1.5 stars

At first I thought this book just wasn’t for me. As time went on, I was willing to expand that to more people. The start was a hard sell for me- in what universe would it be acceptable to throw a book at someone so hard it draws blood? If you are wondering if there is a huge character arc where she sees the evil of her ways- you will be sadly disappointed. I thought I would at least stick around for the paranormal element, but it was so lame. I have so much second hand embracing some of the lines. This coupled with trying to take on some heavy issues just doesn’t land right.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for advanced copy to form opinions from.

Two enemy horror writers find themselves at the same haunted castle writing retreat. When spooky things begin to happen to Penelope and Neil, they put aside their differences to overcome the hauntings and their past feud. In the end, new feelings spark between them, their writing, and the ghosts.

Penelope (Pen) and Neil are both Native American authors and I liked the commentary in the novel about BIPOC writers and their struggles in publishing. I do wish more of their heritage was shown in terms of dealing with their haunted surroundings. The best line we got was a discussion between the couple wishing they'd brought sage with them to the retreat and the worst line was when they agreed that since the castle is in Scotland the ghost is white and so none of their Native American knowledge on spirits would apply. It felt like a cop-out to what could have been a really cool way to discuss tribal cultures and beliefs about the spirit world.

The novel is aiming to be both a horror and smut book and while there are great chapters demonstrating both, the two genres aren't mixed super well. Once Pen and Neil start hooking up the book takes on the predictable pattern of scare, sex, scare, sex. The transition is so immediate that I wondered if the characters had a horror kink, as most of the time the couple wouldn't even run away from the spooky occurrence and just start finger banging against the wall.

Speaking of story, the mystery ghost plotline really falls short of making sense. Pen and Neil are drawn to the forbidden rooms unlike the others on the retreat, but there is seemingly no reason for it. Pen convinces herself that the ghost of the castle is drawing her to these areas because she wants her help but the final ghostly resolution ends up having nothing to do with the human's efforts. Pen and Neil are convinced that the only way to save everyone from death (even though the ghost has made no physical threats towards any of them) is to unravel the mystery of who the ghost is and what her life story was. This she-ghost has a portrait painting of herself in the castle and is referred to as both "the lady in black" and "the lady in white". I thought that must have just been a typo but near the end Pen has a conversation with the groundskeeper asking if "the lady in black" is also "the lady in white" to which the answer is yes and my remaining question is "but why though?".

My final qualm is the unlikability of our main characters. Pen throws a book at Neil's head during an author's discussion board, she breaks all the rules of the castle and even ditches Neil during their investigations because she wants to be the "hero", and as the writing retreat group is about to leave the castle Pen rushes back to steal a journal and letters so that she can use the story for her own future novel. Neil on the other hand is a giant simp who has to be the overly loving and super forgiving partner in order for his and Pen's relationship to even make sense since she is constantly questioning and sabotaging it.

Penelope has had a rough time making it as an indigenous writer. So when she ends up staying in a haunted castle in Scotland with bestselling author Neil and their author friends Penelope is not amused. Things are eerie from the get go, and when Penelope and then Neil start seeing and hearing things the ghost stories seem to be true. While trying to figure out the mysteries of the castle Penelope and Neil hash out their past and begin to see each other in a new light. Can they solve who is haunting the castle and get an idea for a new story to boot?

I liked the premise of the characters being stuck in a haunted castle in Scotland during a writing retreat, but the actual characters I didn’t find very likable and that made it hard for me to connect and root for them. Nevertheless it was an entertaining read.

Unfortunately this book didn't work for me at all. Parts of it actually made me uncomfortable and the relationship was very toxic. Pen was self centered and not at all likable. I had also really been looking forward to the haunting aspects of the story and they really weren't spooky at all.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Please note that I received this book via NetGalley. This did not affect my rating or review.

"An enemies to lovers romance with a spooky twist where two feuding writers end up on a writers retreat together at a haunted castle in Scotland
It's been months since horror author Penelope Skinner threw a book at Neil Storm. But he was so infuriating, with his sparkling green eyes and his bestselling horror novels that claimed to break Native stereotypes. And now she’s a publishing pariah and hasn’t been able to write a word since. So when her friend invites her on a too-good-to-be-true writers retreat in a supposedly haunted Scottish castle, she seizes the opportunity. Of course, some things really are too good to be true.
Neil wants nothing less than to be trapped in a castle with the frustratingly adorable woman who threw a book at him. She drew blood! Worse still, she unleashed a serious case of self-doubt! Neil is terrified to write another bestselling “book without a soul,” as Pen called it. All Neil wants is to find inspiration, while completely avoiding her.
But as the retreat begins, Pen and Neil are stunned to find themselves trapped in a real-life ghost story. Even more horrifying, they’re stuck together and a truly shocking (extremely hot) almost-kiss has left them rethinking their feelings, and… maybe they shouldn’t have been enemies at all? But if they can’t stop the ghosts pursuing them, they may never have the chance to find out.
Full of spooky chills and even more sexy thrills, If I Stopped Haunting You by Colby Wilkens is the funny, fast-paced romp romance readers have been waiting for!"


Although this was not one of my favorites of the year I did find this story overall enjoyable. I love the enemy to lovers aspect and the spookiness of a haunted castle. I think the horror aspect could have been a little more fleshed out. If you want a quick read that has a little spooky and a little spice give this one a chance.

I loved the description and the enemies to lovers concept. I’m just not sure this delivered. My main issue is that I just didn’t feel the chemistry between the main characters. The FMC goes from a deeply personal humiliating, career ending, assault of another person to then making out with them. I could not get behind it. The whole plot was also predictable and so slow. I was excited for this fall read, but maybe pass. I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy.

This atmospheric horror romcom makes me wish I could run off to Scotland for a writing retreat in a castle! I might pick a slightly less haunted castle, though, because the ghost at Castle Skinner is truly frightening.

This is a genuine enemies-to-lovers romance. Pen does indeed hate Neil at the beginning of the book, and the story starts off with a startling act of violence. But as the story progresses, it becomes clear that the two writers harbor complicated feelings towards each other, and their romance is sweet, steamy, and entirely believable.

It was a cute, predictable romance. There were times the plot felt unnecessarily overcomplicated. I was looking for a cute haunted castle story and this fell a little flat of that.

Honestly, I didn't like the way this book started and I was pushing through (made it to just over 50%) because it's an ARC and I appreciate the representation of Native characters. Unfortunately, I have not been able to convince myself to pick this back up in a week and a half, so I'm just going to call it a day.

Essentially, this book started off negatively for me because I don't really understand how I'm meant to cheer on a character who got so upset at a work event that she threw a book at another panelist. And then she continues to make herself a victim instead of actually taking ownership of her bad behavior and I just really couldn't quite get past that. Plus, it was boring to be set in a haunted castle.

The castle was kind of the best part of this book?

Okay, so I did like Neil, for the most part, though I thought he fell for Pen very quickly. So quickly that I wondered if the ghosts in the castle were actually influencing their feelings. But Pen herself is not particularly pleasant. She seems to blame everyone else, particularly Neil, for her own problems. And who throws a book at a colleague, particularly in a public venue? Also, how does a book give someone a scar? Was it a giant paper cut?

There were some other things that I thought weakened the story. I kept forgetting how Delila was connected to everyone, and could have probably used some more introduction to all the characters and their relationships to each other before they got dumped in the castle. And the ghost story part was aggressively fine, but the way it ended just doesn't make any sense to me. I never understood what they wanted.

I will say that the depiction of the struggles indigenous authors face felt authentic, so there's that.

I love the romance/horror pairing here! More books like this, please! Just creepy enough for me. Perfect for spooky season or any time of year. All the rep is A+++++

I honestly thought that I would be absolutely in love with this book but sadly that wasn’t the case. I do love the title of the book that’s for sure. The reason I didn’t really love this was the fact that I didn’t fall in love with either of the characters .

When I started reading this book I almost DNFd it.
Penelope was so rude and such a bully that I could not stand her. She is an author and hates Neil, who she believes is writing garbage instead of what he should be writing.
We find out how the publishing companies had treated Neil. He is a Native American and had written a great story with Native Americans in it and set in that community but the publishing companies all said no. Penelope does not know that. They both suffered in their careers for a couple of years until they got to a writer's retreat at a haunted house.
I ended up enjoying this book and I really liked Neil. Penelope was still hard to warm up to.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's for the ebook to review.

DNF @ 13%

I really wanted to like this one because I love enemies to lovers and a haunted kind of Halloween vibe, but unfortunately I could not stand either of the main characters. The beginning of this book starting the way it did really made it hard for me to move past into the rest of the story. Penn’s actions in the prologue were not even just outlandish, but irrational, and therefore, I didn’t care about the rest of the story or the plot. I hate leaving negative reviews, but this one just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I was super excited to read this one and was hoping it was the perfect fun, fall, spooky romance. Unfortunately it missed the mark for me and I just couldn’t get into it, I didn’t care for the characters and it was a DNF for me. Thank you for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you, St Martins Press and NetGalley, for the advanced copy of If I Stopped Haunting You.

I had to DNF this one. I just couldn't get through the MC's victim mentality when she was the abusive one.

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC and the ALC for this book!

This book was basically a really good idea, but I think the execution is a little off. DNF at 60%

There doesn’t really seem to be much progression I the book at 60%. It’s a little repetitive with the arguing. I’m a huge fan of enemies to lovers but I don’t feel like these characters are connecting well. They are suddenly very attracted to each other but there really wasn’t much build up of chemistry or anything that made this feel believable.

The “horror” part of the story was starting to take shape around the time I DNFd but unfortunately it was a too little too late situation, by this point I’m just not invested in the characters or the plot to see it through.

I also don’t feel like any of the characters are very likable,which may also be a contributing factor into why I am not feeling any sort of attachment to the story. The FMC felt especially whiny and perpetually offended by all of the perceived injustices surrounding her.

Regarding the audio, the voices were good for the two main characters but the side characters voices were awful.

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.