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betweentheshelves's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
slow-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
Thanks to Libro.fm for an advanced copy of the audiobook! Definite has Princess Diaries and What a Girl Wants vibes, filled with Japanese culture. Being Japanese-American, Izumi really struggles with where she fits in, especially after learning her father is the crown prince of Japan. I loved Izumi's friends and the people she interacts with in Japan. And the romance fits in nicely with the rest of the story. Also, this audiobook narrator was amazing and I would definitely listen to other books narrated by her. She did a fantastic job!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Sexism
Minor: Sexual assault
xoodlebooks's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism and Sexism
Minor: Sexual assault, Bullying, Chronic illness, and Body shaming
sfbookgirl's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-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
5.0
While I know next to nothing about the Imperial House of Japan, I really enjoyed Tokyo Ever After. The main character, Izumi Tanaka learns that her father is in fact Japanese royalty and travels to Japan to meet the man she has never known. There are a whole lot of customs and traditions she isn’t familiar with, but Izumi navigates this unexplained territory with the help of her bodyguard hottie, Aiko.
I loved the GenZ banter interwoven with pieces of information about the Japanese Royal Family. This coming-of-age story is perfectly paced and never felt dull or slow. The romance was not overly steamy and it was difficult not to root for Izumi as she navigates a different country with a culture entirely different than the one that she has always known. It reminds me of The Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot (which I adore) so I am not at all surprised that I loved Tokyo Ever After as well.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism and Bullying
utopiastateofmind's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
I will forever be a fan of lost princesses. What struck me about Tokyo Ever After was not only the narration style - which was charming and endearing at once - but also Izumi's feelings growing up in a mostly white community. The ways she shortens her names, looks for it on key chains, and her own self-erasure. Those scenes were like echoes of my own teenage years. Tokyo Ever After is infused with Izzy's quirkiness, her character that screams off the pages. Another element I loved was the relationship between Izzy and her parents.
Her feminist and outspoken mother, her dad who has a good heart, but is struggling to be a new father. As an adoptee, I think another way Tokyo Ever After came for my heart was the way Izzy feels like it was just her and her mother against the world, but not by her own choice. How the lack of information and choices made by others, which put your life into motion, feels almost like that choice is taken away from you. And th ways she pins hopes and dreams on finding our parents, that connection to a country we want to belong to? Ooff....all the feels.
I will forever be a fan of lost princesses. What struck me about Tokyo Ever After was not only the narration style - which was charming and endearing at once - but also Izumi's feelings growing up in a mostly white community. The ways she shortens her names, looks for it on key chains, and her own self-erasure. Those scenes were like echoes of my own teenage years. Tokyo Ever After is infused with Izzy's quirkiness, her character that screams off the pages. Another element I loved was the relationship between Izzy and her parents.
Her feminist and outspoken mother, her dad who has a good heart, but is struggling to be a new father. As an adoptee, I think another way Tokyo Ever After came for my heart was the way Izzy feels like it was just her and her mother against the world, but not by her own choice. How the lack of information and choices made by others, which put your life into motion, feels almost like that choice is taken away from you. And th ways she pins hopes and dreams on finding our parents, that connection to a country we want to belong to? Ooff....all the feels.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
katiemack's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-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
I received this as an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
4.5. If you're looking for a YA novel that's a cross between Princess Diaries and American Royals with a dash of Crazy Rich Asians, I'd recommend this one, in which Izumi--a Japanese American eighteen-year-old who lives in a small white-majority town in California, founds out that she's the daughter of a Crown Prince of Japan.
I was glad to see that this leans into the comedy while also pointing out the difficulty of integrating into a new society and culture, even (or especially) if you are able to blend in on a physical level. I loved seeing Izumi navigate Japan in an authentically imperfect way; she acknowledges her missteps with a sharp and wild sense of humor (made even more evident through her text conversations with her friends back in California), and I was glad to see that Jean didn't turn the story into a farce or a rags-to-royalty story.
4.5. If you're looking for a YA novel that's a cross between Princess Diaries and American Royals with a dash of Crazy Rich Asians, I'd recommend this one, in which Izumi--a Japanese American eighteen-year-old who lives in a small white-majority town in California, founds out that she's the daughter of a Crown Prince of Japan.
I was glad to see that this leans into the comedy while also pointing out the difficulty of integrating into a new society and culture, even (or especially) if you are able to blend in on a physical level. I loved seeing Izumi navigate Japan in an authentically imperfect way; she acknowledges her missteps with a sharp and wild sense of humor (made even more evident through her text conversations with her friends back in California), and I was glad to see that Jean didn't turn the story into a farce or a rags-to-royalty story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
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