Tokyo Ever After

This afternoon I finished reading young adult book, “Tokyo Ever After,” by Emiko Jean. Although I’ve grown out of the young adult genre, once in a while there is a book in said genre that if the book has amazing writing as well as a great plot I do end up enjoying it and “Tokyo Ever After” is one of those books I enjoyed. Izumi Tanaka feels out of place in her Northern California town being one of the few Asian as well as Japanese Americans. Izumi was raised by her single mother recently finds a clue about her absent father. Her father is not just anyone, he’s the Crown Prince of Japan. Izumi then makes the journey to Japan to discover who she is and explore a land she’s never been to. Being a princess isn’t all ballgowns and tiaras though. Izumi has to deal with conniving cousins, the ruthless press, traditions thousands of years old and learning Japanese and a brooding handsome bodyguard. This book is a blend of Crazy Rich Asians meets Princess Diaries meets What a Girl Wants which if you enjoy those movies and books you will enjoy “Tokyo Ever After.”

Pros

There is a lot to talk about when it comes to the Pros of the book. The characters are likeable. I enjoyed Izumi’s sense of humor and spunk. I also like how Izumi doesn’t lose her spunkiness and humor and at the same time she also matures a little as the story progresses. Izumi’s friends are hilarious and they come up with the name AGG (which is short for Asian Girl Gang). Izumi’s father The Crown Prince, is charming I think. What was romantic was he grew orchids for her mom because it’s obvious he still loves her. I also enjoyed Izumi and Akio’s romance. I know it’s a cliché the princess and the bodyguard/commoner romance, but I actually enjoyed it.  The descriptions of Tokyo and Kyoto the palace etc were so well done that I felt I was actually in Japan instead of reading this book on the couch.

Cons

There wasn’t much I disliked about this book. I only wish we had seen Izumi and her father bond a little bit more when they were in Japan. Also Izumi meeting her grandparents and her grandmother wanting to change tradition seemed a bit random to me because people in her grandparents generation are generally more set in their ways. I also wish the novel was longer because it was that good of a book. I started this on Wednesday after picking it up from the library. I probably could have finished “Tokyo Ever After,” in a day or two but I ended up dragging it out to today.

Overall

Overall I enjoyed “Tokyo Ever After.” I saw many reviews of people raving about how good this book was and I’m glad I picked it up. I can’t wait to read the sequel which comes out in 2022. I enjoyed the story and the characters so much the sequel and anymore in the series is well deserved.