Thank you to Aria and Aries for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This book is set in L.A. and follows the very complicated friendship between two women Lane Warren and Gala Margolis, the book is set in two timelines Summer 1975 and Autumn 1965. Both women are writers, Gala was a charming socialite and Lane was an upcoming author trying to find her place in the L.A. party scene. We follow both women over the years and the trajectory of their friendship until Lane’s betrayal. In the present day Autumn 1975 Gala is missing.


This book was a really hard read for me as I didn’t really warm up to any of the characters, I didn’t think any of them had any redeeming features about them. I did enjoy this book as it was a snapshot into what life was like for women in the 1960’s and 1970’s, I did feel for Lane as I think she had a rather severe case of postnatal depression and her wet drip of a husband wasn’t much support. I think this would be an interesting book to discuss for book club as there are a lot of heavy themes in this book, I will suggest it to my book club when it’s released and see what they say. Out of the two women I liked Gala better as I think she was more true to herself and wasn’t trying to be anything she wasn’t, where as Lane let others shape her and her choices, i.e. Charlie and her husband Scotty. Overall a very gripping depiction of the friendship of two women set against the backdrop of drop of L.A. party scene in 1960’s/1970’s. When I said I found this book a hard read, it’s because it’s what I call a thinking book, a book that challenges you to think about different ideas and perspectives when you are reading it. Overall I would recommend this book.

I tore through this account of two women in 60s and 70s LA that echoes the lives of Joan Didion and Eve Babitz. I likes the play on the title of Babitz's own book, LA Woman.
It works well as a character portrait of two complex and fascinating women as well as a depiction of a layered and fluctuating female friendship. The characters felt convincing and came alive.
It's an evocative and immersive story and it felt considered and well researched whilst also being readable and fast paced.
I've enjoyed all of this author's book and would recommend this.

Mixed feeling about this book, the story follows two main characters, Lane and Gala, both writers, both young women approaching life and LA in a very different way.
I must say I'm not a huge fan of books that go back and forth between 2 different timelines, even if the chapters title explained 'then' vs 'now' I still find it very confusing but I understand this is more my problem than the book or the narrative itself.

I struggled a bit to empathise with the characters, although I found Gala way more profound than Lane even if it seems as it's the latter that gets all the glory, and I wish we got to know more Charlie, Lane's best friend. Overall I loved how honest it felt when depicting life in LA in the 60s/70's, not everything was glamorous and life and fame were difficult, especially for women, I appreciated how the author approached Lane's relationship with motherhood as not all of us women are born or cut out to be mothers, but I also felt as we get to the end of the book understanding just a fraction of the main characters' nuances, their lives and their relationship. It gets better as the pages go on, but it wasn't an easy read, at least for me.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.