A story of a complicated friendship between two women - neither one of them fit the mold of how women are expected to be. At times I didn't like the main character and the story made me uncomfortable, but it made me think.

Ok first this book was crazy seeing these two “friends” mature as authors and then see what happens following is crazy. It did remind me of Yellowface a lot but not in a bad way and it had its own plot completely. I would give it a 3.75/5 stars

Two women with completely different upbringings and lifestyles become friends in LA during the 1960s - the book spans into the 1970s when one of them goes missing - but it's also the story of women trying to make it into the world of journalism and writing books. Although at times the story seemed to drag on - I enjoyed the reliving the 60s-70s time period. Thanks for the ARC.

This is a well written book about two damaged women, both bigger than life and smaller. It is told in two timelines, the 60's and the 70's from both their viewpoints. I expected more of a mystery but it is really about the Hollywood writers, artists etc wealthy scene, which wasn't as interesting to me as it might be to others. Lots of topics dealt with, the toxic relationship between them and the men in their lives, feminism, drug addiction, motherhood and being mothered, being closeted , and betrayal. It was interesting but also never really connected with the characters.

Whether it was 20, 30, 40, let alone over 50 years ago, what women had to do in order to work in areas like journalism, writing, photography and more, especially in Hollywood. A fact that many in today’s world do not realize at all. This book is about 2 women who lived through a lot during that time era. They were drawn to each other because of what they had to do in order to go to that next step. But one life took off better than another, one disappeared and the other would write the tell all about her.

It took me a little while to get through this book because I kept expecting more as I read more. I kept expecting something that never happened. While it is a decent book, I don’t know if it will appeal to everyone and I think you definitely need to have the right frame of mind to read it all the way through. I also believe that it could have been about 100 pages shorter.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my own opinion.

L.A. Women explores the relationship between two women in the mid 1960s and mid 1970s, told in a dual timeline narrative. Lane Warren comes to L.A. from New York to write her first novel in 1965, she's an outsider in Hollywood when she meets Gala Margolis, a party girl and well-known groupie. Despite their differences, Gala and Lane became friends (or do they?) and with Gala's help, Lane meets Charlie McCloud and becomes part of the intellectual Hollywood elite. In the later timeline in 1975, Gala is missing, and Lane is working on a semi-fictional expose about Gala's life and her tragic love affair with a rock star. The two timelines slowly merge, filling in the gaps in their relationship, and showing both the highs and lows of their lives.
This is not a book with a lot of action, this is a book that examines people and their lives and relationships and choices. Gala's "disappearance" is not a true mystery, but is resolved by the end of the book, but I would say this is not a book for thriller or mystery readers, but rather, this is a book for people who enjoy character driven books. Both Lane and Gala come to know themselves better over the course of the book, and the narrative shows how they both grow and change. For me, they both start off relatively unlikable, but by the end I was rooting for them both to find happiness and fulfillment. The conclusion was certainly satisfying within that regard.
Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for the electronic ARC of this novel for review.

This left me with a lot of conflicting views about the reality of both Lane and Gala's worlds. They have both very different and in the beginning I truly wondered if they could actually be friends. And in the end... I still wondered the same thing.

The more I got to know them, the more I didn't really care for either of them but maybe that was the point. They both have wrongs. And yet while I may not have cared for them I still spent the whole novel hoping I would get a decent ending to both of their stories.

LA Women kept me hanging on not just for the mystery but for the character development.

Ella Berman’s L.A. Women is a captivating exploration of ambition, identity, and the complexities of female friendship set against the backdrop of 1960s Hollywood. The novel centers on Lane and Gala, two women whose paths cross in the glitzy yet tumultuous world of Los Angeles. Their decade-long relationship is marked by intense connection, rivalry, and the pursuit of success in an industry that often pits women against each other.

Berman masterfully delves into the intricacies of their bond, highlighting how their individual desires and insecurities intertwine, leading to both empowerment and betrayal. The setting of 1960s Hollywood serves not just as a backdrop but as a character in itself, reflecting the era's cultural shifts and the challenges faced by women striving for autonomy and recognition.

For readers who appreciate nuanced character studies and narratives that examine the personal costs of ambition and the complexities of female relationships, L.A. Women offers a compelling and thought-provoking read.

Set in the party scene of the 60's and 70's, L.A. Women explores the friendship and lives of two writers, Lane and Gala and their mutual friend Charlie. While the "sex, drugs, and rock & roll" theme is familiar, the uniqueness of the story comes from the strong, incredibly imperfect, female writers who we see as up and comers in their 20's then as they grow into their 30's and develop their careers. Did they always make the best choices? Rarely, but I loved the raw honesty and the glamorous, and at the same time, grungy feel of the book. It makes a great summer read! Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC!

The title alone will probably interest many readers, as it did for me. I was immediately interested in the story because of the famous - sometimes called infamous- Laurel Canyon setting, home to numerous celebrities, musicians, and rumored access to plenty of recreational drugs. There are plenty of back-in-the-day references to cool places such as Sunset Boulevard, Doheny Boulevard, the Chateau, the Troubadour, etc.

Published-female-author Lane is one of two lead female characters in this book who keeps her home the place to hang out in the mid 1970's by supplying plenty of champagne and lines of cocaine. It is clear from the very beginning that this party crowd mostly has the shallow interest of fame, rarely earned and mostly by association. The other important female is six-foot-tall Gala, a hot babe graduate of Hollywood High; the animosity between these two female characters and their willingness to use and discard other people as needed to promote themselves is non-stop. Attempting to keep the peace is Lane's gay male friend Charlie McCloud, the wizard of spin who keeps people relevant and in the news, covering up others' bad behavior as best as possible while also limiting himself to one-night hookups to avoid officially broadcasting his sexual preferences since this could be detrimental to his Hollywood studio career path .

As the chapters vacillate between "Now" (opening in 1975) to "Then" (September 1965), some scenes seemed to lack transition. However, the main drawback was how overwhelmingly unlikable Lane and Gala were to me. Gala uses the F-word so often that it loses its impact. Likewise, Lane's musings about how perfect her wealthy life is with husband Scotty and two daughters becomes tiresome, particularly since she doesn't seem to care for her daughters who mean Lane has 10 minutes without a child pulling on her hand and demanding something. On top of this, both Gala and Lane want to either write the next sensational book or prevent the other from doing so. The backstabbing of professional and personal lives simply ...never ... stops. This is why I it took me so long to finish this book; I often set it down because I wanted the plot to move on. To be fair, I picked it back up time after time because I did want to see where this would end.

I am glad that I stuck with it because the 1972 "Then" in chapter 40 (of 63,about two-thirds of the way through the book) the pace picks up; there are some new developments and twists, and the story becomes more interesting again. (I wrote "yay" about this in my notes.)

I was impressed with the writing right out of the gate—so sharp and engaging. The descriptions of 1970s LA were spot-on and totally set the vibe. It felt real and immersive. I loved that both main characters were female writers and total frenemies. Neither of them was particularly likeable, but that actually worked—they didn’t need to be.

My only gripe is that it dragged in places. The writing is beautiful, but a tighter edit would’ve helped trim the fat and keep the pace up.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for access to this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had high hopes for this novel, especially when I’d heard the main characters Lane and Gals compared to the fraught frenemies Didion and Babitz. The plot was, to me, unfortunately caught between historical fiction and literary fiction, with not enough emphasis on one or the other. It left me feeling that Lane and Gals were flat caricatures or stereotypes of women in Laurel Canyon in the 60s/70s. Their ‘feud’ seemed forced because their relationship was kind of unbelievable and some of their characteristics were just so cliche it almost feels misogynistic. I wish there was more about just the two of them, not so much emphasis on the side characters Charlie, Scotty, etc, it just took away from character development for Lane and Gala to me. I ended up feeling like I wasn’t really sure what was going on or what the story was really about,

This book was super interesting and unique for me, and I really enjoyed it. Lane and Gala were both very interesting and flawed characters. This book was jam packed with tension!

This is definitely a different type of story. At times I couldn’t put it down and at times, I skipped a half of page or even a whole page. The story was about two women. One was Gala and she was a “wild child”. A groupie to several different bands, actors, anyone famous with lots of money to spend on her and her drugs, wild clothes. The other woman is Lane. She too is somewhat of a groupie but a higher class groupie- either self proclaimed or actually. Were they destined to be best friends or enemies? It was just different and I am still not sure if that is a good difference or not. Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy for my honest review.

A hard book to read, yet also a book that is hard to set down. What turn of the page would make Lane a better mother, a better wife, a better friend? How could Lane and Gala make their writing careers more successful without hurting each other? There were too many drugs, too much alcohol, too many friends who only wanted a party payoff for showing up. So as much as I read it without giving up, I can’t imagine telling someone it was an enjoyable read. It was about broken lives. Reading it to the end was hope. I wish there had been more, but can’t imagine how I thought it would arrive.

thank you to the publishers and netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

i love ella berman's writing style and was excited to get this one. while it didn't come near her masterpiece the comeback for me, there are a lot of strong suits to this book. complex and believable characters, great prose, a propulsive plot that while not a thriller keeps you wanting to know what happens. the complicated relationship between lane and gala was extremely well-done and lived-in.

that said, they are not really likable characters! and reading this book filled me with a sense of dread that lingered until pretty much the last 5%. i also don't know that the ending felt completely earned, while simultaneously, i don't know what ending i would've wanted. none of these are necessarily flaws, but overall i'd give it a 3.5 or 3.75/5. it was missing something i can't put my finger on. overall though, this was a solid effort.

(side note to the publishers: there was a reference to rfk in this book that, while appropriate to the time period, left a bad taste in my mouth considering our current political landscape and his heinous, baseless comments about multiple things, most recently autism. i would encourage swapping it out)

The 1970s are a perfect place for an It girl rivalry set in the prime of Hollywood’s sleazy past. I’ll read anything Elle writes, and while this wasn’t my favorite of hers, I still adore her nuanced characters and engaging storylines.

The story of Gala and Lane, two writers living in Los Angeles. Gala has gone missing. One woman is on the way up, career wise, while the other falters. When Lane takes dramatic action both of their lives are forever altered.

Told in dual storylines of the 1960s and mid seventies, we get an intensive view of these two women. I was drawn to this book immediately as I lived in Los Angeles for more than a decade and was, in fact an LA Woman. Ella Berman writes in such breathtaking, lovely prose that I found myself stopping over and over to highlight the beautiful passages.

I found both of the main characters, not to mention side characters, to be nuanced and well written and the location absolutely popped off of the page. My only quibble with the book was it was too long and did feel plodding at points. I am rating this 3.5 stars (rounded to 4) for this dive into the lives of these LA ladies.

I received this advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

I1970 glitzy L.A.— The perfect place for a cool girl rivalry. This book serves as an inside look at old Hollywood, and the writers who helped paint that image. It felt like the ultimate showdown between the legends Babitz & Didion. It was chic, sharp, and down right witty.

LA Women follows two 1960s icons, Gala Margolis and Lane Warren, as their paths intersect over the years. Gala is a “pre-Raphaelite” beauty who prances through Hollywood, always the center of the room and the conversation. Life comes easy for Gala, she’s successful in everything. On the other hand, Lane is more stoic. She has built a name for herself as a reporter and writer, and seems to envy, despise and admire Gala, depending on the day or moment.

LA Women’s pacing is on the slower side, but the story moves. I appreciated the character development and how Gala and Lane’s path draw nearer and farther throughout the years LA Women pacing takes us through. There are things to like and dislike in both characters, including their seeming inability to actually support one another.

There’s a lot of sadness in this book. It showcases how two strong and fierce women, independent and successful, can crumble or lose themselves when hitching their lives to a man’s.

Overall, I enjoyed LA Women and recommend it. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.