I loved the Princess Diaries parallels but adored the setting of Japan.
Bonus points for having an awesome character who shared my name! I never get to read about Marikos!
Bonus points for having an awesome character who shared my name! I never get to read about Marikos!
Content Warnings
Minor: Dementia, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Racism, Alcohol, and Sexism
cadybooks's review
inspiring
lighthearted
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Xenophobia and Sexism
Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Racism, Vomit, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault
amberinpieces's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Racism, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Cursing, Alcohol, and Mental illness
peachani's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Bullying, and Xenophobia
Minor: Racism, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Chronic illness, and Classism
mikarala's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The definition of a guilty pleasure. I hate-read the first half of this book, and then I started actually enjoying it. My rating lands somewhere in the middle as a result.
The issues that initially annoyed me: the way the author writes the MC and her friend group feels very "hello, fellow kids!" Izumi is supposedly born in 2003, so she's Gen Z like me, and it really felt while reading that the author is at least 10-15 years older than that. The references are very dated, and even the relationships between these friends feel like they were co-opted from a '90s or '00s Disney show or something. Izumi's friend group were not believably Gen Z at all, imo.
Also, Izumi was *really* annoying at the start. She gave off really strong "not like other girl" vibes, but in a way that specifically reminded me of when everyone got really annoyed at J. Law for constantly being irreverent because it felt like she was trying to hard. Izumi is constantly joking (as the narrator) about how she's so normal because she's a slob who doesn't care about school and can't be bothered to work hard or prepare for things. This leads to honestly really cringe and unlikable moments where she doesn't even read a dossier prepared for her so she can know what's going on when she's flown to Japan to meet her father and become a member of the royal family. Honestly, it stretched my suspension of disbelief quite a bit to think someone could be so careless, and it really felt like a parody of the "ignorant American" trope.
Which, by the way, was kind of Izumi's personality to start the novel. She seemed to have an almost pathological aversion to learning about Japanese culture, even though getting in touch with her Japanese heritage was supposedly the big impetus for her actually deciding to travel to Japan and meet her father. Her attitude was very much "I just want to do the fun stuff and not have to learn or change anything", which seriously drove me up the wall. This made it a bit jarring half-way through the novel when she abruptly had a change in attitude (one that did not feel foreshadowed or continuous at all to me, at least), and seemed to genuinely care about learning, even if she wasn't passionate about the topic, because she wanted to know about Japanese culture and succeed as a princess.
However jarring it was, I did actually start to like Izumi at that point, so that's a win. And finding her likable at that point is a big part of why I found the second half of the novel so much more enjoyable than the first, and I started really rooting for her and getting invested in the decisions she made. Her relationship with Akio was actually surprisingly cute (I liked their early banter and later love poems), and I felt like their relationship took up just the right amount of story time, being secondary to Izumi's self-growth and becoming comfortable in her role as a princess. I was also genuinely surprised by the twist near the end, but I feel like it served the story really well.
Also, Izumi's mother seems really cool. I almost want to read her story, lol.
So, some messy and conflicting opinions here, but if you're willing to overlook/work past some speed bumps early on, you very well may enjoy this Princess Diaries in Japan fairy tale!
The issues that initially annoyed me: the way the author writes the MC and her friend group feels very "hello, fellow kids!" Izumi is supposedly born in 2003, so she's Gen Z like me, and it really felt while reading that the author is at least 10-15 years older than that. The references are very dated, and even the relationships between these friends feel like they were co-opted from a '90s or '00s Disney show or something. Izumi's friend group were not believably Gen Z at all, imo.
Also, Izumi was *really* annoying at the start. She gave off really strong "not like other girl" vibes, but in a way that specifically reminded me of when everyone got really annoyed at J. Law for constantly being irreverent because it felt like she was trying to hard. Izumi is constantly joking (as the narrator) about how she's so normal because she's a slob who doesn't care about school and can't be bothered to work hard or prepare for things. This leads to honestly really cringe and unlikable moments where she doesn't even read a dossier prepared for her so she can know what's going on when she's flown to Japan to meet her father and become a member of the royal family. Honestly, it stretched my suspension of disbelief quite a bit to think someone could be so careless, and it really felt like a parody of the "ignorant American" trope.
Which, by the way, was kind of Izumi's personality to start the novel. She seemed to have an almost pathological aversion to learning about Japanese culture, even though getting in touch with her Japanese heritage was supposedly the big impetus for her actually deciding to travel to Japan and meet her father. Her attitude was very much "I just want to do the fun stuff and not have to learn or change anything", which seriously drove me up the wall. This made it a bit jarring half-way through the novel when she abruptly had a change in attitude (one that did not feel foreshadowed or continuous at all to me, at least), and seemed to genuinely care about learning, even if she wasn't passionate about the topic, because she wanted to know about Japanese culture and succeed as a princess.
However jarring it was, I did actually start to like Izumi at that point, so that's a win. And finding her likable at that point is a big part of why I found the second half of the novel so much more enjoyable than the first, and I started really rooting for her and getting invested in the decisions she made. Her relationship with Akio was actually surprisingly cute (I liked their early banter and later love poems), and I felt like their relationship took up just the right amount of story time, being secondary to Izumi's self-growth and becoming comfortable in her role as a princess. I was also genuinely surprised by the twist near the end, but I feel like it served the story really well.
Also, Izumi's mother seems really cool. I almost want to read her story, lol.
So, some messy and conflicting opinions here, but if you're willing to overlook/work past some speed bumps early on, you very well may enjoy this Princess Diaries in Japan fairy tale!
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual harassment
marjokat's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and Misogyny
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Racism, Vomit, Sexism, and Alcohol
Minor: Body shaming, Dementia, and Sexual harassment