Regular visitors to Linda’s Book Bag will know I very rarely reblog about a book, but as HQ are rereleasing my lovely friend Jane Lambert’s The Start of Something Wonderful – a book I loved – I simply had to shout about it today.
The Start of Something Wonderful was released by HQ on 8th May 2025 and is available for purchase through the publisher links here.
The Start of Something Wonderful
It’s never too late to follow your dreams…
Emily Forsyth is on cloud nine…
She has a high-flying job (literally), a hunky boyfriend (soon to be fiancé?) and a life of luxury. But then, out of the blue, her boyfriend dumps her for a younger woman, and Emily comes crashing down to earth.
Suddenly, she’s single and homeless, and the prospect of staying in the same job as her cheating ex is unbearable. So, at forty years not-so-young, she quits steady employment and decides to chase her lifelong dream of becoming an actress.
But with eccentric acting teachers, unreliable agents, and some decidedly unglamorous roles on offer, has she made a huge mistake? Or is this the start of something wonderful?
My Review of The Start of Something Wonderful
Nursing a broken heart and a desire to become an actress, Emily throws in her cabin crew career for a life of drama – in more ways than one.
The Start of Something Wonderful had been on my TBR for such a long time that I was almost afraid to read it. What if I didn’t like it? I needn’t have worried as I really, really enjoyed this uplifting and charming book.
The Start of Something Wonderful is a delightfully effortless read because Jane Lambert’s style is so fluid and natural that it makes reading a pleasure. I loved the realism conveyed through the sprinkling of foreign words and phrases as well as the references to the arts and literature and the quotations from Shakespeare that weave seamlessly into the narrative, yet serve to add depth and flavour. And speaking of flavour, Jane Lambert manages to appeal to all the senses so that The Start of Something Wonderful is vivid, engaging and stimulating.
I loved meeting Emily. She is the perfect embodiment of a real woman of a certain age. Her anxieties, her doubts, her challenges and triumphs are told with emotion and brilliant humour and they are exactly the elements that all women can relate to. I frequently laughed aloud, smiled and nodded as I read because I understood completely how she was feeling as Jane Lambert places the reader very firmly inside Emily’s head. Emily feels like a friend rather than a character in a book.
I adored the storyline. I learnt a great deal about the life of a jobbing actor. I’m sure much of the novel is autobiographical, as, alongside the humour and despair there’s a realism and considerable depth that I thoroughly appreciated. Whilst The Start of Something Wonderful is a rom-com if that’s how you want to define it, it is also a book about being true to yourself, about not relying simply on a man and about making the most of every moment we have. This makes the narrative feel mature and relatable.
The Start of Something Wonderful is a glorious, escapist read with romance, drama (in more ways than one), humour and a cracking story that I loved. It’s just right for a summer read.
About Jane Lambert
Jane studied French and German at Stirling University, taught English in Vienna then travelled the world as air crew before making the life-changing decision to become an actor.
She has appeared in “Witness for the Prosecution”, “True West”, “Calendar Girls”, “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time”, “Watch on the Rhein” and “Deathtrap” in London’s West End .
For further information about Jane, find her on Facebook follow her on Twitter/X @JaneLambert22 or find jane on Instagram.
English (US) · 