I have taken an extra week to calm down from my obsession. My heart palpitations have indeed steadied to normal.
But still, as I said last time, it’s all Emma’s fault.
Emma is Emma M. Lion, and the thing she has done is turned my world
♻️ UPSIDE DOWN ♻️
It is hard to imagine there will ever be any other BOOK SERIES that will be SUCH an absolute perfect story and story world for me. This is the best book series OF MY LIFE.
I’m sure it always will be the best.
I think in life I will always look back on this series as something that .
-Turned a key for me.
-Changed my life.
-Opened my world.
The week I waited to write to you about it helped me to tame my obsession. I was overwhelmed with how much I LOVED this girl. But it is love, I can assure you. I love the characters, the story, the potential, and the mysterious question that carries through the series.
When I finished book 8, I learned that the series is not done!– I was devastated.
🔎 But then, as I looked online, on social media, on the author’s site, I discovered there is a whole world of Emma M. Lion fans (men and women) who post about the books, who wonder about the ‘mystery,’ who have theories and favorite passages.
And while I was discovering this fan ecosystem, we all received the news that book 9 will be coming out in February of 2027.
This book series scratches an itch we didn’t know we had. It’s like a combination of Pride and Prejudice and Anne of Green Gables with a sprinkling of fairy dust.
1880s Victorian England (London)
21 year old protagonist, orphan, gets into scrapes
emotional highs and lows of life in Victorian England (comedy of manners)
a story about female (and male) agency, asking: what should a woman be? what should a man be?
Emma goes to church just about every week, one of her main friends is a young, single vicar, and Christ is honored in the book.
Emma owns and runs her own home
Emma is connected to the nobility of English society, so she rubs shoulders with the rich and powerful
Emma is a winsome, deeply feeling young woman
Emma’s goals: to restore her library which she lost in a tragic series of events and to acquire the classical education which she likewise failed to acquire after the death of her parents.
She lives in a fictional area of London called St. Crispian’s, which is a somewhat magical place
Literature and poetry are freely quoted in the story, shaping the characters, but also myths and classical stories are woven INTO the story as archetypes.
There are slow-burn love stories as well that draw you forward in anticipation
👉 BEST THING: No political agenda in the stories. Absolutely none. It’s a clean book series that feels like you’re in Avonlea. 👈
The best part of the series is the audiobook. Really and truly, the series is brought to life with the audiobook. Each is available for $5.49 if you do it this way:
2. DOWNLOAD the series as free ebooks on Kindle Unlimited. With each borrow, you will be given the option to…
3. PURCHASE the audiobook for $5.49. (This is a secret price for KU members only, called Whispersync) These audiobooks will remain in your Audible library forever, even if you don’t continue with Kindle Unlimited. **if you have any trouble doing this, CLICK HERE
The main reason I want you to read these is I’d love to talk about them with you in the community. I want YOU to catch a glimpse of the fandom that is out there for this book and DELIGHT in the thing that has delighted me.
EVEN IF you are not into audiobooks, but you DO like movies–consider this a reading equivalent. The performance is PAR-NONE!
There. I’ve told you.
PLEASE FORGIVE ME.
If the books suck you into another world that you can’t find your way out of,
FORGIVE ME
If you fall in love with Emma and St Crispian’s and Islington and Pierce and Hawkes and Saffronia March, and can’t get them out of your mind
FORGIVE ME
If your life is never the same because the troubles of 2026 get shoved into perspective through a delightful fictional journey to 1883
FORGIVE ME
If you find out how desperate it feels to drop out of the bottom of Book 8, dangling with Book 9 coming in so many months from now in February
FORGIVE ME.
If you suddenly have time to fold the laundry and your kitchen dishes get washed and your counters polished because you are listening to the Emma M. Lion audiobook series, then
THANK ME.
I don’t mean to give you an obsession. But (sigh. BIG SIGH)–this thing I discovered is so sweet and fun. May it be a blessing to your life
Yours,
Darlene
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
FREE | CHRISTIAN | GENERAL FICTION | GENERAL NON-FICTION
KINDLE UNLIMITED SELECTIONS
FREE with KU | HISTORICAL FICTION | FANTASY & ADVENTURE
THE EMMA M. LION SERIES | HISTORICAL FICTION | MAGICAL REALISM | | COMING OF AGE | DAY-BY-DAY JOURNAL OF MISADVENTURES | | SLOW-BURN ROMANTIC COMEDY | COMEDY OF ERRORS | | FAITH-FRIENDLY SERIES | NO AGENDA | FREE ON KU, $5.49 AUDIOBOOK FOR KU MEMBERS
From the Desk of Darlene N. Böcek 🔥 Faith-forged Fiction 🔥 Dear Reader First some book news: I have a free short story for you. This short story is available only to people who receive this newsletter. The story is about Tamar, but told from the perspective of her brother Absalom. It’s a passionate exploration of the WHY behind “how things turned out.” It might make you cry. It makes me cry. Enjoy your tears. May it all draw you closer to Christ. Now…to the confession It’s all Emma’s Fault…
From the Desk of Darlene N. Böcek Faith-building Sci-fi Fantasy Stories Dear Reader I’m still catching my breath from our whirlwind trip in England. Our family had business in England and we have been away from home for 3 weeks. Besides the conference and meetings we were at, we were able to visit sites of the following books or authors: Wuthering Heights & Jane Eyre (Moors, Bronte Parsonage Museum)<–very sad place Pride and Prejudice (2005 film location: Chatsworth House in…
From the Desk of Darlene N. Böcek Faith-building Sci-fi Fantasy Stories Hey, Reader! I’ve been in the UK over the past couple weeks. Today, for example, in Cambridge, I took a break at the Pickerel Inn, which is one of the later places where friends J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis had their famous Inklings gatherings. I’m anxious to share with you some of the places I’ve seen, which may also soon show up in some of my stories. For example, where we were on Thursday and Friday was like…
