This book felt like the summer before my first year of college. That year, life hung in the balance between fried dough at the local fair and picking courses. Between the warmth of old friends and the rush of making new ones. Between who I was and who I wanted to be.

TOKYO DREAMING melts down all of that in-betweeness and sandwiches it between a royal wedding, new romance, and the day-to-day of being a princess. 👸🏽

Izumi’s love for her mom and their relationship was really beautiful to see shine in this book (it reminded me a lot of my own with my mom 🤍). Izumi tackled problems a bit differently this time around–seeking to learn and adapt rather than run–and we got to develop much richer connections with different characters because of it (shoutout to the shining twins)!

I do wish the pacing at certain points was a bit different (many “the next few weeks went on like this” moments) but overall loved this sequel and Izumi’s journey.