I liked meeting Val in Sizzle Reel and it was really fun to get her POV in this story. Director's Cut was really interesting for me to read because like Val I struggle with anxiety and have a PhD. However, unlike Val I feel very comfortable in academia whereas everything else she was doing would have caused me a lot of anxiety. There were some inaccuracies in the depiction of academia but I did think that Carlyn Greenwald captured something very poignant about doing something you love while struggling with your mental health. It can be easy to not know what you like when something you love has contributed to worsening mental health.

I really enjoyed Val and Maeve's relationship. They had shared interests and a similar history with relationships but Val's fame made their experiences with life pretty different. I liked seeing how that small thing shaped their perspectives to be very different at times.

If you like reading anxiety representation, books set in academia, or a sapphic romance this one is for you! It had a similar vibe to Sizzle Reel but this one was more of a traditional romance. If you are going to read Sizzle Reel I'd read them in order but this could also be read as a standalone.

Thank you to Net Galley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Director's Cut hit the mark for all my expectations in a romance novel. An actress trying to breakthrough into directing while also pursuing her dreams of teaching when she co-teaches with another professor, and how they navigate work life and a budding romance. I had so much fun reading this. The story was cute, and the side characters were interesting while not so much they took from the main story.

I do think the book could have been edited in some places where more details weren't really necessary, and expanded on in other areas, but overall this was a great read and one I would recommend friends to pick up.

I honestly feel like this book had a lot of potential but it took too long for me to get into it. The start was too slow like i didn't feel the immediate chemistry between the leads.

A fun sapphic romcom about a late-blooming lesbian just trying to learn who she is, all while being in the spotlight. Both FMCs are down-to-earth and don't let the spotlight get to them, which I love.

I both really enjoyed seeing this peek into a busy, accomplished woman's amazing Hollywood/academic life, and got hit too hard by being inside her head when she was spiralling. If you are a theatre nerd, you need to read this ASAP.

I loved Sizzle Reel! So I was super excited to read Director's Cut by Carlyn Greenwald.
The story was paced really well and kept me wanting more until the end.
Director's Cut is an entertaining, sexy summertime read.
An adorable sapphic romance.

Thank You NetGalley and Vintage for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

DIRECTOR'S CUT is a sapphic romance about valeria sullivan, an oscar-winning actress who finds herself wanting to take a step back from her acting career and a guest professorship at USC provides her with the perfect chance to do so. the only problem is that her co-professor, the brilliant and attractive maeve arko, wants nothing to do with her or their partnership. but as val proves to maeve how much she cares about their class, maeve starts to soften and neither one of them can ignore the sparks between them. i hadn't read anything by greenwald before but i was so excited to get my hands on DIRECTOR'S CUT and it did not disappoint me in the slightest, i absolutely loved val and maeve's dynamic and their banter and bickering as it led way to flirting and fondness. the third act conflict did feel a bit blown out of proportion at first, but as we got more of an insight into val's mental health issues, i found myself understanding her position better and relating to how she handled things. overall, one of my fave sapphic romances this year!!

read if you like:
- hollywood romances
- queer found family
- sexy professors

thanks to netgalley and vintage for the advanced copy! DIRECTOR'S CUT came out june 11th.

Thank you for giving me the chance to read this book. I wasn't that interested, and didn't love it so did not finish it.

Thank you Vintage Anchor and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I’m pretty disappointed because I was very excited for this book, but I could not connect with it. I thought the concept was good and I was excited to dive in, but I read 30% and it never clicked for me. Unfortunately I have to DNF for now.

This was just like okay. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. It was a good like palate cleanser, but I don't know that I'll think about it again,

This book was so cute! Rounded down a star because miscommunication isn't my favorite. I thought it handled mental health and coming out well.

I really liked Valeria in Sizzle Reel so I was very excited to read this book. While I did like it, it didn’t wow me like I hoped it would. The academia setting was my favorite part of the story. The romance was enjoyable. Val & Maeve had good chemistry but I wish we could have got more from Maeve. The pacing did feel a bit off to me at times.

I really wanted to read some sapphic romance and this was a very lovely surprise. I enjoyed the fact that they were both academic girlies, queer, HOT and showed different queer experience. This book would have benefited from having both perspectives integrated in the book, I would have loved to see what was going through Maeves mind when Val was having an existencial crisis because she felt attracted to her and it would have been nice to watch her internal monologue while they get closer. This was enjoyable, HOT and different from other books I’ve read. Thank you so much for the advance reader copy <3

I don't know if I read the book too fast in one sitting or I need to reread the book once it's published, but it wasn't my favorite sapphic story. I really enjoyed the mental health representation with Valeria and how much it can affect someone, I don't think that's something you see often (especially with real life celebrities). However, I was a little thrown off with how quick Maeve was to change her attitude towards Val, then immediately become friendly and flirty. It's a very quick jump for her character.

Despite my few negative feelings, I really enjoyed reading the book! It makes me want to sign up for a queer film studies class and learn more about films featured at festivals since that was huge for Valeria. I can't wait for everyone to meet Val and Maeve, their story is very sweet.

DIRECTOR'S CUT is wonderfully queer and exceptionally fun.

I Had a lot of fun reading this book. There were many many times where I was laughing or gasping out loud, I was in it from the beginning. The plot is simple but effective and has some great representation. I loved reading about an actress and director who recently came out as a lesbian, as this resonates with me so much. I am also a lesbian who acts and directs, and at times it felt like I was reading thoughts from my own head. I felt very connected to Val because of this, and I hated to see her struggle with anxiety like I have.

The relationship between Val and Maeve was cute, if not slightly rushed. I loved them together and how they challenged and pushed each other, however I wanted more of their "rivalry" at the beginning. It felt like the conflict between the two of them was over before it truly began, I would have liked to see more of an in-between period. They went from adversaries to best buds- and more- very quickly in my opinion. I appreciate Maeve's healthy communication, especially in the act three conflict. It was very mature and responsible. That being said. I have many problems with miscommunication and hiding things as a plot point and this book relies heavily on it. I just want Val to be honest and talk to Maeve!!

I received an advanced readers copy from Vintage Publishing and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

First off, a huge thank you to NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

*2.5 stars rounded down*

I loved the premise of this book. I was so excited to start it, but the further I got into it, the more I realized it just wasn’t for me.

I’m not a huge fan of a single POV story, and miscommunication tropes might just be my least favorite thing in the world. It also took me such a long time to get invested in the characters and the story. To be fair, I am working on getting out of a reading slump, so that might be my fault! The writing was definitely not bad, and the spicy scenes were pretty decent; but overall, there was something about this book that just didn’t click for me.

This is the follow up book to Sizzle Reel, which I have not yet read, so I’ll probably give that one a try to give the author a fair chance.

I didn't love Valeria, one of the fmcs of this book. I did think the IBS rep for her character was done well, though. I did like Maeve, the other fmc. Well, I liked who she was for the last 80% of the book. In the first 20 or so percent, Maeve doesn't like Valeria, but when she starts to like Valeria, it's as if a switch flips and she becomes a completely different person instead of the same person but more open and kind. there was also a lot of technical jargon thrown around in this book, but most of it was interesting.

3.5 Stars Director's Cut by Carlyn Greenwald is a sapphic coworkers-to-lovers, celebrity romance set in the worlds of Hollywood and academia.

Oscar-winning actress Valeria Sullivan takes on a guest teaching gig at USC and finds herself immediately at odds with her co-professor, Maeve Arko, whose beauty and brilliance throw Val off kilter. Since Val came out, her acting options have declined and her transition to directing isn't going well, so Val is determined to finally leave Hollywood. She hopes to leave for a full-time teaching gig, but this one class with Maeve is proving to be a challenge, one that Val is more than ready to rise to the occasion for. As things begin to soften with Maeve and sparks fly, Hollywood decides it isn't done with Val. Will Val choose to honor her obligations to her class and Maeve, or to continue to pursue the Hollywood dream?

I loved the thoughtful conversations this book had about the homophobia, both overt and covert, in Hollywood and academia. I adored Val and Maeve, both as individual characters who were very well written and as a couple. The only thing that bothered me was the miscommunication/lack of communication by Val. It was aggravating that she wouldn't tell Maeve her news (no spoilers) and made the entire situation worse with her self-sabotage. The anxiety and lesbian/bisexual representation in the book were excellent and I definitely recommend this one for a summer read!

Thank you Vintage and NetGalley for the ARC!

This was a solid book. I do not think that I am part of the niche this story is directed toward, but I still had a pretty good time. Valerie is a very well rounded and layered character. The story felt a little frustrating at times because it would've been so much easier if we just used our words!!!!! overall, I think this book will do very well

i enjoyed it a lot, there’s so much talking about musicals and the semi-hollywood setting is always a favorite of mine,the dynamic between the characters at the beginning was a little tense since maeve looked like she didn’t really liked val too much, and i would’ve loved to see a little more of how they change that tension into something more romantic but it happened so fast in my opinion that it felt not natural at all, so that was a little disappointing.

overall the dialogues sometimes felt too long, i know there was a lot to say but i think the conversations could’ve been more back and forth than a long monologue sometimes.

val’s feelings about coming out and realizing that now that she’s out she’s finally free and doesn’t have to hide from the public even in while in hollywood was actually really emotional and i felt so proud and happy for her.

it was a nice, sweet and heartwarming sapphic story and if you’re looking for more of that, specially this pride month, i’d really recommend it.

thank you netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange of an honest review.

rating: 3.5 stars