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A review by bookgabz
Director's Cut by Carlyn Greenwald
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Thank you to #NetGalley and #Vintage for a free copy of #DirectorCut in exchange for an honest review!
Let me start by saying that I wanted to love this story. I am nothing if not a sucker for any kind of sapphic romance. Add in a dash of academia and Hollywood, and I should theoretically be a goner.
That was not the case with this book. I never skim books, and I found myself quickly skimming the final 50% just to complete. This review may contain spoilers, so beware!
I want to start by saying I LOVED Maeve. She was such a fun character! A beautiful, intelligent academic! Val on the other hand? She drove me up a wall! She was conceited, pretentious, annoying, inconsiderate, and rude. And the fact that this book was 100% from her point of view, I couldn’t wait to get out of her head. I understand this book relies heavily on the miscommunication trope (all because of Val), and a lot of that miscommunication is explained away due to mental illnesses. I am not in any way questioning the difficulty of living with anxiety paired with an uncomfortable physical illness as well like IBS (which Val also has). I am, however, uncomfortable with how the author is portraying mental illness in this book. All of it felt sloppy and not fully researched. It all felt like generalizations and stereotypes. I have anxiety, I am not on medication, and I have done the work to make sure I still find ways to communicate important things to my loved ones. Val has allegedly been in therapy since she was a child. Even without medication, she should have learned skills to prevent the major issues in this book.
Like I said, I wanted to love this book! I am not typically a tough reviewer. But this book just wasn’t the right fit for me. 2.5 our of 5 stars.