I wasn’t sure what to think about this book. In some ways, it was well done and intelligent. In others, it was low-brow and didn’t have a coherent plot. It very much made me think about the difference between Lane and Gala. This book tried to be both and I’m not sure that it worked. I may have to reread it to see what I think then.

4 Emotional Stars!

This is my first book by Ms. Berman. When I read the blurb for this book, it immediately intrigued me. I grew up near Los Angeles and I’m a huge fan of all things Hollywood, especially from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s.

The story is both heartfelt, emotional, intriguing and facing consequences for your actions. Gala and Lane flow in the same circles, Gala being a socialite and Lane a published author that’s trying to write her next best seller, which is on her “friend” Gala. I love how this book is in dual timelines as it fits so well with their story.

Lane has struggled her entire life thanks to her less than stellar childhood, mostly due to parental neglect and this truly drives everything in her life. It’s like she can’t get beyond it at all, even though as an adult she could make decisions that could put that in her past, but for me it’s like she needs to let it go already. I get having a problematic childhood, I’ve spent thousands of dollars on therapy thanks to my childhood LOL!

What is supposed to be her being able to rebuild her career by writing this expose on Gala becomes something else as we discover actions from both of their pasts that is steeped in a rivalry that leads to some cataclysmic regrets and consequences. Things are going well for Lane until Gala disappears… where did she go? Was it her choice? If it wasn’t her choice, who’s responsible and what does Lane know, if anything?

I will say this book took me a little while to get “into” as it’s a little slow moving for the first several chapters. But it picked up for me and I wasn’t able to put it down. There’s a few twists and turns I wasn’t prepared for and when I got to the last page, my questions were answered and I knew I’d just finished a book that will stick with me for a while!

This book was a rocky experience. Honestly, had it not been for the fact that it was a NetGalley book, I probably would have given up on it. I have a problem with books where I do not like the protagonist(s).
There were two protagonists here and for a good part of the novel, I really did not like either one. One was a would be influencer (I think that is what they call them) whose goal, it seemed, was to be famous, no matter how. She was rather shallow. The other, a little less shallow, wanted to be a writer but never thought she was good enough. This novel was about their friendship which was rather tortured, in the backdrop of LA in the kind of community that was also shallow and drug addicted. I found this all a bit hard to relate to and asked myself why and who cares.
But I did keep reading and things became a bit less shallow. Over time, we began to see why the "influencer" became the way she was and why women, even when they love each other, are not always nice to each other. In the end, it became a novel worth reading with a point. I had to get beyond my own biases and suspend my own judgments about those whose lives are very different than mine, and for that reason, I was glad to have read this, even if it was not the easiest experience.
Thanks to NetGalley and Berkeley Publishing for providing me with the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for my honest opinions.

Thank you Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for the ARC!

I was thrilled to receive this ARC! As an L.A. native, I read the description and felt immediately engaged in the story. I was able to picture where things were in my mind's eye and I felt even more connected to the story because I could picture it so clearly.

Gala and Lane had a complex friendship, full of competition, intrigue, and secrets. Berman's writing hooked me in to the point where I needed to keep reading to find out more.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one, and would definitely read more from this author. I really appreciate the opportunity to read this ARC!

A mesmerizing novel about female friendship, love, obsession, addiction, motherhood and writers set in the 1960s and 70s LA club scene. Highly character driven, this novel follows two women who become unlikely friends and the ways their lives spiral in unexpected ways over two decades. Heartbreaking and visceral, this was great on audio and I enjoyed it a lot. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!

I was initially drawn to this book because it was set in the 1960s and it gave me Daisy Jones and/or Mary Jane vibes. In LA Women, two friends and authors take us for a bit of a wild ride through their partying days in 1960s Hollywood. As they rose to fame, their careers took them apart and their friendship faded. Now, many years later, one is writing a book largely based on the other's life.

Overall this book was just okay for me. I did not feel that I particularly liked either character - Lane or Gala. While the 60s Hollywood was initially a draw for me, the book was a bit flat. I wanted more to happen in the book than did. An interesting read for those who are interested in 60s Hollywood, fame, money, female careers/ambitions, etc. I do not think this book will be memorable for me in the long run.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3 out of 5 stars)
L.A. Women is a moody, introspective look at fame, friendship, and the emotional wreckage we carry behind closed doors, set against the hazy, glamorous backdrop of 1960s and ’70s Los Angeles. If you love stories about complicated women and even more complicated relationships, this one has a lot to offer. But fair warning: it’s a slow burn, heavy on character, light on plot.

The novel centers on Lane and Gala- two women who couldn’t be more different on the surface. Lane is a guarded, successful writer with a painful past, and Gala is a glittering socialite always chasing the next distraction. Their friendship is messy, intense, and emotionally fraught, and while I appreciated how raw and honest it was, I also found it hard to connect with either of them fully. They both felt real, just not particularly likable, which made parts of the book feel a little emotionally distant.

That said, Ella Berman’s writing is lovely, quietly powerful, with a great sense of time and place. I especially liked the way she wove in the “book about a book” angle and explored how stories can be twisted, buried, or reclaimed. The themes of addiction, grief, and abandonment hit hard, and while the pacing was on the slower side, it fit the reflective tone of the novel.

Overall, this was a thoughtful read with moments of beauty and insight, even if it didn’t completely click for me. Worth picking up if you’re in the mood for something character-driven, melancholic, and rooted in the emotional undercurrents of a complex female friendship.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest book by Ella Berman. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4 stars!

Two women, Lane and Gala, became friends during the 1960s party scene in LA. Both writers, they were drawn to each other, until Gala's star began to rise. Ten years later, Lane is back on top with a new book deal based on Gala's life. However, Gala has been missing for months and no one can find her.

Ella Berman is great at writing female characters and their complicated relationships, with each other and with the men in their lives. This book is no exception. It's a bit of a slow burn, but I liked learning more about these women in a time when they were still viewed as less than men. There are some heavy topics here too - addiction, grief, struggles with motherhood - but it's the characters that shine. Charlie, Lane's friend, is another intriguing character. I liked the dual timelines of Then and Now to flesh out the backstories. Good read!

3.5-4⭐️ Two ambitious writers go head-to-head in 1960s Los Angeles. Nearing the end of her career, Lana Warren gets the book deal of a lifetime— writing the life story of her friend and rival Gala Margolis. But when Gala goes missing, Lane will be forced to reckon with a decision that changed the course of both of their lives.

I have really come to appreciate the way Ella Berman approaches character-centric stories and the way in which she writes about the complexities of the female friendship, especially as juxtaposed to the romantic entanglements her characters often find themselves in. That theme was present in her previous novel, Before We Were Innocent, and very much continues into her newest release, L.A. Women.

While the history of Hollywood’s elite doesn’t always fascinate me, I found the story, overall, to be appealing with interesting, very flawed characters who were easy to relate to, regardless of social class or economic status. My heart broke for Gala and her torturous love story, just as it did for Lane and the unhappy situation she too found herself in. Ultimately, this story felt very, very sad, as Berman tackles very heavy issues including addiction, grief, and parental neglect, in a time where women were still viewed as lesser than.

Read if you like:
▪️1960s-70s Hollywood
▪️dueling writers
▪️books about books
▪️complex female friendships
▪️toxic relationships
▪️interesting characters

Thank you Berkley Pub for the advanced copy.

I enjoyed this book, a lot. It had the drama of Old Hollywood. The competition of who is better is still alive today but this book was set in the 1960’s and it had the feel of the 1960’s. Ella Berman stayed true to the time she was writing in and I found myself picture the world in that time. I could hear the music, see the clothing, and picture the houses/apartments. I could hear the voices of Gala and Lane as they competed with each other, supported each other, and stayed in each other’s lives in one way or another.

Gala is what I picture when I hear talk about “old Hollywood” and the party girls, the drugs, the people just wanting to be in the orbit of what Hollywood means. She is a unique and interesting character. Lane is the one who wants to make it, she puts in the work but still struggles with life and the choices she made.

I did not find this book to be a quick read. I never wanted to stop reading but I read it slowly. I did not want to miss a single word, I wanted to savor each page not missing a single detail. This is a great historical book.

I have mixed feelings about this book. It really drew me in at the start. I loved the setting and the time periods and the meeting of the two female main characters held so much promise for what was to come. I also really liked Charlie. But then the plot just stalled. I feel like the author was trying to create suspense, but it was too slow to develop. I think this was trying to be a more character driven book, but the characters were a little dull. It’s like the author was holding back on character development as a way to create intrigue, but it didn’t quite work for me. I thought the cover was very fun and eye catching. Thank you for this advance copy.

Thank you to NetGalley, author Ella Berman, and Berkley for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

I'm back on my lit fic train and loving it! L.A. Women was an enjoyable read from start to finish. Although I personally haven't read any of Didion or Babitz's works, I can assume that the rivalry/friendship between Lane and Gala will draw parallels to these real, famous writers of the 70s. It was definitely what I thought of immediately when reading, so I will be intrigued to hear others' thoughts who are more familiar with Didion and Babitz's works and see if that changes my thoughts towards Berman's novel. I really enjoyed how complicated Lane and Gala were; the setting of Laurel Canyon and their (not-so) glitzy world was vibrant to reflect both women. Neither women were likable, and both were flawed, but the reader couldn't help but root for them both all throughout. I did think the book was a bit more straightforward than my personal preference, in terms of it feeling like Berman was just stating things rather than letting the reader infer what was happening. I also thought certain plot points (such as Lane's upbringing and how that affected her) were really dwelt upon, while other major events (like <spoiler> Scotty cheating on Lane with Gala and Charlie's involvement in it all</spoiler> could have been given more pages to play out on. I see the story Berman was trying to tell though and found myself really invested in the characters. This book made me reflect upon both women and also on myself as a woman as I was reading, and for that, I really enjoyed it.

Lane Warren is a journalist turned novelist, while Gala Margolis is a Hollywood socialite and groupie. They meet during the 1960’s LA party scene, and L.A. Women is the tale of their turbulent relationship as friends and frenemies over the next decade. Told in the present (mid-1970's), when Lane realizes that nobody has seen Gala for almost 6 months, and in flashbacks to the past (mid-1960's) that cover when and how they met and significant points in their lives and relationships along the way. Both women are damaged and not totally relatable for me, but as their story emerged, I came to appreciate them and their struggle for success, love and meaning in a time and place that focused more on the superficial. Well written, atmospheric and engaging, L. A. Women feels like a "tell-all" full of juicy details meshed with the story of a complex relationship between two smart, strong women.

I'm sorry to say that I really disliked this one. I couldn't get past my hatred of Lane, and having most of the book through her point of view made it drag on endlessly. Gala's character was more interesting, but it just didn't save the rest of the story. I could see this working for a certain audience, but it just wasn't for me.

I kept reading this book hoping for more. More from the plot, more from the characters... but unfortunately it never delivered for me.

After achieving success as a journalist in New York, Lane Warren relocates to Laurel Canyon in Los Angeles to work on her first novel. It's the mid-1960s, and she keeps running into Gala Margolis, a tall, dark-haired woman whose confidence and ease captivate Lane. The two form a sort of friendship. When the narrative shifts to the mid-1970s, Lane's first novel has become a hit, and she encourages the free-spirited, sexually adventurous Gala to develop her writing skills. By 1975, Lane plans to base her third novel on a Gala-inspired character, which doesn't sit well with Gala, who has become more of a rival than a friend. When Gala disappears from the scene, a fact we learn at the beginning of the book, Lane becomes obsessed with uncovering what happened to her.

Ella Berman faithfully captured the literary and music scenes of Los Angeles from the mid-60s through the mid-70s in L.A. Women. It is about two flawed women who seem very different but are more alike than they realize. Inspired by the relationship between writers Joan Didion and Eve Babitz, the story is a sad one. Berman's two well-developed fictional characters are not particularly likable. The book moves at a slow pace, but things pick up once the quasi-friendship falls apart. I enjoyed being transported to this era and became invested in finding out what happened to Gala.

Put on your favorite Joni Mitchell album and enjoy this engaging step back in time.

Take a trip back to the glamorous world of Hollywood in the 1960’s!

Lane Warren is new to the Hollywood scene. She is an outsider wanting to fit in, become a successful and celebrated author. She is fueled by deep insecurities stemming from her difficult childhood and she never feels like she measures up. Gala Margolis, also a writer, is reckless and uninhibited, reveling her way through the ‘free spirit’ decade in the L.A. party scene. These two women are drawn to each other like moths to the same flame and become the most unlikely and complicated of friends as well as enemies to each other. When Gala’s fame skyrockets, Lane can’t contain her jealousy and does something that will change the course of both of their lives.

Ten years later, Lane’s writing career has cooled significantly when she is offered a book deal that could relaunch her career. She is asked to write a new book about the life of her old rival and muse, Gala Margolis. The problem is that no one has seen Gala in months and no one knows where to find her.

This author’s book, Before We We’re Innocent, was on my top ten list a few years ago. I enjoyed this gritty slow burn mystery set in glittering 1960 Hollywood. And, for sure, I cannot wait to read what this author writes next!

Thank you Netgalley, Berkley Publishing Group, and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be available for purchase on August 5, 2025

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I hate to say it, but this was so boring to me.

I loved “Before We Were Innocent,” so I had super high hopes for this book! Sadly it fell completely flat.

There was no point to this book. It was about these two women and their friendship, but there was no other substance there. There wasn’t even that much drama. If there was drama, it was only really at the end of the novel.

I didn’t even have an interest in finding out what was going on with Gala. It was very character based, but I didn’t care about the characters to want to read about their life. There were some things that evoked emotions like anger and sadness, but it wasn’t that profound to the point where I cared or wanted to keep reading.

I thought it was cool they were both writers. I don’t read that very often in books, so I thought that was a good twist to their characters.

I really liked Charlie. I know it’s supposed to be about the women, but I wish we got more of him. Even though he did some things that weren’t so great. I felt for him and his struggles.

I know it was about a toxic friendship, but Gala made me very angry. She wasn’t a good person. I felt for Lane a lot. I preferred Lane over Gala, but that is not saying much because I didn’t care about her all that much.

Without saying too much for spoilers, Gala and Gabriel were just vaguely interesting. It was a very sad concept and sad story, so that is partly where it brought out emotion for me, but the majority of the novel I didn’t feel one way or another. I felt sad because of basic human empathy, but not because I loved them as characters.

If you want to read a book by this author, stick with “Before We Were Innocent!” That is an amazing read! This book unfortunately did not work for me.

"She had climbed to the op of the world, but the champagne had turned out to be poison, the people nothing more than common vultures."

Set in the midst of both the glitter and the grit of Los Angeles during the 1960s and 1970s, L.A. women follows both the camaraderie and content of two very different women. Lane, a prolific writer suffering from the ghost of her loveless family, and Gala, an interminable party girl amongst L.A.'s social scene chasing every distraction and pleasure that comes her way. Berman captures the ethos of the era well.

The two strike out an unlikely friendship that has an underbelly of regret and jealous splendor that threatens to take them both out. When Gala goes missing in current day, Lane becomes obsessed with her whereabouts. The book continues in a them/now timeline as we see how the relationship breaks. L.A. Women ventures into gritty music venues, drug use, internalized and outright misogony to paint a vibrant scene of this specific place in history.

I genuinely enjoyed with one! Thank you to Berkeley Publishing and Netgalley for the advanced copy. L.A. Women debuts August 5, 2025.

This is by far, Ella Berman's best book to date! Set in the 60s and 70s (Then and Now), L.A. Women follows Gala and Lane, two very flawed and complex characters that are trying to make it in LA as ambitious writers of their time. While they’re inexplicably drawn to each other and form a tumultuous and rivalrous friendship, they find they also need each other in a world eager to drown out the female voice. Neither are completely likable characters but both are utterly fascinating. Gala is the free spirited, gypsy soul who doesn’t give a damn and Lane is the uptight, hungry for success, polar opposite. It’s easy to become intertwined in their world through Berman’s writing. She’s able to craft two characters that should be entirely unlikable but once you learn more about each of their backstories, I couldn’t help but feel compassion for these two. The past and present timeline that is perfectly interwoven throughout gave me exactly what I needed along the journey. On a deeper lever it also explores queer identity in Hollywood, motherhood, and societal expectations for women in a male dominated world.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for this digital e-arc.*