Book Review - There She Goes by Lynne Shelby

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Title: There She Goes

Author: Lynne Shelby

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Author supplied copy

Publisher: Accent Press

Publication Date: 6th June 2019

Rating: 4 Stars

When aspiring actress Julie Farrell meets actor Zac Diaz, she is instantly attracted to him, but he shows no interest in her. Julie, who has yet to land her first professional acting role, can’t help wishing that her life was more like a musical, and that she could meet a handsome man who’d sweep her into his arms and tap-dance her along the street…


After early success on the stage, Zac has spent the last three years in Hollywood, but has failed to forge a film career. Now back in London, he is determined to re-establish himself as a theatre actor. Focused solely on his work, he has no time for distractions, and certainly no intention of getting entangled in a committed relationship…


Auditioning for a new West End show, Julie and Zac act out a love scene, but will they ever share more than a stage kiss?

It's always a sign that you need to start reading a book when it's title starts repeating itself over and over in your head - practically shouting at you to read the book and I knew the voice wouldn't be silenced until I started reading.  Of course in this books case it was the opening line of the song Fame that was running through my head - and I'm positive the link to that song is why the title was chosen. 

For this is the story of Julie who is just out of performing arts school and looking for not even a big break but just about any acting role.  We are with her through assorted auditions and its one of those where she plays a love scene (hmm that's another song from Fame), with a gorgeous actor called Zac, and from then on they seem to be in each others orbit. 

Given I'm a Londoner and a huge musical theatre fan, I had bee looking forward to seeing this as a theme in a book. Yet it took me a while to fully get engrossed in the story,  from the second half though I just couldn't put it down. 

I think from my point of view it was purely the theatres, big name directors and shows being mentioned as far as I can tell from Google are pretty much fictionalised, so i didn't have the flickers of familiarity I was perhaps expecting. That being said when Julie is out handing out flyers for a club in Leicester Square and surrounding area, it did seem pretty spot on. So some setting was real and some was fictionalised and it just took a while for my poor brain to embrace it! 

But even while I was puzzling that out I was sure of one thing, the chemistry between Zac and Julie is sizzling, and I adored any scene they were in together.  And I loved seeing the full audition process for a West End musical, which has given me a whole new appreciation for what my cousin is attempting to achieve. 

Once I got into this, I thoroughly enjoyed everything about it, and I was completely oblivious to real life for approx the last 40% which I sat and read in one sitting.  This is the first book I've read by Lynne Shelby but it certainly won't be the last, especially if she keeps writing about the theatre. 

Thank you to the author for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily. 

Fab Firsts - Q&A with Lynne Shelby

Fab Firsts is my new regular Sunday feature, that is going to be highlighting books that are firsts. When interviewing authors, it will be about their first book, as well as other firsts in their lives. When reviewing books for this feature, there will be a mix of debuts, first books in a series, the first time I read an author, and possibly other firsts depending on what I can think of!

If you are an author wanting to take part in Fab Firsts then please do email on gilbster at gmail dot com and I'll whizz the questions over to you.

I hope you enjoy this look at a variety of hopefully fabulous firsts, while making some sort of dent in my review and paperback TBRs which are my current main focus!

Hello. I’m Lynne Shelby, and I’m delighted to be interviewed by Rachel for her Fab Firsts feature. My debut novel, ‘French Kissing,’ was published on 20th August 2015.

1) Can you tell us a bit about your first book?

In ‘French Kissing,’ Anna, who is English, and Alexandre who is French, have been penfriends since they were children, but met only once on a school exchange trip. Fifteen years’ later, Alex, now a professional photographer, comes to work in London. To Anna’s surprise, the quiet, skinny boy she remembers has become an extremely attractive man. Anna’s female friends are soon swooning over Alex’s Gallic charm, while Anna’s boyfriend, Nick, is becoming increasingly jealous of their friendship. When Alex has to return briefly to Paris to oversee the hanging of his photographs in an exhibition, he invites Anna to go with him, so that he can show her the city he adores…

2) What was your original inspiration to become a writer, and to write your debut?

I can’t remember a time when I didn’t want to be a writer. I first submitted a novel to a publisher when I was fourteen. They didn’t publish it, but an editor sent an extremely kind letter encouraging me to keep writing. I wrote in various genres over the years, but about five years ago, I realised that what I really wanted to write was romantic fiction. The idea for ‘French Kissing’ came to me when I was travelling home to London on the Eurostar with my family, and thinking that I’d like to write a story set in Paris, one of my favourite cities. A young Frenchman sitting across the aisle spent the entire journey phoning his English friends, telling them that he, François, was on his way to England, and suggesting they meet up, but none of them seemed to want to see him. I felt very sorry for François, but he gave me the idea to write a book about a Frenchman who comes to England and is very much welcomed by an English girl. 

3) How long did it take you to write your first book?

It was roughly a year. 

4) If you could do anything differently in retrospect, what would you change about your debut, or how you went about writing it?

When I was writing ‘French Kissing’ I edited it as I went along. I’ve since met so many other writers, who have been so generous with their advice to a newbie, and who have said that it’s best to get your ideas down on the page and then edit, and I’ve definitely taken their advice on board.

5) Was your first book self or traditionally published, and how did you go about making that decision?

‘French Kissing’ was traditionally published by Accent Press. Quite by chance, I saw that Accent and Woman magazine were holding a writing competition for women’s contemporary fiction, and asking for submissions of the first three chapters and a synopsis of a novel, with the prize of publication and a writer’s holiday in the south of France. I submitted ‘French Kissing,’ and was over the moon when I got a call from Accent to say that I’d won.

6) Do you have any tips for other first time authors?

Ideally, try to write every day, even if it’s just for five minutes, so that the flow of your story stays fresh in your mind. At the same time, don’t beat yourself up if your other commitments mean that you can’t write for a while – it’s important for a writer to build experiences that can inspire their writing.

Tell me about your first...?

7) Book you bought

Prince Caspian by C S Lewis – with my pocket money when I was six.

8) Memory

Unlikely as it seems, I have a memory of being on a ferry when I was two.

9) Person you fell in love with

Reader, I married him - having met him when I was fifteen and he was sixteen.

10) Holiday you went on

A traditional seaside holiday in Bournemouth with my parents.

11) Prize you won

A toy cat, which was first prize for ‘pin the tail on the donkey’ at a children’s party when I was five.

12) Album you purchased

David Bowie’s Aladdin Sane back in the days of vinyl – I’d only bought singles up until then.

13) Sport you enjoyed participating in

Horse riding.

14) Pet

A dog I named Lobo which is Spanish for wolf. Not the most appropriate name for a West Highland White terrier, but I was only seven.

15) Time you were in trouble

When I was caught by a teacher talking in the corridor between lessons at school. My school was incredibly strict.

16) ..choice of alternative career if you weren’t an author

Archaeologist. One day I’m going to write a novel with an archaeologist heroine.

17) … time you felt like an adult

When I and my DH bought our first television together for our first home. 

18) … time you realised you were good at something 

When a teacher at my really strict school read out one of my stories to the class.

19) ..time you bought or received flowers

A red rose from my now DH, then sixteen-year-old boyfriend. 

Thank you so much Lynne for answering my questions, I would definitely find a novel with an archaeologist heroine interesting and love the name of your West Highland Terrier.

Author Bio:

Lynne Shelby can't remember a time when she wasn't writing. She writes contemporary romance, because that's what she most likes reading. In 2015 she was thrilled to win the Accent Press & Woman Magazine Writing Competition with her debut novel 'French Kissing.' She loves travelling and is inspired to write by the many wonderful foreign cities that she’s visited and explored, with a camera and writer's notebook in hand - Rome, Milan, Barcelona, Madrid, Venice, New York, Copenhagen, Berlin and of course Paris, the city which inspired her to write 'French Kissing'. She also loves the theatre, and is currently working on a series of romantic novels set in the world of showbusiness.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/LynneShelbyWriter
Twitter: @LynneB1
Website: www.lynneshelby.com

‘French Kissing’ is available as a paperback or e-book from Amazon:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_14?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=french+kissing+lynne+shelby&sprefix=French+Kissing%2Caps%2C187&crid=3DO5Q4791OG5V