Better than the first novel. Great mental health rep and how your mental illness can prevent you from enjoying the small and the big moments of life. The romance was really cute and stable, even though i'm a little skeptical about the elevated rivalry at the beginning!

I love reading Greenwald's romances—the opposites attract, star-and-academic, academia romance was a delight! And so fun to follow up with characters from her adult debut!

Although I enjoyed this book, I had a hard time connecting with the characters' voice and tone and felt that there was a disconnect in seeing the full backstory and emotions of the characters.

Another Greenwald that was a complete miss for me. It took me so long to realize that this Valeria was the same one from Sizzle Reel, she just felt like an entirely different character (I don't mean from a character development standpoint but an entirely different person) which was disappointing considering she was the only character I actually liked in Sizzle Reel. I wanted to love this but I just couldn't vibe with it to the point that I can't even tell you anything else I did or didn't like about this book since it was just so "eh" for me. Director's Cut solidified that I simply don't enjoy Greenwald's characters and unfortunately, I don't think I'm likely to pick up anything else from her. If you enjoyed the writing in Sizzle Reel and books about the tv/film industry and sapphic romance, then this one would likely be a hit for you.

Sincere thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

*3.5

This book is super cute. The romance is well written and the characters are not much originals but enough intriguing for me. I really love the Hollywood setting, it’s super interesting, but I like less the Academic setting, it felt flat to me.
However, I enjoyed reading it.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

I liked this book but didn't love it! I really enjoy the discussions about queer film theory, musicals, and general film studies. It was interesting and informative and I nerded out which was fun. That being said, the romance didn't suck me in as much as I wanted it to.

Did not really love the characters and the romance fell flat for me. I loved a lot of the subplots but not enough to give more than 3 stars. This was an arc via netgalley.

This sapphic rom-com provides an insider's look at the film industry through the eyes of a young, ambitious woman looking to follow her passion and reinvent herself professionally. While the premise is intriguing and the industry backdrop provides a unique setting, I often found the characters to be a bit annoying with points of tension or disagreement that were easily avoidable.

Sincere thanks to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Valeria Sullivan is an oscar-winning queer actress, and budding director. She takes a guest teaching job at USC with Professor Maeve Arko. Upon meeting Maeve does not seem to like Val, but Val can't deny the chemistry she feels with Maeve.

I listened to this on audio, and I thought it was a fun sapphic romance. I liked the conversations about the film industry and queer identifying people within it, as well as biphobia and homophobia. There are also discussions on mental health, specifically anxiety and depression that I thought were really well done. This is marketed as an enemies to lovers, but the enemy part is over so quickly I don't know if it could be called that. Val was hard to like in the beginning, but as we dive deeper into her character, we see that she is very layered. She's extremely insecure about her place in the world and is fueled by anxiety. She causes a lot of issues for herself in the third act, that could easily have been avoided if she had only talked to Maeve. She did go through a tremendous amount of character development, and I did really end up enjoying her character in the end. Maeve was a great match for Val, she was very level headed and able to calm Val's always anxious mind. The biggest complaint I have for this is that I wish it had been dual POV, I think that would have helped understand Maeve on a deeper level. I absolutely adored the relationship between Val and her best friend Charlie, I think their banter was so cute and you could tell they really cared for one another.

Overall, I thought this was a very cute sapphic romance that I had a lot of fun with.

This book was filled with a lot of my favorite things: a main character with a lot of anxiety, a wlw romance, and imposter syndrome in academia. The chemistry of the romance was off the charts and easy to root for. The struggles of the best friend and side characters in the story also helped further the depth by showing how difficult it can be to exist as a queer person in spaces that don't always accept you. I also appreciated seeing both a lesbian and bisexual woman involved in the romance and how well the author integrated the struggles of their past relationships. However, if there is one thing I hate, it's a miscommunication trope. This always makes a story drag for me or lessens the relationship as a whole.

Director’s Cut by C.G is a colleagues-to-lovers romance that takes place within the intricate workings of cinema and Hollywood.

Valerie Sullivan, or Val, is a renowned gay actress who is out of the closet. Hollywood life is not as glamorous as it seems, and she is tired of the glittering falseness of it. Now her attention is elsewhere, directing and teaching. She gets a teaching gig at USC as a guest professor, but everything is not as smooth as it seems, for Maeve Arko, brilliant and beautiful as she is, seems to be not fond of Val. As these two clash, they realize that everything is not as it seemed behind each other’s walls. Val considers returning to academia, where her passion is, and most importantly, where her now girlfriend Maeve is. But her other life interferes, making her choose between Hollywood and the life she wants. Would she be able to find a way to keep them all, or is it something that wasn’t meant to be in the first place?

This was a fun read which I enjoyed very much. Director’s Cut deals with issues of conflict between private life and celebrity life in a realistic way. There are no dramatic breakups that tear each other apart. Communication issues caused by fear do exist, but there is no drama here. They find a way to support each other’s dreams and achieve their own dreams by communicating with each other in the end.

The story is mostly narrated in the view of Val, and I do wonder about Maeve’s point of view. Did her brain melt when she first saw Val in person? How does she see Val as a lover? She is a character that is as captivating and charming as Val, we need more of her innermost thoughts (c’mon I have a crush on Maeve as Val did!).

Also, the phrase gay lizard brain made me giggle while reading Director’s Cut. I’ve never heard that phrase, but I get what that feels like!

I received an ARC for an honest review.

Such a cute story! I cannot waaaait to read what this author writes next. I do wish we got a little more backstory on Maeve & Val but overall this book was such a cute read

I like when I can learn something from a book, but the first half of this book contained way too much pedagogy. The film studies class was boring and the story was unengaging and slow moving. Obviously written by a film school grad, way too technical about film. Neither thrilling nor romantic, as one reviewer stated. I liked the main character, Valeria and became sympathetic to her struggles and issues, so her character development was good. Otherwise, this was a long read for me. Thank you NetGalley for providing the ARC.

Overall this was a good one! Valeria is a Hollywood actress in the midst of a career crisis. She was a fun main character and I really liked the different aspects of her acting career and her new teaching possibilities. There was way too much miscommunication and that always brings a book down for me. Too much could’ve been solved if Val just told Maeve what was going on- it’s so frustrating! I liked the little bit of enemies to lovers vibes between Val and Maeve and the romance is super sweet. It’s a bit of a slow one to start and get in to but once you get a few chapters in you’ll be hooked until the end!

I like how unapologetically film nerdy this book is. It gets deep in the weeds of film theory and history, which is extremely my jam. It definitely feels insider-y and like a lived-in world. That being said, it sometimes weighed the narrative down. I'm always happy to see Jewish rep and queer rep in romance.

This is a sapphic romance. Valeria Sullivan is an actress and director. She is at a crossroads in her film career. As she decides whether to continue acting and directing, she accepts a teaching opportunity as a guest professor at USC. Maeve Arko is a professor at USC. She is the co-professor working with Valeria. Their first meeting does not go well. Maeve feels Val took on this teaching opportunity as a distraction until her film career gets back on track.

As they become comfortable with each other and begin to respect the other’s teaching, sparks start to fly.

I enjoyed the film discussions in the classroom. I liked that both main characters were strong women. Their story also emphasized that strong established individuals can still have mental health issues.
The miscommunication trope does jeopardize their relationship.

“I want each of us to be each other’s solace amid the insanity of the careers and lives we’ve chosen.”

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to receive an EARC in exchange for an honest review.

Val is trying to navigate Hollywood, her transition from actress to director, and also pursuing her teaching career in higher education. We learn of her past toxic relationships and her attempts at pursuing being a director in an industry where actors are often told to stay in their lane. Her Hollywood experience in conjunction with her commitment and interest to academia, getting her PhD even with navigating a past relationship and other roadblocks, leads her to co-teaching with Maeve.

The initial interactions with Maeve set the foundation for an enemies to lovers arc and I’m not mad about it! Both Val and Maeve became likeable and relatable as we unpacked where each of them was coming from and how the scenario had come to fruition. It was a bit fast, I would love loved a bit more drawn out angst before diving into the forced proximity trope, which again I’m not upset about I just wish we had a little more buildup.

As their teaching and relationship progress we learn more about Val and her mental health and her avoidance of meeting her own needs head on.

This leads to some miscommunication and I did find myself silently screaming at Val to please communicate with Maeve. While it drove me a little bananas it did also add additional layers and nuances to their story.

This is a fun Hollywood x Academia read with mental health rep and supportive friends and family!

4 gooses, 3 honkin peppers

DIRECTOR'S CUT is a fun, sexy, wlw romance about an actress who wants to get out of acting, so she accepts a guest-teaching position at a local college. She then falls for her co-professor, and things quickly get steamy.

It was supposed to be enemies-to-lovers, but seemed to rush through the "enemies" stage and jump right into the "lovers". While there was plenty of angst and secret pining during their relationship as well, I love the "enemies" stage and wanted to see a little more of those scenes!

I really enjoyed learning about the film studies topics that Maeve and Val were teaching in class. It was a fun background to this romance, along with the discussion on how celebrities get put under a microscope and aren't allowed to have privacy.

Director’s Cut by Carlyn Greenwald is an enchanting and emotionally resonant romance that delves into the worlds of Hollywood and academia, exploring themes of personal growth, ambition, and love. The novel follows Valeria Sullivan, a 29-year-old Oscar-winning actress whose career hits a snag. After a disastrous interview and a failed attempt at transitioning to directing, Val decides to take a break from the Hollywood limelight and accepts a guest professorship at USC.

Valeria, or Val, hopes that teaching will provide her with the fresh start she needs. However, her new role is anything but easy. She is immediately challenged by her co-professor, Maeve Arko, a woman whose intelligence and beauty are matched only by her initial disdain for Val. Their interactions are filled with tension, as Maeve is skeptical of Val's commitment and capability. Yet, as the semester progresses, Maeve's frosty exterior begins to melt, revealing a complicated and passionate woman underneath.

The chemistry between Val and Maeve is palpable and forms the heart of the novel. Their relationship evolves from mutual antagonism to deep respect and eventually to love. Greenwald expertly captures their emotional journey, making their romance both believable and compelling. The dynamic between them is a rollercoaster of emotions, filled with witty banter, heated arguments, and tender moments.

While navigating her growing feelings for Maeve, Val is also confronted with the resurgence of her Hollywood career. Her directorial debut, Oakley in Flames, starts gaining traction, forcing her to juggle her responsibilities as a professor and her lingering desires for fame and success in the film industry. This tension adds a layer of complexity to Val's character, as she must decide what truly matters to her and what she's willing to sacrifice.

Spoiler Alert: The climax of the novel sees Val at a crossroads, torn between staying at USC with Maeve and returning to Hollywood. Her decision is complicated by external pressures from both worlds, making the resolution both heartfelt and satisfying. In the end, Val's choice reflects her growth and the strength of her relationship with Maeve.

Greenwald's writing is vivid and engaging, drawing readers into the glamorous yet cutthroat world of Hollywood and the intellectually stimulating environment of academia. The novel is not just a romance but also a commentary on the challenges faced by women in both fields, making it a thought-provoking read.

Director’s Cut is a beautifully written story that blends romance with personal and professional struggles, offering a nuanced look at love and ambition. It's a must-read for fans of LGBTQIA+ romance and anyone who enjoys a well-crafted story about finding oneself and embracing love against all odds.

I would like to thank Knopf, NetGalley, and the author for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Read if you like:
🎥 Movies
🔥 Hot professor
🏳️‍🌈 Sapphic romance
🧠 Mental health rep

Oscar- winning actress, Valeria Sullivan, is trying to make the transition into directing but a bad interview puts that at risk. She thinks her time in Hollywood may be over and decides to pursue her academic interests and accepts a guest professorship at USC. The professor she’s assigned to work with, Maeve Arko, is brilliant, beautiful, and doesn’t trust that Val got the position based on her merit. Sparks fly, Val’s directorial debut is selected for a film festival, but Val has to decide which life she wants: fame and movies, or academia and Maeve.

As a professor, of course I love an academic setting! I really enjoyed this rom-com. I read Sizzle Reel last year and liked it but I liked this one even more. I loved the relationship development and seeing Val’s growth, there were also a lot of heavier topics which were handled very well. There were a few spots where the character development was a little confusing, like with Val’s academic background. But I liked the characters immediately and loved rooting for them.