Enemies to lovers, feuding writers, and conversations about representation in publishing? Count me in. I loved Pen from the beginning, who doesn't wish they had thrown a book at someone. She's my hero. But even more so, Pen and Neil are both haunted by that event. For Pen, her career has abruptly halted and she wonders if she can write again. What if the stories that have her heart, that are true to her community, will never sell? What is all the imposter syndrome voices will win? For Neil, has he strayed so far from what he wanted to write, all to sell the book, that he's lost his way permanently?

This was a fun read but not a new fave. I found both MCs pretty insufferable and the setting was so unrealistic.

I liked the idea of the plot and the fact that the indigenous writers were trying to make it in a white dominated publishing world.

It was an okay book.

This book had all the makings of one I would've devoured in an instant. Sadly, they just didn't come together quite that way for me. The story is entertaining enough, the mystery and romance are fair and overall, there's nothing negative to say about the book. The author is an accomplished writer and her descriptive passages and dialogue are on the mark. But you know how when you watch a movie and the atmosphere is great and the premise is spot on, but you come away from it feeling like it just wasn't all that? That's kind of the feeling I was left with after finishing this book. And each time I went to pick it up to continue, it felt more out of a sense of duty to complete it rather than enjoyment. I will say, everyone has their own opinion and might read this and think I'm way off base and I really hope so, because someone somewhere should give this book some love. It just isn't going to be me.

I thought this book would be perfect for spooky season, but I had a hard time finishing it. It was a short read and an ARC so I decided to push through but I was disappointed. I did not enjoy this book, unfortunately. This story was all over the place, the author didn't seem to know if she was writing a spicy rom com, a thriller, a mystery, or a paranormal book. Too much is going on, the writing is a bit confusing, and the story feels very rushed. **Spoiler ahead** Also, the ghosts speaking to the humans to explain their story and then having sex was just too much. It was like a raunchy episode of Scooby-Doo. It ruined it for me. Thank you to St Martins Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I enjoyed this contemporary romance about two rival writers who find themselves snowed in at a retreat in a haunted castle in Scotland together. The best part of the book, for me, was the appropriately creepy haunting. There's an off-limits wing of the castle, a scary portrait, really evocative ghost encounters, and more. It's truly a ghost story layered under this romance, and it was great! The portions about publishing - especially why these two writers who are actually very similar are set up as rivals. Why can't they support each other? (The answer is because there can only be one successful Native writer of supernatural fiction, that's why, not because they are natural rivals.)

I want to acknowledge that the book opens with the FMC throwing a book at the MMC at a book convention. He's actually hit by the book hard enough for the injury to bleed and scar. I'm really not sure why this was included in the book (I think that it would have worked just as well for him to duck or for the book to hit him in the chest.) I will say, though, that there are plenty of romances that include violent scenes like these (Lord of Scoundrels, anyone?) and I am struggling to put into words why this felt different. Perhaps because it is in the prologue and readers aren't feeling close enough with the characters yet? I do recommend this book but didn't want to leave this unmentioned.

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

Told from dual pov, Pen and Neil, and with dual narrators, I somewhat enjoyed this slightly creepy story via the audio narration. The audiobook honestly is what kept me going. Otherwise, I probably would have dnf’d.

I find myself very confused here. This book…just feels so disjointed to me. It’s got some indigenous drama amongst two rival authors. A writers retreat to a castle. Ghosts. A mystery element. But then a romance involving some very hot ‘n heavy descriptions if you catch my drift.

It’s almost as if this book didn’t quite know what to be.

“‘Is it the ghost?’ she asked… ‘Oh god, does that mean she saw us? Against the bookshelf?’ Penelope covered her face, mortified. ‘I just got finger-banged and a ghost watched. I’m going to hell. Hell, where there is no finger-banging or books.’” Kinda laugh out loud funny but also *cringe*

Thank you to @libro.fm, Dreamscape Media, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for the complimentary audiobook and ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

**Thank you to NetGalley and Publisher for the ARC in exchange for a review; all opinions are my own.**

This was a DNF at about 20%. I just couldn't get myself to like the FMC AT ALL. There were also some technical issues with the writing, but I think if I had liked the characters, it wouldn't have mattered as much. I think this story could have potential, and I hope others like it...but it just definitely wasn't for me.

I thought the premise of this book was interesting from the start. A very unique mix of tropes.
I really didn’t like Pen very much at first. She’s so angry & preachy. I found myself liking Neil enough for both of them, though. Her character improved for me as the story unfolded. Their less than happy attitudes & experiences show how harsh & fickle the writing & publishing world can be.
I definitely wanted answers to the ghost mystery, but I sometimes found it a little hard to follow. Great description of a scary stinky entity, though. Props to Pen & Neil for sticking around to figure things out. I’d have been out of that castle the first night, even if I had to walk 10 miles in the snow.
I think the shift of feelings & love story are well done. Good wrap-up in the ending/epilogue. Thanks to the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy via NetGalley.

This one just didn’t work for me. This book reminded me of why I thought I hated romance stories for the longest time. The relationship didn’t make sense to me, and Neil and Pen went from enemies to lovers way too quickly to make sense. And the number of times they commented on the fact that they used to hate each other and now are infatuated with one another was super annoying. This book was overall very repetitive. The ghost story at the heart of the story was also kind of nonsensical and did not offer enough chilling, atmospheric vibes to redeem this one for me. If this wasn’t a NetGalley book, I would have DNF’d so quickly.

Interesting premise starts with two feuding Native horror authors that have a physical altercation at a live event. Penelope Skinner seems to despise popular Neil Storm and views his stories a sellout to their indigenous people. Time passes and both writers end up at a small selective writing conference in Edinburgh at a haunted Scottish castle. This is where the story sort of lost me, why there? Seems there are so many mystical and haunted areas more cohesive to the culture.
Regardless both Pen and Neil have harbored smoldering attraction to each other fueled by their anger. Romance ensues and there are angry ghosts and things that go bump in the night. The haunting only affects these two and it is up to them to set things right. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ for endless entertainment and the need to see where this story was going. Thanks to Netgalley and St Martins Griffin Press.

Okayyyy sooo this sucks because it checked all the boxes...rivals/enemies to lovers, haunted castle in Scotland, a writer's retreat gone wrong. But all I could focus on was how much I disliked Penelope. She was very toxic and didn't see much growth which was super disappointing.

2.5 stars.
I really wanted to like this book. It has interesting elements, such as the ghotic ambiance and the setting in Scotland, buet it didn´t worked out as I thought. I love a good story with rivals to lovers (specially rivals writers), I love forced proximity and although I suffer a lot, I (ironically) enjoy when there´s tension between our main characters.
Unfortunately, Penelope wasn´t lovable at all. Most of the time I felt pity for Neil. At the end, their developement felt kind of rushed.
For me, the most reasonable subject in the story is the representation of native writers and their struggles in the writing industry.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin´s Press/ St. Martin´s Griffin for this digital copy of If I stopped haunting you.

Penelope and Neil are writers and nemeses, directionless after a public argument caused both of their careers to derail. To get their mojo back, they both sign up for a writers retreat at a Scottish castle, only to arrive and find that their destination is actually haunted. Forced to work together to uncover the mystery of the castle, Pen and Neil soon learn that they have more commonalities than differences that are driving them towards one another.

If I Stopped Haunting You is the perfect intersection of genres. Top billed as a contemporary romance, this novel also includes horror, gothic, and mystery elements. For any other wimps like myself, the spooky components were not too frightening and I found the mystery aspects highly compelling. Author Colby Wilkens fully leans into the paranormal and balanced it nicely with the enemies to lovers romance between Pen and Neil. With all good enemies to lovers, the believability lies in the tension and this book delivered on that front. By the time Pen and Neil finally got together, they could have lit all the fireplaces Scotland with the amount of sparks flying between them.

As far as the pacing went, there were some issues, mainly towards the beginning of the novel. Many passages felt repetitive and it slowed down the story’s overall trajectory. But as we dove deeper into the mystery, these issues resolved themselves. I also wanted more from the side characters, Lazlo and Daniela. I felt like they didn’t add as much to the story as they could have and wanted to see a bit more of their comedic relief balance out the spookier sections. With a tiny bit more tweaking, these changes could have really elevated the book as a whole.

What I truly enjoyed about this novel though, was the Indigenous representation. Both Pen and Neil, as well as the author, are Native and there were some wonderful discussions about the struggles Indigenous people face both in and out of the publishing industry.

What I Liked:
Enemies to lovers dynamic
Indigenous representation
Horror & gothic elements
Spooky ghost mystery
Atmospheric Scottish setting
Hallway makeouts & hidden passageways

Thank you St. Martin’s Press/St. Martin’s Griffin and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

If I Stopped Haunting You by Colby Wilkens
Contemporary paranormal romance. Enemies to lovers troupe.
Horror writers Penelope Skinner and Neil Storm end up on a writers retreat together in a haunted Scottish castle. She thinks he sold out to get his book published and then threw a book at him at a conference. Neither have been able to write since the conference so the retreat is exactly what they need. As soon as they can civically talk to each other and get rid of a ghost or two.

🎧 I alternated between an ebook and an audiobook which was narrated by Curtis Michael Holland and Kyla Garcia. The two offset each other very well taking their POV and using different distinct voices for Neil and Pen for their chapters. The chapters are labeled for whose POV it is but the audiobook is easier to hear the change. They both do a great job with emotions, in particular when encountering the ghosts and arguing with each other in frustration. The audiobook was great for the minor secondary characters with accents that I wouldn’t have heard correctly reading the print version. But with the print copy I was better able to visualize the castle.
I listened at 1.5 to more closely match my reading and conversation speed. Both formats or either recommended.

Reading about authors writing books is always an amusing topic although I’m sure most authors won’t find the topic of writers block all that encouraging. The haunted castle and ghosts added a creative twist for the romance. I’ve toured a bunch of castles and don’t know that I’ve actually encountered any ghosts but watching the caretaker run away isn’t a good sign for an overnight stay!
I was glad when Pen thought more about, and acknowledged why Neil may have made changes to his novel. That went a long way in changing her from self righteous to likable.
The secondary characters added a lot of humor and personality to the story.
A bit gothic and campy with several steamy scenes thrown into the mix.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and publisher Dreamscape Media.

https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/cd48e80b-449b-49f7-aa2c-74613036a6df

I’m having a hard time with this book. The premise is fantastic and screams something I would love but it’s not grabbing my attention well. I am not good at not finishing books, I tend to power through and do it quickly but not here. I will finish, don’t get me wrong, but it’s taking me awhile to read. It’s actually really hard for me to put my finger on what is throwing me about this book - I don’t love the writing style but it’s not poorly written, the characters are interesting yet their storylines feel off, I’m so so intrigued but yet struggle to read it when I do pick it up. Curiosity will kill the cat and I’ll see this through so maybe my opinion will change by the end.

A group of horror, thriller, and paranormal authors stay in a haunted Scottish castle at a writing retreat. The story primarily focuses on Neil and Pen, two authors that can't stand each other after Pen threw a book at Neil at a public author panel event. Not only do they have to compete on the shelf as BIPOC authors with the same genre, but they also have to deal with the general publishing industry prejudices against BIPOC authors which were called out multiple times in the book. Being forced to stay in the castle due to a storm, Pen and Neil start to warm up to each other while also solving a mystery.

This book focused A LOT of the writing and publishing processes. I thought the haunted aspect was fun and my favorite parts were the ghost scenes and the ambiance of the haunted castle in the first half of the book. However, what didn't work so much for me was the crossover between the spooky scenes and romance. I would have liked to see more relationship development and the way the ghost story played out was silly to me.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and the author for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

DNF @ 40%

Okay, this was brutal. It was repetitive, to the point of feeling aimless. The plot was weak, and the writing didn’t craft any sort of story or progression. The characters were flat, and everything dragged.

Part way through reading, I switched to audiobook thinking it was maybe me. The audiobook was actually worse, the female narrator was okay but the male narrator was brutal. Off-brand Kronk with dodgy inflection and timing.

Unfortunately, I do not recommend this book in any form.

*ARC received from Goodreads in exchange for an honest review. ALC received from Libro.FM in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing the ARC.

I've been on a spooky romance kick lately, but this book didn't really do it for me.

The relationship between the two main characters at the beginning is very contentious, and while I love a good enemies/rivals to lovers story, the opposite of this animosity did not have the payoff I wanted to see in order for the transition to be believable. Additionally, the spooky side of this book felt like it didn't mesh well at all with the romance side, leaving the reader confused with both sides of it. I would have liked to see a bit more cohesion throughout the story.

Interesting premise, but not a super amazing execution in my book.

This book has everything anyone could want for a spooky romance! From an in-depth ghost background story to spicy scenes in a haunted castle, this story has it all. I really loved that the focus of this story was on two rival writers, both of whom were Indigenous and whose cultures were major parts of their identity. It was a serious slow burn, enemies to lovers, forced proximity romance more so than a horror/paranormal novel. Despite how much I enjoyed, I also had several issues with the writing of this story, mainly with a lack of tying up some minor loose ends and the pacing. There were times that reading this flew by for me, but others were dragged on and felt like this could’ve been a few dozen pages shorter. Overall, I enjoyed the elements of humor balanced by seriousness of paranormal activities, and if you enjoy some spice this definitely has it!

I thought this would be the perfect little spooky love story, but I felt like it couldn't decide if it wanted to be a rom-com or a horror story. I wanted the perfect blend, and it just wasn't there. I was wishing it would have been just a horror story. The FMC was irritating and selfish. I wanted more from her.