Reviews

Tokyo dreaming - Prinzessin im Rampenlicht by Emiko Jean

hed5aya's review against another edition

3.0

3.5 ⭐️ all in all it was okay. I think the love triangle was unnecessary and annoying. I did enjoy her parents love story more than anything (if that says anything). I wish this book focused more on Izumi’s growth and bonds more than it focused on romantic partners. I think the second book is redundant and not needed. Maybe if the author changed the focus of the book I could see it but the way it is now it’s just implied after the first book.

megcow's review against another edition

3.0

I want to give this a 3.5 but they don’t do that kind of rating. It was really good and a nice follow up to the first but I didn’t love it as much. It took me awhile to really get into the story but all said and done, it wraps up everyone’s stories nicely.

lilly_reads98's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I really enjoyed most of the story but the beginning and ending just frustrated me so much, the author was just telling and not showing things with Akio that we really should have been shown since they become a major part of Izumi’s life and decision she makes. I like how this is a story about finding yourself, and this one is happier than the first one. But one of the reasons I wanted to read this one was to continue seeing her relationship with Akio grow, and that is not what we get. I also just wanted more because the first one felt really surface level so I wanted to see more of the story. I did enjoy the continuation and I felt like this one was less surface level. I really like the beginning of this one and the happiness around her parents being together. But in the beginning, I though the book would show her spending the whole summer with Akio but it just skips to the end of the summer, I really don’t like that.  (spoilers ahead) Akio breaks up with her??? Oh my god. That is literally so stupid that they just started dating and then immediately break up. I love how the new character, Eriku, is described as a golden retriever. I like how he brings happiness into the story. Izumi thinks it’s impossible to not feel happy around him. “He’s Christmas morning; a day at the beach; the first time I glimpsed Tamagotchi. Joy, joy, and more joy. A smile in the face of harsh realities.” So sweet. I really like how her and Eriku get so many pages of interacting, I guess I really do just enjoy that. Their happiness which turns into a romance is LITERALLY what I’ve been trying to find in the last two books I read! It is weird to me though that it’s in the sequel. I think I enjoyed this more than the first book, but I still don’t like the Tokyo tattler parts. Also the amount of times the author writes the characters ‘stripping down to their underwear’ is way too many. Like why is that just happening all the time. Towards the end when Akio comes back for Izumi, I’m very conflicted because the book didn’t really show us a lot of her relationship with him in the beginning, so I don’t really know how to compare how she felt for him compared to Eriku. I know Eriku makes her really happy and that Akio made her happy as well, but we’ve seen her interact with Eriku way more and how he always makes her happy. I think Akio should have just said let’s take a little break to keep them out of the press but they could have still stayed together. Since he did choose to break up with her I think it’s fair that she started dating Eriku, but he broke up with her for her benefit so I think if she still loved him and wanted to be with him then she should have waited for him. She knew he might come back to her once the engagement was approved and then he did, so she should have been more prepared for him to come back. I think she just got swept up in being with Eriku so she didn’t really process or think about that? One of my issues in the beginning was that the book skipped a bunch of time where Izumi and Akio were dating and now that bothers me even more since this situation is happening, i can’t really favor Akio but that’s only because of the lack of the author showing us their relationship. I know that I like her better with Eriku because he makes her so happy but I know she still cares deeply for Akio and that she’s not over him. I wish Akio had answered her call or kept in contact with her, it just feels wrong that now he’s willing to text her but if he wanted her back so much he could have been talking to her the whole time he was gone. I just wish the book were different, like if the author was going to have her choose Akio in the end then why did she have her dare Eriku, instead she could have showed that if you love someone you wait for them. Whenever she goes to Akio to tell him she chooses him, he literally doesn’t even react?? He doesn’t smile, kiss her, do anything? He says let’s not kiss in front of other people? He just pauses and says I love you too. Like what?? We’ve had to wait to find out who she chooses and then we don’t even get to see him react? That is so anticlimactic for the author to write it that way. In the first book they were having really short conversations at the end when they got back together, then she wrote long conversations with Eriku and as soon as she’s back with Akio it’s back to writing really short sentences and no reactions? I thought the ending of her choosing him would be cute but I just hate the way it’s written, it’s hard to root for Akio when we barely get to see him react or even speak. We’ve spent most of the book without him and now that he’s back we barely get to see anything from him. And it doesn’t even address how it was Akio who she wanted the whole time, Eriku didn’t even say like why were you with me if you still loved him or anything like that. I just hate how I was enjoying the book for the most part and then it just gets so stupid. If the book had shown us her spending more time with Akio in the beginning then this would make more sense as to why she chose him. The ending just made me so frustrated, the author writes the Izumi and Akio’s lines to each other one sentence or less each, even though they were apart for 6 months and are together again. We should get to see them talking longer than one sentence each. I just hate the way it’s written so fast and with such little depth, like throughout the middle I really enjoyed the depth that was there anytime she was with any of the other characters. 

palmereads's review against another edition

4.0

I loved this book simply because of the character development the relationship development between Akiko, Noriko & Izumi. I loved the relationship between Izumi and Eriku but how you have a man leave you and still pick the wrong one? Ugh.

elfqueenvik's review against another edition

3.0

I enjoyed the first book, I thought the sequel does not live up to the expectations. Tokyo Dreaming takes place directly after the first book wraps up, the story focuses on Izumi working on getting into University and her mothers challenges being accepted by the Court. I felt that the writing was a bit repetitive, it felt like I read some of the sentences a few times already. I did like that we go a bit more character development of the twins, and Izumi's Mom. I didn't care for the love triangle and it just ruined the last few chapters with the whole "Who will she choose". In the first book I didn't care for the romance. In this book another love interest, Eriku is introduced and I much prefer him to Akio.....sadly i was disappointed with how that plot point was resolved.

This book wraps up everything, with possible challenges for Izumi to come with University. If the author did another book, I would like to see the twins get their own book.

Many thanks to netgalley for the review copy.

sueloydthong's review against another edition

3.0

3.5 ✨/5

samosasandpopcorn's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I loved this sequel! I don’t know whether or not another book will follow this one up but who knew book sequels could be SO GOOD? I just love the way this book continues our MC’s journey of self-discovery and finding her place with her identity and I genuinely wish I could get more of adventures. And the way she’s gotten close to certain family members? Oh my gosh. These books cannot be skipped.

kristensreadingnook's review against another edition

4.0

The sequel to Tokyo Ever After lived up to its potential! Izumi is still the fun, spunky American-turned-Japanese-Princess, but she has also matured a bit, no doubt in part to her princess training.

She has to make some big decisions and possibly sacrifice her chance at a happily ever after to see her mom’s dreams come true.

I usually do not like a fake dating trope, but this one really worked for me. Emoji Jean may be changing my mind on that trope.

Thank you to MacMillan Audio for an ALC through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

shnnnfly's review against another edition

4.0

THANK GOD she ended up with Akio, I would have RIOTED

madcat29's review against another edition

lighthearted reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75