Reviews

Director's Cut by Carlyn Greenwald

aroseshaw's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

sapphic_library's review

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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. 

livruther's review

emotional informative medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

thank you to net galley and the publisher for an arc!

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.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Emotional abuse

luthoreads's review against another edition

emotional inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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

tofugal's review

I didn’t realize this was related to Sizzle Real, a book I was lukewarm towards. Still, I gave it a go because Val was one of the more likable characters from that first book, but unfortunately she wasn’t as likable in this book. 

crothe77's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

 

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.

 

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, and Biphobia

bvalentine26's review against another edition

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

adobroski's review

2.0

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.

Thank you to vintage for this e-arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

cakt1991's review

3.5

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. 

 

thatsme_lauravz's review against another edition

3.5

*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!