By Mattie Lugar; Photo Credits to Mattie Lugar
I have just recently finished all of the currently available books in this series, and I already miss it. The quirkiness of St. Cripian’s and the eccentric nature of Emma and her companions are things I hold near and dear to my heart, so I may have to do a reread soon.
This volume picks up in May with the beginning of the new Social Season, where Emma is set to be the “social foil” to her beautiful cousin Arabella by her Aunt Eugenia. Still told through incredibly witty diary entries, we follow Emma through the months of May and June as she tries to fight for her financial freedom, but also as she converses with her mysterious new neighbor.
The biggest pain in Emma’s life is her disaster of a housemate, her Cousin Archibald. While Emma was off caring for his sister, a one Cousin Matilda, Archibald was slowly squandering away Emma’s inheritance little by little leaving her with less than she initially anticipated.
Along with this mysterious new neighbor Niall Pierce, we are also introduced to the Duke of Islington in this volume. These two, along with many other characters, will make recurring appearances throughout the rest of the series. Personally, I’m rooting for Emma to end up with the Duke of Islington when things are all said and done.
You could call the amount of trouble Emma gets herself into comical, but I think she is incredibly charming. There were multiple different moments where I had to put down the book because I was giggling too much at what was going on, and I honestly think my favorite part of this book was the escapade to get the stolen copy of Jane Eyre back from Emma’s former school.
While not as short as the first volume, this second volume in the series sits at a comfortable 164 pages, and it does a wonderful job at building upon what little we learned about Emma and her life in the first volume.
If this sounds interesting to you, I highly suggest you check it out as the ninth volume in this series is set to release on Feb.23, 2027! I also highly suggest checking out the audiobook versions if those are more your speed, as the narrator is absolutely wonderful.