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The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion #3
The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 3
"It has been a day ordained by the fates, for how else could one explain the wholly cursed chain of events?" The Year is 1883 and Emma M. Lion has returned to her London Neighbourhood of St. Crispian's. But Emma's plan for a charmed and studious life are sabotaged by her eccentric Cousin Archibald, her formidable Aunt Eugenia, and the slightly odd denizens of St. Crispian's. Emma M. Lion offers up her Unselected Journals, however self-incriminating they may be, which comprise a series of volumes. Armed with wit and a sideways amusement, Emma documents the curious realities of her life at Lapis Lazuli House. Readers have compared The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion to Jane Austen, P.G. Wodehouse, L. M. Montgomery, and Jean Webster.
229 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 25, 2020
2096 people are currently reading
6082 people want to read
About the author
Beth Brower
18 books3,152 followersLike many of my siblings, I would sneak out of bed, slip into the hallway, and pull my favorite books from the book closet. I read my way through the bottom shelf, then the next shelf up, and the shelf above that, until I could climb to the very top shelf, stacked two layers deep and two layers high, and read the titles of the classics. My desire to create stories grew as I was learning to read them.
Subsequently, I spent my time scribbling in notebooks rather than listening to math lectures at school.
I graduated with a degree in literary studies, and have spent several years working on the novels that keep pounding on the doors of my mind, as none of my characters are very patient to wait their turn. I currently live in Orem, Utah, with my wonderful chemist husband, and books in every room of the house.
Subsequently, I spent my time scribbling in notebooks rather than listening to math lectures at school.
I graduated with a degree in literary studies, and have spent several years working on the novels that keep pounding on the doors of my mind, as none of my characters are very patient to wait their turn. I currently live in Orem, Utah, with my wonderful chemist husband, and books in every room of the house.
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January 10, 2026“I LOVE THIS WOMAN!” - Michael Scott “
- Brady Lockerby in regards to a Miss Emma M. Lion
- Brady Lockerby in regards to a Miss Emma M. Lion
February 13, 2024
Onto book 4!
Pierce you better touch Emma’s hand so help me!!!!!!
Pierce you better touch Emma’s hand so help me!!!!!!
August 4, 2025
Continuing on, and while delighted, also a bit worried by sooooo many eligible men. Hope it doesn’t deteriorate to romance. Still trusting the plot will thicken.
January 25, 2026
———
4/5 ★
4/5 ★
❝𝙸𝚏 𝙸 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚊 𝚗𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚕, 𝙸 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚏𝚎𝚕𝚝 𝚖𝚢 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚌𝚕𝚞𝚝𝚌𝚑, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚣𝚎, 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚜 𝚌𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚢 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚕𝚢, 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚞𝚕𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚜. 𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝙸 𝚊𝚖 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚊 𝚗𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚕. 𝙸 𝚊𝚖 𝚏𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚑, 𝚋𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚍—𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚎𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚌𝚌𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚍𝚞𝚕𝚕 𝚎𝚍𝚐𝚎𝚜 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎, 𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚞𝚗𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚍, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚜𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚞𝚗𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍.❞
September 3, 2025
9/3/25: Just finished listening to the audio and it does cause new things to jump out at me. I had forgotten that Islington is so very buttoned up. It was interesting to hear him talk about his sisters in light of Vol 8. Agnes's crush on Islington is hilarious! I wish we had a narrative from his point of view. I think Genevieve Gaunt's voice for Agnes is my favorite. She manages to make her sound very young and silly, but very endearing and competent at the same time. Emma is really smitten with Pierce in this. She's always very aware of him. There is definitely something about him with what Mariana says in Vol 8, some kind of charisma. I can't really think of anyone like that in my own life so it puzzles and fascinates in equal measure. I keep trying to wrap my head around it.
I adored the PG Wodehouse feel at the end of this volume during the very bizarre and yet very amusing dinner. Emma’s journals are sooo funny and yet there’s an underlying gravity to the story that is moving. I feel like I know all the characters so well but so much of their stories have yet to be revealed. Emma’s descriptions of Pierce are my favorite with his personal weather system. Their relationship has really grown. 😍 The scenes with Uncle Archibald are amusing and yet he’s such a villain! What ever will become of him? I’m so glad though that Emma is becoming more and more the mistress of Lapis Lazuli House. What’s going to happen with Jack, btw?? I must know! So many things I want to know!
I adored the PG Wodehouse feel at the end of this volume during the very bizarre and yet very amusing dinner. Emma’s journals are sooo funny and yet there’s an underlying gravity to the story that is moving. I feel like I know all the characters so well but so much of their stories have yet to be revealed. Emma’s descriptions of Pierce are my favorite with his personal weather system. Their relationship has really grown. 😍 The scenes with Uncle Archibald are amusing and yet he’s such a villain! What ever will become of him? I’m so glad though that Emma is becoming more and more the mistress of Lapis Lazuli House. What’s going to happen with Jack, btw?? I must know! So many things I want to know!
January 15, 2026
Sooo when are these going to be made into a tv series?
February 22, 2025
Just an utter delight.
August 30, 2025
I don’t binge read. I’m a full-time working mom of two small children. So if I read a series one after the other, and if I read a book in a day, that’s a big deal. I understand the hype. Emma is a spectacular character, and somehow the shenanigans don’t bother me? I kind of thought they would, hence the question, ha! Anyway, life is a lot right now, and this is providing a much needed escape. I was into from the beginning, but it took until this book to feel well and truly hooked. I don’t want to stop right now, but I do want to read Christmas books, so I will for now.
September 17, 2025
September 2025: This is a soul story FOREVER. I loved this even more the second time. The audiobook is PHENOMENAL. My reread easily took this from a 5🌟 to an infinity star!!!!
May 2025: ANOTHER PERFECT EMMA M. LION BOOK🥹 This made me laugh so hard, but it’s also so heartfelt at the same time. Basically it is everything good in the world. I genuinely love every volume more and more!!!!!
May 2025: ANOTHER PERFECT EMMA M. LION BOOK🥹 This made me laugh so hard, but it’s also so heartfelt at the same time. Basically it is everything good in the world. I genuinely love every volume more and more!!!!!
March 1, 2024
Endlessly witty and entertaining, Emma’s journals are such a joy to read! The search for the Julius Caesar tickets in this volume was a highlight for me, as was the growth of Emma’s personal library. So well done.
Content rating: 5/5. A few (2 or 3) instances of d-ned and h-.
Content rating: 5/5. A few (2 or 3) instances of d-ned and h-.
January 30, 2026
This is a wild thing to say, but I'm saying it, so stay with me. This series is Dungeon Crawler Carl for the Jane Austenites. I'm not even finished with it yet and I already know that. It's the kind of story you read once, probably in a very short time, then immediately go back in for a re-read or five. This story is—aside from having lovable characters and a certain anti-authoritarian bent—nothing like Dungeon Crawler Carl. And yet.
The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion is a series of ongoing epistolary novellas/novels about Emma M. Lion. We are treated to her "unselected journals", in that they are presented to us supposedly unedited, warts and all, to judge accordingly. But of course we do not judge, instead we become extremely attached to Emma, living in her EXTREMELY charming* made-up part of Victorian London with what is ever more becoming a very rag-tag set of friends and enemies (well, only one enemy, but he lives in her house, so).
*St. Crispians, a place where ghosts are real, your belongings may wander off (to be found and later collected in a tea shop lost and found), every year they have a scavenger hunt for tickets to a "secret" performance of Julius Caesar, the local pub is called Cleopatra, and church service is led by a young vicar with a bent towards poetry. It's basically the Stars Hollow of England, is what I'm saying.
The first three books cover Emma's life from March through August of 1883, when she is arriving back in London after three years of being a paid companion to her insufferable cousin Matilde (who isn't even really her cousin, and who hasn't even paid her yet), to take up residence in the house she is to inherit from her father, who himself inherited it from an aunt. It's currently being managed by said previously mentioned enemy, Cousin Archibald, who puts Emma in quite a pickle by spending almost her entire living on waistcoats, expensive morning robes, and the racetrack (and he doesn't even like horse racing). He does this out of spite, and in doing so, hurts himself in the process, because if the money runs out, he's out of a home just as much as she is. Ugh, he's such a toad.
So that's where the story starts, with Emma trying her best to manage difficult circumstances, while finding her place in the world again. Shenanigans ensue.
Apparently there are going to be twenty-four of these books, but so far only eight have been published. Rumor has it Beth Brower is working simultaneously on books nine and ten, but I don't want her to rush it in fear of losing the magic. These books are so cozy and wholesome and funny in a very strange way, and all that kookiness only makes the serious moments stand out all the more. I am emotionally compromised.
The audiobooks, by the way, are incredible.
If none of that convinced you and trust me at all, please just give the first book a try anyway and maybe you'll be surprised.
The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion is a series of ongoing epistolary novellas/novels about Emma M. Lion. We are treated to her "unselected journals", in that they are presented to us supposedly unedited, warts and all, to judge accordingly. But of course we do not judge, instead we become extremely attached to Emma, living in her EXTREMELY charming* made-up part of Victorian London with what is ever more becoming a very rag-tag set of friends and enemies (well, only one enemy, but he lives in her house, so).
*St. Crispians, a place where ghosts are real, your belongings may wander off (to be found and later collected in a tea shop lost and found), every year they have a scavenger hunt for tickets to a "secret" performance of Julius Caesar, the local pub is called Cleopatra, and church service is led by a young vicar with a bent towards poetry. It's basically the Stars Hollow of England, is what I'm saying.
The first three books cover Emma's life from March through August of 1883, when she is arriving back in London after three years of being a paid companion to her insufferable cousin Matilde (who isn't even really her cousin, and who hasn't even paid her yet), to take up residence in the house she is to inherit from her father, who himself inherited it from an aunt. It's currently being managed by said previously mentioned enemy, Cousin Archibald, who puts Emma in quite a pickle by spending almost her entire living on waistcoats, expensive morning robes, and the racetrack (and he doesn't even like horse racing). He does this out of spite, and in doing so, hurts himself in the process, because if the money runs out, he's out of a home just as much as she is. Ugh, he's such a toad.
So that's where the story starts, with Emma trying her best to manage difficult circumstances, while finding her place in the world again. Shenanigans ensue.
Apparently there are going to be twenty-four of these books, but so far only eight have been published. Rumor has it Beth Brower is working simultaneously on books nine and ten, but I don't want her to rush it in fear of losing the magic. These books are so cozy and wholesome and funny in a very strange way, and all that kookiness only makes the serious moments stand out all the more. I am emotionally compromised.
The audiobooks, by the way, are incredible.
If none of that convinced you and trust me at all, please just give the first book a try anyway and maybe you'll be surprised.
July 13, 2025
July 13, 2025
The way these turn from utterly ridiculous to achingly poetic with the flick of a wrist is astounding. And I love them all the more for it.
July 31, 2024
I am ravenously flying through these journals while simultaneously wishing they would never end.
As I read more from Emma’s hand, I have come to wish that it were possible for us to meet one day.
I would tell her that I admire her “natural pluck”, her ability to find happiness in the most mundane and unusual things, and her keen eye for discerning the deepest part of a person.
On the topic of her town, it does seem St. Crispian’s is a most unique and peculiar place. I wonder the origin of some of its superstitions and unusual happenings. A town-wide scavenger hunt in pursuit of exclusive tickets to an amateur Julius Caesar performance? Items that spontaneously disappear? A supposed ghost called The Roman? It’s altogether very unexpected.
But, I digress.
Back to Miss Lion.
I am very intrigued to hear her continue to share on the various gentlemen - dare I say eligible bachelors - in her acquaintance. Each possesses certain charm & unique characteristics. Is it too early to presume that she falls for one, for certainly she does.
But which one…
The way these turn from utterly ridiculous to achingly poetic with the flick of a wrist is astounding. And I love them all the more for it.
July 31, 2024
I am ravenously flying through these journals while simultaneously wishing they would never end.
As I read more from Emma’s hand, I have come to wish that it were possible for us to meet one day.
I would tell her that I admire her “natural pluck”, her ability to find happiness in the most mundane and unusual things, and her keen eye for discerning the deepest part of a person.
On the topic of her town, it does seem St. Crispian’s is a most unique and peculiar place. I wonder the origin of some of its superstitions and unusual happenings. A town-wide scavenger hunt in pursuit of exclusive tickets to an amateur Julius Caesar performance? Items that spontaneously disappear? A supposed ghost called The Roman? It’s altogether very unexpected.
But, I digress.
Back to Miss Lion.
I am very intrigued to hear her continue to share on the various gentlemen - dare I say eligible bachelors - in her acquaintance. Each possesses certain charm & unique characteristics. Is it too early to presume that she falls for one, for certainly she does.
But which one…
January 31, 2026
This keeps getting better
“Is it so unreasonable to expect a small amount of perfection from life?”
“Is it so unreasonable to expect a small amount of perfection from life?”
December 31, 2025
Hehehe it’s getting messy🤭
July 9, 2025
Have given up on trying to review this series. Rapid-fire highlights:
Clue capers to attend clandestine performances, extremely reluctant allies, tragedy befalls the villain, more grief processing, looking at photographs, taking photographs, Single Syllable Society, philosophical date nights, the studio salon opens for business. Niall Pierce as profoundly insightful, endearingly solicitous, and frustratingly mysterious as ever. Blind date with a book raffle. Summer-end soiree, aristocratic waltz, champagne dress witching hour almosts. Agnes and her squeaky tea cart. Ice and storm winds collide with Duke and Tenant in the same room. Emma sits with ten randoms—as if it wasn’t enough with Jack, Roland, and the Brookstone boys.
Several, several huffs of amusement from me, which is the equivalent of not so few belly laughs. Oh but, what fun!
Clue capers to attend clandestine performances, extremely reluctant allies, tragedy befalls the villain, more grief processing, looking at photographs, taking photographs, Single Syllable Society, philosophical date nights, the studio salon opens for business. Niall Pierce as profoundly insightful, endearingly solicitous, and frustratingly mysterious as ever. Blind date with a book raffle. Summer-end soiree, aristocratic waltz, champagne dress witching hour almosts. Agnes and her squeaky tea cart. Ice and storm winds collide with Duke and Tenant in the same room. Emma sits with ten randoms—as if it wasn’t enough with Jack, Roland, and the Brookstone boys.
Several, several huffs of amusement from me, which is the equivalent of not so few belly laughs. Oh but, what fun!
October 9, 2025
Cousin Archibald achieves new heights of awfulness, but The Reprobates Ten might be the best thing in this book.
October 9, 2025
Team Pierce 🤭🫠
January 23, 2025
This was an absolute delight!! My favourite of the first three. I LOVED the last scene at Lady Trewartha's dinner/ball!!! It was magical.
February 2, 2025
My quick takes:
- 5/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Language 🤐 none
- Spice ❤️🔥 none
- Content 🤔 grief, toxic family relations
The quick witted, humorous Emma is a delight. The depth she plumbs in grief is introspective and familiar. I thoroughly enjoyed the thickening plot, friendships, and adventures this novel afforded.
The final entry in this book was just so good 🥹 love the found family that’s forming for one Miss Emma M. Lion 🫶🏼
- 5/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Language 🤐 none
- Spice ❤️🔥 none
- Content 🤔 grief, toxic family relations
The quick witted, humorous Emma is a delight. The depth she plumbs in grief is introspective and familiar. I thoroughly enjoyed the thickening plot, friendships, and adventures this novel afforded.
The final entry in this book was just so good 🥹 love the found family that’s forming for one Miss Emma M. Lion 🫶🏼
September 30, 2025
Telling my kids this was Bridgerton
September 8, 2025
My favorite book in the series yet...although I do have a feeling these are just continuously going to get better and better. I love that this almost feels like the written version of a BBC series...every "episode" has been a total delight and I have no intention of stopping here.
I was already chuckling from the first chapter as Emma's wit and deprecation of her "esteemed" cousin were too good. I loved how with each book we are coming to understand each of the side characters personalities and a deeper dive into Emma's desires of the heart as well. I adore each of the men...who we all know are pining for this ultimate catch of a woman. I might have a soft spot for a well spoken vicar and a mysterious brooding tenant.
There is just something so openly candid and heartfelt about reading these through journal entry. I love getting the redacted sentences and to almost live in these moments alongside Emma herself. These books are so light hearted and entertaining, but have just enough depth/emotional pull to keep you coming back.
I can't wait to see what book 4 has in store!
I was already chuckling from the first chapter as Emma's wit and deprecation of her "esteemed" cousin were too good. I loved how with each book we are coming to understand each of the side characters personalities and a deeper dive into Emma's desires of the heart as well. I adore each of the men...who we all know are pining for this ultimate catch of a woman. I might have a soft spot for a well spoken vicar and a mysterious brooding tenant.
There is just something so openly candid and heartfelt about reading these through journal entry. I love getting the redacted sentences and to almost live in these moments alongside Emma herself. These books are so light hearted and entertaining, but have just enough depth/emotional pull to keep you coming back.
I can't wait to see what book 4 has in store!
March 23, 2024
If you like Jane Austen, Gilmore Girls, or Anne of Green Gables, or basically witty well-read women, you will like this. I have laughed out loud so many times. Emma encountering Emerson for the first time made me so happy. Hawkes’s nine Cambridge friends are straight up a 19th century version of Gilmore Girls’s Colin and Finn and the Life and Death Brigade. The town has just enough whimsy and the men have just enough flirting with our female lead. It’s so fun.
October 1, 2025
#teamislington #agnesgetsit
December 8, 2025
This is such a delightful series, and I am loving getting to know Emma Lion and the people in her life. Life in 1883 London is slow by today’s standards, but Emma seems to get involved with all sorts of adventures. She’s independent and determined, and just so much fun.
February 26, 2025
ok 2 things: the town-wide scavenger hunt is SO FUN and I felt FAR too seen by elements of this installment like get out of my head ms brower lolll
December 1, 2024
4.5⭐️
This series just gets better with each book! You can't not love Emma; she's got to be one of my favorite characters in a series. This book made me laugh so many times; there are so many great one-liners. I'm very invested and need to know what will happen next! I also would like to get to know Hawkes, Islington, and Pierce more... onto book 4!
Content discretions: a few words (d & h)
This series just gets better with each book! You can't not love Emma; she's got to be one of my favorite characters in a series. This book made me laugh so many times; there are so many great one-liners. I'm very invested and need to know what will happen next! I also would like to get to know Hawkes, Islington, and Pierce more... onto book 4!
Content discretions: a few words (d & h)
March 25, 2024
On to number 4!💗
July 24, 2024
Volume 3 just as good as the first two!
July 12, 2025
"What else is life but a string of outcomes beyond our control?"
The third book continues to maintain the series charm, but it also suffered a feeling of repetitiveness.
The third book continues to maintain the series charm, but it also suffered a feeling of repetitiveness.
January 25, 2026
Seriously considering changing my whole personality to formal Victorian. Or at least my vernacular.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,320 reviews