#beth-brower — Public Fediverse posts

#BookReview The unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower

The year is 1883 and Emma M. Lion is returning to London with a very specific goal in mind. The book is written in diary form and Emma, not only expect us to read it, but writes freely, not redacting it, nor censoring herself, as she tells us at the beginning.

Her goal is encumbered by some family members and the fact she is still underage, but she also has friends and through the pages of Emma’s journals we get to know the characters, the context, including the historical one.We also get to know Emma, which seems a sharp-witted, intelligent, resilient, and independent young woman, but also sometimes with a propensity to “incidents”, which makes some situations quite funny.

I loved this book. This first volume is quite short, but it gives us the context and opens up a series of possibilities that makes me want to read the next ones. There were two things that stood out for me: the prominence of the house, Lapis Lazuli House, that felt like it was almost a character in its own right and I’m quite curious to see how it evolves (can’t resist to a house as a character); and the fact Emma loves books and wants to create a library. At the end of the journal, she lists the books she managed to acquire during this time, and now I’ll be expecting a book list at the end of each journal.

Beth Brower self-published eight books in this series but now Bloomsbury is publishing the collection (the first two volumes being available from today), which means it will be easier for readers to find them. Brower is also writing another volume and it is truly a delight to find a new series to love.

Thank you to Bloomsbury UK to for approve my request of this ARC at NetGalley