Valeria is a famous actor breaking into directing, and has just recently come out publicly. She signs with a new manager and part of her wish list was to teach a college course. She’s co-teaching with Maeve, and the tension is so high. Maeve underestimates Val’s commitment to academia, and treats her like an enemy. Maeve eventually comes around, albeit rather abruptly, and they begin a friendship that quickly turns into more.

Val and Maeve are really sweet together, but Val wasn’t entirely forthcoming with her at times. She wasn’t able to get the reassurance she needed, because she was too scared to mess up the fragile stages of a new relationship with someone she really liked and admired.

Val’s friendship with Charlie was so sweet, and I really enjoyed his presence. Her sister, Gwyn, made a few appearances, but I couldn’t get a read on her. Sometimes she seemed super supportive, and others more like a disapproving aunt.

Val’s decision making was questionable at times. She was facing a crossroads with her career. She was so excited to be taken seriously as a director at the start. Ten chapters later Val was ready to give up on Hollywood completely in favor of academia and a relationship with Maeve after they’d kissed once. If Saturn Return could be personified, it’s Val. She was in a pivotal stage of her career and her personal life, and struggling to choose which path to follow. Val was also struggling with anxiety and trauma from a previous relationship throughout this whole process. She was in therapy and finally decided to start medication, but only after procrastinating on major conversations she was afraid of and having it blow up in her face. She eventually worked through her mess and did her best to make it up to everyone. Valeria’s anxiety gave me secondhand anxiety, but ultimately we both underestimated Maeve in those moments.

I didn’t pick up how closely connected this was to Sizzle Reel until I saw a few other reviews. I hadn’t read that book, and Director’s Cut wasn’t listed as part of a series. I never really felt like I was missing out on anything. The characters had a rich history, and were well developed within the confines of this book. It is possible some of the side friendships might make a bit more sense having read Sizzle Reel, but I wouldn’t let it stop me from enjoying this work.

I also did not realize that the course they’re teaching was based on musicals made into movies. I hate musicals! Despise them! I learned things that made me call into question at least 49% of the reasons I don’t like musical movies. I spent at least 20 minutes falling down a google/reddit rabbit hole afterwards. That early section of Val’s first interaction with the class was so well written and informative that I had a baby existential crisis.

Overall, I would definitely recommend Director’s Cut.

Thank you so much to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book early in exchange for an honest review.

Director's Cut is about Valeria Sullivan, a famous actress who takes a guest teaching gig and develops feelings for her co-professor. I haven't read Sizzle Reel, which connects heavily to this book, but that didn't detract from any part of the story or the main romance.

It was so interesting and refreshing to read a queer story that mixed Hollywood with academia. I really enjoyed Val and Maeve's quips about films and genres and loved how the side characters such as Charlie and Ty fit into the story.

As a screenwriting student who has taken many film classes I wasn't sure about some of the language and material described in the later classes (the first one was great as far as I could tell). This is also a book that focuses heavily on misunderstandings and withheld information which got to the point where I was very annoyed at Val for not talking to Maeve. But the spice level and the true connection between the characters was great and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this arc.

3.5 stars rounded to 4.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5

Right off the bat, I have to mention that I didn't realise how connected this book was to Sizzle Reel. I am aware of that book but have not read it as the premise/what I had heard didn't appeal to me as much. While the book does feature a continuing storyline and a lot of callbacks to Sizzle Reel, it can be read as a standalone affair.

Director's Cut has a fairly unique mix of Hollywood romance with Academia. The Hollywood aspect is definitely more central though, as the book is told only from Valeria's perspective and her interactions in Academia are mostly limited to Maeve, her TA, and her class. Still, I found the classroom aspects fairly interesting. As a very STEM-focused major, I've never taken a film class, so I learned a few new things as well.

On to the romance itself, I found the romantic development refreshingly realistic. It was kind of low-key/realistic in a way I don't often expect to find in romance novels. The book doesn't spend as much time on the getting together aspect, but more so on Valeria's growth through the relationship and the need to communicate better.

The lack of ability to communicate/be honest is sort of the main conflict of the book, and that's where the book can get... frustrating. As a person with debilitating anxiety, I do sort of understand the whys of it, but I still couldn't help getting frustrated with just how long Valeria just lets certain issues build up in her head(she does it through most of the book). Thankfully, the eventual fallout is not very long or dramatic. However, that does make her get over deep-seated issues rather fast.

Overall, Director's Cut is a refreshing Hollywood romance because of the uniqueness of its premise and the realism of its romance. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in a Hollywood or Academia romance.