A Oscar-winning actress takes up a guest teaching gig and begins falling for her co-professor, all the while juggling her directorial debut and what it means to have an obligation to something other than Hollywood. Valeria Sullivan is an actress who has always wanted the chance to teach, so when she is offered a teaching gig at USC she says yes. What she doesn't realize is that her co-professor, Maeve Arko, dislikes her on the spot and thinks that Val isn't taking the gig seriously. Maeve is stunning and Val is stuck between how gorgeous Maeve is and how much Maeve is challenging her. All the while she is also starting to work on her directorial debut and trying to juggle her teaching commitment and her career in Hollywood she isn't ready to leave behind. This one really fell flat for me, I was hoping for a fun sapphic romance with a touch of Hollywood. The romance between Valeria and Maeve kind of just came out of nowhere. They went from disliking each other to instantly being"oh I love her so much" and it just lacked chemistry. Their romance really gave me nothing and I found myself not caring all that much about the story. The book itself felt like it dragged on at parts and i was really hoping I would love it, but it just was not for me. Valeria felt like an insufferable character, she was so privileged and could have easily solved a lot of her problems if she just communicated, she got angry at things that were her fault and honestly, I was just baffled she even got the gig as a teacher with the way everything was going. This one did not work for me but if you enjoy sapphic romances set in a teaching place with slow progression, then give this a go, maybe you'll have a better time with it than I did.

Release Date: June 11,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor | Vintage for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I really wanted to like this one, but it just didn’t hit home for me. The characters were ok. I understood Val’s issues and why she did some of the things she did. Charlie was my favorite character. He was fun and interesting, I wanted more of him.

My issue was that things seemed to move way too fast. I couldn’t grasp what the timeframes were. One paragraph, we are weeks away from the Oscars; the next paragraph, we were at the Oscar’s. Then, I didn’t feel like we got to know Maeve very well. I didn’t really care about her or her relationship with Val. The chemistry nor the tension I look forward to in romance books just wasn’t there. It was just “she doesn’t like me” to immediately being “she’s amazing, and I love her”. I needed more angst and I wanted to root for them, but just found I didn’t care that much.

It had cute tendencies, but it wasn’t enough for me.

I was so excited for this book, and I end up being so disappointed. I read Sizzle Reel last year and it was one of my most anticipated reads. I gave that book 4 stars and I really enjoyed it. When I saw that a second book in the same universe was going to come out I was so excited! However, while reading it, I got in such a reading slump. It took me over 3 weeks to read this and I really wanted to dnf. I was really hoping it would get better as I read more and it didn’t. I liked Valerie as a character in Sizzle Reel, however she was extremely unlikeable in this. The only parts that were manageable was when the characters from Sizzle Reel were included.

Thank you, NetGallery for the opportunity to review this ARC.

I really adored this book. I have been feeling a little burnt out by celebrity/non-celebrity romances so I was a little nervous heading into this book but I shouldn't have been!! I think this book really struck a nice balance between the celebrity aspects and the more normal aspects of their relationship.

The thing that I loved the most about this book was how tender the intimate moments between Maeve and Valeria were. They felt so palpable and real like I watching them in real life as they happened. I also really appreciated the third act breakup with them -- it didn't feel as bad or final as it sometimes can.

I loved Sizzle Reel and I loved this one too.

Val & Maeve (love both those names, btw) really captured my heart. To give each other the care and love they both need/deserve after past relationships is wonderful.

I love how they eventually find their way to each other, despite their initial misgivings. Hollywood star/director and a college professor aren't an obvious pair but they worked so well together.

I would definitely recommend this book!!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I love this sapphic romance. Carlyn has such a fun writing style and I really liked this book. However, I'm not a huge fan of the miscommunication trope.

I freaking loved this book! Loved it. Loved the grumpy co-worker to lovers vibe. Maeve being an ass to Val and then softening as she realized that Val was not just a celebrity "teaching" a class. I loved the way mental health was a key part of the story as Val learned to deal better with her anxiety. I loved the family scenes... all of it. Fantastic book 12/10

I really enjoyed reading “Director's Cut”. Val was my favorite character in “Sizzle Reel”, so getting to continue her story from her perspective was great. It was so interesting 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. The romance between Val and Maeve is sizzling, so real, and the build-up to them finally getting together is top notch. Their first two kisses before they finally hook up are some of the best I’ve read. I do wish this romance would've been a dual POV, I think having both Val and Maeve's POV could have done a lot for this book. It would have added much more dimension to the characters and their relationship and allowed the reader to see why they each fell for the other. I really wanted Maeve’s perspective on events throughout the story. I would have enjoyed seeing her thought process in some of the moments where Val is panicking in front of her. As someone who loves movie musicals, I loved all the tidbits about them during the classroom scenes. I love the banter and the friendship between Val and Charlie they definitely give off siblings vibes, I loved how they could banter one moment and talk about something important the next. The story is a standalone novel set in the same world as “Sizzle Reel”. You don’t have to read it first, but if you do, it will provide fun context to some moments referenced in this book as well as understanding the headspace Val is in at the start of this book. Thank you so much to Carolyn Greenwald, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book early in exchange for an honest review. I look forward to reading what Carolyn writes next!

I wanted to enjoy this book so, so much. I really thought it would be so amazing. Unfortunately it didn’t work for me. The pacing was so weird and I didn’t like Valeria as much as I had wanted.
I would recommend this book for those who don’t mind pacing that is a bit quick in the beginning for the relationship.
I do think this book did some things well, its discussion about queer representation in Hollywood, about relationships, and about being ‘queer enough’ are all things I found important/fascinating.

For those sex averse, this book has two semi-graphic sex scenes.

There were some parts of this book I really enjoyed, mostly the discussions of the different musicals. There was a lot of good discussion and ideas there, and if the book had focused only on main character Valeria and romance interest Maeve in the context of academia and their course, I think I would have liked this book a lot more.

The main thing that kept me from enjoying this novel was that I found Valeria insufferable. She’s an Oscar winner, oblivious to her privileges as rich, white woman, and always felt like a want-my-cake-and-eat-it-too. She gets upset about things that are her fault (see: syllabus changed because she didn’t ask her assistant to not handle it, a timing conflict between co-teaching and an awards ceremony that could have easily been resolved). She doesn’t communicate well and then is shocked and hurt when she lets people down – which, again, she wouldn’t if she just addressed what was in front of her. I found Valeria’s “anxiety” particularly frustrating because it felt like she was using it as an excuse to not make decisions. With greater care and insight into her anxiety, perhaps I would have felt differently.

I thought this book was really fun! I think the plot was a bit predictable but otherwise enjoyable. I loved the progression of Maeve and Valeria’s romance even though the pacing could use some edits.

Pleasant read with some angst mixed in. Mental health rep with a focus on anxiety as well as health with IBS. Celebrity/Professor sapphic romance. The story can get a bit frustrating but I felt once things started getting more fleshed out, things made more sense and were more understandable. (And I didn’t want to put it down so I could get there!) I have not read Sizzle Reel, it is on my tbr, but I didn’t feel like I was lacking in any knowledge only a desire to read that one too.

Well written. Good pacing. Lovely spice that also includes great communication. Relatable characters. Recommend!

This book was really fun! The ending especially was SO FREAKING GOOD!!! I so appreciated the on page work we got to see Val doing to overcome past traumas and learn to be healthier going forward. Val & Maeve are absolutely adorable and Charlie was such a wonderful side character. So happy I got an eARC of this!!

3.5, rounded down.

Overall, this was a pretty fun book.

I liked all of the characters, and they all felt very distinct to me, which was great. Though I do wish we got more physical descriptions of them.

Maeve was probably my favorite, and I wish her neurodivergence was more explored. It was mentioned and then I was disappointed when nothing important happened with the information.

Val was very much a real, flawed character, and I appreciated that a lot. The biggest problem I had with this book though was her spiral and the resulting lack of honesty. Though realistic, it went on for long enough that, as lesbian actor myself, I was getting anxious about it and was losing empathy for her. The amount of time she spent in that state made me less excited to pick up the book, and that shows in how long it took me to read it.

I also think the pacing of the beginning was a little rushed, and the switch from not liking each other to flirting was a little abrupt for me.

But besides those qualms, I actually did enjoy this book, the last 15% especially. And I’m pretty satisfied with the conclusion of both Val and Maeve’s arcs. I also enjoyed the progress of the relationship once it was established. It was real and less driven by things that were just absolutely bonkers improbable; I feel like there’s not enough of these relationships in romance novels.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc!

I've said it once and I will say it forever, I love a celebrity romance. I love a sapphic celebrity romance even more. I really love that Carlyn's books seem very Hollywood-focused, so she literally always has a reader in me. The academia element that was introduced here was so interesting and was a fun new setting in the Hollywood-sphere. My only qualm with this book is I do wish that the tension had gotten to sizzle just a liiiiiittle longer before the rivals-to-lovers left the "rival" zone. That aside, I really loved this book. Maeve and Valarie are very well written and deeply complex, which makes discovering them individually and together so fun.

I read Sizzle Reel by this author at the very end of the year last year. This one is a stand alone but I think it definitely will make more sense to you if you read that one first. Valeria is a big part of it and we see her get her HEA in this one.

This was one where it was Val’s story and I think it borders on women’s fiction because she has to find out what exactly she wants to do with her life and figure some stuff out.

I liked the chemistry between Val and Maeve. We had a bit of rivals to lovers going on. Maeve was not happy to work with Val, but then they got to know each other and sparks really flew.

I will it was a bit slow for me. I kept feeling like I was waiting for more to happen. And there were points when I wanted to shake Val for her actions.

Overall, I give this one 3 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for allowing me to read an ARC of Directors Cut by Carlyn Greenwald.

Valeria, a celebrity who is trying to understand herself and her career in the aftermath of her very public coming out, is a visiting lecturer at an LA university, a job she may be qualified for, but is battling a strong case of imposter syndrome and judgments for those around her, including those of her co-professor Maeve Arko. As sparks fly, we see Val struggle to figure out her future along with her growing relationships with Maeve, as the pressure from the world, and herself makes everything that much more messy.

There was a lot I liked about this book. Seeing the internal struggles of someone with social anxiety, and the author making space for the characters to actively stand against many of the biphophobic comments and opinions we often see in the world was really refreshing and lovely to read, made my heart smile. Sometimes things felt a little repetitive and other times I felt like moments jumped ahead too quickly and I was left a little confused, but that did not detract from my enjoyment watching Maeve and Val grow (fair warning, there is a miscommunication trope). Definitely don't miss this lovely romance!

Review: Director’s Cut by Carlyn Greenwald ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75

Thank you to NetGalley and Vintage Books for the opportunity to read this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Director’s Cut is the story of Oscar-winning actress Val Sullivan, who is struggling with the fact that her public persona is dominated by focus on her recent romantic drama rather than her professional merits and upcoming directorial debut. To add a more academic role to her growing resume, Val decided to co-teach a course on movie musicals for a semester at USC… with an extremely hot, queer co-professor Maeve Arko. Maeve is immediately cold toward Val, thinking her only interest in teaching is to boost her ego, and Maeve is surprised to discover Val’s passion and dedication to teaching.

I loved the romance between Val and Maeve in this story, they were an instant match and had fiery chemistry. Their love story was super sweet, and I was truly invested to see their dynamic grow as two driven, successful women. I was happy to see that neither woman had to make themselves a smaller version of themself to achieve their happy ever after. Lovers of movie musicals will delight in the banter and anecdotes that fill Val and Maeve’s lesson plans.

My only comment/critique is my dislike for the miscommunication trope as the driving force of conflict in a story. I am rarely able to feel the depth of this type of conflict and ultimately find that the emotional stakes don’t hit as hard as they are meant to.

This was such a fun, sapphic romance! 💘 Director’s Cut will be published June 11th 2024!

I hate myself for even saying this, but this book kind of disappointed me and I really wanted to love it. I was in fact bored with this one. I guess it's because it's single POV.

It's not that Valeria is unlikeable, its that she makes everything into this one big deal and get overly anxious without ever communicating her feelings. As in she keeps going in circle if Maeve actually likes her or would like to date a celebrity without actually talking about it with her. I just got every frustrated and wanted it to end.

Overall it was cute, I was just bored.

I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I guess this is my year for sapphic Hollywood romance novels! Initially, I really liked the setup of this, of Val and Maeve co-teaching a class on movie musicals and cult classics and having that be their meet cute, but I feel like too many things got thrown into the pot of their relationship. There's a weird intro of "oh she hates me because I didn't come off as professional" (because Val wore designer clothes?) that sets them against each other that segues into "she got off to my sex scene in this movie and now I'm getting myself off thinking about that" which, maybe it's just me, but there's a lot of layers of separating character from person that made it feel uncomfortable and not at all sexy, then they're suddenly cool with each other, but both have a lot of past relationship abuse and trauma, and that's before we even get into the fame question, Val's thoughts on pulling back from Hollywood, her directoral debut, Maeve's academic career, and both of their futures, all of which factor heavily as obstacles to be overcome.

And then there's the fact that Val's unmedicated anxiety becomes a huge major part of the plot and tension and triggered so many miscommunications, which is one of my very least favorite tropes. As someone with medicated anxiety, it meant that almost all of her decisions and actions in the latter half of the book made me extremely uncomfortable (and made me wonder what her long-time therapist was doing). Kudos for an impactful depiction of anxiety and those decisions, I guess? But the root of them just didn't match anything else set up or how Val had been set up as a character either.

As the class is a major part of a third of the book, we do get to hear a whole lot about musicals, but it also kind of goes nowhere and leaves you wondering why it was in there other than Greenwald really wanted to get those thoughts across and namedrop a bunch of movie musicals. Instead we get in-depth on things like that and absolutely skimming over things I wish had gone into more detail, like Val and Maeve's early relationship, or Maeve actually getting used to being with someone famous. It all just felt a bit slapdash and rushed, and mixed with Val activating my fight responses, I never really got to a place where I enjoyed this.