A review by karina_dreamsinwords
Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean

adventurous hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Okay this was The Princess Diaries meets What a Girl Wants in Japan, & I loved it! The way I immediately wanted to buy my ticket to Japan so I can see the literal beauty in person! Ugh. Hopefully one day I can visit this gorgeous country.

Tokyo Ever After is such a great young adult novel about Izumi discovering herself within her Japanese heritage and learning to adapt to the fact that she is a literal princess. The romance was super cute and seemed quite natural between Izumi and Akio. Not to mention the snippets of the Japanese tabloid- The Tokyo Tattler, giving us the tea in real time, uncovering Izumi's many frolics around town. There were some pretty funny bits & tons of sass revealed through these little articles between chapters, which made the reading experience all the more fun!

"I'm not a novelty here. I am not a sore thumb. What a privilege it is to blend in.”

It was lovely to see Izumi feel a sense of belonging in Japan, to feel at home after spending time amidst her homeland. I also loved seeing Izumi connect with her father and returning to Japan in the end. This was overall a really sweet story about our protagonist finding her roots and blooming into who she was meant to be all along.

I already have the sequel preordered and I cannot wait to read it!
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