Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the Kindle ARC in exchange for an honest review. L.A. Women is about Lane and Gala, frenemies in the time frame from the mid-60's through the mid-70's. Both women are ambitious with Lane being the more serious about her career and Gala caring more about the L.A. party scene and just being known for being herself rather than for any achievement. The time period accurately depicts how women were still very much at men's whims as far as careers and status. Lane is a writer with a gay best friend, Charlie, who keeps her on course most of the time. She is also married with twin young daughters. Gala falls in love with Gabriel, the lead singer for an up and coming band. The lifestyle of the Laurel Canyon party scene and the pitfalls of being part of it are the undoing of Gala. Not the usual type of book I read but interesting enough that I was eager to find out how things will turn out for Lane and Gala.

L.A. Women was a very difficult read for me, to be honest, I didn't finish it. It took a lot to get through the first few chapters and I realized that is wasn't something that I wanted to read.

Echoing a few other reviews - not entirely sure what the point of this book is about?

L.A. Women had all the ingredients: ambitious women, betrayal, Hollywood glamour, but somehow still left me wondering what the main point was. The mystery around Gala fizzled out fast, and honestly, Lane writing a book about her was the least scandalous thing anyone did. In the end, I was way more interested in Lane surviving L.A. than in Gala’s free-spirited disappearing act.

This is the second Ella Berman book I've read, The Comback being the first, which I also only gave three stars to. I cannot connect with any of her characters or plot points.

Thank you to Book Browse, Net Galley and Berkley for the advanced reader copy.
This story about two L.A. women circling around each other throughout the 60s and 70s brought me right into the heart of L.A. in those times. The gritty nature of the party scene, rich people behaving not so well, the culture of being constantly surrounded by beautiful, famous people.

Throughout the years of their on-again/off-again friendship, Lane and Gala revolve around each other in ways that are not healthy for either of them. Lane is traumatized from her horrible childhood and struggling with knowing what she wants in life. She is a successful author, but can not figure out how to love. Gala is a wild card, the party girl of L.A. who knows everyone and in love with one of the most famous lead singers of the era. Gala knows what love is, but what will she do to keep it?

I said this was gritty and it is. It feels hazy, dark, and ethereal at times. I just loved the feeling the book evoked and could not put it down until I knew what became of Lane and Gala.

This book reminded me of a TJR story (compliment!) – I’m not sure if it was the strong female characters or the way the relationships were written that is giving it a similar vibe, but either way I loved it! Lane and Gala both had these deeply unlikable moments but are simultaneously super relatable in their struggles – I felt especially like the push and pull dynamic in their writing career and the LA scene was done so well, it really tugs you as the reader back and forth between the two women.

The only gripe I have is that we’re left at an odd end with Charlie, and I wish we could’ve seen a bit more of a resolution in his story. I felt like he was such a big part of the narrative and then just kind of fizzled at the end.

Overall, this was a hit for me and I really enjoyed it!!

Hmm, this book - I think it's a good book, but it wasn't for me. I believe other people may have an easier time connecting with Lane or Gala, but I couldn't get invested in either story, and I ultimately found that it led me to lose interest. The pacing felt a bit slow, which also contributed, however, I don't think the writing or plot devices are bad by any means.

Despite not being able to relate to any of the characters, their motivations or lifestyle, I was captivated by the story. Though I wanted to shake most everyone throughout the book, I found myself hoping for redemption for each of them. The author did a good job of creating a story that I felt a part of, even though it’s not at all a scene I would want any part of.

Thanks to NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy.

I was a little confused by what the main story line was in this book. Lane and her insecurities and ambitions to be a widely acclaimed and highly honored writer. Charlie and his successful career but at what cost. Scotty and his betrayal of Lane. Gala and her free spirit and where it would lead her. Gabriel - a train wreck that you can't stop looking at. It also started feeling like a mystery, which I love a good mystery, so my focus tended to lean this way. What happened to Gala? Well, what happened to Gala was very anti-climactic and why didn't anyone figure that out sooner? I also did not feel Lane writing a book about Gala was the ultimate betrayal. What Gala and Scotty did was the ultimate betrayal. Anyway, I hope Gala is happy with her decisions, but I was mainly vested in Lane and her girls. I did enjoy reading about the L.A. culture, really no surprises though, and how women have to work twice as hard as men to succeed. No surprise there either.

This book follows the story of Lane and Gala, two writers who find each other and begin somewhat of a friendship. They are opposites and early in the book, Gala is missing. The book develops through current time and flashbacks and we learn more about the complicated relationship of these characters. Overall, I enjoyed this book, but it wasn't a fast read for me.

I'm torn on this book because I read it quickly so that indicates that I did enjoy it at some level, however, I found myself not invested in the characters. Overall, Ella Berman is a great writer, but the character dynamics did not grab me in a way that had me enjoying the story (and I love tough characters!). Thank you very much for the opportunity to read this book.

An excellent read for any and all readers! Author comes at you with both barrels and knocks you out of your shoes! Great job fleshing out all the characters. I give this book FIVE stars! Definitely recommend!

I enjoyed this authors last book so I was exited to read this one. The characters are incredibly real and complex and I really enjoyed this story of friendship and women supporting one another.

4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book is a wild ride! I spent a third of the book rooting for the characters, another third of the book hating them, and the other third having no idea what was going on. Every character of L.A. Women were complex and masterfully written. Even when you would hate a character with all of your being, a little later in the story you would find yourself relating to that character in some small way.
There were some moments where I just didn't want to keep going because I would find myself not really liking anybody in the book but as I kept on reading, the author had some really nice character development that made me want to come back. All around, L.A. Women has masterful writing and character development; there are some moments that are hard to keep reading but the good plot development outweighs the bad feelings.

*Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for this free ARC!

This was such a great story. I love reading about complicated relationships between people who are even more complicated themselves. This book is for the people who love following the minds of twisted yet compelling characters. Lane and Gala weren’t necessarily great people, but their flawed and contradicting values and characteristics were so captivating. And when I saw that the author has a degree in psychology it made so much sense as to why they were so interesting.

I love how similar yet distinct Gala and Lane are to each other and the ways we see how their similarities cause them to clash but also keep them coming back to each other time and time again. The two understand each other in ways that no one else does, and they know it, and they hate it. It’s shown with such subtlety it’s brilliant.

The non linear story serves the story well and gives it more momentum since the story is mostly character driven which often makes for slower reads, but knowing Gala was missing made me want to know who she was and what happened right from the jump. The pacing of the tension building throughout was really well done.

The only thing that bothered me throughout the book was Lane’s inability and unwillingness to make her novels more fictional and instead dead-set on making her story and gala’s identical to their real lives. I suppose it’s in character for her, but the fact that she didn’t even try bugged me. It would be more understandable if when she did try it was never as good as the truth, I’d get why it would be a crutch then. I was also a bit surprised that their circle wasn’t bigger since they were in the heart of the Hollywood scene, I expected some more significant side characters in addition to Scotty, Gabriel, and Charlie.

Thank you Netgalley and Berkeley for the eARC!!

thank you Berkley Publishing for the e-ARC via NetGalley!
while this story had a slow start, i found Gala & Lane’s friendship to be quite toxic and both insecure in their own ways.. the only person i felt bad for at times was Charlie. however, each character’s struggles brought a mix of relatability and heartbreak.

read if you enjoy dual timelines and the writing style kinda reminds me of Eve Babitz!
the LA references were fun too, especially since i am a valley girl at heart 🫶🏼

I COULD NOT PUT THIS DOWN!

L.A. Women is a beautifully written, lyrical look at life, friendship, and hardship that I will continue to think about for a long time. I will say the initial description is very intriguing (one woman writes a book about another) but in the end, the focus shifts to many issues. The book covers being gay in the 70's, sex, drugs, motherhood, love, and friendship. One of the major themes is what it means to be a woman in the world. Especially in a world that has very little expectation of you other than to be a mother.

What does it mean to subvert the expectations of others?

I'd say of the main two women, Lane and Gala, neither is fully likeable or unlikeable, but both have glimmers of good and bad traits. I found myself empathizing with both in various stages.

Berman is an extremely talented writer, who covered many topics in one novel, all while I furiously highlighted various lines that I thought were stunning.

I loved this story. While maybe not for everyone, this was a true examination of the messiness of human life, and I won't forget it. So far one of my top reads of the year.

Thank you to Berman, Berkley, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

L.A. Women was my first novel by Berman, and while there were many aspects to this book that I enjoyed, it was a mixed bag overall. The synposis places a lot of emphasis on the fact that the protagonist Lane decides to write a novel inspired by her friend Gala, and while this does come up, it's not really the focus of the story. I liked that Lane and Gala didn't have the stereotypical female friendship usually explored in books where they behave like sisters who always have one another's backs. Rather, they are complicated women with an even more complicated relationship. The book also explores Lane's relationship with her husband Scotty, and her gay but mostly closeted friend Charlie (my favorite character). However, because there is rarely, if ever, a point in which all four adults are on friendly terms, it can leave the book feeling compartmentalized at times. The characters are explored over two periods of time, about a decade apart, and Berman does a nice job of creating the atmosphere of Hollywood in the 1960s and 1970s. Much of the crux of the book explores Gala's disappearance and the impact on Lane. There is also what many will describe as a twist near the end of the book, however I saw it merely as a lie by the author - not a literary twist so much as a character lying about an aspect of his/her life. Still, it's a quick, breezy read that I think many will enjoy.

This was really good an easy read jealous and envy cause leave you dead !!!!! Crazy when you think someone is a friend and they turn out to be anything but that !!!

L.A. Woman by Ella Berman is a book about friendship, addiction, co-dependency and excesses. It drew me in and occasionally threw me out. Lane and Gala are drawn to each other and repeatedly betray that friendship. Lane sabotages Gala’s writing career and completely fails to provide any support after the tragic death of her rocker husband-Gala appears at Lane’s carefully orchestrated Sunday soirees, often high, and disturbs the atmosphere and eventually sleeps with Scotty, Lane’s husband, and financially blackmails him. What is the old adage “with friends like this who needs enemies”.

I found the story very readable but a good editor might streamline some of the repetitive scenes, especially the debauchery surrounding Gala. I got it, she is stunning, brilliant but terribly troubled. I also understand both women came from backgrounds that left them both with scars, but again, I got it. Overall, it is more than a beach read and less than a meaty historical fiction novel. I enjoyed it.

I really enjoyed the tumultuous relationship between these two frenemies, set in a glamorous and gritty 1960s/1970s Hollywood.