a romantic haunted horror is exactly what i needed! i haven’t read a book quite like this yet and i really did enjoy it. both main characters were great to get to know and see their slow burning feelings develop for each other! it was also very interesting to see the perspective of indigenous authors and the pros and cons they go through in a publishing industry and setting.

thank you to the author, netgalley, and st. martin’s griffin for the opportunity to receive an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't know "cozy horror" was something I needed in my life and yet, here we are. This is a fun cozy little horror mystery starring two feuding writers trapped at a remote Scottish castle for a writers' retreat where they, of course, find some ghosts that need dealing with. I enjoyed this book; the dynamic of a well-written enemies to lovers trope is a personal favorite and it is handled well here. There was also an excellent amount of spice in this one so you are warned!

I really wanted to like this book. Honest I did. But for some reason I just couldn't.
I loved the idea of ghosts and stuff but I think that what didn't work for me was the insta-romance.
The banter between Penelope and Neil was ok at first but eventually it became annoying.
I really wished the insta was more in depth than it was. I say this because they were enemies for so long and then bam now I feel that they were rushed.
I loved the setting of Scotland. The way the author describes the scenes I felt like I was there.
The setting became my favorite part of the book.
Overall, the book could've been just teeny tiny bit better than it was.

okay so the romance aspect of this was good, but the rest was a little meh?
i think the characters is the real flaw here:
- right off the bat i did NOT like penelope <spoiler>the book throwing was absolutely wild, and just made me upset lol</spoiler>
- neil was okay, but he was just so lackluster
- laszlo and daniela were just annoying, served no purpose, and the one time that daniela and pen slept together being brought up was just weird, like i'm not sure why that was a plot point. they just had so much potential to be these amazing, witty, side characters and instead every time they were mentioned it felt like being barged in on
and the insta-lust!! it just developed way too quickly for me, especially since they not only had unresolved anger towards each other, but like ruined each other's careers?
the commentary on the publishing industry was good, and i'm glad there was representation of native characters but at the same time, you didn't really get that aspect too much outside of the publishing industry talk, so i wish we got to see more of that.
the ghost/haunting stuff was very cool though so if you're looking for a quick, fast-paced, spooky, spicy read then this is the one for you!

Hellooooo this is so good. I loved it and the author just announced book #2 and I'm so excited. I can't wait until I can buy physical copies.

This book is about Pen and Neil, two rival novelists with writers block who find themselves in the same retreat in a haunted castle in Scotland.
The premise sounded very interesting, but somehow I couldn’t get into the book. The two had no chemistry but somehow she gets horny whatever he does, it seemed like only a physical thing and rushed. Their relationship got a bit better around the middle of the book but that wasn’t enough to make up for the start.
The whole ghost part of the story felt somehow unnecessary for the book, it didn’t really contributed anything and was partly unsensible.
The criticism about the publishing industry was good as was the discussion about the discrimination of native Americans although I wish there would have been more information about this culture.
Overall a classical enemy to lovers that just wasn’t for me.

Ps: It’s kinda ironic/funny/meta how the FMC accuses the MMC of using stereotypes in his books while this book itself does is all the time 😄

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the earc!

the premise of this book sounded so good but it ended up falling short of what i expected it to be. it’s described as “chilling haunted house horror”, but i found the horror to be lacking. it felt like any time there was some kind of creepy tension building up, it was interrupted by the romance, so the balance between the two felt a little off for me. i wanted the horror to be scarier.

the romance itself felt like it was developed too quickly - the development while reading through it initially felt okay, but then there would be a line somewhere reminding you that these two characters who have hated each other for months inexplicably fall for each other within a day of spending time together, and it kind of takes you out of it a bit.

the main female character, penelope (or pen), threw a book at the main male character, neil, at a book panel to start their feud, and although i felt like neil had decent character development, pen never really actually apologized or took responsibility for her actions in any significant way. although this helped establish the enemies-to-lovers bit, it made it harder for me to connect with pen, since i didn’t really understand why she had such a violent reaction in the first place, and then her redemption from it also just wasn’t satisfying.

the two friends that they went on this writer’s retreat with just kind of existed, and i could not tell you what their purpose was other than to serve as a buffer between pen and neil. i wish that they had been more involved in the story itself.

i did enjoy the mystery vibes to the book, and thought that the ghost backstory was interesting. the character banter was entertaining and i liked the setting of the story. the feud between pen and neil was also something i liked, i just wish it had been resolved a little differently. and the cover art is gorgeous.

This is my first paranormal romance I’ve read, so I was curious to see what this was about. I found it to be a quick and easy read with sprinkles of spookiness and some romance.

I see Colby’s vision, but I feel like the story is missing some pieces. I wasn’t able to fully connect with the characters and found it to be quite repetitive at times. It wasn’t until I hit 60% that I became more engaged in the story. If there was a heavier focus on the mystery and some believable romance, this would have been a 4 or 5 star read.

I’ll be honest, the spooky scenes did scare me enough that I had to read this in the daytime, lol. Overall, I didn’t hate it but didn’t love it. If you’re looking for a quick and easy read, this is it.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC! :)

I really wanted to like this book to get into the haunting romance bookish stories. She kind of came across as somewhat rude and just annoyed me.

I was hopping for a knockout in horror / romance but it fell little short. Penelope was kind of a trash person. She was so freaking mean to Neil

Ghosts, haunted Scottish castle, and spicy romance. I loved this book! The characters and the story were just perfect!

The setting is absolutely perfect. Scotland is one of my favorite places to visit. There is the feeling of romanticizing the beauty of the highlands but also the eerily quiet and knowledge of the sinister history and potential for paranormal activity.

Such good character building for both Penelope and Neil. Did I want to punch them a few times for being ridiculous and somewhat clueless? Yes. But hey that’s how we are in real life too.

The ending is cute and sums up well. I loved that it ended with the play off of Daniela’s book.

The part that could’ve been executed better was the wrap up of the ghost story and why the ghosts were lingering. The reason for the ghosts not having moved on didn’t live up to the anticipation from the haunting events. There wasn’t enough resolution for me to feel closure.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️💫 (2.5/5)
This book is an enemies to lovers, haunted mystery romance that has a unique storyline.  I really tried to like the main characters, but Penelope was just off. She has a short fuse and comes across as self-centered and even abusive at times.
I did enjoy the haunted mystery component of this book. This combination is not something I have read before. It did add a unique twist to the book.
Overall, this book was a little challenging to complete. It was the haunted mystery that kept me going vs the romantic comedy.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

I have mixed feelings about this book. This was sent to me & I was initially excited to read it because of the premise. I'm seeing a lot of haunted places/ghosts as a trend in new releases lately and this seemed like a fun take on that.

I did enjoy the plot and the spooky castle setting. Plus its Scotland, what's not to love? I thought that part of the book was fun and kept things interesting.

What I did not enjoy was the "romance" between Penelope and Neill. Penelope was just an awful person. I could not like her, even a tiny bit. She was just so horrid to Neill for no other reason than jealously. I don't believe these two fell in love and watching her be abusive and mean towards him was not a good time for me.

Overall, this was an okay read. Her next book seems like it would be better.

"I thought this was really well written and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future. I think it will find readers at our library, so we will definitely be purchasing for the collection.

A fun read for cozy/horror/ romance fans! The mixture of mystery and romance had me wanting more! I do think the romance was rushed in some parts and I would’ve liked it to develop as slowly as the mystery of the castle but it was still cute and heart warming altogether. Loved Pen and Neil as characters! Loved that he was a fan of her books!

I so badly wanted to love this one as it has all the pieces of a perfect novel for me. However, like many reviewers, I found the tension between the two leads to be lacking. Penelope was also very vexing and I spent most of the novel rooting against her romance with Neil because of her behavior. Unfortunately this was a miss for me.

I love enemies to lover trope, but I feel like this one was lacking some of the buildup that comes with this trope. In the very beginning we understand that why Penelope and Neil are rivals. The forced proximity of the writing retreat provided a great opportunity for their relationship. However, it lacked the buildup and the banter. Sadly, I wasn't invested in Pen and Niel's character individuals or as a couple.

An enemies to lovers romance about two feuding writers who are tricked into attending a writers retreat together in Scotland, but the castle they are staying might be haunted?

oh noooo y'all this one was a doozy...
Goshhhh, first off - this one sounded so interesting and I loved the representation it was bringing to the table, but unfortunately this is where my kind words end. Within the first 15% the tension between the two is completely killed. Can we stop writing enemies to lovers that isn't that at all? So that set this off in the wrong direction early. Next on the docket is the "spooky" castle sitch...it was giving lackluster, it was giving...I gotta skim 70% of this novel. Not to mention the characters (esp Pen) weren't flushed out & were toxic - I'm talkin' zeerrrroooo character development here. Okay, I'll stop being mean noowww byeeeee

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Griffin for this arc!

After Penelope Skinner has a very public meltdown with rival writer Neil Storm, ending with her throwing a book at him, she goes into a spiral. Her friend Lazlo pulls her out of it by inviting her to a writing retreat at a haunted Scottish castle with their friend Daniela. Upon arrival at the retreat, Penelope learns Lazlo also invited his friend Neil. Neil and Penelope learn how to work together as they try to solve the mystery of the castle which includes ghosts.

The parts I enjoyed most were the ghost scenes as they were genuinely creepy.