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A review by oashackelford
Tokyo Dreaming by Emiko Jean
4.0
Izumi and her mom have returned to Japan with her father, but Izumi is still learning how to be the perfect princess. After learning that the Imperial Council opposes her father marrying her mother, Izumi vows to become the perfect princess in order to help the councils decision move in her mother's favor. Izumi is doing everything she can to be the perfect princess for Japan, but has she lost herself along the way?
******SPOILERS***********
I did not love the ending to this book. I don't like boys in books that break up with girls to be noble or like they are doing them a favor. I think Izumi was right the first time when she said it was crappy of him to try and make that decision for her. When Akio comes crawling back to her saying he was going to fight for her that felt so selfish and forced. And then he quit texting her almost immediately after she was ignoring him because he didn't want to be forceful.
I feel like the author wanted to use the romance trope of a guy texting, or writing every day to prove how much he loves the girl, but in this day and age it is harassment, so instead we got a guy who claimed he would fight for Izumi and then quit a week in and only came looking for her after her parents were engaged, which was her idea in the first place but instead he broke up with her "for her benefit".
Don't get me wrong, I don't think she should have ended up with her tutor either, I don't think that the spark was there. I just think that at the end she could have been like, I pick me and I am going to college unattached to find myself again.
It is still a great read, I just wish she had picked herself, or that the bit with Akio hadn't felt so forced and had been laid out a little better. I wanted to root for them but I feel like she forgave him really fast and they never addressed the "don't make decisions for me" thing.
******SPOILERS***********
I did not love the ending to this book. I don't like boys in books that break up with girls to be noble or like they are doing them a favor. I think Izumi was right the first time when she said it was crappy of him to try and make that decision for her. When Akio comes crawling back to her saying he was going to fight for her that felt so selfish and forced. And then he quit texting her almost immediately after she was ignoring him because he didn't want to be forceful.
I feel like the author wanted to use the romance trope of a guy texting, or writing every day to prove how much he loves the girl, but in this day and age it is harassment, so instead we got a guy who claimed he would fight for Izumi and then quit a week in and only came looking for her after her parents were engaged, which was her idea in the first place but instead he broke up with her "for her benefit".
Don't get me wrong, I don't think she should have ended up with her tutor either, I don't think that the spark was there. I just think that at the end she could have been like, I pick me and I am going to college unattached to find myself again.
It is still a great read, I just wish she had picked herself, or that the bit with Akio hadn't felt so forced and had been laid out a little better. I wanted to root for them but I feel like she forgave him really fast and they never addressed the "don't make decisions for me" thing.