What a well-written, interesting story about the unexpected (and not well-known) friendship between these two icons of entertainment -- who, in spite of their professional accomplishments and notoriety, were also just people, just women,

I had not known about this friendship before and really enjoyed the authors' way of writing the story - even though it's fictional, it was very entertaining and informative about the relationship between these two women.

Can't We Be Friends explores the friendship of Marilyn Monroe and Ella Fitzgerald in the 1950's. Both women hugely popular in their own rite brought together because of hardships in their childhood and the treatment they received from the men in their lives. Marilyn was often thought of to be not that smart and just a pretty face but she desperately wanted to break into movies and also to sing. Ella has a superstar voice but is hindered because she's a woman and because of her race. Men seem to have all the power in their careers and they support each to change this. I never knew these two were friends and I loved hearing all about it!

I loved this historical fiction book! I had no idea Ella and Marilyn were friends and I loved getting a peak into their world. Highly recommend!

Quick and Dirty
-historical fiction
-fictionalized account of a true story
-powerful friendship story
-highly engaging read or listen

What Worked
If you’ve been following me for a while you may know that I’m a HUGE fan of all things Classic Hollywood. Of course, when I heard about this book I immediately requested the NetGalley arc. After reading and living Knight’s last book, Strangers in the Night, I knew I would likely love this one, too. You know what? I did! I’d heard about the friendship between Marilyn and Ella in various documentaries, but I didn’t know much about how it developed or impacted the women. While this is fiction, so much of the book gave context to the lives of both women and why the unlikely duo may have forged a lasting connection. Marilyn is one of my favorite actresses, so I appreciated the glimpse into her life and story. She is such a tragic character, highly underrated, and overlooked in terms of talent and brains. We don’t learn as much about Ella’s background/childhood, so the book did feel more Marilyn-heavy, but I didn’t mind that. The ending was so perfect, giving a unique glimpse into one of the greatest tragedies of modern celebrity culture IMO. It made me tear up for sure! Overall, this one worked well for me!

What Didn’t Work
Nothing really stands out when I ask myself what didn’t work for me. I will say it’s slow at times, but you need that time to develop rich characters and build tension. I think the author did a great job of portraying the perils of addiction and the impact addiction has on relationships, but I suspect some might find that triggering. Diehard Marilyn conspiracy theorists might not agree with the way Marilyn’s death is portrayed, but I felt it was heartfelt and likely true to life.

Read This If
Anyone who loves Classic Hollywood will likely enjoy this book!

A great story of an unlikely friendship between superstars of the 50s and 60s. I really enjoyed getting to know Marilyn and Ella. I really knew very little about Ella Fitzgerald so this was a bonus! Well written and well researched it's a fascinating peek into their lives. Highly recommend.

*4.5 // Can't We Be Friends is a story about two real-life famous friends who find kindred spirits with each other. I loved watching Ella and Marilyn let their guards down with each other and learn to be true friends. Marilyn's story was heartbreaking, as we watch her try to build the best life for herself, since she came from nothing, and then to still crumble at the end. I also NEVER knew she was married to Joe Dimaggio (pro baseball player) or Arthur Miller (playwright). Ella's story was also touching, and I really got to witness her strength in facing the challenges in her personal life and her career. The writing really brings you into the time period, with references to pop culture, world events, and even fashion. Highly reccomend for historical fiction lovers and those who appreciate Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe!

CW: racism, domestic violence

*Thank you to William Morrow and Netgalley for an electronic advanced reader's copy. All opinions are mine.

**Thank you to William Morrow for this free digital review copy.**

I came into this novel knowing very little about either woman but interested in the premise. The book delivered on story, if not on writing, in my opinion. There were rather awkward time cuts between chapters and even mid-chapter sometimes, and I found the writing to be somewhat stilted; not sure if it was the dual authorship that wasn't working for me or what. However, the story I found super engaging and at times heartbreaking. It's hard to see a friend struggle, whether it be due to their own actions or the actions of others, and I felt for Ella especially as she watched Marilyn sink to rock bottom. I really flew through this novel and I'm sure I will think of it in the future when I see or hear any of the many songs/movies these women created.

I love people stories, and this tale of the friendship between Marilyn Monroe and Ella Fitzgerald was a fun and interesting read.

Hollywood stars are masters at presenting different versions of themselves—it's their job, after all. They are one person on stage, in front of adoring fans, and another in the safety of close friends and family. They bounce between what the public craves, what their managers demand, and how they want to be.

Marilyn, the sultry bombshell of the fifties, and Ella, a jazz icon, seemed to have little in common. But their struggles, celebrity, and bond brought these two glamorous women together in a compelling way.

A huge thank you to William Morrow and Net Galley for the advance reader’s copy.

Going into this book, I had no idea Ella and Marilyn had been friends; this is a fictionalized account of what could have happened in their friendship, and it's clear a lot of research went into the timeline and events surrounding all of their interactions. Multiple times while reading I was tempted to look up different historical events, but I didn't want spoilers! I'm definitely interested in watching a few of the movies mentioned in the book and to listen to Ella beyond the handful of songs I'm familiar with.

As with any historical novel like this I came to a deeper understanding of what life must have been like for them, particularly the fame and rampant sexism of the age. The overt racism Ella faced continually was hard to read; yet another myth buster that mainstream acceptance and fame does not mean equality or even to be treated with human decency.

The ending - no spoilers - was handled with such care. I particularly liked the two authors' notes on how the research was handled and for Marilyn's end.

I'm sure many of us have heard of Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe. What many of may not know is that they were friends. We have a well written fictional account of their friendship. This was such a well written story. It's movie worthy and something I wouldn't mind watching on the screen. I enjoyed the different perspectives of each woman. They shared several childhood traumas, and both had different outcomes from them. And as someone who is absolutely in love with historical fiction, this book is in good company with the many I've read so far this year. It was absolutely captivating and enjoyable. The authors did such a great job honoring the friendship between these two remarkable women in history.

I was so excited to read this because while admittedly I don’t know much about Ella Fitzgerald, I adore Marilyn Monroe. I’ve loved her since the nineties when I first heard Candle in the Wind and started reading whatever I could about her. My love for her hasn’t waned over the years and I still get excited when I see a book written about her. Anyway, I digress; this isn’t meant to be a thesis on my love for this wonderful and misunderstood woman but rather a review of this book.
Denny S. Bryce and Eliza Knight have written a very comprehensive book about the long and loving friendship of these two iconic women. While I love historical fiction, I always have such a hard time when the subject is a real person since clearly not everything written is fact. I love how the majority of this book is factual, but it makes the fictitious parts and speculations of the authors a little hard to stomach.
I really wanted to like this book but the overall writing of this was so dull and slow that I found myself bored to tears while reading the majority of it and it truly dampened the joy I felt when I first picked it up. Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow Publishing for an advanced copy of this. Can’t We Be Friends hit the shelves on March 5th.

What an amazing story! Although I knew some about Marilyn Monroe. I knew little about Ella and had no idea that they were friends. The story was told from dual viewpoints. In the story their friendship grew slowly through letters and phone calls. Initially I thought they could not be more different. One known for her sexy voice and appearance in movies and the other one of the greatest voices of her time. What the story brought to the surface was the shared struggles and ambition the two had in common. Both were trail blazers in their own way. Marilyn fighting to be taken seriously as an actress and for just pay and treatment in a male dominated industry. Ella, fighting against racial injustice and the limits put on her by men in her life. It broke my heart how they both wanted to find true love and went through a lot of heartbreak searching for it. They trusted and depended on each other professionally and personally. This story also presented a more intimate picture of how Marilyn was haunted by her past and her dependency on drugs and alcohol. I received a free copy from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

This is historical fiction, not a biography. Some facts happened, some are speculation. It's an interesting approach to the lives of two women that found some common ground. My interest came from knowing little about Ella and a lot about Marilyn. The problem is separating the real lies from the truth. Something that will never be completely known.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book from NetGalley.

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for this digital advance copy in exchange for my honest review. This book was published on March 5, 2024.

The first thing that caught my eye about this was its beautiful cover; it felt like I was being pulled in by the magnetism of these two American icons. I discovered this book while hunting for a memoir or biography about Ella Fitzgerald, one of my favorite artists. I had no idea she and Marilyn Monroe were friends. I’ve always been fascinated by Monroe, as well, so it felt like a bonus that this was a fictional take on their real friendship.

One of the issues I had while reading was that I needed to continually remind myself that it is a work of historical fiction and that the authors took creative license when writing it. I love reading historical fiction, however, sometimes I don’t enjoy books that fictionalize actual historical figures because I like to separate fiction from real events. I felt I needed to constantly look up events that happened in the novel to see if they really occurred, and I think that detracted from my reading experience.

The disjointed structure of the book was another issue for me. Switching between Ella’s first person and Marilyn’s third person made the writing hard to follow at times. Additionally, there isn’t a cohesive plot; it’s mainly vignettes of fictionalized meetings between Ella and Marilyn, ending with Marilyn’s death. At worst, it felt a little forced, like shoving two different timelines together. There are certainly some similarities between Ella’s and Marilyn’s lives; they each endured some unspeakable hardships and it was nice to think their friendship helped them overcome some struggles. I appreciated that the authors took time in the end to acknowledge their research in addition to what they fictionalized.

Overall, I would recommend this to fans of Ella or Marilyn who want an escape into historical fiction. But if you’re on the hunt for strictly facts about these iconic women, I would be wary of this.

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

The special friendship between Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe is explored in this novel. Marilyn’s outgoing personality and Ella’s reserved one were a compliment to each other. These women shared a rough upbringing, bonded over social injustice and tried to help each other thru the issues of being in the public eye.

I totally fell down the rabbit hole reading more of this on my own. I knew nothing of this unique friendship and gained a whole new appreciation for these women and the hand they’ve been dealt. Ella, the quiet reserved one, kept things to herself, especially her private life, and tried to steer her friend away from her questionable life choices. Marilyn, the outgoing one, who loved life and hated what was happening to her friend and would use her celebrity to make it right, her dependency on painkillers, alcohol. They both craved love but finding it in the spotlight made it impossible. Loved how these two forged a friendship against all odds and tried to lift each other. I appreciated how the authors didn’t sugarcoat their shortcomings. For me, the story was slow moving in parts. Overall the writing was compelling, honest.

Thanks to William Morrow for this ARC. This is my honest opinion.

The authors spent time, not only on research, but on empathetically recreating two human beings whose friendship was uncommon in that era. This feels like you’ve crawled into the shoes of both and watched the evolution of them, and their friendship, over decades of random yet purposeful actions. It is so nice not to have the shrill voices of media hysterics speaking through the myopia of idolatry. Instead we see these women as three dimensional, flawed, striving human beings who did the best they could at what mattered to them. One exquisite duo rendered believably normal by another duo who took their time to get it right. Thank you.

This story begins in 1952, when Marilyn Monroe writes a letter to Ella Fitzgerald asking her to give her singing lessons. Ella declines, saying that she is no voice coach, but Marilyn is persistent. She continues to write Ella and they become pen pals. When Ella has to have surgery on her vocal cords and is forced to spend six weeks not making a sound, Marilyn makes a surprise visit and the two become friends for life. To outsiders, their friendship was a puzzlement, but to them it made perfect sense. They both had troubled childhoods, they were both being controlled and underestimated by the men in their lives - husbands, managers, hangers-on, they both desperately wanted to shine in the spotlight, and they both loved to eat. This novel reveals and celebrates their surprising bond over a decade and serves as a poignant reminder of how true friendship can cross differences to bolster and sustain us through haunting heartbreak and wild success.

This novel was fascinating. I was familiar with much of Marilyn Monroe's story, but I didn't know anything about Ella Fitzgerald's including the fact that the two of them were close friends. At a time when segregati9n was still an issue, I love that they were able to rise above all of that, and become friends and confidantes. Their stories were almost mirror opposites of each other. Marilyn's was a history of physical and emotional abuse from men who promised to love & cherish her, drug and alcohol abuse, a straight downward spiral. Ella's story was one of a star rising...she had some pitfalls, but she overcame them, and came back stronger than ever. As much as I pitied Marilyn, I admired Ella. If you are a fan of historical fiction, you are definitely going to want to put this on the top of your TBR pile. I highly recommend it!

I received a copy of the book, "Can't We Be Friends?"from NetGalley. It was wrtten by two authors Eliza Knight and Denny S. Bryce. It focuses on the friendship that develops between Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe. They started their friendship when Marilyn Monroe kept trying to contact her asking if she could give her singing lessons. For awhile the letters were ignored until Ella responded by saying she would not be able to teach her how to sing Marilyn showed up to visit her. She was a big fan of the talented singer. they slowly became friends during the 1950s and up until Marilyn's untimely death. The book follows the careers and the challenges each woman faced. Ella was concerned for her friend who could be emotionally fragile and Marilyn's addiction to pills and alcohol. She was devastated when the young actress died. Marilyn adored Ella and was huge fan of the wonderful singer. Ella Fitzgerald had her own challenges being show business and being a black woman. The book goes back and forth in chapters focusing on each perforner. a good read.

What happens when the Queen of Jazz and a Blonde Bombshell meet? An unlikely friendship forms that will see them through some tough times and soaring success.

Based on the extraordinary friendship between Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe, Can’t We Be Friends takes you back in time when Ella and Marilyn meet and form a friendship of honesty and courage. With the backdrops of movie sets, jazz clubs and quiet corner tables in restaurants, the two have few things in common but they share the difficulties of dealing with fame and trying to control their careers. They share secrets and a deep mutual respect for one another. But…it’s Marilyn’s downfall into a world of alcohol and drugs that seems to drive a wedge between them. Their friendship is cut short when Marilyn tragically passes away.

Can’t We Be Friends is a great story for fans of old Hollywood and the glory days of jazz. As a fan of Ella, I highly recommend reading this book with her music playing in the background. And I think it reminds us that there was so much more to Marilyn than meets the eye. They were both smart, insanely talented women who managed to form a bond at a time when the world was changing. I loved every page of this book!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, William Morrow, Eliza Knight and Denny Bryce for allowing me to to read this story before it hits the shelves!

Book: Can’t We Be Friends?
Authors: Denny S. Bryce and Eliza Knight
Release Date: March 5, 2024
Publisher : William Morrow Paperbacks
Length: 396 Pages
Overall Rating: 5/5 Stars
Blog Rating: 5/5 Saltire Flags

To think he’s going to fill up his greedy accounts when all I ever got was $50. Who am I kidding? He probably stuffs it under his dirty mattress. Hugh Hefner, who’s ever heard of him and his dumb magazine, Playboy?…book quote by Marilyn Monroe in “Can’t We Be Friends” by Denny S Bryce and Eliza Knight

This is a historical fiction book about the rare close friendship between the Queen of jazz, singer Ella Fitzgerald and bombshell beauty, Queen of the screen Marilyn Monroe. You would never guess how much this plus sized, black singer and the white, platinum blonde, iconic actress who became the world’s pop-culture-icon had in common. It was about wanting help to make Monroe a better singer as Marilyn was a perfectionist and wanted to be taken seriously in her profession as an actress. To her there was no one better than her singing idol Ella Fitzgerald. Except Ella turned her down in a very eloquent sweet way explaining she was never trained professionally that the music was just inside her. Marilyn understood perfectly it was Ella’s god given gift. Marilyn’s letters still continued as what Marilyn really needed was a friend and Ella seemed to need that too besides her assistant Georgina Henry and her adopted son Ray Jr..Plus both being in this insane entertainment industry they understood things that people outside the business would not. They really ended up trusting each other and confided in each other with secrets they did not share with anyone else. On top of that they both had similar palettes especially for pastrami sandwiches!

In the beginning it was Georgina who answered the letters except soon it was Ella. Ella felt flattered that America’s current favorite sweetheart on film loved her music. Soon Ella looked forward to Marilyn’s letters as Ella was going through a difficult divorce so listening to Marilyn speak to her about funny things happening in her life brought humor into Ella’s life. Soon both women realized they needed to meet in person realizing they both had bad abusive childhoods, grew up during the Great Depression and also dealt with some of the same prejudices in their lives with so much prejudice in entertainment that women still fight for today in 2024.

Yet Marilyn was a passionate supporter of the civil rights movement and did fight for Ella when she was being banned by a certain nightclub to perform. Monroe used her celebrity status to appear so Ella could perform. She made sure her friend could play where people snubbed her for her size or skin color. Unfortunately the civil rights movement and segregation was at the center in the 1950’s sadly. In the beginning Marilyn had to deal with a different kind of prejudice where directors and producers grabbed her inappropriately and asked for personal favors if she wanted a specific part. This was called the casting couch and also threatened her never to work again if she does not submit. They were the Harvey Weinstein’s of the 1950’s sadly.

I loved this book so much my heart definitely went out to both Ella and Marilyn and all they had to deal with. I found myself very emotional wiping my tears as I read this brilliant read that definitely touched my heart! I personally still feel there was foul play in Marilyn’s death by the Kennedy brothers after all this family is not unfamiliar with mystery and death. Well both did not live into the next decade. So I do not know if I will ever get the answer to that. I personally do not think it was suicide if anything it was an accidental overdose. Again this is my personal opinion as I have always been a fan of her work. You can hear Ella Fitgerald’s hit song “A Tisket A Tasket” even in an episode of The Gilmore Girls in 2002. As for Ella my heart went out to her too from her personal hardships and later in life in her seventies where she had both of her legs amputated below her knees from her diabetes and was also partially blind. So she also had different kinds of demons, honestly I believe both of these women just wanted to be loved like everyone else in the world!

Both of these multi talented women had many demons yet they did not let the racial prejudices of the world affect their friendship. Godbless them both in eternal peace! It is a book I couldn't put down even though I knew it would be filled with a lot of hardships, plus I knew a lot of Marilyn’s history. I was surprised that Ella also had some demons of her own in a completely different way. I found myself listening to Ella’s music online and watching clips from all of Marilyn’s former films and listening to some of her interviews. I will end this book review with a Marilyn Monroe quote from her last interview days before her death. “Fame is fickle and I know it. It has its compensations but it also has its drawbacks, and I have experienced both.”

This historical fiction novel about the friendship between the iconic Marilyn Monroe and Queen of Jazz, Ella Fitzgerald is absolutely so cleverly done. I loved this book so much my heart definitely went out to both Ella and Marilyn and all they had to deal with. Both Bryce and Knight were a perfect collaboration in this magnificent historical fiction masterpiece. As Bryce and Knight wrote a phenomenal book from start to finish! It is one of those rare books that is also very hard to come by and stays with you long after you have read it. It is absolutely awe inspiring! A novel I absolutely loved and can not recommend enough! Bravo to both Denny S. Bryce and Eliza Knight on penning such a dazzling, bright, luminescent book where each page absolutely shined with true brilliance!

Disclaimer: I received an advance reader's copy from the William Morrow Paperbacks. I voluntarily agreed to do an honest, fair, review and blog through netgalley. All words, ideas and thoughts are my own.

Buy Links:

https://www.amazon.com/Cant-We-Be-Friends-Fitzgerald-ebook/dp/B0C782GT4P


https://books.apple.com/us/book/cant-we-be-friends/id6449970053


https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/cant-we-be-friends-eliza-knight/1143924322?ean=9780063282902

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/can-t-we-be-friends-2