Rival Native horror authors, Penelope and Neil, find themselves stuck on a writing retreat together in a haunted castle in Scotland. Months ago, Penelope through a book at him because she was irritated with his Native representation in his latest book. Both are seeking inspiration on this retreat, only to find the horror stories they write about are playing out in real life. Together they must work together to uncover the mystery behind this haunted castle.

I was obsessed with this book from the cover alone and loved that we had Native representation. Everything else kind of fell flat for me, oops. Penelope throws a book at Neil at the very beginning of the book, so red flag there. Then she continually exhibits these abusive behaviors so I wasn't her biggest fan. I enjoyed the spooky, paranormal aspects of this book, but I found myself skimming because so much of it bored me. I would write more, but it was pretty forgettable.

Thank you so much to SMP for the ARC!

If I Stopped Haunting You is an “adult rom-com”, that is adult with some rom a little com but mostly paranormal.
Three months ago, Native American author Penelope Skinner threw a book at Neil Storm. Now she’s a publishing pariah even though she believes her violence was righteous anger: Neil’s books claimed to break Native stereotypes but gave into the white world’s view of “savages.” When her friend asks her to a “haunted” Scottish castle for a writing retreat she jumps at the chance hoping to get her writing juices flowing by putting the past behind her.
Neil has no idea that Penelope is going to be at the retreat he is going to. If he had known he would never have gone. But now that he is here, he is convinced by his other friend to stay. He hasn’t written anything since the incident, and he has felt like an imposter writing white-washed work. But quickly the two will have to deal with their issues because the castle really is haunted, and the group must figure out if the ghosts are dangerous.
This is a weird little book. For me, this isn’t a romance book per se. It’s more of a paranormal book with sex thrown in. Or maybe that’s just me because the paranormal aspect was the only aspect of the book that was truly thought out. The “romance” is stale relying on the trope of anger as the only aspect of fueling a romance. The characters are one-dimensional and have little depth. Neil isn’t the evil villain that the book wants you to think he is and while Penelope has a righteous anger in regards to the way Native Americans are treated in society and in the literary world, she’s aimed it at the wrong person. The supporting characters are one-note as well, one just being chaos and one just there to get the two main characters together.
But there is good here. Colby Wilkens discusses the issue of Native American peoples and their voices/appearances in literature. The struggle of whitewashing and stereotyping the cultures is front and center at the beginning of the book and is a central theme in Pen’s psyche. The struggle of not being Native enough seems autobiographical and truly stirs the heat because it’s just not fair. She also seems to take a potshot at a certain very popular book (I read an early first-look section of this book and even I saw how it was going to go).
I also enjoyed the paranormal aspect. This plot is what kept me reading. I’m not a huge romance fan so it is always the secondary story that moves me, and this B story paid out. I loved the spooky story Wilkens created. It’s not “scary” but it’s spooky and fun, and that’s where the true romance story lies. The book never claims to be horror anyway. I loved that there wasn’t a “is there or isn’t there ghosts?” As the story develops around the ghosts’ tales, I forget about Pen and Neil’s mess and start to enjoy the author’s imagination.
If I Stopped Haunting You shouldn’t be sold as a rom-com. It’s more a spicy paranormal. While the characters and romance aren’t the hook the author and publishers think it is, the ghost story shines.

This one was just okay. I wish there was more depth to the characters but other than that I feel like this book is perfect for spooky season if the reader is looking for a quick and unserious read.

I unfortunately had to DNF this one. I did not find the FMC likable and I did not understand her motivations. Penelope did not seem to have a true reasoning for going after Neil and I found this very unreasonable. I considered powering through but I could not make myself do it.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I didn’t really love this story and honestly I tried but wasn't able to finish. I love me an angry FMC but I felt like Penelope was annoying and childish most of the time. While her anger may have justification I felt the way it was delivered in the story was a little off putting. It made it really hard to want to root for her and honestly it took away from the whole romance for me which is ultimately why I stopped reading. do feel like the premise was fun and I enjoyed the setting.

I’ve decided to forgo submitting my review on Goodreads since I did not finish the book.

Overall, the book was enjoyable. So long as you don't think too hard about the logistics of wanting to go at it all the time when you're supposedly terrified of the ghosts that are in the haunted house you're also in. LOL. But it was actually really awesome to see a book with Indigenous representation! I'd say this is a great light read to get you into spooky season!

This was seemingly a cozy, possibly enemies to lovers romance read in a Scottish countryside mansion, but the main female character, Penelope, may have been angrier than any ghosts haunting it. It was difficult to like her as much as I tried to empathize with her feelings (esp not necessarily dealing with something of that extent myself) and give her the benefit of the doubt, her behavior was a little too over the top to reckon. I appreciated her asking the hard questions of Neil, and expressing deep-seeded and even some very spot on assessments in his writing, but her actions and even the way she handled talking to him about it wasn't great. I had a hard time buying into anything more than a high sexual attraction between them, and it was spicy, despite their antagonistic relationship. I did enjoy the aspect of authors struggling to write, and publishing insight which is relatable. And I really enjoyed the diverse representation of Native Americans, especially of a generation struggling with their identity. I wish I could have felt or understood Pen better or felt like she was redeemed in some way, but I felt like she instead gaslighted Neil.

I wanted to love this one but sadly it did not come together for me. There were a few scenes that stand out for their writing but mostly this story is disjointed and bizarre. I didn’t believe in the main love story, the horror elements felt half-baked, and the characters were not fully developed.

DNF @ 38%

An enticing romantic story however it was poorly executed. Frankly I was very bored. It was extremely repetitive even before we hit the 50% mark. The romance seemed promising but the pacing was just too odd for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martins Griffin and Colby Wilkes for an advanced copy of this book

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Griffin, and Colby Wilkens for providing this advance reader copy (ARC) of the book. My honest review is below.

Cute name, cute descriptive blurb, lots of potential, so I took a chance on the story. It didn't live up to my expectations. The lead female character, Pen, is an awful unlikeable mess. She's a bit violent, snarky, and anti-social and I'm left wondering if she's a decent writer. The lead male character, Neil who's a published successful author, is a glutton for punishment that keeps coming back for more. Their "love" affair is too quick to be anything more than lust, they hate each other and then bam they're having sex & have become a couple. The plot of the haunted castle and solving the ghostly mystery was interesting but everything else was rushed or not fleshed out. The secondary characters are left hanging and you can't like or root for someone you don't know at all. The ghostly characters complete story would have interested me more. I'm giving 2 stars for the haunted castle/ghost part of the tale.

#NetGalley #St.Matrin'sGriffin #IfIStoppedHauntingYou #ColbyWilkens #contemparyromance #ghoststory #writersretreat #mystery

This book didn't click for me. I thought I was in the mood for a "spooky" romance, but I think I'm more of a witchy romance than a haunting romance kind of person. I really could not get into the ghosts. The romance was also a bit off. Enemies-to-lovers tends to be a harder trope for me to buy into. In If I Stopped Haunting You, I fully bought into the enemies piece (at least from the female main character), but didn't quite buy the flip to lovers.

There were aspects of the story I enjoyed. I liked that the book explored the two main characters native identities and how they interact with the publishing world.

Thoughts: Okay, I was really into this at first: we get treated to a ghost haunting written in such a descriptive way that you could feel the ghost running their hands over your neck and you can picture her standing right in front of you with her rotting skin and stench! *chef's kiss* And the chemistry between Pen and Neil gets off to a great start with her throwing a book at him during an author's panel, and learning about the "beef" Pen has against Neil is so relevant and realistic that I was totally binge-reading this story. But then... they turned into horny rabbits. Who is in the mood for dry-humping against a wall when they just saw and SMELLED a ghost?! I know this is fiction, but it started to get ridiculous IMO with how often they couldn't keep their hands off each other despite claiming to be scared out of their minds and scarred for life having seen and experienced the ghost haunting the castle they're using for their writers' retreat. And one chapter, Pen is darting off to get some air while her BFF tells Neil to give her some space, to a short walk in the snow leading to her feeling ready to hit the sheets with Neil. The writing began with such a promise but then fell into a weird pattern of feeling choppy, disjointed, and completely devoid of actual plot. I wish I could say the ending made up for it, but it really didn't. I hate saying this, but what started off so good wasn't worth it in the end. Ugh! I really wanted to like this one!

**Thank you, NetGalley and publishers, for a DRC in exchange for an honest review**

2.75
Overall this was unfortunately very boring. I had to switchover to the audio in order to finsih while following along as it couldn't hold my attention. It has a really good premise and I really do love the authors writing style! I hope to see more from her and I'll definitly give them a chance as I so think she's very talented and easy to read. However, the characters weren't very likable and the romance seemed to be purely physical which really didn't feel like a romance novel and more of a smut fiasco.

This was SUCH a cute halloween read! I've been in the perfect mood for fall and spooky reads and picking this one up was so exciting. Wilkens gave me exactly what I needed from these characters and I fell head over heels for them! The banter, the back and forth, the spooky and coziest vibes, what could get better than that?

More than a Romance.
Thinking about this book, I really enjoyed reading it. The story features two writers, Penelope Skinner and Neil Storm. Both are Native American, and while Neil has broken into the field of most popular writers, Penelope has not. The two had a public argument at a book convention on how they treat writing about their culture, and since that Penelope has had writer’s block. So, she decides to attend a writer’s workshop being held in Scotland in a supposedly haunted castle. From this beginning, the plot develops into a ghostly mystery with no visible ghosts with a slow to develop romance. Colby Wilkens did a great job of creating two main characters and two supporting characters who are believable. The plot is straightforward in moving Pen and Neil from antagonism to a believable friendship. I have not seen another book that combines a mystery and a romance as the most important elements, but the author makes this work. A bit of Paranormal is worked into the story, but it adds to the main mystery. Hopefully the author will write more in this crossover style.
I received and ARC of the book from NetGalley, and this is my honest opinion.

I am not a scary movie or book person at all. But something drew me into If I Stopped Haunting You. It is the story of 2 feuding authors at a writing retreat in a haunted castle in Scotland. A classic enemies to lovers with a spooky twist and creepy ghosts. Full of quirky side characters and some smart quips to overshadow the scary parts. And lots of spicy scenes. What I really liked is that the authors were both Native American and the book addressed the bias and racism that they regularly face. This was a perfect book to read leading into Halloween.

I haven’t had time to read this yet — I’m so sorry. I plan to read it when Libby has the audiobook available.

Eh, I thought this was going to be cute, but did not hit the mark for me. Thought the title was super cute though!
I ended up DNFing at 15%

Two rival authors end up on the same writing retreat... at a haunted castle.... and all of the strange spooky things keep happening to the two of them, and no one else. Will they be able to set their differences aside to figure out what is haunting them before it's too late? Will they be casting aside more than just their differences as they learn more about each other?

I loved the rivals-to-lovers plot happening alongside the haunting. The use of both of these propelled the plot forward and made the book so hard to put down. The gothic vibes of the castle were perfectly moody.

I was excited to receive this ARC ebook from NetGalley and the publishers because it looked like such a great, spooky read for the season!

If I Stopped Haunting You by Colby Wilkens is an enemies-to-lovers romance set in a haunted Scottish mansion. It follows two feuding Indigenous authors, Penelope and Neil, who find themselves in a forced proximity situation during a writer’s retreat. Neither expected the other to be there, especially after Penelope threw a book at Neil’s head during a very public discussion panel. Since the incident, both writers have been creatively stuck, hoping this retreat will cure their writer’s block. But they soon discover they’re living in a real-life ghost story while snowed in at this spooky castle.

I enjoyed the spooky ghost elements of this book, and the representation of two Indigenous main characters was a major highlight. That said, the characters did feel quite young. Penelope, in particular, comes across as immature—throwing a book and then blaming Neil for the fallout was a bit much. Once they arrive at the castle, the enemies-to-lovers arc kicks in almost immediately, making it feel like an insta-love situation. It did make me laugh, though, when they’d be in the middle of a spooky, haunting scene and suddenly be all over each other.

Overall, this book is a light and enjoyable standalone romance, great if you’re looking for a quick, palate-cleansing read.