A very accurate portrayal of the women in LA. This has the writing and wit and mystique to oil off such a noir lit fic.

I’m quite conflicted about this book:
. . . Just because the characters are “challenging,” doesn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy it;
. . . Just because it was difficult to read, doesn’t mean I won’t persist,
But, I felt like it took a very long time to sort itself out as a character study. Of people I might not need to “ study.”

So, my conflict is: what did I gain by the time I felt exploring these people.
Ahhhhhhh, there’s the rub! Not much.

I think some book groups may enjoy a deep dive ( pass the martins, please) over the aspirations and lifestyles of these characters. So, the discussion might be interesting, fun, or self-illuminating. But, I actually did not find the time I spent with this book rewarding in any way.
. . .

This was a book that grew on me. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it (or the characters), until I continued reading. I had to know how each of the women’s stories ended regardless of how I felt about them. I also really liked the character of Charlie, who was a best friend to Lane.

This story takes place in Los Angeles (hence the title), and revolves around the lives of two women. Lane Warren is a well reserved, classy, up and coming writer. Gala Margolis is sloppy, parties hard, and doesn’t care what anyone thinks of her. Gala looks out for number one- and that is herself.

We get dual timelines in this story and that is, Then 1965/66, and Now 1975/76. So this story took place when women weren’t yet totally liberated or had the freedom to choose to live so freely. During these timelines we get a lot of Lane’s backstory, and in that I really resonated with her character. Lane was a woman who never felt worthy of love, admiration, or even friendship. Gala on the other hand, well let’s just say I couldn’t stand her character. In fact, I’m left confused as to why Lane wanted to be friends with her in the first place. For me, Gala was a very unlikable character, and I was super glad that she went missing in this book.

All in all, I did enjoy this book as I very much enjoy Ella Berman’s writing. She can write about complex, complicated friendships and relationships better than any other author out there. However, this book was very slow moving and did take a while to get into- but in the end it was worth it.
(3.5 stars- rounded up)

Many thanks to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing Group, and the author for a DRC of this book in which I had the pleasure of reading.
Publication date: August 5, 2005
Genre~ Women’s Fiction, General Fiction (adult)

The synopsis for L.A. Women claim to be written about friends, but Lane and Gala are anything but friends. The book centers around the judgemental, impulsive, cowardly, jealous people who think they run the Hollywood scene in the 60s. Can these women grow and attain what they truly want out of life in spite of all the negativity and hardships?
I was engaged from the moment I started reading this book, but I always wanted more. The book had many deep topics that, in the end, were really only glazed over. I wish Lane and Gala (or any of the characters) were at all likable.
This was an interesting and thought-provoking novel. Had it been about the two writers I have seen it claimed to be about, it would be so much better. Since it is a work of fiction, I wanted more for the author. She stopped just at the threshold of what could be a great book.

Thank you, NetGalley, Berkley Publishing Group, and Ella Berman, for the opportunity to read this digital ARC for my honest review.

I got about 30% of the way through this book before I decided that finding out what happened to Gala wasn't worth another second with Lane.

I so throughly enjoyed Ella Berman's LA WOMEN. Her previous other two books are two of my favorites of all time. I wish I had loved this one just the same. I really dug her writing style and the vivid imagery she created for the world of Lane and Gala. However I just never clicked with the characters the way I wanted to.

LA Women is an interesting story about the complex relationship between Lana and Gala. Their jealousy of each other was reflected in their toxic behaviors towards each other. The story is told in a dual
timeline between the present and 10 years earlier when they met in the sixties. When Gala goes missing, Lana begins her search for her reflecting back to when they met and her actions that changed both of their lives. The ending and the complex relationships kept my interest in reading the book.

.A. Women by Ella Berman
This 3rd novel by Ella Berman sports the ‘already done plot’ of young woman goes to Hollywood only to try to survive the decadence of becoming rich and famous. Sadly the book lacks the nuances of Malibou Rising and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. While technically very well written, with a deft command of dialogue, L.A. Women has plot holes and parts that are never really explained. Probably its biggest flaw is that none of the characters are likeable or people that most of us can relate to. They are drug addled, sex obsessed, self absorbed and frankly just plain mean to other humans. Then add to that a slow moving plot that jumps back and forth over 10 years and you find yourself saying how many more pages? Finally at the end, the characters see the light, but there’s no real transition to make any metamorphosis believable. 3 stars. Thank you to Berkley Publishers and BookBrowse.com for this Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for an honest review.

L.A. Women by Ella Berman is the story of two women. Lane and Gala are both talented writers, with diverse backgrounds. Gala is a free spirit, wanting fun and exciting, and being the center of attention. Lane is very anxious, always trying for perfection, satisfied sitting on the sidelines observing life. However, beneath the veneer, both ladies are struggling to be their true self. These two different women together with many interesting characters make for an insightful look at friendships and caring as well as self-discovery. Through a series of events, some tragic, some deceitful, a betrayal and some compassion, Cara and Lane begin to understand themselves. They form a friendship. This novel takes a deep dive into women’s belief that they must be what other people want and how other people see them. But, in the end, we are only what we are, and acceptance of oneself also brings acceptance of others. A good novel which I enjoyed very much. Very insightful as to what is truly meaningful in life and how personal growth always works.

⭐️⭐️.5 rounded up

LA Women follows Lane and Gala, two women in Hollywood in the 60s that strike up a toxic friendship over 10ish years. Both women are jealous, competitive, but also totally different and a bit obsessed with each other (and not in a good way). When Lane’s competitiveness and jealous causes her to do something that changes both of their lives forever, it sends her into a spiral that she may never come back from.

I really enjoyed Before We Were Innocent and was really looking forward to this book. It was a slow start, I wasn’t invested until about the halfway mark due to both FMC being extremely unlikeable but overall I enjoyed the read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

"Friends"
L.A. Women
This book covers events predominantly 49 to 60 years ago with L.A. as the backdrop at a time when there existed a very different environment for gays and to a lesser extent women compared to today. What hasn't changed is the psychological burden of bad parenting on some offspring and the love-hate relationship between some sorts of "friends", one of whom may have an unhealthy competitive flaw that results in surreptitious malevolent behavior.

The book is focused on the flawed relationship of the one uptight accomplished friend and her more outgoing, naturally talented compatriot. The story sometimes drags because of the featured role of the angst ridden former in the narration of the story. I had a hard time liking or often even caring about this woman, so I didn't particularly enjoy the book.

However, the book is well written and conveys some unpleasant truths about how we have behaved and alas still behave in some ways. Thank goodness we have improved in how our gay friends are treated today.

In short, this is a skillfully rendered portrayal of a certain time in the USA which is well done but unpleasant to look back on. It is also painful to recognize that insecurities still undo once healthy friendships.

L.A. Women follows Lane and Gala, two DEEPLY unlikeable characters, in 1960s L.A. Lane, the writer from New York, and Gala, the Hollywood party girl, had such a complex relationship. This book had a dual timeline, and while I'm usually more interested in one timeline over the other, I was equally invested in each with this story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for sending me this book!

This was a really good book!! It had a similar vibe to Yellowface, but still it was pretty different. I think this book was very well written, and it was interesting and entertaining! I like the themes of friendship, writers, and growth!

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

Gala and Lane are two enthralling yet completely unlikeable characters. Charlie is a bit more endearing, but he definitely has his faults. LA Women takes a deep look into their complicated friendship over the span of many years. I don’t know if I even want to call it a friendship. The complex relationships made this story completely engrossing, I kept searching for reasons and answers. There are a few big events, but for the most part this is a quieter novel that looks at game, friendship, motherhood, addiction and family under a microscope. A microscope so strong that you can see all of the imperfections. I loved the Hollywood landscape, it set the perfect tone for such a story. The ending was magnificent.

Set in the late 1960’s and up to the mid 1970’s, L. A. Women is a story of the intense, fractured friendship between two young women, Lane, a novelist, ultimately a wife and mother, and Gala, a party girl and sometime writer with an out-size personality. The men in their lives are Charlie, party master and closeted gay, and straightforward upright Scotty, who marries Lane. Lane’s childhood was particularly dysfunctional while Gala’s wasn’t wonderful either. As so-called friends, these two women use and abuse and sometimes depend on each other. Competition and compassion are at war in this back-and-forth relationship.
The opening chapters are full of sex and drug-laden parties, and I didn’t find any of the characters very appealing or ones I could identify with. When Gala disappears and no one seems to know where she has gone, Lane feels compelled even driven to try to locate her. This search fuels the novel as the chapters alternate in time between past events and present day 1975. Recommended for fans of Ella Berman and those looking for a graphic portrait of an earlier Hollywood/Los Angeles party scene.

No notes. Each character was so real and human, and likable and hateable all at once. Ella Berman wrote this beautiful novel about being a woman in the 70s in a man’s world, that is still relatable today. It showed how women need each others support and friendship but also how sometimes women get in the trap of comparison and putdowns instead of lifting each other up. I LOVED this one. It wasn’t a book where I devoured it quickly but the depth and the writing were beautiful.

This novel follows two women in their twenties navigating the LA art scene in the 1960s and 1970s—Gala and Lane, both aspiring writers. On the surface, they seem like total opposites: Gala, the consummate party girl, and Lane, an uptight woman new to the LA scene. Their unlikely friendship begins when Gala introduces Lane to Charlie, who becomes Lane's best friend and helps Lane write her debut novel, which turns into a smash hit. But when Gala mysteriously disappears, Lane becomes obsessed with finding her, much to the frustration of those around her.

The book is rich with vivid imagery, transporting you straight to 1970s LA, immersing you in the vibrant world of love, sex, drugs, and the pulsating art scene. The writing is exceptional, capturing the era's raw energy and complexity. The toxic love-hate relationship between Gala and Lane is addicting, delving into the intricate dynamics of female friendships—how women can be both each other’s greatest supporters and harshest critics. I absolutely loved this. It’s a perfect read for fans of Daisy Jones & the Six or Ursa in D Minor.

I have enjoyed Berman's previous novels so was excited to get approved for this one on @netgalley. It publishes on August 5th so I recommend her previous while you wait; While You Were Innocent (2023) or The Comeback (2020).

DNF at 23%

I wanted to be able to finish this book, but couldn’t due to the two female MCs. I could not relate with them, and the plot was hard to follow.

I am bummed because I really liked “Before We Were Innocent.”

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the digital eARC.

This book blew me away. Set in the 1960s in Los Angeles we have Lane a writer and Gala a socialite. There is jealousy, toxic friendship, Gala disappearing, obsession, and ambition. Then Lane does something that changes both of their lives... The writing, the characters, the setting, everything about this book made me not want to put this book down. I have read everything by Ella Berman and will continue to because she is just such an amazing writer and storyteller. Please pick up this book!

1960s Los Angeles. A city of sun-soaked glamour, restless ambition, and friendships as intoxicating as they are volatile.

Lane Warren has built a reputation as a journalist and circles the edges of literary success. But now, she’s ready to step into the spotlight on her own terms. Trading the cool reserve of the East Coast for the heat of LA, Lane struggles to find her place in a world that seems effortless for everyone but her.

Then she meets Gala.

Tall, radiant, magnetic—Gala moves through life with an intoxicating ease. She doesn’t seem to work, and she certainly doesn’t care about the things that keep other people up at night. Yet somehow, she is always the center of the room, a gravitational force around which others orbit. Lane is immediately drawn in, swept into an intense friendship that feels like fate.

But nothing this dazzling lasts forever.

Told through shifting timelines, LA Women unravels the story of Lane and Gala—how they met, the rise and fall of their intoxicating friendship, and the mysterious circumstances surrounding Gala’s eventual disappearance. Theirs is a relationship that defies easy explanation, one that flickers between admiration and rivalry, devotion and destruction. Against a backdrop of parties, power plays, and the unreality of 1960s Los Angeles, this novel explores the fine line between love and obsession, and the cost of losing oneself in someone else’s orbit.

A story of ambition, longing, and the unspoken tensions between women, LA Women is an unforgettable novel of a friendship that burns bright, fast, and dangerously close to the edge.

#LAWomen #EllaBerman #Berkley #LiteraryThriller #1960sLA #FameAndFriendship #ThePriceOfGlamour