Well, Ms. Austen completely succeeds in her efforts to create a heroine that you both like and want to strangle at the same time (if indeed that was her design). Given the complete mess she makes playing with those around her, Emma hardly deserves to have anything go well for herself, yet I was cheering for her just the same.
I found the book to be a bit long, and the dialog many times so tiresome I actually yelled at the speakers to "shut up!" (listening to audio edition) but the narration was outstanding, and for anyone looking for a good audio version of the book, I can recommend this one without reservation.
Needless to say, this will remain at the bottom of my Jane Austen rankings and Pride and Prejudice will remain firmly at the top.
Although I preferred Emma to Northanger Abbey, I can't actually say I like the book. As a character, I find Emma to be difficult to empathise with and her father even worse. It may be just me but I find it hard to get on with books where I don't like the main character. As a piece of classic fiction, it's fine but as I story I just haven't enjoyed it.