This started out focusing equally on the characters, but by the end I feel like there was a main character and the rest were scattered in sparingly. I had a hard time keeping track of who everyone was as the POVs changed. There was little to differentiate the women from each other until midway through.

Climbing in Heels offers a refreshing take with its strong feminist undertones and thoughtful historical references, which I really appreciated. The book clearly aims to empower and inspire, and those moments shine through. However, some parts of the plot felt a bit slow and lacked the momentum needed to keep me fully engaged. While the message is meaningful and the concept is solid, the execution didn’t always hold my attention. Overall, it’s a decent 3-star read with admirable intentions, but a story that could have used a bit more spark.

This is a really fun read about three strong-willed FMCs who knew what they wanted and would not take no for an answer. They all had things in their past that they would rather not remember, which made them that much more interested in succeeding. I was so impressed with Beanie; when it seemed like she couldn't get herself out of a difficult situation, she somehow came up with something. She was determined to be something great and nothing was going to stop her. The narrator kept the story fun and entertaining.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for the eARC and Macmillan Audio for the ALC~

4 Stars! What a fun read! I really enjoyed the women in this book. You can tell the author had these women completely thought out. Halfway thru reading I read an article that this book was bought by Peacock for a tv series. My mind then racing from then on casting in my head. I’ve got ideas peacock if you need help.

Writing was crisp and delightful. I really wanted to follow these women’s lives. Vibes were align with Late Night, Working Girl and Sex and the City.

Elaine you must keep writing woman stories! They’re real. They’re complex. They’re entertaining.


Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for my arc in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

2.5 ⭐️

I wanted to love this, but it was just meh for me.

The book follows three main characters as they do just about anything to rise in their careers at a Hollywood agency.

The book follows Beanie, Mercedes, and Ella from their childhoods into adulthood. Because the book spans from the 60s to the 90s, it felt like it dragged on in the beginning and then sped up toward the end. I didn’t really feel connected to any character except Beanie, so I think just focusing on two female characters would have made this stronger.

While I love and respect that the author was an actual Hollywood agent who rose to the top in her own right, I feel like the book characters made sudden and at times super outlandish moves in order to advance their careers. We also didn’t always get to see the immediate after effects of these decisions, which made them feel even more random. The ending felt super contrived and did not deliver the payoff I was expecting.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy of this audiobook.

A story about women breaking the glass ceiling and doing whatever it takes to realize their dreams - this book gives a glimpse of the entertainment world in the 1980's. It was, no question, a man's world. This book felt like a based on a true story, Hollywood tell all, told from the perspective of the women trying to take the industry by storm.

I was super intrigued by the description and I really wanted to like it much more than I did. It was engaging, but it just seemed to drag and felt like a little Groundhog Day-ish... I also didn't really love, or at times even like any of the characters. They were a mixed bunch.

Overall the story was good, though, and the ending was not one I saw coming, so I'm glad I didn't DNF it. I know a lot of women who are going to love this, I just wasn't one of them this time.

The audio narration was great and helped make this an entertaining listen. Definitely don't count this book out because I didn't love it, because you just might!

Sorry to say this was a DNF for me at 84%.
Although the premise sounded really good, I just couldn’t listen to it anymore.

Started out strong with a few women who went against the grain and really wanted to make something of themselves, even back in the 80’s when it was really all just a men’s/big boys club!

But, as the chapters went on (and on, and on….) I felt like it was all just name throwing and nonsense at this point….

And being as I have a bunch of books I actually do WANT to read, I’m DNF’ing this one…

2 ⭐️⭐️ for me.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an ARC of the audiobook. Wish I could’ve given a nicer review, but this one was just NOT for me….

Climbing in Heels by Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas and narrated nicely by Stephanie Nemeth-Parker.

Due to be released on 4/29/25.

You can find my reviews on: Goodreads,
Insta @BookReviews_with_emsr and/or
My Facebook Book Club: Book Reviews With Elaine

Thanks so much for reading! And if you ‘liked’ my review, please share with your friends, & click ‘LIKE’ below… And, let me know YOUR thoughts if you read it!! 📚⭐️

PS….limiting my review to Goodreads and NetGalley for this one.

Climbing in Heels is a knockout from start to finish. Set against the glitzy, cutthroat backdrop of 1980s Hollywood, this novel delivers a potent mix of ambition, resilience, and dazzling drama. It’s Gossip Girl meets Entourage—with powerhouse women front and center.

At the heart of the story is Beanie Rosen, a force of nature who commands every scene she’s in. With razor-sharp dialogue, layered backstories, and fashion references so spot-on they feel lifted straight from a vintage Vogue editorial, the characters come alive with a kind of electric realism that makes the book nearly impossible to put down.

The author doesn’t just deliver a compelling narrative—she builds a world that is both indulgently glamorous and deeply human. The stakes are high, the drama is real, and the emotional depth is unexpected in all the right ways. Beneath the glitter lies a sharp commentary on the cost of success, the complexities of friendship, and the fierce fight for visibility in a male-dominated industry.

This book begs for a screen adaptation. Until then, grab a copy, pour yourself a glass of something bubbly, and settle in for one hell of a ride.

Climbing in Heels was a very I treating and entertaining read and I loved the two main characters. I loved the mom and daughter relationship and how complex it is.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

I am not sure why but this book did not work for me. However, as I always say when I don't like a book, just because I did not like the book, it doesn't mean that someone else won't like it. It also doesn't necessarily mean that I may not like another book by the same author. Or even that I may not like the book if I try it again in the future...

I wanted to love this book. Women in Hollywood in the 1980's is definitely a fun topic... but I did not find that I loved it. There were too many characters, which made it hard to connect to any of the characters and even their stories. I did not find that there was a ton of character growth or even that I truly got to connect and know the characters. I think fewer characters would have allowed there to be more of an emotional connection. I also found that the book overall did not portray women during that time well - there was too much sex and drugs and not enough of the positive, in my opinion. The book dragged on in the middle because of these things. I wish that there was more of the humanness to the book, since I think this is a great period to discuss women, especially working women. 
Thank you netgalley for my advanced reader copy

I can't wait to tell everyone to read Climbing in Heels! I loved it! The nostalgia for the 80s and 90s - the women in a male dominated field - it was fantastic!!

I really liked being able to listen to this book on audio. The narrator did a great job. This book is about three very different women who are secretaries in the 1980s trying to make it in Hollywood when it was a boys club. This showed how women were treated at the time which was not good but also how this women fought for what they wanted. This book was juicy and interesting and I think it will be a big book of the year.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the gifted ARC and Macmillan Audio for the review copy! Climbing in Heels is a solid poolside pick—easy to breeze through with a cool drink in hand and plenty of moments that’ll spark conversation about the not-so-distant past (or is it still the present?). On the surface, it may seem like soapy fun, but there’s a deeper pulse beneath the glamour and gossip. This story offers a sharp, often unsettling reflection on how powerful, capable women in the entertainment industry have navigated systemic inequality—finding ways to survive, succeed, and shine, though not without unfair costs.

It’s not a perfect book, but it doesn’t need to be. What lingers are the themes: the importance of the Times Up movement, the necessity of the Weinstein exposé, and the ongoing fight to be seen, respected, and valued. Climbing in Heels is a reminder that behind every glossy headline is a story that matters—and sometimes, fiction tells that truth more clearly than the news ever could.

Need a guilty pleasure? A deep dive into the salacious, juicy, gossipy world known as Hollywood? CLIMBING IN HEELS is all that and more. You will find yourself immersed in a place where names are dropped and clout is wielded like a sword. Welcome to the cut throat land where stars are made and the people who make them.

The story focuses on three women of vastly different backgrounds trying to make it in 1980s Hollywood. They face a mountain of obstacles including an archaic hierarchy in a male dominated industry where misogyny rules and sex is power. It’s a tale of friendship, loyalty, ambition, betrayal, and desire. I couldn’t look away.

Highly entertaining and entirely riveting, I was fascinated by the three main characters—Beanie, Ella, and Mercedes—as they schemed, plotted, and strategized their way to positions of power. Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas‘s novel reads like an exposé of an industry that glitters on the surface belying the grit and dirt beneath the shiny veneer. It’s addictive and a whole lot of fun.

The audiobook is narrated by Stephanie Németh-Parker whose portrayal of each of the main characters is distinctive bringing authenticity to their stories.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and St. Martin’s Press for the advance copies. All opinions are my own.

The narrator for this book did a fantastic job bringing these women to life. I like how this book starts in the past and works its way forward. This brought nostalgia for the good things in the past, but frustration for the boys club antics. This book gets a bit spicy describing some of the things the women experienced to get ahead. The most important thing is though that the woman were doing their best to earn their spots and be taken seriously. I liked how Beanies' character was a role model for others, but there were lots of characters to keep track of. I will look for future books from this author, I think she is probably just finding her footing....in heels (ha!). but I will read future books too!

This is a chick-lit, historical fiction, character driven novel of feminism, badassery and seduction. I loved all of fem-y life advice quotes throughout the book. That was one of my fav parts.

Weight shaming is an ongoing theme in this one. Mother’s who weight-shame their daughters deserve a special place in hell filled with only tasty cakes and milkshakes. Same goes for POS men who don’t value women and think acting like a pig is acceptable.

This book also talks about how back in the day women would seek to find a patron. I cannot imagine having to do that. These women adapted, taking the men’s interest in all things sexual and used it to their advantage, they used the men’s idiotic penis driven mentality and fear of smart women against them…climbing in heels and in spite of the men trying to hold them down. I’m so glad I don’t live in a time where I need to dumb myself down to secure employment.

I wasn’t around in the era of men dying from “pneumonia & strange flu” and it makes me sad that people were so frightened to be their most authentic selves back then and meanwhile so many other men were running amuck acting like total pigs treating women like sh!t and that was a-ok. Smh.

In a way it gave me Lessons In Chemistry vibes. It was the same but different.