Everything I was hoping for from this story and so much more. The cover of SIZZLE REEL grabbed my attention immediately and I just knew I had to read it, so when a copy arrived on my doorstep I couldn't wait to get to it!

A messy, queer love story that explores Hollywood, full of personal growth and finding your identity in a way that feels raw & emotional, this debut is a must-read. In this friends-to-lovers title of self-discovery, Luna comes out as a baby bi, and her best friend, Romy helps her navigate falling in love and how to be queer in a world full of expectations and demands. As work, love, and life seem to want more from our MC, Greenwald finds a way to make us question what we expect of ourselves and those around us, and how to find acceptance and freedom in our choices.

I loved that Luna's love for cinematography was such an important aspect of the book, and gave a unique viewpoint on so many of the scenes in the story. For me, it gave the characters and actions an unearthly yet vivid filter, that created an other-worldly feel at times that seemed so fitting of the locale and age group. I'd never read a book with confused characters that I related to more, finding comfort in their differences and struggles. I hope this book finds the readers it needs, and brings joy to others as it did me!

Thank you to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor, Vintage for the advance copy to read and review, I really enjoyed getting to read this one!

Overall this book was not for me. I didn't enjoy the love triangle. I found the friends obnoxious. I found the love interest's attitude obnoxious. Half of everyone's problems could be solved with communication. The other half could be solved by the main character googling her sex questions. She had a narrow view of sex. Which I realize, the author was trying to communicate her growth in that area, but I didn't really enjoy reading about it.

I don't think that this was a bad book, I just don't think this was a book for me.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in return for my honest feedback.

I thought this book was an ok read. The characters were interesting to read about. To me the book felt like some parts were moving along at a decent pace and then in others it seem like it was stagnant which in turn made the read seem longer than it needed to be. I tried to connect with the read however I didnt connect as much as I would’ve liked all and all it was a ok read. There were a few parts that seemed very repetitive.

Definitely a fun read. Luna is a total disaster of a main character, and it was easy enough to root for her even when I wanted to grab her and shake her for being so obtuse. I thought the rest of the cast of characters were pretty great, too, and the relationships were nice. There was some really cool Jewish, bi, and nonbinary rep that got deeper than the surface-level stuff you sometimes see in books with such diverse casts. But because of the diversity, the dialogue and writing were very enthusiastically PC, which is not bad! But is noticeable.

Some others have pointed this out, but Luna's motivation really does seem to bounce between career and romance seemingly without cause. Despite it being kind of confusing, it showcased her struggles with anxiety very well.

SIZZLE REEL by Carlyn Greenwald is a fun read and, for a rom-com, it covers some prickly ground around bisexual rep with excellent depth. The setting of Hollywood and film sets as well as the main character Luna's goal of being a cinematographer/director of photography were the initial appeals for me. We don't see enough women behind the camera in books or in life, which is one reason I'll recommend it to my older and adult students.

The delight with SIZZLE REEL is the character of Valeria--she has swagger on the page--and how Luna and her friends try to figure out if Valeria is queer. The other delight, and one that kept me reading, is the palpable longing of one character whose identity I won't reveal.

I didn't expect to enjoy this book as much as I did and I definitely recommend it as a fun read with a great cast of LGBTQIAP+ characters.

For me (as a cis straight white female) I thought this book was an excellent description of the internal struggle the MC went through in determining her sexuality, coming out and the societal ideals of “what sex is”. While I saw the love triangle coming a mile away the author still gave me all the “no pick her!!” feelings you want with that trope. I’ve read some of the lower star reviews and I feel everyone is justified in their opinion and understand that due to my sexuality I don’t share in their same experiences/struggles.

Carlyn Greenwald’s debut adult rom-com, “Sizzle Reel,” is a wholly refreshing and heartfelt sapphic fiction novel releasing next year from Penguin Random House. Set in the not-so-glamorous-as-it-seems world of Hollywood, Luna Roth is a Jewish aspiring cinematographer and talent manager’s assistant in her twenties — and she’s just realized she’s bisexual. Fresh out of a relationship and eager to lose her virginity, she decides to pursue a hookup with one of her manager’s A-list clients, Valeria Sullivan. And when Luna learns the actress just happens to be directing her debut film, she decides to try and score a job on set to further her dream of becoming a cinematographer. But the further she gets entangled with Valeria, the more her other relationships suffer, especially her friendship with her roommate and best friend since film school, nonbinary lesbian Romy. Feeling more lost than ever, Luna eventually must decide what — and who — she truly wants if she wants the love story and job of her dreams.

Written by a screenwriter and film school graduate, “Sizzle Reel” is a hilarious and charming read from start to finish. The love triangle between Luna, Romy and Valeria is intricately plotted and written in a way that feels true to each character — and comes to a satisfying conclusion. The setting and Luna’s passion for cinematography are beautifully written and bring such warmth to the book.

But beyond the romance and the humor is the heart of the story — the messiness that comes with exploring your queer identity for the first time as an adult. So many queer people have their coming-of-age in adulthood rather than in adolescence for a multitude of reasons; the feeling of missing out, of being behind your peers, is one many queer adults can relate to. Luna is a deeply flawed character, and over the course of the novel she makes many mistakes while navigating her identity, but she’s still able to have a happy ending in spite of her misconceptions about queerness, virginity and sex. Queer joy is at the center of “Sizzle Reel,” and that theme is made all the more meaningful by Luna’s struggle with coming into her queerness, which I have no doubt is a story that will resonate with many. It did with me.

“Sizzle Reel” is a must-read for anyone looking for a book about coming out in your twenties, bisexual disasters and happy endings. The novel is currently available for pre-order.

a very solid Okay book. 3.5 stars

Being in Luna’s mind as she navigates her newfound realisation that she is bisexual was interesting because I have been there. While our experiences have not been the same I was able to see similarities between us that was comforting. I did find the constant discussion over her wanting to lose her virginity and not understanding how that could happen with a woman because with a man it’s very obvious to be quite annoying after awhile because it was just going in circles, but I also understand the anxiety she felt over that situation made her like that and her feelings were valid.

I was rooting for her relationship with Valeria at the start, I thought they could be cute together. As time went on I could see where the plot was developing and I am not mad at how it ultimately ended because it made sense.

Romy was an interesting character and I would have liked to dive into her more in fact. I would love to see her journey as she explores more of herself and ventures into the use of the ‘they’ pronoun. Wyatt though really annoyed me. He had his good moments, he had his bad moments, but overall I’m leaning towards the dislike of his character.

If I’m being honest this book felt a tad bit too long. A lot of it felt repetitive, and while I am aware that is representative of real life and how it takes time to work through things, there just wasn’t enough plot to make all of that interesting.

I think this will be a very comforting book for many bisexual people, especially if they are also new to coming out and want to rush into the queer lifestyle but don’t know how. Don’t be afraid to take it slow, you don’t need a relationship or to lose your virginity immediately.

Also a good book for struggling artists trying to make it to Hollywood, with the inclusion of Jewish, lesbian, and non binary representation in the main cast of characters.

I had the privilege of reading an advanced copy of this book. Throughout, Sizzle Reel shows the nuance and beautiful messiness of maintaining deep friendships while also trying to find oneself. The characters' discussions of gender identity, sexuality, and relationships are timely and important. And the surprises along the way made this book an unforgettable adventure through the beauty of your 20s.

Sizzle Reel tells the story of Luna Roth and her voyage of self discovery, both as a bisexual individual and an aspiring cinematographer.

I thought this book was pretty good. The characters were fun and interesting. Romy was kind of a bit much but not so much that I wasn't rooting for her and Luna to get together. Overall I thought the story had a nice flow and arc.

I was given this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you to Vintage and NetGalley for the ARC.

Yeah the look that penetrative sex is the only acceptable version is not a good look for a book, especially a queer book. Not even gonna touch on the aphobia that's perpetuated. Hard pass.

This book was an absolute wreck and I have a lot to say about it. But first since I still have your attention I want to say that I have read the ARC in November 2022 and I have noticed a few lines I am hoping will be changed. For a book that tries so hard to use progressive lingo, it misses the mark several time:
- The misuse of the word "allosexual" that I think should be changed into "horny". Late in the book Luna says: "I just wanna have sex like every allosexual human on Earth." This line implies that people who are on the asexual spectrum do not
want sex which is not true for all of them. It also implies that all allosexual want sex which again isn't true (shocking but true: some people don't want sex regardless of their sexuality, sex isn't the only thing in the world). Again I believe that this line could truly benefit from swapping allosexual for horny. It just makes Luna sounds like a fake progressive who doesn't know the meaning of the words she uses.

- Luna's best friend Romy is a nonbinary lesbian. As a nonbinary lesbian I was overjoyed to see more books with on-page representation. However as the author is a cis (from what I gather on her Twitter) bi woman who probably had a sensitivity reader (I assume, since it's becoming more of a trend when writing trans characters) and I was a bit bothered by some descriptions of Romy. Two pages after being introduced to Romy and being told she's nonbinary (btw I was very excited to see a nby character using she/ her), a really awkward paragraph is dumped on us where Luna quotes Romy explaining her gender/sexuality. This whole paragraph is just weird, sounds like a preachy twitter thread and feels like being spoon-fed information but anyway as much as I agree with the idea behind I and others found the line "mostly identify as lesbian" a bit concerning and I was wondering what was the thought process behind it.

I have other criticism but I absolutely hated the writing so I am afraid more bullet points would not be made out of genuine desire for the book to feature less "problematic" lines. Shoutout to that horrible dialogue where Val says that strap on sex two months after coming out is too early, there is absolutely 0 link between those two facts.

Now the romance... I would need to get into spoilers to explain why I disliked it so much but the premise of this book is that Luna came out to herself as bi 4 days ago and is insecure about her sexuality so she is rushing to get a girlfriend. She meets an actress who seems potentially gay and tries very hard to get with her ignoring all potential HR issues it could cause. The other love interest who really becomes a LI in the last third is the best friend/roommate, very classic love triangle between cool girl/bff. Speaking of love triangle this book fails at making an interesting one and there's no tension or meaningful conflict. I won't tell you the end but that romance was not well-developped. (if we are going into spoilers territory: this is very 90's movie bff gets the girl because he loved her all along despite the protagonist never showing signs of reciprocation. Although I can tell the author tried to convey sexual attraction by making Luna describe Romy's physical features but this came off as awkaward writing more than anything else)

I have kept my biggest criticism for the end because I don't know how fair it is to judge the author on that. She's said on Tiwtter that she's writing flawed characters making mistakes but the virginity quest left a bitter taste in my mouth. First of all Luna is described as a virgin which she is not. Her entire arc is about realising that real sex is not about penetration. Keep in mind that this is a 24 yo bi woman in Hollywood who's best friend is a lesbian and who finally realises that penetration isn't the only type of sex after 2 talks from two different lesbians, a sex scene that didn't involve penetration, a sex scene that did involve it. Luna is obsessed with trying to get gay laid to prove her sexuality to others but she's looking for penetration and refuses to accept it when she's told she's misguided. Twice.

See the problem is that the main character is progressive. Super progressive. She talks like Twitter queer discourse and gives you a presentation on biphobia in every chapter. And you are telling me that part of her character arc is accepting that sex does not just mean penetrative sex? Are you telling me that this super progressive character who definitely pretend she's read feminist theory has to be told at least twice by two different partners that sex isn't just penetrative sex? You know what it checks out and if the author was more self-aware it could have been a good criticism of the shallowness of queer liberals who have not unlearned their patriarchal bias. But it's not.

Since nobody ever mentions it in the book I am going to say it: it is okay to be a virgin (which she's not but anyway) at 24. It is okay to not actively pursue sex during a time of your life when you are still building yourself, it is okay if you are waiting for the right person or you are afraid to put yourself out there. 24 is young and it's not rare to be still a virgin at 24. You still have your whole life ahead of you. Also its okay if you don't want penetrative sex it doesn't make it less sex

As for the Hollywood part... I am not an American, I don't know anything about the film industry and the whole thing was so full of acronyms I couldn't follow the plotline

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

The bi main character Luna really wants to be a cinematographer but is trying to fight her way to that job by being an agent's assistant. She's in a Devil Wears Prada situation, and during that, she meets Valeria, a famous movie star that Luna is really attracted to, but at the same time, starts to leave her job in a precarious position and straining her relationship with her non-binary roommate and best friend Romy.

I always enjoy reading books with bi main characters, especially ones where they are still trying to find themselves. My favorite character was Valeria, to me she seemed the most interesting and I’d love to see a spin off all about her. If you like bisexual disasters this book is for you.

I love reading people realize they are in love.

We see Luna's journey after she realizes she's bisexual, the struggles trying to make it work in Hollywood, having a crush on a celebrity, talking about the experiences she thinks she has to have, and having her best friend with her through all this journey.

What bothered me a little was the way they talked about the age-gap between Luna and Valeria as it was huge, when it terms of age it's actually 4 years? If we focus on the gap being about the time being out and proud, then Luna and Romy have this gap as well, despite having the same age. But I do get the way Luna was idolizing Valeria and projecting onto her everything she thought she needed.

I liked the way it ended despite having figured it out early on what was gonna happen, because as I said, I love reading people realizing they are in love.

- thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me an arc to read and review!

- unfortunately, I found myself not enjoying this book. The characters were bland and repetitive, the points brought up about sex were weird and misconstrued, and I found myself not being able to enjoy myself while reading. I wish I could’ve enjoyed this story more.

When somebody ask for "why coming of age books for new adults with mcs in their 20s are so rare?!" well this book is an answer to the question! It's literally what sizzle reel is about: an early twenty girl freshly coming out navigating to the world that's very new to her down to its experience. It's not about someone MC who knew what she's doing (especially in term of being a sapphic), she's experiencing nervousness, nerves, anxiousness ft. baby steps pace, just very real and authentic. even if you're not one yourself, you surely will enjoy this sapphic coming of age romance novel!

This book was on, but I struggled to connect with the story and characters. It was a bit slow at points, but I was ultimately able to complete it

First of all i want to start by thanking netgalley and the publisher for this arc.

I want to say that one of the things that drew me into this book was the synopsis obviously but also i think the bi colors and lighting on the cover played a huge role since they go perfectly well with the story being told and is a great reflection of it.

The mc experiences issues and concerns that most if not all bi women deal with, I do however whish that the insecurities she had about her sexuality and the invalidation she thought and felt she might recieve from the public over not being "bi enough" due to her intamicy with women or lack thereof were resolved differently also I didn’t quiet enjoy the pacing and it felt a bit slow at times but overall I did like the mc she’s not perfect and she makes mistakes which gives her a relatable touch.

I did enjoy the storyline and I feel like the idea was there it just could’ve been executed way better!!

This is such a great read! The characters, the storyline, the atmosphere. Everything about this book was perfect. Thank you for this read.

Thank you netgalley for providing me with an arc for this.

The synopsis along with the cover looked very promising and I was excited to read it but I ended up not liking the book

A lot of the time it was so slow. The main character felt very immature and I didn’t like the writing style.
There was no chemistry between the characters and the book felt really predictable