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(as of Nov 14, 2025 17:01:16 UTC – Details)
“A breezy retro novel with bite.”
—L.A. Times
“A 1970s-Laurel Canyon version of My Brilliant Friend.”—The Atlantic
An electrifying novel about the complicated friendship between two ambitious writers and the ultimate artistic betrayal: one writes a book based upon the other’s life, revealing everything…from the author of Reese’s Book Club Pick Before We Were Innocent.
After a steady descent from literary stardom, Lane Warren is back. She’s secured a new book deal based off the life of her sometime friend and, more often, rival Gala Margolis. Lane’s only problem is that notorious free spirit Gala has been missing for months.
Ten years earlier, Gala was a charming socialite and Lane was a Hollywood outsider amidst the glittering 1960s L.A. party scene. Though they were never best friends, Lane found Gala sharp and compelling. Gala liked that Lane took her seriously. They were both writers. They were drawn to each other.
That was until Gala’s star began to rise, and Lane grew envious. Then Lane did something that she wouldn’t ever be able to take back…changing the trajectories of both their lives.
Bold, dazzling, and crackling with tension, L.A. Women plunges readers into the legendary parties and unparalleled creativity of iconic Laurel Canyon, while exploring the impossible choices women face when ambition collides with intimacy. At what cost does great art emerge? And who pays the price?
From the Publisher
ASIN : B0DM4RMNYG
Publisher : Berkley
Accessibility : Learn more
Publication date : August 5, 2025
Language : English
File size : 4.2 MB
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 408 pages
ISBN-13 : 978-0593639160
Page Flip : Enabled
Best Sellers Rank: #131,560 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store) #584 in Women’s Psychological Fiction #588 in 20th Century Historical Fiction (Books) #1,331 in Psychological Fiction (Kindle Store)
Customer Reviews: 3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars 153 ratings var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });
KMM89 –
Friends and rivals
L.A. Women is about two female writers, Lane Warren and Gala Margolis, in and around Los Angeles in the 1960s and 1970s. Lane used to be more under the radar, while Gala is glamorous, popular, and widely admired. Over time, fame, jealousy, and ambition cause conflict between them. Years later, Lane has fallen from literary stardom, but she gets a new chance: she is hired to write a book based on Gala’s life. However, there’s a problem — Gala has gone missing.What’s strong about the book:• The setting is interesting. The story shows the exciting LA literary and social scene in the 60s and 70s. • The friendship / rivalry between Lane and Gala gives the story drama and emotion. Readers see how ambition and jealousy can hurt people. • The mystery of Gala’s disappearance adds suspense. You want to know why she left, what Lane’s role is, and how their past connects with the present. • The characters are complicated. Neither Lane nor Gala feels perfect, which makes them feel more like real people with flaws, hopes, fears. I’d give L.A. Women about 4out of 5 stars. It is a hefty read at 416 pages. It’s a good read if you like stories about friendships, rivalry, art, and secrets. It has a strong mood and plenty of conflict. But if you prefer fast-paced or very heroic characters, this one might feel a bit slow.
Mama Dukes –
THE RISE AND FALL OF FEMALE FRIENDSHIP
L. A. WOMEN, penned by Ella Berman, tells the story of a complicated love/hate relationship between two women whose fate is forged on the 1960’s party scene of L.A.Gala Margolis is a socialite who meets Lane Warren on the party scene in the 1960s. Lane was a struggling author and Gala was a party girl who also dabbled in writing. This connection forges a bond between Lane and Gala, with a relationship that causes them to dip in and out of each other’s lives over the years. Lane becomes a #1 best selling author with her book, Paradise Found. But she always harbour’s resentment at Gala’s slow rise to stardom. Gala falls for and nurtures Gabriel Ford, lead man for the band Belle Vue. Gabriel is the love of Gala’ s life and she does everything in her power, and money to make the band the hit it becomes. But when tragedy strikes, Gala disappears. Lane is hired to write a book about Gala and their relationship. But she harbour’s a betrayal that ultimately changed the lives of both women. Can she find Gala to participate in writing the book and ask for forgiveness, or will she be forced to only tell part of the story? Through all this is Charlie McCloud, publicity head for a record label who is friends with both women. Lane’s ex,, Scotty, also has a hand in the lives of both women.I really enjoyed this novel. I thought the characters were very well developed and I enjoyed seeing the intertwining of all of these lives together. I was invested in whether or not Lane would find Gala and to learn what really happened all those years ago. I believe this is my first Ella Berman novel, but it will not be my last. She will be on my list of authors to watch.Thank you to NetGalley and Berkeley Publishing Group for this ARC opportunity. All opinions are my own and given voluntarily.
Xkoqueen –
Richly Detailed Historical Fiction
Told in dual timelines set in 1960s and 1970s Los Angeles, Ella Berman’s L.A. Women follows two very different women whose lives slowly entwine. Lane is a successful writer, yet she’s haunted by a loveless childhood and a deep-seated belief that she’s unworthy of love, admiration, or even friendship. Gala is a free spirit, chasing distraction in drug- and celebrity-filled Laurel Canyon parties until a romance complicates her path.Berman captures the atmosphere of the era perfectly—her scenes are alive with the sights, sounds, and excesses of the time. She digs into themes of loneliness, female friendship, addiction, privilege, and motherhood with nuance, offering an insightful take on the ways women both support and fail each other. Lane’s friend Charlie, a secondary character bound by societal expectations, adds a spark to the story whenever he appears.When Lane’s fading literary career is given new life by a book deal based on Gala’s tumultuous existence, the stakes rise—especially when Gala disappears. But the tension is muted. The novel is slow-paced and wholly character-driven, with little in the way of sharp twists or turns. Still, the quiet pull of wanting to see how both women’s stories end kept me reading, even if I never felt deeply invested in them.Ultimately, L.A. Women is a book that grows on you—rich in period detail and interpersonal complexity, but lacking the narrative momentum to make it unforgettable.
leonberger –
A gripping read, quite serious, not at all what one would expect from the title