I’ve never really been part of a movement. I kind of live my life on my own terms, and apparently, that applies to my reading life too.
Since returning to Bookstagram, I’ve loved seeing what everyone else is reading. I enjoy being part of the current conversations, discovering what people are excited about, and occasionally adding yet another book to my already ridiculous TBR pile.
The problem is, I never seem to have as much time to read as everyone else does.
I don’t know how you all do it. I’m sure many of you have regular jobs, homeschool your children (which, in my opinion, is basically a corporate job and then some), run households, raise families, and somehow still manage to read approximately 47 books a month.
Meanwhile, I have a corporate 9-to-5 job.
That’s it. Of course, I’m a mood reader. Much like my crochet projects, I read according to what I feel like creating, or in this case, escaping into, on any given day. So, yes, I often have several books going at once.
But I digress.
So, Why Emma M. Lion?
I’ve listened to all eight volumes of The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, and I’m now going back through the books and actually reading them on my Kindle.
And I have to tell you something.
It’s been a VERY long time since I’ve been this obsessed with a book series.
Outside of the Bible, I’m not sure I’ve ever been this invested in a collection of books.
Which naturally led me to ask myself:
What is it about these books that keeps pulling me back? Why do I find myself combing through Bookstagram, looking for other Emma M. Lion fans to talk to about these stories?
As an introspective reader, I keep coming back to the same question:
Why Emma M. Lion?
I think I’ve finally figured out at least some of the answer.
1. I See My Daughters in Emma
As a woman with two grown daughters, I admit I see a little bit of each of my girls in Emma.
She’s caring and innocent, but she’s also a bit daring. She’s fiercely loyal and loves the people around her deeply. She doesn’t crave the spotlight, but she’ll step directly into it when doing so might help someone else.
There are little pieces of my girls in her, and maybe that’s part of why I feel so protective of her.
2. Perfectly Imperfect
Emma isn’t self-absorbed, and she certainly isn’t perfect. In fact, it’s her flaws that I’ve come to love and appreciate most.
She’s constantly learning, growing, making mistakes, and trying to do better.
And after almost 58 years on this earth, I can relate to that. I’m still learning too.
None of us has it all figured out.
Emma just happens to have a particularly entertaining way of figuring it out.
3. She Gets Me
This one still surprises me. It’s not every day that I find myself relating to a young fictional character.
I’ve lived some life at this point. I’ve raised children, navigated relationships, experienced loss, made mistakes, started over, and learned a few things along the way.
And yet, somehow, Emma gets me. Maybe it’s because, like Emma, I can’t help but believe my best years are still ahead. That part feels especially familiar.
4. Emma Is Compassionate
Emma has compassion even for people who haven’t necessarily been kind to her.
We’ve seen small glimpses of it in her relationships with Archibald and Parian, and we’ve seen it in much bigger ways with Victoria Braithwaite.
That kind of compassion matters to me. Not because Emma always gets everything right, but because she keeps choosing to care.
I think the world could use more of that.
5. And, She’s Funny
Emma is funny. And I love that about her. She doesn’t take herself too seriously, and I think we could all use a little more of that.
Life can get heavy. Sometimes you need a book that lets you laugh at the absurdity of things for a while.
Emma does that for me.
6. These Books Are a Light Read
Now, y’all know I love a good ghost story.
I love historical fiction. I love Christian fiction. I love books that give me something to think about.
But sometimes those books get a little too far into my brain. And once they’re in there, they tend to bash around and wreak havoc.
Sometimes I don’t want that. Sometimes I want something calming, lighthearted, and amusing.
That’s when I reach for Emma M. Lion.
These books give my brain somewhere pleasant to go without requiring me to recover emotionally when I get to the last page.
7. The Alchemy
Need I say more?
There’s something precious happening here.
Emma is part of this wonderful friendship without everything immediately becoming complicated by romantic entanglements.
Of course, we know about Emma and Pierce. I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about the writing. The relationships feel meaningful without turning every interaction into a romantic circus.
And I appreciate that more than I can say.
It’s something that is done exceptionally well.
8. The Supporting Cast
I mean, come on.
Part of us, while we may be loath to admit it, even loves Cousin Archibald.
“What? What!”
You know exactly what I mean.
The supporting characters add so much personality to these books. They aren’t simply there to move Emma’s story along. They have their own quirks, personalities, relationships, and moments that make St. Crispians feel like a real place populated by real people.
Even when those people make me want to shake them.
9. I’m Here for Emma’s Journey
There’s something wonderfully comforting about getting to sit beside someone else’s life for a while.
Emma’s life has a little bit of everything: chaos, calm, friendship, humor, loss, and all the ordinary moments that make a story feel lived in.
And then there’s the storytelling. I love nothing more than imagining myself sitting beside Emma with a cup of tea in my hand while she prattles on about her day. It feels almost like listening to a friend tell me what happened over the weekend.
And I’m invested in that friend.
10. The Setting
I believe there’s an anglophile lurking somewhere inside many of us who love to read.
Speaking for myself, I’m naturally drawn to stories set in Victorian England.
I’m certainly not naïve enough to ignore the very dark side of that period. History wasn’t nearly as pretty as the books sometimes make it feel.
But I’m also romantic enough to enjoy the pretty parts.
The gowns.
The balls.
The manners.
The properness of it all.
There’s something about that world that draws me in.
And St. Crispians gives me just enough of that atmosphere to make me want to settle into my chair with a cup of tea and stay there for a while.
So, What Is It About Emma M. Lion?
Of course, there are other reasons I love these books.
They’re clean reads, which matters to me. They’re funny without being ridiculous. They’re full of interesting characters and relationships. And once I stepped into the world of St. Crispians, I found myself wanting to stay there.
But I think it goes deeper than that.
Maybe I love Emma because she reminds me that being imperfect doesn’t mean we stop growing.
Maybe it’s because she reminds me of pieces of my daughters.
Maybe it’s because she’s compassionate, funny, flawed, curious, and still convinced that there’s more life ahead of her.
Or maybe I just really like sitting down with a cup of tea and listening to this particular fictional woman prattle on about her life.
Whatever the reason, I’ve been hard-pressed to find another series that has captured my attention quite like The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion.
May these books never end.
