The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I binged each when they come out.

The author has carefully paved the way for Islington is to be a brother of sorts to Emma, who sees her as a replacement for the sister and other girl he lost (it's true his feelings are a little confused, but I think it's tending in the brotherly direction); and for her to become more and more romantically entangled with Pierce, who is a drunkard with baggage and not, in my view, a nice suitor for her (the classic bad boy that naive girls pine for). The ever-so-remote and perfect Hawkes is in love with that silvery lady who was just introduced into society.

A good ending would be for Emma to come into independent wealth and decide she's not going to marry anyone just yet. I doubt it will happen.

SPOILER? Well, speculation at least...

I actually think Lady Silver is Hawkes' sister (the family is described as "having a son as well" or something and mysteriously no one knows where he is...). And Emma is Hawkes' end game (though I am second PP, so perhaps this is just my bias!)

PP you replied to. It did cross my mind that the elegant lady was Hawke’s sister but that can’t be right because they danced together at that masked ball and one of the rules of the era is to never dance with your brother.

I've been reading recency era books for years. I have never come across that rule.

Never heard of that either! Would be quite un-Bridgerton to boot (the foremost historical authority on regency England )

I'm the poster who said it was not allowed. Please do your research. At a public gathering, it would be considered highly improper, since the social point of a ball or dance is courtship and marriage. If you're in your own home and your sister decides to play a dance tune on the pianoforte, of course you can grab a sibling to dance with.

In Austen's Emma, the title character actually says, when she suggest Knightley dance with her; "after all, we are not so much brother and sister as to make it improper". She refers to the fact that her sister is married to Knightley's brother. Knightley, who is realizing he's in love with her, heartily concurs, formally offers his hand, and they dance.

[Anonymous]

I’ve read the first one. It was cute. But not so good I am likely to read more. It’s possible that it suffered in comparison because I am reading or rereading several Austen books at the moment. So some of it the story doesn’t match what I think seems likely for the time period. There are supposed to be about 20 of the books which would be about 2,000 pages. More than I would invest in. It looks like the author created her own press to publish. But, I had to find a copy used. So, I am very curious how everyone is suddenly reading these.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve read the first one. It was cute. But not so good I am likely to read more. It’s possible that it suffered in comparison because I am reading or rereading several Austen books at the moment. So some of it the story doesn’t match what I think seems likely for the time period. There are supposed to be about 20 of the books which would be about 2,000 pages. More than I would invest in. It looks like the author created her own press to publish. But, I had to find a copy used. So, I am very curious how everyone is suddenly reading these.

The first two is definitely the weakest. I didn’t start getting obsessed until she becomes good friends with the three make main characters - Pierce, Islington, and Hawkes. So maybe book 3 or 4 on? The romantic storyline doesn’t start until book 6&7.

They’re getting rave reviews by a lot of popular bookstagrammers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve read the first one. It was cute. But not so good I am likely to read more. It’s possible that it suffered in comparison because I am reading or rereading several Austen books at the moment. So some of it the story doesn’t match what I think seems likely for the time period. There are supposed to be about 20 of the books which would be about 2,000 pages. More than I would invest in. It looks like the author created her own press to publish. But, I had to find a copy used. So, I am very curious how everyone is suddenly reading these.

The first two is definitely the weakest. I didn’t start getting obsessed until she becomes good friends with the three make main characters - Pierce, Islington, and Hawkes. So maybe book 3 or 4 on? The romantic storyline doesn’t start until book 6&7.

They’re getting rave reviews by a lot of popular bookstagrammers.

Agree—at least that the first book was by far the weakest. If you enjoy the general genre tho, I’d read the second before making any final decisions. And the third was better yet.

But also: of course it isn’t Jane Austin! It is does not occupy a well-established part of the Western canon. It is just a fun read for someone who likes regency lit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve read the first one. It was cute. But not so good I am likely to read more. It’s possible that it suffered in comparison because I am reading or rereading several Austen books at the moment. So some of it the story doesn’t match what I think seems likely for the time period. There are supposed to be about 20 of the books which would be about 2,000 pages. More than I would invest in. It looks like the author created her own press to publish. But, I had to find a copy used. So, I am very curious how everyone is suddenly reading these.

Not suddenly reading. I picked up the first ones in my public library a few years ago in their new books section. Then I was hooked and ordered them on Amazon Kindle.

[Anonymous]

What if to preserve the friend group, the ultimate partner is Roland?

[Anonymous]

The prophecy from volume 8 refers to Pierce and Hawks, no? One is sharp, whom she loves deeply, one is a game of mirrors, whom she loves completely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve read the first one. It was cute. But not so good I am likely to read more. It’s possible that it suffered in comparison because I am reading or rereading several Austen books at the moment. So some of it the story doesn’t match what I think seems likely for the time period. There are supposed to be about 20 of the books which would be about 2,000 pages. More than I would invest in. It looks like the author created her own press to publish. But, I had to find a copy used. So, I am very curious how everyone is suddenly reading these.

+1 to bookstagramers raving about them. Plus they are on Kindle Unlimited, so very accessible

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I binged each when they come out.

The author has carefully paved the way for Islington is to be a brother of sorts to Emma, who sees her as a replacement for the sister and other girl he lost (it's true his feelings are a little confused, but I think it's tending in the brotherly direction); and for her to become more and more romantically entangled with Pierce, who is a drunkard with baggage and not, in my view, a nice suitor for her (the classic bad boy that naive girls pine for). The ever-so-remote and perfect Hawkes is in love with that silvery lady who was just introduced into society.

A good ending would be for Emma to come into independent wealth and decide she's not going to marry anyone just yet. I doubt it will happen.

SPOILER? Well, speculation at least...

I actually think Lady Silver is Hawkes' sister (the family is described as "having a son as well" or something and mysteriously no one knows where he is...). And Emma is Hawkes' end game (though I am second PP, so perhaps this is just my bias!)

PP you replied to. It did cross my mind that the elegant lady was Hawke’s sister but that can’t be right because they danced together at that masked ball and one of the rules of the era is to never dance with your brother.

What dance/ball was this? (Or which book?) I don't remember Hawkes exactly being a "ball" type of guy.

[Anonymous]

Oh, when I first looked this up (just heard of them recently) I thought the 8 book series was complete, but now I see she has a lot more planned. How quickly are they coming out? Do you remember plot points from year to year if you have to wait for the next book?

Usually with series, it takes me enough time to commit that most if not all of the series is published. I'm a little hesitant to try this if I'm going to have to wait decades to get the conclusion. Especially because, if the rest are like the first book, they are very short.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh, when I first looked this up (just heard of them recently) I thought the 8 book series was complete, but now I see she has a lot more planned. How quickly are they coming out? Do you remember plot points from year to year if you have to wait for the next book?

Usually with series, it takes me enough time to commit that most if not all of the series is published. I'm a little hesitant to try this if I'm going to have to wait decades to get the conclusion. Especially because, if the rest are like the first book, they are very short.

They're like candy. You gobble them up and then agonize for a bit after you finish the last one, until you forget about them, and then you get all excited again when the next book finally arrives. I don't have trouble remembering the main plot points.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh, when I first looked this up (just heard of them recently) I thought the 8 book series was complete, but now I see she has a lot more planned. How quickly are they coming out? Do you remember plot points from year to year if you have to wait for the next book?

Usually with series, it takes me enough time to commit that most if not all of the series is published. I'm a little hesitant to try this if I'm going to have to wait decades to get the conclusion. Especially because, if the rest are like the first book, they are very short.

The first two were novellas, so they came out together. The longer books were coming out a year apart.

Book 1: November 2019
Book 2: November 2019
Book 3: August 2020
Book 4: January 2021
Book 5:Sepember 2021
Book 6: October 2022
Book 7: August 2023
Book 8: December 2024

It seems like book 9 and on will be full novels, so I'd expect them once a year.

[Anonymous]

I am so glad to have found this thread! Emma M Lion is delightful. I am 50% through Book 7 yet so I skipped over anything that said spoilers. I am listening to the audiobook. Genevieve Gaunt is Amazing, I hope she continues as narrator.

I did not realize when I started that there would be 24 books. That’s going to take what, another 4 years or so?

I’ll wait until I finish book 8 to speculate. Do you know if any local library is doing an Emma book club or discussion?

[Anonymous]

These books are MARVELOUS. I just finished volume 8 today and I can't get over how much I loved every moment. The writing is incredibly special. I wanted to be like Emma and underline and annotate every page to be able to remember all the witty turns of phrases (turns of phrase? turn of phrases?).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These books are MARVELOUS. I just finished volume 8 today and I can't get over how much I loved every moment. The writing is incredibly special. I wanted to be like Emma and underline and annotate every page to be able to remember all the witty turns of phrases (turns of phrase? turn of phrases?).

Turns of phrase. It's the turns you're referring to, and there are multiple ones.