Coming of age stories are always fun to read. This LGBTQIA+ tale is parts understanding identity and forging a path for the future. Protagonist Luna Roth, aspiring cinematographer, comes out to her friends and is convinced to take a chance on a potential relationship with Hollywood actress Valeria Sullivan. This story felt genuine at every step of the way and was really engaging to read. I would recommend this to anyone who loves stories about people finding their way, and their place, in life.

This was a NetGalley review.

This is a cute coming-of-age LGBTQ+ romance. The main character, Luna, comes out as bisexual to her close friends. This story involves her journey of wanting to advance her career in the film industry and also losing her virginity. There were a lot of terms I learned from this book that I haven't even heard of before. The writing was a little all over the place and didn't flow as much as I would have liked. However, I did like the overall story and really enjoyed the celebrity aspect of it.

3 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for this ARC.

Unfortunately, I wasn't a gigantic fan of this book. There were things I liked; I enjoyed the representation in this book and the opportunity it gave me to have a larger understanding of some LGBTQ topics. I enjoyed the setting (California/Los Angeles) and some of the tropes/discussions that were had between the characters.

However, there's unfortunately a longer list of things I wasn't exactly a fan of. I really didn't like the characters; Luna was just so incapable of making literally any decisions for herself. She was constantly leaning on and bothering others, and she was just absolutely unable to make her mind up about anything. I really disliked the ending, I feel like it was too easy and that it all happened way too quick. I felt like some of the arguments and topics discussed were really repetitive. I was also irritated by all of the camera/production talk. This is something I would've liked to learn about and read about, but there were so many abbreviations used that most of the time I had no idea what the characters were actually talking about.

I don't want to be completely negative because I can tell the author worked hard on this book. There were just a lot of irratating things for me that made me frustrated at times. I would still recommend this book to anyone who enjoys LGBTQ stories, romance, books about Hollywood, etc. and I do feel like it can be appreciated by others. It just wasn't a personal favorite.

I really enjoyed all of the representation this book offered; bi-sexual, non/binary, etc. it’s always very exciting to see all identities represented in books! However, I did feel like some of the language was misleading or incorrect. Overall, I thought it was a fun, coming-of-age romance that was enjoyable to read.

I see what the author was trying to do but found it all a bit stilted. The characters seem to all rush into things and it was very messy. Maybe I just wasn't the target audience but it wasn't really for me!

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing this digital arc of Sizzle Reel in exchange for an honest review

I wasn't sure whether I should post a review of this book or not because, to be honest, I had only reached the second half when I finally decided to abandon it. It just wasn't for me and I found enough problematic content in the part of the book that I managed to read. Please, be aware of my partial knowledge of the novel before continuing to read this.

Sizzle Reel was pitched as "an unputdownable queer coming-of-age rom-com about life and love in Hollywood" (from the GR page) and, well, there was queerness, but it wasn't nicely portrayed, and the book certainly was funny at times (when it wasn't offensive), but not engaging enough. First, about the lgbtq representation, I'd like to say that I wasn't very happy about what was done in that area. I think there are some harmful stereotypes thrown here and there and comments about virginity and sexuality that aren't acceptable, like the fact that to identify as bisexual you have to have slept with both men and women or that having sex with a woman isn't real sex. I also felt like the only non-binary character in the book was not treated with respect and that the disrespectful comments weren't addressed properly. Plus, the outing scene at work was unnecessary and, once again, harmful.

On top of all, the chemistry between the protagonist and the two love interests was non-existent, and the "love triangle", boring and poorly executed. In the beginning, I was rooting for the roommate and main character to be more than friends, but... they lost my interest very soon.

Finally, I had a hard time engaging with the plot and couldn't connect with the characters (especially Luna, because she was childish and annoying most of the time).

A cute, lgbtq romance, following a twenty-four year old trying to pursue their dream in Hollywood and figure life out. Huge points for the author mentioning Jenny Nicholson on the very first page.

This was an interesting read. It came off more YA than I was expecting and didn't give me the representation and joy I hoped for. I was looking for a coming-out story full of strength and wonder but unfortunately, this one did not follow through. It was actually very harmful and continued to perpetuate harmful stereotypes. Hopefully, others enjoy this one better than I did.

i ended up giving this book 3 stars because while the story was nice and the book itself was well written and easy to follow, i had a couple of issues with it that i couldn’t really get over. the main thing for me was the main character’s obsession with losing her virginity and her insistence that this can only happen through penetration. this is such a harmful and heteronormative view on virginity (which is already a made up thing in the first place) and for that to be front and center in a queer book just didn’t sit right with me. i don’t think the author herself actually has this view or supports it or anything like that, as other queer characters in the novel were always trying to educate the main character, but despite this the main character didn’t really end up changing her perspective throughout the book. i think it would be better to have had her unlearn that belief, especially as a big theme throughout the book was her exploring her newly discovered queerness. i think if it had been written that way, not present at all, or even just a little thing in the book i would have enjoyed it more, i just couldn’t get over it with it constantly coming up. this is also just my opinion as an overly critical sociology student haha, so if you read the synopsis and thing you would enjoy the book i still would recommend giving it a try!

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the advanced copy of this book.

Sizzle reel was a nice and easy read in between som pretty thick fantasy novels I’m working through. I enjoyed the fast pace and fun writing style, but occasionally got hung up on the cringy language use and fixation on penetrative sex. I think it’s great that we’re discussing it but it got to a beating a dead horse level of repetition. I think a lot more could have been done with building on Romy and Luna's relationship. It was entirely obvious that they’d end up together but I didn’t feel there was a ton of substance going into their relationship.

Romy is cool and enby, they’re clearly super close, they live together…. So they have to end up together? I just didn’t feel like they had actual chemistry but mainly because they didn’t talk outside of discussing Val and Luna or work.

I appreciated the content and representation, but the plot fell short for me.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: April 18, 2023

TL;DR This is a book with queer characters but is NOT positive queer representation. Harmful stereotyping and language. I cannot in good faith recommend this to anyone.

This is a YA coming out coming of age tale that missed the mark. Essentially the MC spends the entire book basing her queerness on her definition of her own virginity because she can’t wrap her head around non-penetrative sex being sex. It’s weirdly like an “all sex is sex” manifesto, even though…duh.

Definitely geared to Gen Z (or younger) readers, this is Hollywood/industry-lingo heavy and has its share of problematic stereotyping. I found the characters immature and unrelatable, with so many frustratingly contrived situations that could’ve been avoided with a conversation…or listening to the conversations that were had.

While I do believe the author was attempting to be inclusive, this book uses some incredibly harmful language and stereotypes that are not acceptable.

Examples include:
- Straight sex being the only "real sex"
- Needing to sleep with a woman to "really" be bisexual
- the term "allosexual"
- outing
- the idea that you need to have sex to be whole

Overall, this book does not have positive queer representation and as a result, I would not recommend picking it up.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

You know, I never really understood the whole Gen Z/Millennial split until I started reading this book and I was just hit with this wave of, "Wow, this book was not written for me." Which is fine, but it does mean that I DNF'd this book pretty early. There was already a lot of talk about virginity and when I went to look at the reviews, I confirmed this book was not for me. It's a love triangle, but I already know who our main character should choose and I don't really care to read about her thinking she's in love with someone else. However, if you came out later in your life, like, say 24 as bisexual and have somehow NEVER realized that biphobia is a thing (genuinely, what?) then maybe this book is for you!! Also virginity is a social construct and you do not have to have penetrative sex to not be a virgin.

Okay, I know that above paragraph sounds harsh, but truly, I know that this book does have an audience. It's just... That audience is not me. I'm old and cranky, but not old enough to appreciate The Build Up so, c'est la vie, I suppose.

I appreciated the Jewish and LGBTQIA representation and exploration of the MC’s sexual identity as a bi-sexual as it helped me learn how sapphic relationships work. However, unfortunately, I struggled with the pacing of the story and found myself bored. It was hard to feel emotionally invested in the story and the journey of the characters.

The book is set in LA and there were also themes of Hollywood and cinematography that other readers may enjoy along with these tropes:

✨ celebrity romance
✨ friends to lovers

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 4⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: LGBTQIA+ romance 📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
While this book had a few issues the romance was sweet.

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Romantic comedies
Coming of age
Cinematography
Celebrity romances
Friends to lovers
Self discovery

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
Jewish rep
Bi rep

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
Felt more like a YA
Some topics got repetitive
I had a few issues and was annoyed with a few things in the book
Didn’t love the love triangle

I almost debated not finishing this one. Our introduction to our MC Luna (who, by the way, is not referred to by her name at all in the first 1/4 of the book - to the point where I actually FORGOT her name and when it did finally come up I had to grapple with the “who is that? Oh that’s the MC. How didn’t I know her NAME this whole time?” for a solid few paragraphs) is this wildly chaotic stream of consciousness that feels like someone pulled buzzwords from queer Gen Z Twitter (is that even a thing?) and slapped them all down in one page. That “talking a mile a minute while not actually achieving anything” vibe persists for a very large portion of the book, probably until she starts seriously pursuing the (first) love interest.

I actually really liked Val as a character and as a love interest. I don’t really have anything negative to say about her.

The pacing of the story (which is pitched as a love triangle) doesn’t really fit. And don’t get me started on the weird virginity quest (despite there being very good conversations about how sex doesn’t require penetration and sex is an agreement and active conversation between the parties involved). We get that the second love interest is jealous and trying to be supportive while also kind of acting out and, you know, being jealous, but apart from their fantastic platonic chemistry (like we all want that friend who is just Our Person) and that the MC finds her very attractive, there isn’t really a… triangle. To go into more specifics would be spoilers.

The best parts of the book are when Luna takes us on cinematic journeys through unique and interesting spots in LA. Greenwald flexes with the imagery and it really feels like a deliberate camera shot to set the scene.

2.5 stars.

This was a fun romcom, but it did have a few issues, such as the use of allosexual, I think horny would have been a better word in some cases. I hope some of the other things (such as excess pop culture references) will be changed in the final copy of the book.

This is supposed to be a love triangle romance, but I kind of feel that it wasn’t fully there. It was too seperate for it to truly be one in my opinion. I really felt there wasn’t a strong romantic connection between 2 of the characters, it felt more forced in a way because they were the only other sapphic character in the book.

A lot of Luna’s thoughts and views on things, such as virginity, really irked and annoyed me. I think it could have been handled better. Even though she had only just came out, she’s still 24 and I feel should have a better understanding on some issues, even if it’s just from consuming other media. It definitely felt more like a YA especially with Luna’s views and thoughts on things.

Overall this was fun and came at a good time for me, helping me out of a reading slump. I don’t think I’d read again, but I would be interested in reading more by the author in the future.

Thank you netgalley for the arc!

Sizzle Reel was a fun, coming-of-age book. I think it's best classified as half coming of age and half romance, which I really enjoyed. Luna was a fun main character, though maybe a little infantilized and some of the Gen Z aspects felt a little forced. Romy was a great character though I would've liked to see more of her career. Valeria was great, but I think the plot took too long to confirm that she was queer. I really enjoyed the plot and the setting, and the characters were fun.

DNF at 26% I don't usually DNF books. Let alone advanced copies, but i just couldn't do it anymore. The characters were infuriating, the MC and both of her friends were so frustrating, the only slightly salvageable one was Valeria, but I didn't get far enough to know her well so I'm not sure. There were so many inconsistencies in what the characters did and said, as well as in their friendship and the interactions they had. I hated some of the comments that were made about virginity and queerness, they made me a little angry and uncomfortable. I was dying of second hand embarrassment, the writing wasn't for me at all. I also think I know what happens in the end and I'm going to get mad about it so really what's the point.

Luna Roth has dreams of being a successful cinematographer but is struggling to break into the business and make a name for herself in hollywood. Not only is she facing challenges in her career, but in her personal life as well. Luna has recently discovered that she is Bisexual and grapples with coming out in her personal and professional life. When push comes to shove and Luna is out of work, she starts a new romantic and professional relationship with Valeria, an actress that may or may not be queer.

Throughout the book we see Luna chaotically stumble through her relationships and behind the scenes of sets. She makes a mess everywhere she goes and never seems to get it right. The baby gay energy is strong with this one. Unfortunately you can’t help but feel a LOT of second hand embarrassment while reading this book. Additionally, the author spends SO much time explaining every concept and situation. It’s as if the reader is being spoon fed every bit of information and expected to have no LGBTQ+ knowledge whatsoever.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.