Romance featuring New Orleans and its quirky inhabitants
Writer Ali Vali obviously loves New Orleans and her romances / crime novels are usually set there. Her love for the city always shows. This romance unfolds in one small neighborhood where the innate spirit and the quirky characters are going strong. And Ali has sprinkled the story throughout with those quirky characters - one suspects that there are plenty of reminiscences of real life characters because reality always seems to beat fiction. I enjoyed those gossipy neighborhood-hounds quite a lot. The romance is slow burn and it takes quite some time for the two neighbors to actually meet - and not oggling each other through their windows. Meantime some hot sex scenes are going down. I also loved how Ali Vali embedded into the book the handling of grief and loss (reminded me of Vali‘s first novel Carly‘s Sound) and the glimpse of times gone by. Maybe not her strongest romance, but still a fun read.

This was a fun and lighthearted read though has elements of grief and loss. The overarching story is about a writer, Wyatt, who has lost her mojo and buys a house on a whim in a place she doesn’t know well. She starts revamping the run down house and finds some old journals. So far so good but add in her very attractive neighbour Hayley and the story takes an "interesting" turn. No spoilers but Wyatt and Hayley are kept at arms length as Ms Vali develops their convoluted courtship.

All the characters are well developed and some of the secondary characters really shine.

I like this author’s work and her style and this is amusing and sexy. Recommended if you want a diversion and something a bit different from the normal lesfic.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley

I unfortunately had to DNF it at 35%. It's just too boring for me so far and I cannot get into the story. I don't care about the Lydia thing that is going on and I just want some Hayley/Wyatt action and they haven't even met so far! Which is just ugh, I came here for the romance and I'm left disappointed.

Brilliant!

Wyatt Whitlock has writer’s block and decides a change might help her get back to writing. Heading out to an old house in New Orleans, she finds the renovation project and the neighbour next door might just be what she needs. Hayley working in publishing is on a mission to help get herself into the bigger publishing world in New York, only she is completely distracted by her new neighbour, however getting to know her isn’t as easy as it seems.

Absolutely great! A totally unexpected story filled with a touch of erotica, a hidden gem, and a scenario so brilliant I had no idea what would happen or how the story would turn out. I was so excited to read this, then when I started I couldn’t believe how addictive it was, nor how clever it was all going to be. With a bit of mystery and two wonderfully deep characters, I was fascinated with whether Wyatt and Hayley were ever going to actually act on their secret attraction of one another.

It’s difficult to say too much about this story without giving away too many spoilers, so you are going to have to read it and have this amazing experience for yourself. Individually we get to known both Hayley and Wyatt quire well, as they display insecurities and vulnerabilities, desires, fears, and so much more. As a reader you can really relate to each of them, whether you have been in their shoes or not, so it’s such a privilege to get to experience all they are going through on their journeys.

It was also filled with so many funny moments, a real comedy in places with scenes that had me crying with laughter. The place in which Wyatt and Hayley find themselves in brimming with such characters that make the story just that bit more. You could never imagine a place like this outside of a movie, and yet you know there are places and people like this. It’s surreal, but so much fun to be there with them, and really gives the story a special quirk.

A fantastic story that I couldn’t put down and cannot recommend enough!

This book is a bit of a mixture. Some parts of it are great, for example the setting and the humour works really well. I liked the premise of the story, where grief compels a complete change of job and location and a reinvention of self. I also liked the cast of eccentric friends and neighbours (who were often pretty funny), and the characters that weren’t seen - both sets of parents. Other parts of this book are ok, but didn’t work as well. The romance felt a bit disconnected. Having Blanche as an assistant didn’t quite fit with Wyatt. Likewise, putting up with George’s behaviour didn’t feel like Hayley. But I did enjoy the dramatic, humorous parts, especially the putt, putt protest.

3,5/5
I had the opportunity to receive and read an ARC of Writer's Block by Ali Vali thanks to Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley for an honest review.
This story was really cute, I had a big smile on my face for pretty much the whole book and found myself laughing out loud a little too often!! I really really liked Wyatt and Haley, I mean itwas easy! But in the end i fell in love with the secondary chacters and honestly, it might be one of my favorite thing about this book!
Please, the steamy-slow-burn-romance was so on point!!! The storyline and the writing were very good, and I really had a good time reading it.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Bold Strokes Books, Inc. and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

I had a difficult time getting into this title though I tried. It’s a slow paced, romantic tale I’d usually like it just didn’t hit the spot.

This is a beautifully written slow burn romance with a bit of mystery set in New Orleans. It was dramatic and funny. The main characters were adorable. The story will make you laugh and sometimes cry. I enjoyed the book even though I wasn't the usual story to expect from Ali. I recommend 4.5 stars.



Thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for this ARC,

One of my favorite topics or tropes is when the main character is an author detailing things in their life while they are writing books. It's probably because I used to dream about being an author when I grew up. So I requested this book on NetGalley I think it was based mainly on the title.

Wyatt is an author who recently lost both parents and is on the verge of either burnout or a general reevaluation of her life. She thinks she can hear her parents voices in her head and has conversations with them. Somehow she sees a listing for a house for sale in New Orleans and ends up buying it sight unseen. She packs up necessities & leaves New York. Once she gets there she decides to put some of the skills she learned from her dad and fix up the house. She starts by tearing down some wallpaper and finds little holes with journals hidden inside. The journals tell the story of the family who built the house and raised 11 children in it.

Living next door to Wyatt is Hayley, who just happens to work in publishing. She is an editor for a New Orleans based company and hopes one day to transfer back to New York. She is informed by her nosy neighbor George that someone bought the house next to her. Her first sight of the new neighbor is of her in the backyard washing off with a water hose naked and cursing a blue streak because it's cold. The next time she lays eyes on her she is wearing a tool belt and hanging slats on one of the walls that had previously had wallpaper. After finishing reading stories for an anthology with a spicy theme, Hayley takes care of herself in front of window facing Wyatt's house. Wyatt enjoys the show.

It takes awhile for Hayley and Wyatt to formally meet between the work crews Wyatt has in and out and neighborhood interference which include a cable guy who is afraid there is a python in Wyatt's house and a crowd of torch bearing protesters of mini golf in front of Wyatt's house. But when they do finally meet the chemistry is hot enough to start a fire.

I wouldn't normally say this is my type of book but I did enjoy it. It was fast paced and kept me engaged. It was funny and the story within the story that Wyatt finds in the journal is amazing and inspires her to leave her normal genre she wrote for and try something new. This is definitely a book worth reading.

Hayley Fox, with a lot of effort, has made her way to the top assistant in the small publishing firm. It’s in New Orleans but with a bit more experience she hopes to break into the publishing world in New York City. The house she’d bought needed a lot of work and deciding to put the work into fixing it up is something she keeps putting off. Now someone has bought the house next door and is having the work her house requires done to make it more livable. It may be time for Hayley to fix her house up.
Wyatt Whitlock has had her whole life turned upside down with the death of her parents. She had great parents who loved and encouraged her in every way they could. But when their untimely death has also thrown her off balance she’s unable to write. Did I mention Wyatt is a best selling author. She needed a change so she decided to move to NO’s and fix up the old house she’d bought on a whim. Hopefully the move will unblock her creative juices.
Now with the homes so close they can see into the others houses they are both pleased that their neighbor is at least pleasant to look at. Before Hayley and Wyatt (Joe) even are introduced, Hayley, while having a shower learns that Wyatt ( Joe) can see right into her bedroom. She promptly decides to make her neighbor feel more welcome to the neighborhood by pleasuring herself while Wyatt is looking.
Ms Vali has given us a really nice read. Great main characters along with some fun supporting cast. Very, very enjoyable read.
ARC via NetGalley/ Bold Stroke Books

Writer's Block is a very very slow burn romance, with a bit of humour and intrigue set in a part of New Orleans where everyone seems to know everyone else.

Wyatt is a writer (with writers block) who has recently lost both parents so decides to buy a cheap house and renovate it. That house happens to be right next door to Hayley, who works for a book publisher and doesn't seem to have any window coverings at all. These two spend the first half of the book interacting silently from afar, while chaos erupts around them. Crazy neighbours, nosey diner owners and a few tall tales which get spun madly out of control.

Ali Vali writes well and her MC's were charismatic and engaging, her story was whimsical, yet also had grief and mystery mixed in.

I think this story needs to be approached from a slightly different angle when being read (or maybe I just didn't get the humour) but check it out it, it's originality may appeal to a different reader.

This book was a pass for me. Writers Block had a compelling plot especially about Hayley as a writer until the steamy scenes. I just found them too steamy for my taste. Wyatt and Hayley, I found it hard to distinguish them at times because they sounded the same. While I enjoyed the humor, it was difficult to connect with the characters.
The subplot of Hayley finding the journals in the walls was intriguing. But it turned out to be dull.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for the ARC of this book. This was an honest review.

I'm so sad. This book has so much potential. The writing is great, the story is great, the characters are great…but the pacing is way off. I'm 55% in, and so far the main characters haven't met yet. They just watch each other through the windows. If lesbian voyeurism erotica is your thing, then you'll probably enjoy this book. I was expecting romance, and that's not what this is. DNF.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Writer's block by Ali Vali was very different from how other book's main characters meet each other forr the first time in a story. It did leave me ‘cringe’ sometimes, but my laughing outweighed that! Give it a read, you'll see what I mean...

Anyway, I've read a few of Ali vali's books, and I've enjoyed most of them, Writers block was another good gem. It certainly makes you laugh and the storyline is so different to what I've read in the past. The main characters gel fantastic together... Defiantly leaves the spark’s flying, I can tell you that much!

In this book, you have the banter, the laughs, the good storyline, the sparks, the fantastic character, the nosy neighbour, that one village resident who just needs to stick their nose and cause gossip, a taser, the wannabe girlfriend, the ghosts of mum and dad... What else do you need? It's great!

But... What I do love about the book, are the journals that are found throughout the house that Jo buys, this story tells another story completely, about its once house occupants and the family history that the house holds. I would love to hear a separate story of this.

I've given Writer’s block a 3.6/5

Enjoy.

This author, despite being one of my favorites and I read almost everything she publishes, from time to time one of her stories doesn't end up winning me over. This time it has been really fulfilling.

The way she's made the two leads get to know each other has been funny and at times hilarious.

Wyatt is a famous author who has writer's block, she writes mysteries and police novels, she is very successful, famous and rich, but her image is not known. And in a whim, suddenly, she decides to move from New York to New Orleans. The house she buys is old and has been uninhabited for a long time, it is in a residential neighborhood, with nosy neighbors. It needs many reforms. She is going to help make them too, along with the contractor she hires. She's on the butch side of the spectrum.

One of her neighbors, the one from the nearest house, turns out to be Hayley, who is an editor from New York who has been in New Orleans for years trying to move up in her career to return to her city. She is a very femme lesbian. The publishing house she works for mainly publishes lesbian stories, romances and erotica. Even though Wyatt doesn't write about it, isn't the coincidence amusing? But that hasn't been the funniest thing of all. Wyatt, seeing how entangled all the inhabitants of the neighborhood are, they have known each other for a long time and are even relatives, decides not to give them her real name, she thells them her name is Joe. In addition, she gives invented answers to some of the questions they ask her and thus messing things a little more. And she really messes them up!

Along with this mess, Wyatt finds hidden in the walls of the house, some manuscripts of the first owners, which despite having been several generations of the family living there, no one had found until now. The parallel history of the first inhabitants of the house is also curious and interesting.

In summary, this has been a really entertaining read and I had a great time reading it so I highly recommend it.

Ms. Vali will say in her acknowledgments "this one is a little off my usual path"-I have read every book Ms. Vali has written so I can say I agree with her, but darn if she hasn't written another winner. I laughed, I cried just a little (her parents broke my heart) but most of all I was just swept away into a love story that I will be reading again and again.

The main characters, Wyatt and Hayley, take a little while to "meet" (I put meet in quotes cause yes they see each other (boy do they see each other <sly grin>). Wyatt moves into a house she buys sight unseen expect for internet pictures, right next door to Hayley. What Wyatt didn't expect was a house that a bulldozer was needed on and the very colorful folks in the neighborhood that get stirred with her arrival, her well placed made up stories and her sarcasm. And as one of the things Ms. Vali is so brilliant at, she gives us many other characters that come and go throughout the story to give it such richness that you feel like you live there and know these people and love this area of New Orleans. I especially loved the nod to Cain Casey (the Erin Go Braugh bar).

As we get to know Wyatt and Hayley, I could not help but just adore them and could not put the book down until I knew how there story will end (yes I stayed up well past my bedtime for this story). I especially liked that there was also a story within the story, in the form of journals Wyatt finds hidden throughout the house. To learn about the original owners of the old house and the surprises that laid within, well let's just say you kind of get a 2 for 1 story deal with this book <smile>. As Wyatt works through her writer's block, we have Hayley who has her own colorful characters she deals with. Between the uptight coworker (I just laughed she was an editor for lesbian erotica) and the chain smoking boss (I would loved to have learned more about her and her partner), Hayley was just enjoying life, with of course a mom who could step in for Keith Morrison if need be <smile>.

Overall, Ms. Vali gives us another beautifully written story that pulls the reader into what New Orleans is like with all its colorful characters and charms, along with 2 MC you just want more of. Maybe someday Wyatt and Hayley could bump into Cain and Emma at the Erin Go Braugh or Blanchard's and hit it off so Wyatt and Hayley could write the memories of Cain (but if you want to read that brilliant story line, go grab the Devil by the tail or tale in Ms. Vali's other books <heart eyes>.

I received an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, but would have written the same opinion if I had come across this author on my own.

To see my Amazon review, it is under CC-There is more to buying a house then you think

Laugh out loud funny at times great read. I loved all the quirky characters in this story. Wyatt and Hayley are really good main characters. The relationship between these two was equal parts sexy, funny, and dramatic. The supporting characters were some of the funniest and strangest people I have ever encountered in a story, but this just seemed to push the book along without bogging it down. The main characters romance between the main characters was a slow burn one with plenty of heat throughout. I enjoyed the take on one of the main characters being a writer and the other an editor. There were some sad parts to this story as well as a ghost story, this book had it all and I was here for all of it. I would definitely recommend this book to all my friends and family and I really look forward to what comes next from this author.

I was so excited to be granted this e-arc from Netgalley! The premise of the book sounds incredible. I am a sucker for mystery/thriller vibes and then you add in a sapphic romance and I am there! I think that this was too much like an erotica for me. I like when we have more character development between the love interests.

I found myself dragging through and not wanting to pick the book back up. But, I think that is just my own personal taste in what I enjoy for a romance. I think if you enjoy more sex, and less talking then you'd love the book. Plus, how cute is this cover?!

Ya know, I loved the author’s other books but I didn’t really vibe with this one. The premise was good and the dialogue between the characters was well-written. However, I just couldn’t get into it. I don’t know exactly what it was, but if I had to put a finger on it I was probably say it was the main character’s relationship in general. It just seemed so… off? Their interactions were just strange to me and the notion that they were wildly attracted to each other but seemed to go out of their way to not have in-person conversation made this a hard read for me. In terms of the book in general, it was well-written and moved at a nice pace. Just wasn’t for me.

One and a half stars. This book was... weird. The author was clearly trying to deliver characters who were interesting, maybe a little quirky, but I was torn between rolling my eyes and screaming at them to act a little more normal. Hayley was more tolerable, but I just could not get along with Wyatt (and the voices in her head). The story gave off somewhat creepy vibes, considering the house, the characters' quirks, the neighbours' treatment of newcomers, and the lack of proper interaction between the protagonists for more than half of the book. I wasn't sure if it was meant to feel that way, or if a lot of intended humour was just falling flat with me. Unfortunately, I was more bored than intrigued. The events unfolded too slowly for my taste, and I attribute that to the dynamic of the relationship, which did nothing for me. The secondary plotline as told through the journals was as dull as the main one, and somewhat unconvincing in its historical setting. I haven't gotten along with all of the books I've read by Ali Vali, but this one might have to be at the bottom of my list of recommendations. I wish I had a better appreciation of what she tried to do here, but DNF at 60%.