Neil and Pen started out in this book as adversaries in the writing industry, competing for space as Native American authors. Pretty clear enemies to lovers trope, but with the slowest burn ever. . .in fact, the only real sexy scene isn't until the epilogue! The ghost story starts up pretty suddenly and then intensifies into horror before getting tied up on a quick, pretty bow. It was all a little too predictable for me. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC e-copy.

“If I Stopped Haunting You” is the debut adult romantic comedy / gothic horror by Colby Wilkens. It is a five-star read with some three-star bumps that I had a very good time reading.

I absolutely loved the Prologue and the fundamental issue of representation in art that pits Penelope Skinner and Neil Storm against one another. She thinks he’s pandering to a white audience, creating harmful stereotypes; she wants to elevate indigenous horror but is woman whose cultural heritage is less physically visible, making her marginalized in the writing world for multiple reasons. They have a very public blow up and happen to meet months later at a writing retreat in a haunted house in Scotland.

I loved the mashup between romantic comedy, horror, and exploration of important artistic and cultural considerations. The book is more camp than horror, although there were a couple genuinely spooky moments. My inner historical romance reader was underwhelmed by the mystery. Yet, I had such a good time with this book and would certainly recommend giving Wilkens a try. I will definitely read more from this author.

*3.5 stars rounded up*

If I Stopped Haunting You was an interesting combination of spicy romance with paranormal activity and some horror elements. The settings gave the story a creepy undertone that was fitting, and I enjoyed the detailed descriptions. The story begins with Pen acting a bit childish and impulsive, which doesn't give the best first impression, but I ended up enjoying her character anyway. I liked that the book alternated between the points of view of both of the main characters, which helped me understand and like them both better. For the most part I liked the story, though it lost some momentum for me for maybe the last third of the book - characters seemed to make some illogical choices given the circumstances, and the ghost mystery was resolved in a way that left me a bit underwhelmed. A few things seemed to go unexplained too, though I can see how it adds to the mysterious atmosphere of the story. Of note, I appreciated the insight into the experiences of Indigenous authors, an ongoing theme throughout the story.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin, and NetGalley for the advance review copy of If I Stopped Haunting You! All opinions presented in my review are completely my own.

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book sounded very promising but failed to deliver for me. I found the beginning to be very boring and didn't start to find it interesting until about a little more than halfway through the book. I kept wondering to myself how a book with ghosts could drag this much.

The mystery of the ghosts was so anticlimactic that it made me kind of mad. I just don't get how it could be a reason to haunt a place. There were a few random things in this book that made me a little annoyed.

This one has a really fun concept and I love a good spooky book that's not a horror but rather a romcom with some ghosts. The characters are all authors on a writing retreat in a haunted castle aka the perfect place to break through writer's block and get some inspiration for the next horror/thriller/spooky story. It was a little repetitive at times and the side characters didn't have much depth/relevance besides comic relief and Laszlo being the catalyst for getting the two MCs, Pen and Neil, in the same space again.

The opening for the book is set a few months before the writing retreat, when Pen and Neil are on a panel for Indigenous Fiction authors. Pen's dislike for Neil is obvious from the beginning and we know she considers him a sellout because she goes off, even throwing a book at him. I felt like a lot of Pen's actions, while incredibly immature and not cool, seemed almost out of her control. Especially when she and Neil meet again on the way to the castle and the lust seems very immediate/rushed -- it had me considering some kind of haunting bringing them together/pushing them into feeling stronger emotions without them knowing it. I feel like this could explain some of the lusty moments that took place at strange times in the castle.

I enjoyed the haunting/ghost story/mystery part of the story a lot! Especially with the MCs being horror writers. I also liked that it was targeted towards Pen and Neil with the other Daniela and Laszlo being largely unaffected as it leads to the MCs often being alone together and sharing scary experiences would definitely bring two people closer and heighten emotions. I would have liked some more character development of their other writer friends though because I think it would have elevated the story, but I still enjoyed it.

It was nice to see a story centered on two Native characters that have had very different experiences. The author mentions the difficulties Pen has faced feeling like she doesn't belong in any circles because she's mixed and isn't a card carrying member of a tribe, but at the same time writes authentic Native characters and doesn't give in to the whitewashed editing. While the story focuses primarily on the romance and the haunting at the castle, it does give attention to the writers' identities and how their experiences factor into their writing/careers and feelings towards each other.

Add to your tbr if you want a cozy, spooky, romantic mystery with enemies to lovers, haunted castles, and some spice! If I Stopped Haunting You will be out on 10/15/24.

Thank you St. Martin's Griffin for the digital ARC via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Four horror authors attend a writer's retreat at a haunted Scottish castle. Penelope Skinner and Neil Storm are rival writers and at the last book convention Pen threw a book at Neil. Now they are together trying to solve a haunting while battling writer's block and lusting for each other. Pen was hard for me to like in the beginning. She behaves immaturely and it isn’t appealing. But there is good banter while they are in forced proximity. The other attendees are more comic relief and not very relevant.

There are other things covered like the publishing world, and the ghost story itself. Pen and Neil both are mixed raced (indigenous and white) so there is POC representation which is nice to see. Another romance I read recently was shockingly the first mainstream publication with a Native American leads. Overall I liked the story once I got over Pen’s initial behavior. And the ghost story isn’t going to keep you awake at night. I’ve already got a copy of the author’s next book so I'll see how it compares.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really really wish I could give this more than 2 stars.

I think the topics discussed about BIPOC authors in publishing and writing is super important and necessary which is pretty much the basis for both stars I gave this book.

But everything else was really lackluster. The horror aspect wasn’t scary and didn’t have a satisfying conclusion. I really didn’t care about any of the side characters, who were very one-dimensional. I honestly wasn’t even a fan of Penelope and Neil’s relationship development as the pacing felt rushed. And in terms of character arcs, it doesn’t feel like Penelope and Neil’s are resolved. They both had writers block but we didn’t get to see the outcome of that, we didn’t get to see them overcome it.

As I said earlier, I want to give this book more stars as it touches on important topics surrounding publishing that I feel give readers perspective and understanding, but all the other pieces of the story were not there.

Two feuding writers, Penelope and Neil are stuck together at a writes retreat. More like a haunted castle in Scotland. They don’t want to be stuck together but theirs nothing they can do.. especially when there’s unimaginable things happening around them.

In this enemies to lovers set in a spooky setting is everything a romance lover needs., especially if you like paranormal romance. You can feel the annoyance off of them yet the sexual tension. There is a bit of immature moments, yet when do we not act that way in real life. I really enjoyed the characters just as much as the atmospheric setting.

So I won’t spill much, but if you enjoy all the tropes the story has and want a fresh new voice.. then look no further.

Thank you so much to the author for sending me this to read. I can’t wait to get my hands on a finished copy.

A romance with scares. Sign me up. I loved the combination of scary and sweet and I want more stories like this one. I just really liked this book and can’t wait to read more by this author.

Dnf. The fmc acted like a victim while she threw a book at the mmc, scarring his face. The writing style is good and I will read another book by this author, but I just couldn't read this one. Abuse and playing the victim isn't cute

This is an enemies-to-lovers romance centering two Native horror writers who start off in the worst way possible in their relationship, with one throwing a book at the other and injuring them in the process. Some time later, they both end up at an isolated Scottish castle for a writing retreat, where they deal with a small ghostly mystery and also their feelings for each other.

So yeah. I didn’t really like this. Reading this made me realize there may be nothing cringier than reading steamy scenes between two characters you care nothing about as well as their flirty banter (it was just so awkward).

With the whole book-throwing incident being how we’re introduced to Penelope, one half of the romance we’re supposed to be interested in, the author has dug a deep hole to get Penelope out of for readers to come to care for her, which doesn’t end up being successful. I understand she’s standing up for Native representation, but I think the issue of stereotypes and authors writing characters sharing their own identity is probably a bit more nuanced than Penelope seemed to think, or maybe we just had insufficient context to understand the harm that Neil, the other half of the romance, and the stereotypes in his book caused his community. Not to say stereotypes aren’t bad, but this book tried to make it black-and-white and put Penelope completely in the right for hurting Neil, but I think this topic is more complex than this book tried to portray. Not to mention there is the dynamic that Penelope is white-passing Native while Neil is not, so that could have added an interesting layer to the dynamic and their conflict, but it’s never really addressed. Penelope does later acknowledge that it’s less Neil’s fault and more on publishing who holds the real power on what books can be, but she never does fully lose the attitude that the only thing she did wrong was throw the book and never really has enough introspection and remorse to redeem her initial actions. So it’s a little unbelievable that later she actually has people support her, as generally as soon as you resort to physical violence you lose any good grace you might have had, no matter how justified you originally were. Neil was also frustrating in that he completely accepts that Penelope was right and he was wrong, like he contributes to Penelope’s self-righteousness and doesn’t help at all in redeeming her.

So then we have the romance between two characters who are frustrating and not the most likable, but even if they were, there was just no chemistry. The only thing pulling these two together is the book throwing incident and their inexplicable horniness. It got a little uncomfortable and repetitive reading how they lusted for each other, because it just came out of nowhere and was so constant that I just wanted them to get together so I didn’t have to hear about it anymore. They never really had very deep or enlightening conversations that showed who they were to each other, which you’d hope they’d be capable of if they’re writers, and their dialogue was kind of just superficial banter and a little cringe. The two supporting characters were very shallow, basically there for the two leads to talk about their relationship to someone other than their love interest.

There were also frustrating discrepancies that maybe are also borne from my annoyance with the characters. Neil and Penelope around the end kept complaining about how their friends, Daniela and Laszlo, weren’t taking the hauntings seriously, but they purposefully kept it secret from them and they never even saw the ghosts, so it’s like no duh they wouldn’t. It’s also mentioned that there’s escalating danger which is why Neil and Penelope must continue investigating the hauntings, but like the danger is happening because they are going to places in the castle they were explicitly told not to go to, and half the group has experienced nothing dangerous, so the stakes make no sense. Really the danger came from Penelope because she could not stop throwing things, even at incorporeal ghosts.

And the haunting/ghost mystery was so anticlimactic and underwhelming. Once the reveal happened I actually went “this is it??” because it wasn’t too hard to figure out and it wasn’t much of an actual mystery, rather more of figuring out the castle’s ownership. That part didn’t feel well developed. The book also felt weirdly paced, like the haunting part/mystery solving didn’t really occur until the later half, and there would be a scary scene followed immediately by a smut scene, which was some odd whiplash.

I appreciate the representation in the books and the conversations about representation in publishing, but I think the initial setup kind of set up the characters for failure, or at least a barrier to likeability it couldn’t get over. It tried to do a lot of things, but the romance and hauntings came out underwhelming and I didn’t end up enjoying this.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC.

Well, this was fantastic and very atmospheric, especially since I read it right before going to Scotland.

But the castle, the ghost, the enemies-to-lovers, a bit of a mystery, and the beauty of the Scottish Highlands made for the perfect combination! Penelope and Neil are wonderfully written characters whom I was rooting for throughout their castle adventures.

Watching Colby query and finally getting a chance to read her book was the kind of full circle moment I love! Watching these two fall in love was so sweet and fun and perfectly spooky! I also love the rep!

Cool premise but really missed the mark for me. I disliked both the FMC and MMC and felt really annoyed I had to subject myself to them. Just not it for me.

If I Stopped Haunting You is a steamy enemies to lovers romance about two feuding writers who end up at a writers retreat togather and it takes place in a haunted castle in Scotland but there is a spooky twist. This was my first time reading this author and I can not wait to read more books by her. It was a page turner from beginning to end and I loved the spooky setting of the book. This was the perfect fall romance read. All of the characters were good and I enjoyed Penelope the most. I enjoyed this book a lot and would recommend this one to any readers who love romance. Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for this romance read in exchange of my honest review of If I Stopped Haunting You by Colby Wilkens.

An enjoyable and satisfying read! I loved to read about our heroine and hero together. These characters’ love story was truly special.

I am so happy I signed up for this on NetGalley! This book was truly a treat. The first thing that caught my attention about this book was it

A. Was a romance with Native representation
B. Super spooky haunted castle in the middle of Scotland?!? Sign me the fuck up 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
C. Enemies to Lovers - Author Rivals

Colby really gave me everything I loved with this one. Not only do we get the enemies to lovers romance but there is also the mystery that comes with the castle they go on a retreat from.

I really related to Pen. Off more than also being Native - the time we meet her and Neil at the authors panel I could feel and relate to her so hard. Like homegirl we have all made rash decisions we later regret. But that perfectly sets up the tension with her and Nick. I even related to Nick which I wasn’t expecting but I adored his character. Also how OBSESSED and damn near feral this man becomes for Pen…*chefs kiss*.

But the part that really hit me was how Pen talked about not feeling like she fit in due to being mixed and I have struggled with that too. Like you’re not “Native enough” cause of XYZ. And how Neil validated her in that moment really hit me in a good way.

”𝒀𝒐𝒖’𝒓𝒆 𝑵𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉” -Neil Storm (like fuck 🥹)

When it came to the romance I liked how the two MCs were forced to talk it out and come together despite the “hate” and rivalry going on. And how it didn’t take long from that to crumble with the forced proximity. Cause deep down they don’t hate each other - just misunderstood. Even the secondary romance was a joy and I loved learning the truth at the end. So sad but still so good!

A rivals to lovers story featuring two authors, writers block, and a haunted castle. Pen and Neil end up on the same writer's retreat, only they've both been stuck on their latest work even since a contentious panel that ended with Pen throwing a book at Neil's head. Will they be able to survive time spent in a remote Scottish Castle?

Read if you like:
-Rivals to Lovers
-Ghosts
-Scooby Doo

This book was fun, but I felt like it couldn't quite decide what it wanted to be. The author introduced two BIPOC characters only to take them out of their element and send them to a foreign country. I wish their background had related a bit more to the mystery.

If I Stopped Haunting You was the haunted mansion romance story I never knew I needed. The Scottish castle setting made me both aspire to visit there and yet gave me creepy vibes and the same time. I also enjoyed seeing a different perspective of the publishing world coming from native american writers.

What’s a horror writer’s retreat without a haunted Scottish castle and a bit of argument? A Native author-on-author scandal occurred when Penelope Skinner threw a book at bestseller Neil Storm months ago. Now that the publishing world doesn’t want anything to do with her, Penelope needs this writing retreat to save her career. Neil could also use this retreat to regain confidence, but when he runs into Penelope, all hope is lost. Worst still, the ghosts in this haunted castle appear to be real enough to chase them. Neil and Penelope may not like each other—even if they are wildly attracted to each other—but they can at least agree to get along while haunted. Who’s to say if it ends up developing into something more?