I received an ARC for this book without really knowing anything about it. I felt as if it was the second in a series as it seemed to start without my knowing a lot of facts. I just looked, and our heroine Valeria was a main character in Sizzle Reel. I think reading that first might have helped.
So, Oscar winning actress Valeria Sullivan is a hot mess. She has apparently come out as a lesbian quite recently after years of pretending her gay friend Charlie is her boyfriend. (He was my favorite character, by the way)
She has an intense anxiety order and failed her PHD dissertation at Oxford, which caused her longtime girlfriend to break up with her (apparently, what happens in England stays in England).
She is now in Hollywood and has directed a movie, but is thinking of becoming an academic (she got a PHD somewhere. )
She meets the professor she is co teaching with at USC, and basically, this is where the story starts.
So, what do I think? The book is a nice love letter to LA, which I liked as I lived in LA for 10 years. The many different relationships in this book was interesting.
Lots of lesbian sex,some of which I skipped.
I am afraid Val's many hangups became very frustrating to me, and I must have yelled, just tell her already, many times.
I did like the Jewish parents, the gay guy best friend, and seeing some of the goings on in Hollywood development hell.
As I said, I wish this would have been marked second in a series, as I would have read Sizzle Reel first and not been so confused at the first few chapters of this book.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the EARC. This is my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! Val was such a great character with such a great heart, and I appreciated the way the anxiety rep was portrayed. The love story between her and her co-professor Maeve was well developed and swoony but my favorite relationship was actually between Val and her best friend Charlie who I absolutely ADORED. I'm really hoping he'll have his own book (what do you say, Carlyn). Finally, the inside look at the entertainment industry, specifically musicals was really interesting and a learning experience that I didn't have to pay or study for. Win/Win!!

-professor x celebrity
-forced proximity
-hate to love
-mental health rep

3/5 ⭐️
2/5 🌶️

valeria is guest lecturing while she's taking some time away from acting and directing. maeve is the co-professor that val is supposed to work with for the semester... but she immediately hates val

after a series of tense encounters & disagreements surrounding their lectures, val & maeve are undeniably attracted to each other. they both have a lot of baggage that comes up. gotta love therapy

i wanted to love this, but i didn't. i wanted more sweet moments, but they went from hating to forgiving to being in love all at the same time. i told my boyfriend "i think i have whiplash". i wanted more build up before they were together & val frustrated me

Whenever you encounter episodic storytelling, be it on a TV show or a Cinematic Universe or even a series of a books, the work often needs to justify itself while it catches you up. Yes, it's often subtly side-eyeing you for walking in during the middle of its performance, but it acknowledges that not everyone necessarily has seen the beginning of the story (or, if they have, don't have perfect recall).

Sometimes, you can mix in the exposition with the entertainment – think the recaps of Luis in the Ant-Man movies – or even woven into the story as a narrative structure, a la Zombieland's rules. But other times you get the literal "Previously, on The West Wing" where a voiceover recaps everything relevant to ongoing storylines.

Much like this review, I implore you to slog through the information dump at the top of the book, because it eventually gets to where it's going. Admittedly, I initially did not know that this book is a shared universe – though I did read the first one – so maybe it's understandable. I want to advise not to judge too early.

A lot of the narrative of this book revolves around queer cinema, and as a card-carrying queer, I know firsthand the value of representation and feeling seen and validated in media. In the same way, Val's generalized anxiety feels like a breath of fresh air, even if it is incredibly difficult on a personal level to read through the insecurities and self-sabotaging.

Nobody's perfect in the real life or fiction, and Val and Maeve are no different. Val doesn't handle herself with the most grace and care, Maeve doesn't react perfectly ... but they're both people, and they're both trying. You know I'm a sucker for real characters having real emotions and real reactions.

A passing familiarity with musicals is probably pretty important if you don't want to zone out completely for the teaching scenes, but I thought the technical movie discussions were approachable while still intelligent.

This book gets a little dense at times, but honestly I like that too. Life isn't always quips and back-and-forth repartee, and it's nice to let thoughts and emotions breath a bit. All in all, it's a lovely time well-spent, and I look forward to meeting some of these characters again.

Dang I’m a sucker for that cover art.

I really wanted to love this book.

It has character from Sizzle Reel, Valeria as she debuts as a director and also moves into a teaching job. The professor she team teaches with is gorgeous and also probably hates Val… maybe not?

It started out good. I liked Val being messy and finding her footing as a teacher. But once the romance starts and she can’t talk to Maeve about anything and LIES. She lost me I was so annoyed with her for the rest of the book. I also wondered a few times if I would have liked the book better from Maeve’s POV or a dual POV.

Thanks to netgalley and Knopf for an eARC

The appeal of this book for me was seeing the world of Hollywood and academia through the main character's eye as she pivots from one to the other during a crucial time of her career. The premise really drew me in and the cover is really cute. There are plenty of sweet moments (and its Pride month so we love to see it)

Unfortunately this book wasn't a total hit for me. I can't speak on whether the depiction of the main character's anxiety is realistic or relatable but there was an element of self sabotage that I found some familiarity with. In part I wish this book was broken up into dual perspective because it would have been nice to see Val from Maeve's POV. It was exhausting being inside of Val's POV the entire time with little reprieve and perspective to how her actions effected her girlfriend could have helped me warm up to her in the end. Also it would have been nice if we could have stayed in the "enemies" part of the story more because they got together so quick (the description of the book even says they get together early but gosh it could have held off a bit). Once they were a couple, my interest in the story waned and I believe the outcome of the conflict could have been achieved even if they weren't a couple yet. Overall it was kind of boring and I'm struggling to remember much of the plot even though I only finished the book a few days ago. Not a bad book but the execution left me wanting more out of it.

A beautiful rom-com that’s funny and sexy but also shows how important it is to get help with your mental health professional. Also how important communication is between couples. I think was a great story.

This F/F romance is a follow up to Greenwald’s debut SIZZLE REEL, and I actually enjoyed this one more! It follows Valeria (one of the leads of SIZZLE REEL), a successful actress and burgeoning director, as she gets a guest-teaching gig at a college, and has to navigate her relationship with her brilliant and intimidating faculty co-teacher. You can probably guess what happens next.

I really liked Val’s character in SIZZLE REEL, and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to read a book from her perspective; I liked the academic setting, and I felt like the romance was well done and kept me interested. The conflict was sometimes frustrating to read, but also felt very genuine (a lot of it stems from Val’s issues with anxiety in a way that was sometimes painfully relatable!) I’d say worth a read if you like the description, even if SIZZLE REEL was a miss for you; it was a very different book, to its benefit.

Thank you so much to Vintage Books and Netgalley for the ARC!

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Director’s Cut by Carlyn Greenwald is a first person-POV Jewish Sapphic contemporary romance between actor-turned director Valeria and cinema history PhD Maeve. When Valeria decides to pivot her career to be more behind the camera, she also chooses to put her education to use and be a visiting assistant professor at a university in LA, pairing her up with Maeve. As they spend more time together and share their love of film and experiences as Sapphic women, the two grow closer and develop a relationship that gives them both the security they need.

One of the things I really liked was how Carlyn Greenwald centered issues in the Queer community that do get discussed, but could use more discussion. The novel opens with Valeria going to an interview and she’s prodded to out someone, which is a huge no-no in our community. It felt triumphant when Valeria not only refused to name names of her former partners, but to also call the behavior out. However, iit also showcases how some people in modern society may not see it as a big deal. After all, Queer people are on TV, right? Plenty of people are out, it’s not a big deal anymore, right? While the novel doesn’t go into how dangerous that line of thinking is, to assume all Queer people are safe, it does take a stand that we need to respect those who choose to stay in the closet for whatever reasons they have.

Another issue the novel explores is domestic abuse in the Queer community. Maeve is Bisexual and when a former partner learned Maeve had previously had sex with a man, the partner reacted with disgust. Maeve also felt isolated from others while in a relationship and that something was wrong with her sexuality until she finally left that relationship, but she dated men for the most part afterwards due to that experience of not being respected for expressing her sexuality. Valeria’s previous long-time partner often belittled her and made Valeria feel as if she was less than, until finally leaving Valeria in a cruel way.

Both of these issues are so incredibly important for our community to openly discuss. Bi/Pan-phobia still exists, Queerness does not exclude someone from being abusive, and no matter how Queer-friendly the world may seem now compared to five, ten, fifteen years ago, some of us are not in a position to be out. Pairing that with brief depictions of harassment and inappropriate behavior towards celebrities, Greenwald delivers not only a beautiful love story between two Jewish Queer women that celebrates finding love after abuse, but a sharp social commentary.

A really fun aspect is that Valeria’s class is on musical movies, which allows the text to explore the musical genre, a genre that has played a large part in the Queer community over the years. Those are some critiques of fan favorites and both Valeria and Maeve are very opinionated and I think that’s part of the fun. We get to see them disagree on different films and come to a truce on others. I also learned some things, such as the off-Broadway version of Little Shop of Horrors has a very different ending and is a critique of capitalism.

I wish this book had existed back when I was in college and figuring things out, but I am so thankful that so many young Queer people are going to have it now. I’m thankful that elder Queers who are exploring their identity get to have it.

Content warning for mentions of domestic abuse, Bi/Pan-phobia, and harassment.

I would recommend this to readers who love movie and musical history, fans of Sapphic romance looking for a contemporary that includes societal critique, and those who are asking questions about their own sexuality.

"Director’s Cut" serves up a steamy romance with a side of career crossroads. Oscar-winner Valeria Sullivan ditches Hollywood for academia, only to find herself locked in a battle of wits (and maybe hearts?) with her brilliant co-professor Maeve Arko. Valeria's journey from celebrated actress to respected academic is engaging, but some of her choices left me wanting to shake her. The novel expertly balances second chances, intellectual sparring, and sizzling sapphic romance. While Valeria's Hollywood past threatens to steal the spotlight, the core relationship remains captivating and heartwarming. Overall, "Director’s Cut" is a 4 out of 5 star read, perfect for those who enjoy a bit of heat with their happily ever after.

I so badly wanted to love this book. The premise pulled me right in. An actor/director co-teaching at USC with a professor. A little dislike to lovers? Sapphic love? Count me in.

Unfortunately I did not like this book. I was so bored basically the entire time, and found myself wandering off as I was reading. I probably should’ve DNF’d this one, but I was so hopeful that I would have connected with the characters at all at some point.

I did love the premise of this book, but it just didn’t quite hit the way I wanted it to.

Val is an openly out lesbian actress who gets frustrated that all anyone care about is the fact she is a lesbian and gets a lot of stereotypical roles after publicly coming out. With her career in a down turn she decides to do an adjunct professor job. Maeve is a professor that is immediately frustrated with Val because she feels Val is materialistic and doesn’t necessarily deserve this position.

There was a lot to enjoy in this book. The mental health rep and the struggling with medication was something I could relate to and really enjoyed. It was a major plot and came up a lot and I feel like that makes sense since Anxiety is something that is always present for a lot of people and can be all consuming, and personally I feel like this book did a great job of highlighting that. I also loved the underlying theme of critiquing Hollywood and how much of a challenge things can be for actors that are not straight cis and white.

Unfortunately the pacing was a major issue in this book. I found myself putting the book down quite a bit out of boredom and putting off picking it back up and I think the pacing was a large part of this. There are a lot of scenes of lectures and they just were filler. I was a theater kid growing up so I did enjoy this at first, but it got to be a little too much. Another thing that bothered me was how much of this plot was just miscommunication. If the characters would have communicated this book wouldn’t exist. I understand anxiety can play a large role in miscommunication, but I really just wanted these characters to talk. And why this book did have a happy ending, I have a hard time believing this relationship is going to last. So for me personally it felt like a “happy for now” ending because I feel like this couple won’t last and I just personally don’t like walking away from a romance book feeling that way.

Overall this book was good, but there were also many things I would have liked better if it was different. I’m not sure if that makes sense, but that’s how I feel walking away from this book.

3.5 stars
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
I had mixed feelings about Carlyn Greenwald’s debut, but I was impressed enough to read something else from her. Director’s Cut is a sort-of spinoff of the prior book, following Valeria, who previously was a major supporting character. However, like the prior book, I finished the book with mixed feelings.
Val as a character is probably the best part, and I find that Greenwald’s strong suit is creating really sympathetic protagonists. She’s much more complex than the protagonist of Greenwald’s previous book, but I found her immensely relatable in her tendency to anxiously overanalyze things. And the way this also dovetails into compassionate discussions about mental health care and the issues that come with being a celebrity are well-done.
And in theory, Maeve is pretty great. I respect how no-nonsense she is with Val’s hemming and hawing, and while she’s not insensitive, she doesn’t let her blame her mental health for everything. And these characters do have solid chemistry for the most part.
But what killed the book for me was the plot and pacing. While I wasn’t expecting a ton to happen, there’s a lot of time dedicated to the school stuff, and while it was fun for a while, it definitely bogged the story down, and took away from the character and romantic development.
While this book had some similar issues to her previous one, and some new ones, there’s still a lot I really enjoyed. I’d recommend it to readers interested in a slow-burn enemies to lovers romance, especially if you also happen to be a film buff.

*I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

There was so much growth from this author's first book, and I want to start by applauding that! "Director's Cut" shows a clear investment in developing her craft, and I enjoyed it more than her previous book. The plot was good, the characters were mostly enjoyable, and the pacing was good. I found some moments were a little bit uncomfortable, especially when it came to communication/miscommunication. But overall, a solid read!

Director's Cut is a sapphic romance about Val, an Oscar-award-winning actress and new director, and Maeve, a professor at USC. Val wants to get into the world of teaching, and signs on as a co-professor with Maeve to teach a film/musical/something like that class.

Val is a huge celebrity, has awards, just directed her first movie that got into a fancy-ass film festival, has a mansion, is so rich, etc etc. so you can see how that can get annoying. She has zero clue about how to communicate. She is insecure, she hides things from her partner, and she is always doubting herself. She has been seeing the same therapist for over a decade - you would not be able to know that if it weren't for the scenes in which she goes to her therapy appointments. The way that her anxiety was described just seemed so stereotypical and simple. The whole conflict of the book is her not telling her partner about something (something good, even...) and her letting the anxiety build up inside her the whole time. It was really frustrating being inside her head. The romance was cute, and the spice scenes were decent, but I was bored and annoyed with the main character and only POV of the story.


Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing for an e-ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest thoughts. Happy Pride Month!

RATING : ⭐️⭐️⭐️
SPICE : 🔥🔥

I will always jump at a chance to find a good sapphic romance! This one features a Hollywood A-list actress turned academic, and her professor colleague. Val and Meave were characters that I emphasized with and wanted to feel connected to!

TROPES ⬇️

✨ Single POV
✨ Bi Sexual Rep
✨ Workplace Romance
✨ Dislike to Love
✨ Miscommunication Trope

We are told this story entirely from Val’s POV and honestly even though I loved being in her head, I wanted more form Meave. Valeria was a good character but at times she felt tedious and it made the story pacing seem off. I loved the tension we had in the beginning between the two characters and wanted to see so much more of that.

Overall the story was good but I really hate the miscommunication trope when it stunts a characters growth and that’s what I felt happened here. I still enjoyed it, but I wanted so badly to love it!

One thing I have to say though is thank you for Mesve and her bi representation because I understood and appreciated her so well.

Valeria, an award-winning actress, is in a bit of a slump. Though successful, she aspires to do more with her career. She, simultaneously, wants to expand her involvement with the production of film and TV by directing and using her PhD to teach. After starring and directing an indie film, Valeria takes a semester to teach an adjunct class at USC. (The California one though the University of South Carolina opened before California was even a state.) There, she butts heads with her co-professor, Maeve.

While I didn’t read Sizzle Reel, which is in the same universe and took place before this book, it isn’t necessary to do so to be able to read this book. While I enjoyed the premise of this book, the pacing and the overuse of the lack of communication/miscommunication trope really diminished my overall impression. While I did enjoy the classroom setting and the excerpts of the lectures Valeria gave, I do think more time could have been spent on the transition from butting heads to lovers. Very little time was spent on Valeria’s and Maeve’s friendship and once they got together, their relationship progressed rather quickly.

In the last ten or so chapters, Valeria learns something that is huge for her career but could impact Maeve’s career. Instead of just sitting down and coming up with a plan, Valeria just stews in her stress and anxiety for months. Valeria deals with debilitating anxiety that triggers existing health conditions. I, too, suffer from bouts of anxiety and executive dysfunction, but the reason in Valeria’s case just wasn’t that deep, even with that level of anxiety. I think the book tries to bring up the stigma of taking medicine to treat mental disorders, but it doesn’t really follow through with it.

As much as I wanted to enjoy this book, it was just a miss for me. I think plenty of people will enjoy this story, but I couldn’t get over some of the tropes used as several, if known, will be an automatic non-read for me.

#netgalley #directorscut #aaknopf #pantheonbooks

This was a lovely book, my first one by this author! I fell in love with all of the characters, which is so fun. There was no out-of-place villain. This book does deal a lot with the miscommunication trope, but fully backs it up.

Overall, this one lagged a little in the middle but picked right back up. I am glad I continued reading. This is an awesome sapphic read for anyone who loves Hollywood and especially musicals (that was a fun find!) 🎥🎶

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this book!

This book is a solid 4 stars because it has everything that I love in a novel. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read this advanced copy.

This is the first book that I have read by this author and it definitely won’t be the last. I love sapphic romantic comedies with celebrities and coming out stories and this book served up so many humorous and relatable moments between Val and her best friend, Charlie. I just love the whole Hollywood meets academia setting in this novel because I got a front row seat to Val’s internal conflicts and struggles to prove herself as a worthy director. Many people in Hollywood saw her as a successful actress but she wanted her work as a director to be acknowledged and respected, however, a lot of people and the media wanted to hear about her coming out story and they were focusing on her sexuality instead of her skills as a director.

I really enjoyed learning about the film industry and it was a pleasure to see things from Val’s point of view but I wish the author had included Maeve’s thoughts and emotions as well because the story felt a bit one-sided. In spite of that, Director’s Cut is a well-written and highly entertaining novel about coming out in Hollywood, mental health awareness, friends who are like family and finding love where you least expect it.

What a great way to kick off Pride Month. Academy Award Winning Val Sullivan takes a break from acting and directing to teach a film class at USC alongside Maeve Arko. She loves academia (and the women in it) so is drawn to Maeve's presence right away. I loved the college classroom atmosphere of Director's Cut, the tension and depth of the lecture scenes, and the exploration of the weight celebrities carry. As a sucker for dual point of view reads, I would've loved to get inside Maeve's head more, especially in the early chapters, but that didn't stop me from adoring her character. If you've read & loved any Haley Cass novels, you'll love Director's Cut.

Big thanks to Carlyn, NetGalley, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the ARC edition in advance of the June 11th release date.