L.A. Women
- Author Ella Berman
- Narrator Nerissa Bradley
- Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing
- Publish Date 5 August 2025
- Run Time 10 hours and 17 minutes
- Format Audio
- Genre Historical fiction, Thriller / suspense fiction.
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What to expect
Bloomsbury presents L.A. Women by Ella Berman, read by Nerissa Bradley.
'My Brilliant Friend meets Daisy Jones and the Six in this immersive story of friendship and rivalry... Berman is at her finest' T. Greenwood, author of Keeping Lucy
***
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?
***
'A truly exceptional novel... L.A. Women is nothing short of iconic' Katy Hays, New York Times bestselling author of The Cloisters
'My Brilliant Friend meets Daisy Jones and the Six in this immersive story of friendship and rivalry... Berman is at her finest' T. Greenwood, author of Keeping Lucy
***
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?
***
'A truly exceptional novel... L.A. Women is nothing short of iconic' Katy Hays, New York Times bestselling author of The Cloisters
Critics Review
This 60s set novel is perfect for summer, transporting you to California's Laurel Canyon
fierce rivalries between writers...If you’re looking for stories that contains equal parts glitz and grit, then look no further.
Berman faithfully ticks off the places and faces of 1970s LA, but describes internal landscapes more impressively. Both women wrangle with their prescribed roles, harboured hopes, desire for fame and recognition on their terms — and whether betrayal is an acceptable way to achieve their goals.
A gripping reminder of how complicated friendships can be
If complicated female friendships are your bag, you'll enjoy this compelling novel...Los Angeles makes the perfect glittering backdrop to the unfolding drama
A truly exceptional novel about the vagaries of female friendship and creative ambition, L.A. Women fizzes with energy and intrigue. Berman’s Los Angeles is a glittering, ecstatic party, full of fascinating, charismatic figures that made me want to linger even as the lights began to dim. Much like its subject matter, L.A. Women is nothing short of iconic
Ella Berman’s writing is transportive, hypnotic, and addictive. I fell wholeheartedly in love with the intensity of these L.A. Women and the way Berman unabashedly explores the deep, glimmering, and turbulent waters of artistic ambition amid the alluring backdrop of 1960’s Los Angeles. This novel reads like a spell, a California fever dream, and a risk taking excavation of the moments that most define us. L.A. Women is phenomenal
An unflinching exploration into the emotional depths of artists, LA Women is as soulful and scintillating as Laurel Canyon itself
From the very first pages of Ella Berman’s L.A. Women, I was hooked. A tantalizing balance of mysterious and eerie, glittering and evocative, this novel skillfully explores the depths and complexity of artistic ambition and female friendship — all set against the shimmering backdrop of 1960’s (and 1970’s) Los Angeles. There’s something so transportive about Ella’s writing, about the way she captures parties in Laurel Canyon as palpably as the emotional push-pull between two writers and friends; it’ll have you hanging on every word and turning the pages at record pace. This is a can’t-put-down read
An electrifying story of fame, ambition, creativity and friendship, threaded through with a mystery that compels you to keep reading, L.A. Women is an utterly all-consuming novel
My Brilliant Friend meets Daisy Jones and the Six in this immersive story of the friendship (and rivalry) between two female writers in ‘60s/‘70s Los Angeles. Berman is at her finest in this novel; these characters will live on in my imagination for years to come
The characters in L.A. Women are as dazzling as they are messy, as poised as they are insecure, as relatable as they are mysterious, and as downright maddening as only the most fascinating, memorable women can be. I am utterly enchanted by them, and will be raving about this book at parties for years to come
Riveting and erudite in the most energetic way
With a heavy dose of Daisy Jones glamour and the competitive edge of All About Eve, Ella has once again written a novel that dazzles and zings. I could not put it down, desperate to find out what happened between Lane and Gala, completely in love with the Californian mise en scene. Ella captures perfectly the dual sides of LA, the glamour and grime, and how people arrive there desperate for a dream life and do whatever they can to ensure it.
Loosely inspired by the real-life L.A. lives of writers Joan Didion and Eve Babitz, this glamorous book delves into 1960s Laurel Canyon and the betrayal between two young women
Berman casts Lane and Gala as vivacious frenemies, and their drag-out fights generate real sparks. Readers will surely fall for these two ladies of the canyon
Electrifying...bold, dazzling, and crackling with tension
Recommended in rocky relationship reads
Berman’s prose is silky and evocative...As she charts the rocky friendship of the leads and their circle across more than a decade, she also covers addiction, ambition, the disappointments of motherhood, mid-century homophobia, the joys and agonies of writing, and a whole lot more.
Set in the glittering 1960s LA party scene and beyond, it spotlights the cost of great art and who, ultimately, pays the price
I absolutely LOVED it. It's giving Taylor Jenkins Reid, but it's about Joan Didion and Eve Babitz's friendship. I'm so obsessed
Berman writes about friendship like it's romance, the initial spark, the deep infatuation and the betrayal that comes when one person wants more...And the setting?! Laurel Canyon in its hazy heyday, studio parties, cigarette smoke and heartbreak on velvet sofas. I was IN the sun-faded photographs reading wine-stained typewriter pages, listening to Dylan strumming his guitar. Its a really thought-provoking read about friendship between complicated, ambitious and brilliant women, so if that's your bag then you'll probably love this too.
I'm absolutely hooked, lined, and sinkered... It's very good
Absolutely blown away... Berman has created a world so rich
Electric
A deep reach into fame and friendship
a great summer read
Evoking all the glamour and grit of 1960s LA, this enthralling, razor-sharp novel dissects the complex, explosive friendship between two female writers
Rivalry, deception, betrayal and vintage Hollywood glamour - this book has it all!
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