In the second book in Emiko Jean's fun young adult series, princess Izzy balances pressures, privilege, and expectations in Japan while attempting to stay true to herself, to love who she chooses--and to preserve her parents' chances of happiness.
In Emiko Jean's young adult story Tokyo Ever After, we met Izumi (Izzy) Tanaka, an everyday, average Japanese-American teen...who discovered that her father is the Crown Prince of Japan.
Izumi was gobsmacked to realize that she was literally a princess. She was thrilled to travel to Japan to meet her father and the rest of her royal family for the first time.
But she quickly realized that being a princess involved responsibility, political maneuvering, and mysterious family dynamics she knew nothing about. And getting to know her father was a bigger challenge than Izzy had bargained for.
In Tokyo Dreaming, we pick up the story with Izzy dating her gorgeous bodyguard boyfriend, living with her beloved dog, and having figured out the royal family dynamics of cousins, aunts, uncles, and more. The biggest news is that her parents--once young star-crossed lovers, now mature grown-ups ready to build a loving life together--are engaged.
But before their royal wedding can take place, long-held limitations about who her father may marry must be reconsidered--and in a system steeped in tradition, Izzy's beginning to think the union may never be approved.
The details of princess life, privilege, and pressures are fun and fantastic, including elaborate clothing and frequent costume changes, long-held traditions, and the pomp and circumstance of various ceremonies.
With star-crossed lovers, a love triangle, a search for personal purpose and destiny, and great evil-nemeses/cousin-conflict scenes, Tokyo Dreaming builds on the fun, romance, and immersive Tokyo details of the first book in this solid, satisfying sequel.
Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book?
Jean is also the author of Tokyo Ever After (Tokyo Ever After #1), Empress of All Seasons, and We'll Never Be Apart.
I received a prepublication digital edition of this book courtesy of Flatiron Books and NetGalley.