Thank you so so much to Netgalley and ECW Press for allowing me to read this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
I’ve found it, my new “I’m never going to stop talking about this” book. The desperation of this main character was palpable, you could feel her unreliability clear through the metaphorical pages (I read this electronically). I love theatre and this story so boldly unwraps how it feels to try and try and try again to book a role you want so much and how your confidence and desperation meld into something truly other worldly. Theatre is an animal and it turns you into one too.
A genius mix of Yellowface, Boy Parts, Pearl and the Scottish play this is a book you won’t want to miss

3.5
This is an upcoming book from EWP Press and first of all I love the cover! It is so eye catching and weird and beautiful- right up my alley.
This book is about Jessamyn who is the very definition of an unlikeable character, an unreliable narrator and someone who you love to hate.
The book is a romp though campy, theatrical violence from a main character who will do anything to get her turn in the spotlight. The spotlight being a mid-range theater production in Vancouver.

In the production of "Sound of Music" Jessamyn wants to play Maria. She is not cast as Maria, but she is not going to let that stop her! It keeps getting more and more unhinged and goes from bad to worse and she puts her claws into getting the lead.

While I enjoyed this read, I also found it a bit sad. Jessamyn loses control near the end and I felt like it was an epic unraveling and maybe it just wasn't that funny. Like it was dark? Dark comedy I suppose. We know she has had some past trauma in her life, but she refuses to look at it like that, which again, delulu, but sad. She wants no pity, and in an odd way this makes me give her props.

The ending felt a bit rushed and left things a bit - make up your own mind ish.
I felt sort of insane for being a bit on team Jessamyn at the end. I mean in a way you are rooting for her, which I guess, good writing Meredith Hambrock?!
I also was surprised many times that Jessamyn had not been killed, the way she is so out of sorts with who she is and what she does. She uses men to get power, or do they use her?
Either way, some dangerous shit girl.

If you are someone who likes a dark and deluded character study, this is probably the book for you.

Well-written book with dark themes. I knew this going in, but I didn't know how I'd react, and apparently, this narrator (should I call her disturbed? Is that a strong enough word?) bothered me more than I thought. (We won't go into why, as this is not the proper forum). So why the four-star rating? Because if an author can cause this emotion in my with a character, then they succeeded in what they wanted to do, and I can appreciate the talent it takes to do that. Also, the premise is really attractive, as is the cover.

What an unhinged wild ride this book was! I have absolutely no idea if anything Jessamyn says is true or not and it just leaves me wondering what is real?? I loved the story and how frantic she becomes in the second half of the book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts are my own.
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This book was so fascinating! If you enjoyed the movie Pearl and her character, this books main character strongly reminded me of her in many ways. It was definitely hard to get into in the beginning, the second half was more defnintly where the story shined. It was so fascinating to read the main characters inner monologue; is everything she says true? Reading how she justifies almost all of her behaviours and why others do the things they do was incredibly fascinating, and I absolutely loved it!

There were some things I loved about this campy novel and then some that fell a bit flat, but overall I’m not mad at the experience of reading She’s A Lamb!

The cover truly says it all about this book and camp is truly the best way to describe it. Campy, theatrical violence from a truly despicable and unhinged main character. I absolutely love a messy protagonist and our musical loving weirdo is just that. My biggest miss from her though was that I wanted MORE.

I bet the authour would think, what more could I give you?! She’s unhinged, dark, twisted, despicable but I wanted a bit more when it came to the internal processing. I wanted more depth to her thoughts and we got more of that nearing the 70% mark when she starts losing her grip on reality but I desired it much sooner than it came. I wanted more of a push and pull of her sanity instead of the straight and narrow psychopathy she exuded. She’s demented but not a true blood psycho, so I wanted that unhinged mentality she gave us outwardly, internally.

I’m definitely not mad at this and if you love a good violent protagonist that loses her ever living mind, this is it.

Two aspects of this novel are what drew me in: the gorgeous cover art and the story of an aspiring musical theater star who is totally delulu and unhinged. I enjoyed the narrative's dark humor, how unreliable the narrator is and the fact that it's set in Canada. However, it started to get pretty repetitive at the halfway mark and I wish the author used that precious space to go in other directions or offer more insight into the protagonist's backstory (which we only get a glimpse of).

At times, it reminded me of one of my favourite horror films, Pearl, but it doesn't take it as far as the film does. Overall, this was a solid and entertaining thriller. 3.5 stars

Thank you to Net Galley and ECW Press for the ARC!

Thank you to Net Galley for getting an advance copy of She’s A Lamb to me.
This is an odd book, but with a very interesting voice.
Some might not take it seriously as a literary option.
I will say that from an evaluation perspective, there are some positives:
The author does a good job of putting a desperate and crazy voice on a girl who will do anything to be successful on stage.
Do these people exist, I’m sure they do.
We get to see how hollow and shallow she is, and the number of people she was willing to use and abuse. We catch glimpses of her better side, but just glimpses. The author effectively highlights the delusion of a life she lives. And, we see her mental state declining as the story continues.
Overall, it’s a beach read, but I kind of liked it.

A dark, gripping and suspenseful read with a truly unhinged narrator! Jessamyn’s inner world is addictively delusional and I couldn’t put this down.

i absolutely loved this one, it was so fun!

i love an unreliable narrator it was done so well, the characterisation was great, so funny and absurd. the fact this was all set around regional theatre in vancouver was genuinely hilarious, the stakes were so low and the consequences were so over the top.

the side characters were fantastic as more information about them came to light, especially with renee, i would read a book just about her.

the only reason this isn’t a five star for me is because the middle was a little too meandering and the ending was a little too rushed, the abrupt ending added to the chaos but it was still just a bit too short for me.

i also thought this was an effective commentary on patriarchy without being too on the nose.


thank you to netgalley & ECW press for the ARC!!

This was like if Black Swan and Pearl had a baby -what could go wrong? Haha. Thanks for the ARC, netgalley!

I absolutely loved reading She’s a Lamb and couldn’t put it down. There’s something about an unreliable character that draws me in and She’s a Lamb is a fascinating character study of an unlikeable character I fell in love with. This was such a fun read and I recommend it especially to all the musical theatre nerds out there!

80/100 or 4.0 stars

I had a good time reading this story! I usually don't like unreliable female protagonists, since it is usually overdone, but Jess was written and shown in such a great way that I was engage the whole time. If she were another unreliable main character because she was drinking/usuing drugs, I would have hated it. This story has to do with mental health/trama NOT substance abuse that makes her unreliable, which is far more interesting to me personally.

While the story is not saying anything new, I still had a lot of fun reading the satire and dark humor that is this novel. I will be checking out other books by Hambrock, because she took a trope I usually hate and made it not only readable, but fun!

She's a Lamb! follows Jessamyn St. Germain, an actor struggling to find success. One day, she lands a minor role in The Sound of Music but she thinks that the director is considering her for the lead role if anything happens to the original actress. Jessamyn is a delusional and unreliable character, and as the story progresses, her delusions become more and more unhinged. I really liked the story and I literally could not put the book down. Also, the cover has a Hitchcock vibe that perfectly fits the story. While the narrative may not be for everyone, if you enjoy unhinged stories like Yellowface I highly recommend giving this book a try. Thanks to NetGalley and ECW Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is so exactly my kind of book. It's clever and snarky with an unhinged, unreliable narrator.

We follow our girl, Jessamyn St. Germain, who just knows she's a star waiting to be discovered. When she isn't cast as the lead role in her company's production of The Sound of Music, she's convinced that isn't the end of her story. Asked to be the childminder for the younger cast members, she secretly learns the part of Maria and hopes she'll be asked to step in for the lead if any tragedy should befall her. (And sometimes that tragedy needs a helping hand...)

This story is itself is a tragicomedy—equal parts hilarious and devastating. I was expecting to walk away from this book feeling the way I usually do reading books of this genre—a bit smug, giddy, pleased. Instead I left feeling a deep sadness. At so many points, our Jessamyn could have chosen to take a different path—forget her dreams of musicals and excel as the actress she already is. Instead she continued in her self-delusion to the entertainment of the reader but the destruction of herself and everyone around her. Maybe it's a metaphor for the all-consuming nature of art?

sound of music is one of my favourite films so i was v intruiged by this and i loved the title. i just couldnt really connect to anyone in the story and had no motivation to continue readng, mostly skimming towards the end. i loved the scenes with the children!

She’s a Lamb is an intense look at obsession, set against the cutthroat world of theatre.

The writing style has been compared to Mona Awad, but I think this was done better. It has that same conversational, unhinged tone, but I found it more engaging and less self-indulgent. There aren’t any particularly likeable characters, and at first, the narrator is hard to connect with - she comes across as delusional and bitter. But as the story unfolds and you see how people (especially men) have treated her, it starts to make sense. Her perfectionism and instability don’t just come from nowhere; they stem from a lack of genuine relationships, deep-seated insecurity, and past trauma. The world of theatre only amplifies this, rewarding obsession and calling it dedication.

I really enjoyed the book, but as the narrator’s descent into madness snowballed, the plot didn’t quite keep up. By the end, I wanted more - the ending felt a little underwhelming compared to the buildup. Still, it’s a compelling, intense read with a fascinating character study at its core.

An unhinged woman scorned makes for a thrillingly funny novel! If Ottesah Moshfegh wrote more direct comedy, you'd have She's a Lamb. I would recommend to most anyone, but especially the theatre kids who understand just how dramatic life really can be.

This was a very interesting read that I enjoyed. At times you have to laugh and others you are really questioning what’s going on. Best way to describe this book is delusional. Similar reads are Death Valley and anything Mona Awad.

Oh. She’s quirky. This is a weird girl book in the best way possible. This book shows the unraveling of Jessamyn, our unreliable narrator. We as the reader have no clue what is real. I really enjoyed this aspect. I personally was hoping for the book to take a darker route towards the end, but that was mainly personal preference. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC!