Tokyo Ever After is a YA romance about a teenager discovering she’s a Japanese princess. Izumi has lived in a small NorCal town her whole life. She isn’t the best student, especially since she doesn’t finish her homework. She’s been raised by her devoted single mom. Her mom has a close friendship with the weird hippy neighbor but has not dated anyone. Izumi’s been living a relatively carefree existence. Most of the year has been focused on applying to college. Her world is turned upside down when she learns her presumed dead father is alive. Urged by her best friend, she sends him a letter to ask what’s the deal. It turns out he’s one of the Crown Princes of Japan. He sends one of his staff to retrieve her and visit him in Japan. Her mom chose to raise Izumi away from the spotlight, but now it’s found her anyway. She tells Izumi to decide for herself about meeting her father. It’s all a whirlwind, but she wants to meet him.
She flies internationally to step into this whole new world. Her cute but cranky personal bodyguard is Akio. He rescues her from some paparazzi at the airport. That sparks a grumpy-sunshine romance. While in Japan, we learn about royal customs and etiquette through Izumi’s eyes. She even has a lady-in-waiting-type companion who keeps her on track with her homework. Her royal cousins aren’t exactly welcoming. She has a wild night out with a Black sheep male cousin. He always seems to start trouble. Izumi takes solace in quiet moments with Akio. Her dad arranges all these activities but doesn’t carve much 1:1 time with her. The Japanese press is something else too. She has to run away to hide in Kyoto until things die down at one point. Izumi questions whether she belongs here at all.
This was a comfort read. Izumi’s story is part royal princess tale but also rooted in reality. She struggles with her new reality. Senior year is a relatable experience. That’s when most teenagers are figuring out who they are anyway. Learning to be a princess would throw anyone for a loop! I was honestly most invested in her parents’ love story. I loved their whirlwind romance at university and how he fell in love with her intelligence. It was so touching that her father had a greenhouse dedicated to her memory. The setup was so natural to kick off the sequel, Tokyo Dreaming. This is a great read for YA romance novel fans and anyone who loved watching The Princess Diaries or Crazy Rich Asians. I breezed through the audiobook in less than a week.
My Mocha Girls Read book club selected Tokyo Ever After to celebrate Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month. In June, as a happy coincidence, I hosted Emiko Jean’s LA event at The Ripped Bodice. After the event, I had to get signed copies of both books!
