Thank you to #BerkleyPublishingGroup and #NetGalley for the DRC of #LAWomen. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

The marketing blurb for this book made it sound really interesting - the story of two friends/rivals, both writers, in 1960-70s LA. While the writing was good and the characters were believable, I just didn't connect with the main characters, Lane & Gala. I found some of the insights on addiction, privilege and motherhood interesting, but it wasn't the right book for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The story of two rival authors and their complicated friendship. Lane is refined and the current “it” writer. Gala is a party girl, taking advantage of all that L.A. and the 1960’s have to offer.
The story jumps between Then (1965) and Now (1975.) This is a little hard to follow at times.
Mainly, the characters are somewhat difficult to connect to. This being said, they are interesting at the time. Some of the secondary characters are very interesting, even endearing (I am talking about you, Charlie.)

The story does capture the 60’s & 70’s in Southern CA. And this aspect made the over story interesting, to me. I had hoped that it would be a little more TJR, with more heart and a little less grit. But overall, an interesting historical/literary fiction.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

L.A. Women by Ella Berman has all of the makings of a book I'd love. Friendships. Glamour. Drama. And a great historical setting.

Set in Hollywood in the 60s and 70s, L.A. Women follows two very different but, in my opinion, equally unlikeable women Gala and Lane. Gala is a free-spirited party girl at the start of her career who goes missing and Lane is a respected but insecure writer trying to stay relevant. The only person in the story that I did like was Charlie.

The setting, writing and themes of female friendship (if you could call it that) were all well done, but I had trouble getting myself to pick up the book. I truly disliked both of the women to the extent that I had trouble caring about their stories, and I wish that there had been more of a resolution on Charlie's plotline. We invested time for him to just fizzle out later.

Thank you Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. L.A. Women comes out August 5th.

I loved this kindle book! It gave me "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" vibes. Lots of flawed characters who I really enjoyed. I also enjoyed the friendships between Lane and both Gala and Charlie. The backdrop is Los Angeles publishing world in the 70s. The story is messy and real.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC! Publication date is 8/5/25.

This was a sharp, stylistic novel. The characters were exceptionally well written. I can’t guarantee you will like them but you will at some point in this novel admire them, hate them, laugh at them, cheer them on and pity them. This author transports us back to the drug fueled hedonism of the 60s and 70s when women and gay people were still fighting for the right to be taken seriously and to be free to love whom they want.
I hope that Ella Berman produces many more novels at this level unlike her main character. Really enjoyed her writing.
Thanks to Netgalley and Berkeley publishing for this ARC.

This book was hard for me to connect with. I do not feel as if the book description was accurate and found that to be very disappointing. I had been influenced to read it because I had read and enjoyed Before We Were Innocent. In the story, the female protagonist and antagonist were unlikable. I had hoped through the climax (of the story) there would be a resolution to some of their less than redeeming qualities, but in the end it fell flat. Gabriel and Gala’s story was my favorite part of the story and kept me from DNFing the book. Overall, I gave the book 2 stars.

LA Women
This novel is the story of a turbulent friendship between Gala and Lane in Hollywood. Both women are writers and both have a lot of baggage from growing up. They are totally different characters, Gala is the fun loving, party person, while Lane is quieter and more subdued. Some reviewers mentioned they didn’t like one or the other women, I had certain empathy for both, especially when I learned about their background. I didn’t expect much from this book, so I was pleasantly surprised to keep wanting turning pages and read. I also liked Charlie’s character, who was a good friend to both, but mostly to Lane. Overall, definitely a 4 star novel for me. If it was 75-100 pages shorter, I would have definitely give it 5 stars.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read the advanced copy.

Set in the glitz and grit of 1960s and ’70s Los Angeles, L.A. Women follows two very different women—Lane, a successful writer haunted by a loveless childhood, and Gala, a party girl chasing constant distraction. Lane is a successful writer, haunted by a childhood marked by emotional neglect and unfit parents. No matter how far she climbs professionally, she remains tethered to a deep sense of pain and longing. Gala, in contrast, is a free-spirited party girl chasing pleasure and distraction at every turn. What begins as a chance connection between them slowly evolves into a complicated and intense friendship, built on raw honesty and mutual understanding.

Ella Berman does a strong job of capturing the atmosphere of the era and the complex emotional struggles of her characters. But for me, neither Lane nor Gala was especially likable or compelling, which made it hard to fully connect with the story. I appreciated the themes of loneliness and female friendship, but I found the novel difficult to enjoy overall.

Three stars.

I am a huge Berman fan she doesn’t shy away from difficult women and I love that. In LA Women we have the perfect frenemies story against one of my favourite backdrops, 60/70s LA. Gala and Lane are perfect opposing forces, party girl and type A writer both dealing with difficult issues but at the core feminism in all its hardships and nuance is at the forefront. This was entertaining and engaging a solid read.

“I actually think I’d be an excellent famous person. If only I’d been born rich.” Not all famous people are wealthy,” Lane said. “Yeah but the ones who are famous for doing nothing are,” Gala said. “And if they’re poor and well known, they’re usually infamous. which is a very different thing.” Herein lies the essence of the two main characters of L.A. Women. Toggling from “present day” 1975-6 back to the mid to late 60’s, is the story of Lane and Gala, who meet in L.A. and forge a relationship. Their’s is an interesting dynamic. There is a lot to digest of the era—the fashion, the culture and, notably, the drug scene. This is a story of love and loss, made richer by the era in which it’s taking place. With richly drawn characters and a bit of a mystery, this is a good read. Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy for review.

This novel has some of the feeling of a Taylor Jenkins Reid novel, and will likely appeal to her readers.
For me, the overall story felt a bit flat. While there were major turns for the characters, the presentation and writing style kept them from feeling like big reveals to me as the reader.

this. was. everything. i love books that deep dive into hollywood it's always such a fun read and i love the drama so much and this did NOT disappoint. lane and gala are both such complex characters sometimes likeable and sometimes unlikeable but you can never say you didn't relate to both of them for even one moment. i loved the dynamic between charlie and lane and their friendship is so complex as well. and lane and gala.....oh my god where do i even begin about them?? they give a new meaning to homoeroticism, i mean lane literally imagined gala in the corner of her room RIGHT after having sex with her husband and she still had the audacity to tell charlie that she's just a friend like HELLO??? their relationship is so beyond complex i don't even know whether they were friends or rivals or some secret third thing. all i know is that they were insane🙏🏻 i loved all the topics dealt in this book as well, especially motherhood. truly think there's so much i could talk about this book but i will stop here and say that this was absolutely amazing, give me fourteen of them right now.

While I enjoyed the book more only to "see what happens next", I still am not sure what exactly the focus of the story is. Women and friendship?
Frenemies? Regardless, the dynamics of the characters certainly were interesting. Based in the 60's, ironically when Jim Morrison was singing about LA women, The interactions of the characters are what kept me coming back. There were a few interpersonal bombs that took me by surprise.
Thank you #Netgalley and #PenguinRandomHouse fore the opportunity to read this ARC. I would recommend this to those who enjoy a good drama.

I really liked this book, particularly the dual timeline that alternates between the 1960s and 1970s. The main characters, Lane and Gala, are both flawed in their own ways, but I found their personal growth throughout the story fascinating. I do wish Charlie’s storyline had been explored in more detail. Overall, it’s an excellent read that I would definitely recommend.

Branching out from my regular mix of thrillers and suspense, I picked up Ella Berman’s new novel, LA Women, and couldn’t put it down. I LOVED the glamorous setting—1960s Old Hollywood—and the two female protagonists, Lane and Gala. The story is full of heart and I enjoyed following both characters on their paths of unlikely friendship and eventual destruction.

I enjoyed how character-driven the story was, including how emotionally charged the scenes were. The complexities of both characters, Lane and Gala, were intriguing and kept me hooked, desperate to know what made them the way they were. I found Lane to be cold and cruel at times, with an inflated sense of self importance. The way she made others feel was uncomfortable to read, including the state of her marriage to Scotty, and her lack of presence with her best friend, Charlie. Completely absorbed in her own life and career, she couldn’t even be happy for Gala when she attained some success with her writing, even after she’d pushed her to do it.

Gala, on the other hand, felt very insecure, always over-extending for others and never prioritizing herself. Her complicated friendship with Lane was also heartbreaking to read about, including a scene where she arrives at one of Lane’s parties dressed up as her. Her attempt at humor taken completely out of context and Lane’s reaction was truly awful. Including the betrayal that turned Gala’s life on its head, causing her to abandon her life and everyone she knew. I definitely felt more sympathy toward Gala’s character.

This is the first time I’ve been hooked by historical fiction, and I feel more confident going forward when picking up the genre. Even though the story was character-driven, it didn’t affect the pace. It also painted a clear picture of just how difficult life was in that era for ambitious women, and the lengths they’d go to in order to achieve success. Berman did an exceptional job crafting these characters and the world they inhabit, and I’m very curious to read her other books.

For readers who enjoy stories about frenemies, stories set in the 60s in Hollywood, and complex female characters.

"LA Woman" had an intriguing premise—set in late ’60s LA, it follows the complicated friendship between free-spirited (and sometimes messy) Gala and more buttoned-up (playing it safe) Lane as they try to find their way in a male-dominated world. A decade later, Gala mysteriously disappears, and the story unfolds from both of their perspectives, with Lane left to pick up the pieces and wonder what really happened.

The dynamic between the two women—so different yet genuinely connected—is slowly revealed, and Lane’s lingering guilt adds an element of suspense. The writing is thoughtful and really captures the messy ways we see ourselves and each other.

That said, the plot moved at a crawl. I made it about 60% through and still felt like nothing major had happened, which made it hard to stay engaged. It wasn’t bad—just slow—and maybe not the right read for me at the moment. I might come back to it later when I’m in the mood for something more reflective and character-driven.

I received a free DRC of this book through Netgalley. I shouldn't have read other peoples' reviews before I started because it made me a bit trepidatious about the book before I even started it. However, I found the book to be an interesting dive into the friendship/hateship of two women who both are trying to make it in Los Angeles during the 1960s amidst the drugs and pulls to conform even as they both try to stand out in different ways. Lauren, who comes across as a cold, uncaring woman isn't sure that she knows what love is, but she is drawn to Gala who is a standout flame among the wannabes in LA. Lane falls into a conventional path of marriage and motherhood while Gala seems to be a lifelong groupie into her 30s. Lane helps pull Gala up to get more from her life, but also ruins her chances with carefully placed barbs in case Gala isn't self-destructive enough on her own. I didn't particularly like Lane or Gala, but I could see how they were still kids disguised as adults out on their own in an adult playground where they waited for mostly nonexistent parents to show up and give them what they had waited for their entire lives. I was a little bit surprised by the ending based on the path in the book, but I have to admit I am a sucker for a neatly wrapped up story at times.

Being from the Los Angeles area, I am always drawn to stories that take place here. The setting did not disappoint. I really loved the mood the author captured of Hollywood during the 60s and 70s.

This story took me a while to get into. But once I did, I couldn’t put it down. I was intrigued by the back and forth between the two main characters, Lane and Gala. They were sometimes friends, sometimes enemies, while they both struggled to make a name for themselves as writers in Hollywood. While I found both of them to be unlikable at times, I was still fascinated by their stories and eager to see how things would end for each of them.

This story takes place in dual timelines and is told from multiple point of views. It is mostly told from the perspective of Lane and Gala, but we also get a glimpse into the thoughts and motivations of some of the minor characters.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and am glad that I stuck with it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an advanced copy of this book.

L.A. Women is bold, biting, and beautifully brutal. It dives deep into the messy terrain of female friendship, ambition, and betrayal—no easy answers, just raw emotion and razor-sharp prose. A dazzling, punchy read that lingers long after the last page.

Huge Ella Berman fan! She never misses.

I wanted to like this more than I did…. started off strong, but then it dragged for me in certain points, and I didn’t feel fully satisfied by the plot at the end. Thank you for the ARC though! I am still an Ella Berman fan.