Sizzle Reel by Carlyn GreenwaldMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
In my quest to read as many queer romances out there as I can, I came across SIZZLE REEL. Luna wants to be a cinematographer, though she's stuck working for a horrible talent manager boss instead. At work, she meets actress Valeria Sullivan and the two click, leading Luna to hope Valeria can get her a job on the set of her latest film. This plan is complicated slightly by the fact that Luna has just come out as bisexual--to her best friends only--and is falling head over heels for Valeria.
Major pros for this book having a queer Jewish protagonist. It does a good job of exploring all the nuances and issues of coming out, figuring out who you are, and how hard it can be to be queer and bisexual in today's society. It's a bit slow moving, though, with a lot of focus on Luna's career angst and so, so, so much talk about virginity. Luna seems hyper-focused on the topic and there's a lot of discussion on what exactly constitutes virginity, especially if she's with a woman, almost to the detriment to the plot. It was a little much.
A lot of SIZZLE REEL focuses on Hollywood and Luna's love of cinematography. I must admit I sort of glazed over the parts where she was mentally framing scenes. But if you're a movie buff, you'll love those. I did enjoy Valeria a lot. I'm a sucker for stories that include a regular person and a movie star getting together. Stars, they're just like us!
There's a good queer non-binary character in Luna's best friend and roommate, Romy. For the most part, Romy is the voice of reason in the book, whereas Luna comes across as whiny and irritating for much of the story. I would have loved to see all our characters a little more fleshed out. Things pick up at the end, and I was engaged in the outcome. No matter what, I'm excited these stories are being told, even if a little bit choppily. 3 stars.
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