From doing anything she can to ge3t her role she thinks she deserves to clearly falling further and further down the mental instability hole this book has everything. i loved the cover of the book but I didn't like how her mental health made her kind of do the stuff she did. That always seems to be the reason why women do what they do.

oh boy do i enjoy the deranged woman subgenre of literary fiction! this novel definitely delivered in that category. reading a story from the perspective of a protagonist this unstable was a very interesting experience - at times i genuinely became confused about things that jessamyn claimed to have or have not done. the setting was also quite unique - i don't think i've read many books set around a musical or a play. this novel could be compared to a train wreck: every time jessamyn did something insane, i wanted to reach into the pages and shake her by the shoulders. the lying, the ridiculous expectations for herself... this was a very enjoyable read.

however, the book was a bit of a drag to get through. once things picked up it was very entertaining, but having to read chapters and chapters of jessamyn coaching the kids and having conversations with various men was a little tedious. overlong, if anything.

a great read for fans of women's rights and women's wrongs!

Just absolutely brilliant in all its form.
If you’re a fan of films such as “Black Swan” and “Perfect Blue”, you will absolutely fall in love with this book. The only reason it’s not a stellar five star is because I would’ve loved to see more unhinged actions from our MC outside of the theatre. As well as more of the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde persona we got toward the end of the book. Besides that absolutely brilliant in all its glory and highly highly recommend.

She’s A Lamb! Is an unsettling psychological invasion into the mind of a delusional failing actress. Jessamyn was destined to be a star, and she will stop at nothing to achieve it.

We are pulled into her hazy world of destined stardom as it begins to crumble - but did it ever exist in the first place?

This was a slow burner. Initially, the narration risked reading a little cliche, but the novel came into its own in the latter half. The narrative voice was comedic but maintained a tone of doomed insanity that had me hooked.

It was excellent commentary on the danger of flying too close to the sun of stardom, and the invasive nature of the male gaze. However, the ending did fall a little flat - I was expecting something a lot more explosive.

It is important to note that most of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the book's subject matters & those detailed in my review overwhelming. I suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters that contain reflections on financial insecurity, graphic depictions of self-harm, the physical endangerment of children, rape, sexual abuse, violent crime, bigotry, & others.

Succumbing to trends may lead one to lose oneself in the sludge. Certainly, trends may serve some purpose, be beneficial, & advocate for insight & intellectualism. Rarely do trends spur from thin air though, often they are carried away on the whims of those who wander with their eyes closed. The literary climate has not been particularly harsh towards trends in the past decade. Numerous novels have coveted the same plots with characters cultishly similar, one from the other. Yet, readers regale the patterns they find comforting, familiar, & easy to consume.

In the last five years, I have had the pleasure & twilight blaring experience of reading books that present twinklingly familiar plots with characters whom I can hardly distinguish from their strange counterparts. This is an unfortunate situation. I struggle to understand how publishing houses have encouraged so many writers in the same direction. Readers are likely to appreciate a book that comes their way; the right reader will adore it & the wrong reader will glare at faults, flaws, & holes with aplomb & precision. I find myself in the latter group.

In essence, this is a story about Jessamyn, a twenty-six-year-old actress living in Vancouver who dreams about life as a celebrity. The plot follows Jessamyn as she auditions for roles that are outside her range of talent, spends time with two men she calls her boyfriends, & murders three people in a bid to take on the role of Maria von Trapp in her local production of “The Sound of Music” (1965). The story revolves around her distinctly decreasing mental stability & the environment that will leave readers wondering whether Jessamyn’s psychosis is a result of nature or nurture.

When I came across this book, the cover art promised me great things. I will not be absurdly mean in this review & state that the promise was a lie or that the author failed to deliver any semblance of quality in her work. The truth is that I did appreciate certain aspects of this book but there is work yet to be done for the final product to reflect a unique story & one that was given the chance to shine.

As I said in the introduction, this is a story I have read before with a main character who is nearly identical to at least three other protagonists of the past five years. Due to this, the book does not have the opportunity to stand on its own two feet. Rather than regard the plot for what it is—a reflection of poor mental health & a series of abuses—the author has quaintly nestled the tale between other larger-looming characters with louder voices to speak on their tedium.

I will begin with what I enjoyed, as is only fair. Jessamyn is not a common name in Canada—yet here comes the protagonist with an oddly lettered calling card believing herself the roll off the tongue that will leave her a star on the Walk of Fame. As odd as Jessamyn is, overall, Hambrock understood who her main character was & this is apparent throughout the story. The main character is flawed & cruel, she is ignorant but not naïve; while simultaneously being a raging lunatic, Jessamyn is also horribly insecure, so much so that she has veered to the extreme & developed a Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

The dissection of the protagonist’s early life does not reveal too much & the reader will need to have a reason for reading this book or they might leave off feeling as I did, rather confused about why they read the story at all.

The familiar traits that I appreciated in other characters did influence my appreciation for the sheepishly cruel behaviour that Jessamyn exhibited. Her life was filled with a series of disappointments & occurrences wherein she was the victim of sexual assault.

However, I wondered if this was enough to lend my care to her plight. This is not meant to come across as pedantic & sardonically holier-than-thou, readers will need to ask themselves what makes Jessamyn either a hero or a villain, while quickly concluding that she will perhaps hold the middle ground until the end.

This seems silly to say because Jessamyn is a Serial Killer—by definition. Yet, her personality is so entirely ailed as a consequence of her experiences that one will be forgiven if one chooses to support Jessamyn throughout all of her antics.

Rather than explore the duality of life as a person who persistently performs as someone other than themselves, the author relays Jessamyn’s experiences through a looking glass; gaunt & gleaming, too far away to actually understand, each of the sequences of events that take place off the page are mysterious to the plot & nearly do not matter enough to rank as traumatic events. Jessamyn was raised by a father who, though of a cold temperament, provided her with all of the necessities in life. She never needed for anything.

If one argues that Jessamyn is a born psychotic, her father’s distant behaviours due to long working hours & a bachelor status will not serve as odd indicators but rather, that the apple did not fall far from the tree. Though, one may need to look closely when dissecting Jessamyn’s childhood. She had everything she needed & yet she recalls watching “The Phantom of the Opera” (1909) on Broadway & feeling cured of her sadness. What would have made her feel such sorrow?

There is no way for the reader to know what would have led Jessamyn to embody sadness as she describes it. Her mother could have died; her schoolmates could have bullied her; her house might not have had central air; the list is long & the possibilities, are endless.

What matters here is that the main character wanted to be the protagonist in everyone’s life. As the online community has flourished in recent years, Jessamyn would have found herself well-placed among those who suffer from Main Character Syndrome.

Forgetting the world around her by performing musical feats which she was ill-equipped to attempt, left her fascinated by the power of music & the freedom of a person to disappear in the lives of others. It is odd that Jessamyn had so much confidence in her talents, or lack thereof, as no one in her environment, for years, led her to believe that she was worth anything.

This leads me to ponder the psychosis that Jessamyn developed. Throughout her childhood, she was never faced with the poverty she forced on herself in adulthood. Certainly, one may argue that her father was cruel for withdrawing his financial backing from her casual career pursuits but, one must not forget that she stole his money to pay someone random to help her learn how to sing better. She did not have to go hungry but chose to do so in spite of everything she knew existed around her; having seen everything her father’s money could buy. Why did she do this?

Which part of this character’s makeup led her to make the choices that she did? Her end goal was clear from the beginning; she wanted fame. This is not unusual, especially with the insecurity & waning interests of the general population when it comes to internet sensations. Yet, Jessamyn chose a dying industry—rather, a niche industry where one needs to be particularly & exuberantly talented, well-connected, & skilled to succeed. Why did she not view stardom as it is regarded now? Why is her perception of fame so antiquated?

As the story progressed, I did find myself feeling pity towards Jessamyn. Every time she thought she was on the right path, she floundered. Her vocal teacher was a hack, her aspirations were being squashed compared to the talent around her, every time she auditioned.

Why would she think herself capable of breaking through in an industry that relied on the tools she did not want to use? Why wasn’t Jessamyn able to be honest with herself & acknowledge that she just wasn’t good enough to make it to Hollywood?

As always, I must ask who the book is for. For its stark similarities to other popular novels, the target reader might be found among the slew of easy readers who nibble on chips of any wooden beam that floats their way.

The current trend in literature that presents a deranged female main character who has traits of the sullen, morbid, trauma that encases her, has been found in the work of: Jen Beagin’s “Big Swiss” (2023), Ainslie Hogarth’s “Motherthing” (2022), Emily Austin’s “Interesting Facts About Space” (2024), Mona Awad’s “Rouge” (2023), Bea Seatton’s “Plaything” (2024), & Elliott Gish’s “Grey Dog” (2024).

Masquerading as hilariously as Gacy in his clown suit, the story attempts to present the complexities of existence & salivates over the possibility that any person could be a killer in disguise. However, I cannot help but feel this is untrue. Though Jessamyn, with her life of exuberant wealth, privilege & freedom to choose to go hungry, to pursue violent men, to pursue a low-paying job in a high-rent city, & to revel in the error of her ways without consequence, blooms in a city that offers her the opportunity to diverge from the path she selected on the road she walks, few appear as gaunt as she, in reality.

Unkind as this conclusion might be, it remains true. Jessamyn did not deserve to be sexually abused nor did she deserve to be stalked or harassed. Perhaps there is an earnest pursuit in her reaction to these situations but, pulling a knife to the throat of an innocent child has vetoed Jessamyn’s freedom to pretend that her decisions were not her own to make.

No star shines brighter than one in hiding as it keeps itself warm amongst the throttle of poachers. Readers will note the passing of time as the pages draw to a close accompanied by a void of detail that would sneak the genre through mysterious performances into the range of terror that wallowed in the Austrian society during the rise of the Nazi Party.

This is too complex a reflection, Jessamyn views Maria von Trapp as purity & ease whereas in reality, she is a human being with emotions who fled the country that was her home when it was taken over by ideology that she did not feel represented her own.

Ultimately, I am not disappointed in this book as much as I am confused by the need to inflict repetition upon a reader. For readers who have found enjoyment in the new-age linguistic quickening of the tongue with the amputation of profound pensiveness, will surely seethe with pleasure when encountering this book.

The author has them in mind, this is evident, & I should hope they appreciate the ghoulish nature of the character, the meandering of an unresolved series of events, & the tormented sprinkling of bigotry; mirroring the reality of their own societies, which they may choose to acknowledge or ignore.

This will not be my last round of time spent with this author. I believe they are capable of more depth than the seabed that has cracked to plates already served. Regardless of the smoothness of this story, which did not offer me the challenge I hope to find when reading about complex individuals & their paraplegic nature; my afternoon of reading was well-spent. I consumed a book—an activity I enjoy almost as much as the doomed & desecrated monsters cherish the face paint that clouds the grooves of lunacy they’ve carved into their skin.

Thank you to NetGalley, ECW Press, & Meredith Hambrock for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I fear this book is a glimpse into the future of the blue haired girl from TikTok after she graduates high school. Ifykyk. This was kind of like watching Mia Goth’s Pearl auditioning for the dance group on repeat for 24 hours but in the best kind of way.

This is like junk food for the theatre nerd in me. I DEVOURED this book.

I will say though it is written like having a casual spoken conversation, I quite like the use of colloquialisms, but it does use works like “like” a lot, like, a lot. Which personally I think really works for the character, and helps with the flow, but if you’re not a fan of casual writing it might be a bit of a challenge.

Jessamyn is a believably unlikable protagonist and is very unreliable as a narrator, the whole book feels like a friend telling you an outlandish story when you know they’re not being entirely truthful, which is equal parts agonising, and brilliant. I love a good unhinged woman story and think this will be up there for a lot of people with some of the other great delusional and unhinged women books like All’s Well, My Year of Rest and Relaxation and Motherthing.

An agonising and entertaining read 😊

A big thank you to the author, @netgalley and ECW Press for the ARC. Book to hit shelves in April 2025.

Jessamyn St Germain has one dream: to be the lead in a musical. She’s willing to put in the work, too — unlike her nemesis, Samantha. At the beginning of the novel, Jess spends exorbitant amounts of time (and money) with her vocal coach and already has an agent, who has no trouble finding her auditions in commercials and some well-regarded off-Broadway plays.

But they’re not musicals. And when she auditions for the Sound of Music and loses the role to Samantha, Jess knows that Samantha got the part through the people she knows and not hard work. At least, that’s what Jess wants US to think, because that’s what SHE wants to think.

Jessamyn’s perception of events throughout the novel make you root for her at first, but as the novel spirals on, the audience sees a different narrative begin to form. Jess begins the novel as a budding actress, understandably selfish, but hardworking and single-minded. She has some eccentricities, like dating her stalker and turning down seemingly good opportunities her agent presents to her, but nothing abnormal for a young artist. However, whether fueled by warped passion for the theatre or by her objectification by the men in her life, Jess becomes increasingly unhinged. Her interactions with other characters force the audience to face the reality of the situations that Jess has made up in her head. She is using everyone around her, and by the end of the novel, her evil finally bubbles and overflows, drowning everybody in it, including herself.

The lead-up to the finale is NOT subtle, and it’s not meant to be. We as the audience know what’s happening to Jess, and see what will happen, and all we can do is watch with horror as Jess circles around and around the events of the novel, trying to find any way to fit things that happen to her and things she does into her skewed perception of the world around her. She finally gets what she wants, and we love it and hate it.

The novel is beautifully set up by the author, beautifully executed, and beautifully sinister. I will be thinking about this book for a long time.

Thank you!!

Wow. Reading this novel was a full-body experience, and I mean that in the best way possible. The unrelenting dive into the troubled psyche of Jessamyn, our protagonist, was unlike anything I’ve experienced in a novel. She is both deeply relatable and despicable. Which was somehow a deeply intriguing combination.

Jessamyn is profoundly nuanced, thanks to Hambrock’s excellent and detailed writing. Jessamyn’s every thought is detailed on the pages, yet I never tired of hearing her deranged perspectives, whether they be comically trivial (which was often) or integral to the plot. Hambrock combined a perfect mixture of humor, satire, and pathos to create a one-of-a-kind narrative. It was increasingly hard for me to turn the pages as book progressed. The weight of the sheer amount of stress and second-hand embarrassment I was feeling was unfathomable, while also not allowing me to put the book down!

I am sure the “Pearl” comparisons are imminent, and while I was reminded of Pearl in all the best ways in this novel… from where I stand, she has nothing on Jessamyn. Also I must note that I have little to no knowledge about the world of theater. However, Hambrock’s writing was perfectly balanced for beginners and experienced thespians alike to get the most out of this novel as possible.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, dark!!! In the vein of Black Swan or Yellowface, She's a Lamb is a satirical look at the lengths one young woman is willing to go for fame (or her idea of it anyway)

This book was really funny at times and deeply upsetting at others. It can be utterly maddening to read a book with such a delusional main character, but I just let it happen to me and really could not put the book down.

Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for the e-arc. Publication date: April, 2025

Initially the beautiful cover of this book had me hooked, but then I read the first chapter. This book was devoured in days as I didn’t want to put it down, however I also didn’t want it to end. I was constantly trying to guess what extremes Jessamyn would go to to achieve her dreams of fame. I was reminded throughout this book of the A24 movie “Pearl”. Overall, “She’s a Lamb!” will definitely be joining my book collection when it hits the shelves and it will proudly join my list of ‘weird girl / unhinged’ book recommendations.

Thank you so much to Meredith Hambrock, ECW Press, and NetGallery for the opportunity to read this book.

Jessamyn has been dreaming of breaking out as a true star of the musical theater world - she merely needs to be given the opportunity. Unfortunately, everyone seems to want to keep her down. Now she finally has a chance to steal the limelight, and she won’t stop until she does.

She’s a Lamb! is an entertaining satirical novel perfect for readers who don’t mind darker themes and a troubled narrator. It has been described as reminiscent of Black Swan, and this is a fair comparison. The audience has a front-row seat as Jessamyn grows more delusional, driving herself crazy to become a star. Her theatrics are over the top and she is unapologetically uncaring regarding others. It is easy to both be horrified by her actions and to pity her for her brokenness.

While this may not be a heartwarming read, She’s a Lamb! offers a humorous take on the worst possible versions of people. Meredith Hambrock is a talented storyteller, and the audience for this book will be enthusiastic.

Was it “all a mirage, this dream of mine?...it’s been propped up for so long I’ve lost sense of reality.”

Jessamyn St. Germain worked as an usher at a 650 seat theater. “As the house door closes…I realize…I’m the staff, not talent…But they will see me. One day.” Until then, Jessamyn does TV commercials for life insurance, yogurt and laundry detergent. “First stop detergent; next stop, Ibsen.” “Directors don’t recognize greatness…Is it my fault I was born with gorgeous almond shaped eyes, beautiful blonde hair and an eyeball-melting hip-to-waist ratio? I am everything most men have ever wanted.” To her detriment, she had attracted gropers, stalkers, and men willing to exchange money, not feelings.

Jessamyn’s life journey takes a sharp turn when she auditions for the role of Maria in a Vancouver Regional Theater Production of The Sound of Music. Unfortunately, “the king bitch herself, Samantha Nguyen” is cast in the role. Jess is humiliated when offered the job of childminder for the Von Trapp children; to guide and ready the children for the show. She must “swallow an entire emotional meltdown.”

Enter vocal coach Renee who sings all the way to the bank as she rakes in enormous amounts of money to make Jess a star. Renee understands Jess. Her suggestion: learn Maria’s part. “If something should happen to Samantha you could step into the role…If you want it, Jessamyn…you have to take it.” Jess has delusions of grandeur. “I need them to see in me what I see in myself.” Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Jessamyn St. Germain’s complex persona is dark, humorous and disturbing. Her choice of male companions is flawed. As a 26 year old, she feels the window for success waning. It is her right to be recognized…not so fast, Jess. Her character’s story arc was well written but stalled with a sudden incohesive ending.

Highly recommended.

Thank you ECW Press and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

something about an unreliable unhinged narrator makes me giddy. I love when you read a book and your like, what the fuck did I just read? This book gave me all those vibes. thank you NetGalley, the author and ECW Press for this ARC! I think a lot of people are going to love this one!

I appreciated my journey with Jessamyn St. Germain, the poor poor girl.

Without giving away the story, She's a Lamb follows Jessamyn, a 26 year old who is auditioning for Maria in a local production of the Sound of Music. Jessamyn may be one of the most delusional characters I've come across, and fits into the 'weird girl lit fic' trend of being unlikeable, unhinged, unreliable and filled with delusion. When Jessamyn does not get the part of Maria but rather is given a child care taker role, Jessamyn begins to unravel throughout the pages, and often tries to gaslight as readers where you almost start to feel bad for her.

Similar to work by Mona Awad and Emily Austin, She's a Lamb reminded me of "All's Well," "Yellowface," and the Black Swan. The book made me laugh out loud multiple times. I would say the close similarities to other novels took me out of the story a few times due to the fact that I had read very similar plot lines and twists in previous work. I would not weigh it too heavy in my overall impression of She's a Lamb but I felt that it took a bit away from the stories originality.

Thank you to Netgalley and ECW Press for the ARC, I will be suggesting this book on my platform.

If you were hoping for a novel that's Black Swan-meets-Yellowface with a musical theatre twist, this is the book for you. Hambrock's prose is deft and pointed, bringing you into Jessamyn's single-minded world. The truth is slippery and opaque—until the dazzling, disastrous climax slaps you in the face (in a good way, of course). A book like this is too intense to properly describe; you must go on Jessamyn's journey and see for yourself.

OMG this book is genius. The protagonist is so outrageously flawed that you cannot look away. Still, call me crazy, but I felt for her too and could feel the intensity of her reaching for her dreams despite her overt arrogance, which is really all smoke and mirrors. It's hard to review this without giving away any spoilers but I will say I've never quite read anything like it, I enjoyed it so much because it's so different! It's bold and risky and so brash and perfect. How can you root for her, but somehow you do and then as her world changes there's that swallow of dread, that feeling things may of hand - inevitable maybe? Maybe not? I still had hope! What a cracking read!

She's a Lamb feels like a lighter, funnier take on what's been derisively but not entirely inaccurately described as “weird girl lit” - books that are often concerned with the artistic process and unhinged women - Mona Awad’s Bunny, Melissa Broder’s The Pisces and Eliza Clarke’s Boy Parts come to mind, and readers who enjoyed those will find something to connect with here too. There's also something of the cinematic here, which makes sense given narrator Jessamyn’s obsession not just with being an actor or a performer but a *star*, and you'll find elements of Black Swan, All About Eve and Pearl as Jessamyn tries to usurp the role of Maria in a regional production of The Sound of Music.

Jessamyn is an interesting addition to the canon of unreliable narrators; normally within this trope we'll believe one thing only to find, or at least suspect, that that's not true. In I'm a Lamb we instead see Jessamyn do awful things and then later attempt to gaslight us, and herself, into believing that they didn't happen.

There's an undeniable tragedy amidst the black comedy - Jessamyn is constantly abused by men she thinks adore her, is taken advantage of by a snake oil singing tutor, and has a chance to be a genuinely great actor but is instead fixated on the idea of being the sort of wholesome star that brings joy to people's humdrum lives, the sort of star that doesn't really exist anymore. That she’s undergoing all this for a regional theatre production that she is not even a good enough performer for makes it funnier, and sadder.

Jessamyn is part bitch, part delusional, and mostly deeply flawed and unaware of reality - but following her attempts at success and strange relationships like her boyfriend Vishal who is successful and emotionally unavailable contrasted with Anton an ex-stalker turned volatile boyfriend. With aspects of all weird girls before her, Jessamyn is our anti-hero, a bitch we know is a bitch but we can’t help but hope things go well for her as she becomes more and more obsessed with becoming the lead in The Sound of Music we see flecks of Miranda from Mona Awad’s All’s Well and Nina from The Black Swan. Theatre and reality become blurred, and the contrast between the plot of Jessamyn’s horrifying plot to be cast as the lead and the musical solidify the horror and insanity that comes from inhabiting a character that is more than the role sought out, but what acting is, and what can be embodied and altered by our own minds. This reads like a thriller and a car crash you just can’t quite look away from.

Well written and intriguing, but uncomfortable and very dark. “Black Swan” vibes. Reading a book with a narrator that is clearly disturbed can be tough for me. The internal dialogue has so much rationalization and theatre rhetoric, it was transparent and sad. Some may find this depressing and others may find it melancholic. The ending is a bit ambiguous. Reading this book feels like circling a drain. If you like a dark character study, this book may be a good fit for you.

Jessamyn knows she is meant to play Maria in a regional production of The Sound of Music, but instead she is given the chance to be a childminder for the Von Trapp children actors. She talks herself into that she is really the understudy without being called that, and tells everyone in her life that she is playing the lead. Drama ensues.

Thanks to @netgalley and ECW Press for the ARC. Book to be published April 8, 2025.

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