L.A. Women by Ella Berman

 

L.A. Women by Ella Berman.

Published 5th August 2025 by Aria.

From the cover of the book:

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?

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New Year's Eve, 1965/66. Journalist Lane is introduced to sparkling socialite Gala Margolis at an L.A. party. Outsider Lane is drawn to Gala, and although they never become quite what either would describe as friends, their lives touch time and time again over the years. Lane eventually makes the big time as a novelist, and when she discovers Gala has a talent for writing too, she decides to help her career along. But as her own star begins to wane, and Gala's rises, Lane's jealousy makes her do something that changes the direction of both of their lives.

1975, Los Angeles. Former literary icon Lane Warren's life has taken a downward turn. Struggling with the demands of motherhood, and marriage to a man who has failed to provide the stability he promised her, she hopes to pull herself out of a rut with a brand new book about her friend (and sometimes rival) Gala Margolis, whose life has been derailed following the death of her rock star boyfriend. But when Gala disappears, Lane is paralysed with writer's block, plagued with guilt about her possible part in Gala's decision to walk away from her life. She becomes consumed by the need to find out what has happened to Gala.

I absolutely loved Ella Berman's previous novel, The Comeback, which rings with delicious echoes of the late great Eve Babitz, so I was delighted when the Babitz vibe sparked again with the title of her new novel, L.A. Women! This time, my love affair with Berman's writing continues with a sharp and punchy novel set in L.A. of the 1960s and '70s.

The story unfurls via narratives from Lane and Gala in sections of Then story, exploring the history of their spiky relationship; and from the perspective of Lane in the Now, as she struggles with many aspects of her life in the wake of Gala's disappearance. From their fateful meeting, the two women develop an unconventional friendship that swings between moments of intimacy and disharmony, until it descends into bitterness when their careers as writers tip them into fierce rivalry.

Berman does an incredible job delving into the complexities of Lane and Gala's relationship, examining the legacy of the trauma Lane carries from her dysfunctional childhood, and how Gala's tragic love affair with a young rock star pulls her in and sends her off the rails. Both characters learn hard lessons about themselves, and the things expected of them, especially when it comes to how 'difficult' women are perceived. On the side-lines, Lane's friendship with music producer Charlie, a man who feels the need to keep his homosexuality under wraps in a city where his choices would destroy him, is intense too.

This book thrums with fabulous vibes of time and place, immersing you in the schizophrenic nature of L.A. of the era, veering between its heady permissive side, and the cynicism beneath the glamour. Berman hits her stride in an addictive story that reveals its secrets slowly, before gut-punching you with shocking twists and turns about the sad history of the rise and fall of Lane and Gala, and she still manages to finish this novel on a hopeful note. 

Fabulous from start to finish, with lashings of story that will appeal to fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid. Easily one of my novels of the year. 

L.A. Women is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Aria for sending me a proof of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Ella Berman grew up in both London and Los Angeles and worked at Sony Music before starting the clothing brand London Loves LA. She lives in London with her husband, James, and their dog, Rocky. He previous novels are Before We Were Innocent and The Comeback.