Review: Tokyo Ever After!

 

Tokyo Ever After 

Tokyo Ever After #1

Emiko Jean

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My rating: 3 out of 5 stars. 

Synopsis: Izumi Tanaka has never really felt like she fit in—it isn’t easy being Japanese American in her small, mostly white, northern California town. Raised by a single mother, it’s always been Izumi—or Izzy, because “It’s easier this way”—and her mom against the world. But then Izumi discovers a clue to her previously unknown father’s identity…and he’s none other than the Crown Prince of Japan. Which means outspoken, irreverent Izzy is literally a princess.

In a whirlwind, Izumi travels to Japan to meet the father she never knew and discover the country she always dreamed of. But being a princess isn’t all ball gowns and tiaras. There are conniving cousins, a hungry press, a scowling but handsome bodyguard who just might be her soulmate, and thousands of years of tradition and customs to learn practically overnight.

Izumi soon finds herself caught between worlds, and between versions of herself—back home, she was never “American” enough, and in Japan, she must prove she’s “Japanese” enough. Will Izumi crumble under the weight of the crown, or will she live out her fairy tale, happily ever after?

My Review!

Characters: 

    Izumi (Izzy) Tanaka (Main Character)

        Izzy Izzy Izzy, i really liked Izzy, for one she references the Avengers! She has the major issues of being an "outsider" in her town, she's Japanese in a white town, she wants to find herself and her identity. She grew up with only her mom, ask about her dad a few times, but otherwise felt like her childhood with just her mom was enough, til one day she and her BF finds a poem from her dad to her mom (which is hecka romantic that her mom was using it as a bookmark 18 ish years later). Izzy of course finds out she's a freaking princess, which knowing that she was already having issues finding herself just because she was Asian in a white area, she wasn't going to have the best time trying to be a princess among all these royals who have grown up living their royal life and knowing all they know. She was crazy impulsive, didn't think twice about how her dumb shit would reflect on others, didn't think about how a royal should react to shit, nah, she just did what she wanted. She was all into finding herself but didn't put really any effort into learning how to be a royal, like that could have very well been your "true" you and you just didn't even try, ugh. 

     Akio (body guard/love interest)

        Royal body guard, tall, handsome, can kill you easily, fades into background easily as well, what's not to love. Akio is 100% devoted to his family and to his pride of being a royal guard which as been passed down in his family. he wants to be in the Japanese version of the air force, but when his mom gets sick and his dad has to step down as a royal guard, Akio steps up and becomes the guard instead, so again, very devoted to his family and understanding that you have to make some sacrifices for your family. but then in walks Izzy and this dude's poor world is flipped. 

    Asian Girl Gang (Izzy's friends from home)

        You don't see too much of them, mainly just texts, but Izzy does do a fair amount of talking about them or flashbacking to stuff involving them so you get a few looks into their world. Its really nice that Izzy could find some other Asian friends in her small "white" town, but it does make me wonder why she was freaking out so much about being a "minority" in that town if she can find 3 other Asian girls to be around, like what? 

Plot:

        Hidden princess plots always come across weird to me, especially in this day in age with all the 23 and Me shit, and all the social media out there to expose this kind of stuff, like look at TMZ, then can find anything and dig for any kind of story, granted i don't know much about Japanese media, but i feel like there was no way the royal family never looked into what had gone on with Izzy's mom when she spent so much time with the prince, you're telling me they didn't follow up with her at any point after he came back home, didn't notice her pregnant ass a few months after he left?! they mentioned how he had guard with him while in college, so they had to notice his interest in her and like i said, DO A FOLLOW UP. also seeing as he hadn't provided an heir 17yrs later, you would think that the royal people would have started digging?! but i digress. 

    the whole princess falling in love with her guard thing, hate it, it's almost Stockholm Syndrome in my mind, you're spending all your time with this dude, you rely on him tons, it's his freaking job, he literally has to jump in front of a bullet for you because again IT'S HIS JOB, and the freaking princess always takes that as like him falling for you, but dude, he has to be nice to you, has to be right by you all the time, has to have your best interest in mind, like you're almost taking advantage of him. i just don't like it. 

    small thing that annoyed me so much, so when their affair is outed, Izzy is told that Akio is at home, and his house is SURROUNDED by the press, so Izzy writes him a letter to have him meet her somewhere, and is upset when he doesn't show.... HOW WOULD HE GET OUT OF HIS HOUSE WITHOUT BEING FOLLOWED?!  and she takes that as him breaking up with her and just freaking leaves the country, like overreacted much. UGH. 

Misc: 

    Tropes: Hidden princess, insta-love ish, enemies to lovers 

    Trigger warnings: racism 

    Format I read: Kindle, 336pgs, English 

    Tagged/Shelved As: Young Adult; Contemporary; Romance; Cultural/Japan