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As I mentioned in my review of the first book in this extremely popular series, I had been told that it wouldn’t grab me and I’d wonder what all the hype was about. But hang on and trust the process. This I did. And just on this second volume, I can confidently say that I’m getting what everyone has been talking about!
Indeed, the first book (novella, really) was just an introduction to Emma’s world and the characters in it. And that word definitely lives up to its double meaning of most of them being characters.
Here, Emma is starting to get to know the Tenant, the man who has rented the small part of her home, Lapis Lazuli, that was turned into an apartment of sorts. He lives in the “garret,” on his side, and she in the garret on hers. They scandalously pass notes to each other through a crack in the wall.
Emma is also endeavoring to satisfy the grand expectations of her aunt, who is looking to find a fine match for her daughter, Arabella. Aunt Eugenia has laid out a whole list of things Emma should and should not do as she accompanies Arabella to various events. And Emma mostly tries to follow these expectations. Mostly.
This volume focuses in part on the fate of the three-volume Jane Eyre set at Emma’s former school. It was a source of great pleasure for many young ladies made to attend/live at that school, and now the headmistress has found and snatched it away from the current students. Emma and other former students band together to figure out how to restore it to the girls still unfortunate enough to be at the school.
Emma also has a few encounters with the Duke of Islington, who lives in her neighborhood. I’ll be curious to see where this goes in future books.
So, yes, this is a fun set of novellas, and I’ll be moving right along. What will Emma get into next? What wry observations will she make? I’m there for it.
Rated: None. There are hardly any uses of profanity, and no other content.
Click here to purchase your copy of The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 2 on Amazon. (Because, really, you should own a paperback version for yourself, much like Emma says she needs her own books to scribble her own notes in.)
