Tag: Emma M Lion

January 2026–Part One:

January 15, 2026

Book #1:

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy (307 pages).  WOW. This is an amazing book! Set on an island near Antartica which contains the world’s last seed bank sometime in the future, this climate-fiction novel is about a woman who washes ashore, half dead from the cold, and meets the island caretaker and his three children. The mystery at the heart of this slim novel is where did this woman come from (as no boats would just be traveling by this remote area), and who and what is the caretaker hiding. The plot is absolutely propulsive, the writing is spare and beautiful, and I could not put this down. I cried at the end and I rarely cry, so the writing is perfectly executed in this perfect novel. A must read. 5 stars.

Book #2:

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol 8 by Beth Brower (Length: 353 pages). I’m not sure how, but this series just gets better and better with each volume. This is the last volume that’s been published in this series so far and I was so sad to finish it because I know it may be a while before we get more Emma Lion in our lives. In this volume, Emma and her three male friends visit Stonecrop, the Duke of Islington’s family estate just a few hours outside London (by horse and carriage of course). For the entire month of June, Emma is free of societal constraints and is able to roam the countryside (often in a ridiculous pith helmet she purchased in London) as well as to further bond with her friends. This is laugh-out-loud funny, just like the other volumes, with beautifully drawn characters and the entire reading experience is a total delight. Remember, all of these are currently available on Kindle Unlimited, and your local bookstore is sure to have these in stock now given the series’ popularity. 5 full stars.

Book #3:

In Your Dreams by Sarah Adams (Length: 358 pages).  This rom-com is #4 and the last book in the Rome, Kentucky series. I listened to this one and the audio production is fantastic, with dual narrators-male and female-for the featured romantic couple in the novel. Maddie who believes her identity to now be a “failed chef” from New York City, returns to Rome (and her siblings–all of whom are featured in books #1-3) to help her childhood friend James open a farm to table restaurant on his family farm. Of course, James only created this restaurant idea to lure Maddie back to Rome, as he’s long had a crush on her. I enjoyed the restaurant aspect and all of the ancillary characters (from previous books) but I found Maddie to be too insecure and whiny for what the reader actually sees here. A fun reading experience overall, but it’s definitely time for this series to be put to bed. 3 stars.

Book #4:

Life & Death & Giants by Ron Rindo (Length: 324 pages). This literary fiction novel was on many Best of lists from 2025 so I couldn’t wait to pick this one up. The story is about Gabriel Fisher, a “giant” raised by his Amish grandparents after his birth family is unable to raise him. Set in a small town, Lakota, Wisconsin, the story is told from four POVs, separated by chapter–we have the local bar owner, the local football coach, the local vet, and Gabriel’s grandmother. I could not WAIT to go back to this book if I was interrupted by reading it, which is always a sign to me that this is a special book. There are a few chapters involving sportsball (what I call any sport as I’m not a person who is into football, etc) and even those chapters are riveting in this writer’s hands. The characters are so richly drawn, and the reader gets to know Gabriel from the viewpoints of others in his community, even though we don’t ever hear from Gabriel himself. This is a one-of-a-kind novel that I will remember forever. (Think Owen Meany vibes–if you know, you know). FIVE SOLID STARS from me. I love being a reader!

December 2025–Part One:

December 16, 2025

Book #89:

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower (313 pages).  Set in March of 1884, this volume, like the others, takes over where the last one left off. This volume is my favorite of the series, so far! The romantic relationship between Emma and someone takes a big step forward. And Emma, once again, is caught in a delightfully, socially precarious situation which has major implications for her guardianship. (Even though she is 21, as an unmarried female she can’t be trusted to be without a guardian in these times). I enjoyed the development of both Emma and the plot here. If you haven’t started this series, what are you waiting for? The first 1-3 would make a fantastic holiday gift for the reader (tween to older readers!) in your life.

Book #90:

Conform by Ariel Sullivan (Length: 408 pages). This dystopian romantasy debut novel is EVERYWHERE. The premise is Emilene (a Minor Defect) whose job is to review and delete artwork from the time before a nuclear war decimated the planet, is finally given a chance to move up to the clouds where the Elite live. This is because she’s deemed ready to mate (ie, provide a baby to the Elite every 5 years of her fertile life). This has a Hunger Games feel, and the plot here is similarly propulsive. I read it in a day and I’m glad I had blocked out that time to do so because I couldn’t stop reading. The writing here is decent (some glaring typos–which are annoying in such a popular book with the marketing it’s been given) but the storyline makes this fun novel one of my all-time favorite fantasies. The world-building isn’t very confusing, and I never had to reference the map of the world included in the beginning, which is a great sign for me. There is a cliffhanger ending (it’s a trilogy as I recall) and there is a bit of open-door romance but it’s a very small percentage of the whole novel. Five stars!

Book #91:

Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley (Length: 384 pages).  This is a YA series that is great for adults. (I haven’t read the first in the series, Firekeepers Daughter, but it’s very well-regarded.) Here, a young woman in the foster care system who is living on her own learns she is part Ojibwe and has a family she wasn’t aware she had. We learn about her history in between present-day occurrences and this back-and-forth narrative is so seamlessly drawn by this talented author. There is tense action with lots of adult themes and is very well-written. The fast-paced narrative made this one difficult to put down and the writing quality made this beautiful novel really stand out from the pack. I now feel as if I need to read the first in the series and will be on the lookout for the next. Four stars.

Book #92:

Mailman by Stephen Starring Grant (Length: 304 pages). In the interest of increasing the percentage of non-fiction reads this year, I picked up this riveting account of a marketing executing laid off due to the pandemic decides to be a rural carrier for the USPS in Blackburg, VA, in the Appalachian Mountains. This is a fascinating look at how mail carriers actually operate, with the author getting into the nitty-gritty details of how they “case” (sort) their mail routes, handle parcels and handle dogs and people on their routes. The writing quality is not the best here (the author himself clearly wrote this) but the content is what makes this worth picking up. It gave me a whole new appreciation for our mail system (run on ZERO taxpayer dollars) and our mail carriers. We are so fortunate to have this system. 3.5 stars.

November 2025–Part Two:

November 30, 2025

Book #81:

The Women on Platform Two by Laura Anthony (335 pages).  This is historical fiction set in 1969 Dublin and is about their fight for women’s rights, broadly speaking. This is really well-told, through the lens of a woman named Maura who has married a well-respected doctor, and said doctor is not respectful of Maura. The right to contraception plays a big role here. I enjoyed how the tale is told here too. Maura, in the future, is on an annual memorial train ride from Dublin to Belfast where she’s telling her story to a young woman in 2023. This is totally immersive, well-written and the plot never drags. Very memorable and a perfect gift for any woman in your life. 5 stars.

Book #82:

Writers & Lovers by Lily King (Length: 333 pages). This novel is a bit polarizing–readers either enjoy it or they don’t. I’m firmly in the former camp here as I love this book! The premise is a young woman living in Boston in 1997 is trying to finish her first novel (6 years in the making), while waitressing at a high-end restaurant. Her mother died the year prior and she’s still working through her grief, while also dealing with a recent failed relationship and a few new relationships are on the horizon. This isn’t as navel-gazing as I worried it might be, and while I am well beyond this stage of life, I found points of commonality with the main character. I also really enjoyed the author’s writing style, and the ending is perfect. A memorable, well-written read, with depth and heart. 5 stars from me.

Book #83:

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol 6 by Beth Brower (Length: 249 pages).   If you haven’t yet checked out this series, what are you waiting for? This volume is delightful, particularly because Emma has finally arrived at the age of her majority and is now the rightful owner of the Lapis Lazuli house. There is forward movement in Emma’s relationship with one of her best male friends, and she has her first job, which is as the personal secretary to a newly wealthy society lady. There are some hysterically funny scenes here. This series just gets better and better. It’s a thinking girl’s fun read. 5 stars, of course.

Book #84:

A Curse so Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer (507 pages).  This highly recommended fantasy is book 1 of the Cursebreaker series but absolutely can be read alone. I was so excited to finally read this (dark) Beauty and the Beast retelling, and it lived up to the hype for me. The author jumps right into the plot and then never lets up. The world-building is minimal so it’s very easy to follow and the romance is not the main focus here. The character “Beauty” is from present day and the “Beast” and the world of Emberfall is in another dimension and time, and I really enjoyed that juxtaposition. This is billed as being for 14 years of age and up but it didn’t read young adult to me at all. I’m totally fine ending the series here but there’s enough in this first book that may make me pick up the next in the series. A full 5 stars from me.

Book #85:

With Friends Like These by Alissa Lee (Length: 240 pages). This novel is part psychological thriller and part campus novel with a unique premise: the main characters are all grown up and are still playing an annual game they started playing in college called Circus (similar to the assassin game many high school students play). Their senior year of college one of their friends died and a few people 20 years later think they’ve spotted her prior and during their final round of this game. This is a quick, fun read with a propulsive plot. I figured out the twist a bit early on but there was enough going on that I wanted to read the resolution. I really enjoyed this one. 4 stars.

November 2025–Part One:

November 12, 2025

Book #76:

Kill For Me Kill For You by Steve Cavanagh (351 pages).  This mystery author comes highly recommended by sources I trust, and I was excited to finally read this novel (of perfect length!). Well-constructed with an interesting premise, this novel is about two women who each want some killed, and who agree to kill the other’s target, giving the other a perfect alibi. This is a such a fun read! It’s propulsive, well-written (because bad writing is distracting in mysteries, let’s be honest) with people to root for. There are some great twists I didn’t see coming–the final twist really floored me, given a particular detail the author hid. A solid 5 stars from me and I’ll be recommending this in person from now on for a good, well-written mystery. (For true literary mysteries, my go-to recommendation is Louise Penny’s Three Pines series of course).

Book #77:

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower (Length: 265 pages). Yes, Emma is back. These wonderful novels are entirely addicting, and it takes great willpower for me not to read them all in order. (There are 8 so far in the series–25 total are expected–and I have the next 3 waiting in the wings on my Kindle). This particular installment is set in the fall through to New Year’s Eve. The focus is still on Emma’s deepening platonic friendships with 3 men: Pierce, the boarder in her attached guesthouse, Duke Islington and the young Vicar Hawkes. I loved Emma’s handmade Christmas gifts she gave to these three, and again, so many clever bits of conversation and laugh-out-loud turns of phrase here. Emma isn’t a perfect character or human being but she’s a total delight and her resilience is admirable. 5 stars from me. Once again.

Book #78:

What the Dead Know by Barbara Butcher (Length: 289 pages).   This is a non-fiction account written by a medico-legal investigator with New York City’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The author’s job is to determine the cause and manner of deaths at scenes of fatal accidents, suicides and homicides. These accounts are disturbing, graphic, depressing and scary but are also well-worth a read as the dead deserve our attention to their stories. The author has personal battle scars of her own and is honest about her past addiction. Her background colors her accounts of how she handles the crime scenes and her clients and the writing is top-notch here. These stories are memorable, and this is honestly difficult to put down. I absolutely recommend this one. 4.5 stars.

Book #79:

The Academy by Elin Hilderbrand and Shelby Cunningham (428 pages).  Boarding school and campus novels are my jam so I had to pick up this new novel written by Elin Hilderbrand and her adult daughter which is set in the imaginary Tiffin Academy in New England. Rich kids behaving badly plus faculty making questionable life decisions set in a gorgeous stereotypical boarding school experience (with gourmet meals to boot) make this a really fun read. This novel is told from various perspectives: the female headmaster, the new girl (a junior), a few teachers and the student body itself. Nothing too serious happens but there is a bit of a plot and book two (about senior year) is en route. I do want to read about what happens to these students and I’ll definitely check it out. 4 stars.

Book #80:

Do Not Disturb by Freida McFadden (Length: 327 pages). I listened to this one as this is one of my favorite authors to listen to when I want an easy-to-follow, psychological mystery/thriller. This particular novel (as is the case with most of this author’s novels) is not well-written. The premise here is interesting on its face: a woman kills her abusive husband and then hides out in an out-of the-way dilapidated motel, named the Bates Motel. There’s a profile of a woman sitting in the window of the house behind the motel, surprise, surprise. The plot IS propulsive, and I kept picking this one back up, so there’s that. The resolution of the story is pretty straightforward, but apparently the author isn’t sure we understood it so she has a character walk us through the resolution step by step, in case we didn’t get it. The twists are fun here, if not a bit obvious. Don’t expect too much with this one but I’ll give it 3 stars for its entertainment value.