If I Stopped Haunting You-Colby Wilkins This book has such a fun premise and goodness knows I love enemies to lovers but I struggled through this one. I didn’t feel the chemistry and the storyline was a bit too slow.

I thought this was a cute romance with a great setting but there were some things I found problematic. The first being the way she hit the MC with a book right at the beginning. This was off-putting to say the least. But this is fiction so I can look past it. I do however think that if we're going to assault someone in a novel it shouldn't be insta love. She had a lot of groveling to do and it just wasn't there.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the e-ARC of this title to read and review. There were a few elements of this book that really worked for me, like the commentary on Indigenous authors in the mainstream publishing industry, which was so strong. It was really compelling to see these characters grapple with wanting to have their words, their stories out there - but not so condensed or sanitized for market appeal. Also strong - discussions on feeling "Native enough."

But overall, most of this story didn't click with me - neither the romance nor the paranormal elements were particularly gripping. Penelope feels toxic and off-putting. The ghost sightings and storyline of a haunted mansion felt exactly as cliche as you'd think reading that sentence, and had seemingly little to do with anything we'd learned about the characters/their author worlds or books earlier in the story. (The leads, and other characters were briefly described as horror writers but honestly all of the non-leads ran together and seemed like filler background more than well-rounded friends.) There was truly no good-ol-fashioned horror to be found, and the only fright I had was reading the phrase "ghost cum."

If I Stopped Haunting You was not for me.. The relationship at the core of the story was toxic and annoying. The sex scenes were poorly written. Overall I did not enjoy this book.

First off, thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review. I am going to keep this review simple, short and sweet. This book was not what I expected or my cup of tea! Sadly, I cannot recommend this book.

I couldn’t get past the first chapter. I immensely disliked the main character in the opening scene and the way she acts during the panel. Not sure if her character arc made her better later in the book, I ended up DNFing it.

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. The premise of the story is great but the characters felt shallow and had little development over the course of the story. The main character was unlikable in an unredeemable way and the "rivals to lovers" plot was simply an unhealthy relationship.

I did enjoy the author's writing style so will be checking other books that they have written!

This is paranormal romance, with its gothic atmosphere and fiery chemistry, between the main characters promises an enjoyable reading experience that I highly recommend.

The premise to If I Stopped Haunting You sounded like it would be something I would enjoy, plus I wanted something to bolster my spooky season reads, but nope.

If this book hadn't had the element of horror, I think it would have been a good contemporary romance with about two horror writers trying to find common ground in how they navigate their Indigenous identitites in the world of publishing. However, the inclusion of the in-world supernatural horror felt out of place in the narrative - I didn't feel that it added anything particularly interesting to the plot, and felt like it was only useful as a convenient plot device to throw the protagonists together (which could have just as easily been accomplished through creepy gothic manor shenenigans). On the upside, I really appreciated the author's work to present the two love interests on opposite ends of "marketability" with respect to their Indigeneity, and the critical banter on the subject.

E-Galley provided by NetGalley

Unfortunately this one did not do it for me which sucks because I was really looking forward to it. I could not get past the fmc physically assaulting the mmc at the beginning of the book and then constantly blaming and gaslighting him into having him believe that HE is the reason SHE is failing as an author. It felt very manipulative in a very bad way. Mmc was too forgiving and deserved better.

This one wasn't for me. I loved the concept of a romance with a ghost story, but I couldn't get into the characters. The heroine's behaviour seemed abusive, and unless it's explained later (I didn't finish the book), completely unwarranted. I just couldn't get past it and understand her character, unfortunately.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of "If I Stopped Haunting You" by Colby Wilkens in exchange for an honest review.

Penelope Skinner is facing the end of her brief writing career. After an ill-advised public altercation with fellow Indigenous American horror writer Neil Storm (during which she threw a book at his head), her writing inspiration has completely dried up and she's certain that no publisher will want anything to do with her. So when her friend Lazlo suggests a writing retreat in Scotland, she figures she has nothing left to lose and signs up.

Meanwhile, Neil is also struggling to write. The altercation did more than leave a permanent scar on his face; it ruined his writing inspiration too. When Lazlo also invites him to Scotland, he attends for the same reasons. Despite the unpleasant possibility of spending a week in a secluded castle with their respective nemeses, Neil and Penelope both decide to attend.

Everything goes to hell pretty much immediately. The castle Lazlo rented is reputed to be haunted and they receive numerous and specific warnings from the groundskeeper about which spots to stay away from. The creepy ghost-related activities start immediately, but curiously. only Penelope and Neil experience them. Then a snow storm hits, their vehicle won't start, and Lazlo keeps suggesting writing activities that nobody seems to want to do.

What follows is an attempt by Penelope and Neil to unravel the mystery of the ghosts haunting the castle, while fighting and learning to communicate through their antagonism. They manage to do both, of course, and end up together in the end.

It's a messy read, honestly. The prologue takes place during the book-throwing altercation and unfortunately, it sets the tone for most of the book. Part of Penelope's problem with Neil (apart from raging jealousy) is that she feels he's a sellout, pandering to white audiences and promoting harmful stereotypes. It's very unfortunate then, that the the author indulges in the harmful stereotype of a woman throwing things in anger.

Then, once they are forced into proximity in Scotland, Penelope constantly puts him down. No matter what he does, or how often he softens a little toward her, she absolutely cannot and will not give up her anger. She is SO petty. Both aloud and in her thoughts, she will not give him a break. For example, at breakfast early on, he's doing nothing but drinking a cup of coffee and she judges him for drinking it black. "So, Neil Storm liked his coffee black. It didn't surprise Pen in the least. He seemed like the kind of man to prefer the bitter stuff as a necessity to begin his mornings. He wasn't the kind of person to relish things." It's so wildly petty and unfair and not even all that accurate, but she will not give it a rest.

UNTIL she realizes that she's hot for him. Then she's suddenly nasty AND resisting her newfound pants feelings. He finally manages to make a gesture that gets through to her and then suddenly their reconciliation proceeds at light speed. They go from mortal enemies to jumping bones in three days. No lingering trust issues, resentment, or hurt feelings. That said, when they do finally communicate, what they have to say for themselves actually makes a lot of sense;. It just doesn't align with the timeline and the nature of their relationship beforehand. It doesn't feel real.

There are so many unrealistic aspects to this story. At one point, Neil experiences a serious head injury and then falls down a flight of stairs, knocking him completely unconscious. He then wakes up and follows Penelope, who has gone off to do something potentially foolish. He experiences ANOTHER head injury and insists that he's fine. That's just not how head injuries work; this isn't an episode of Scooby Doo where he'll be fine after the stars circling his head disappear. (To be fair, Penelope does insist that he get checked out a a hospital.)

The rest of the story isn't appealing either. The ghost stuff can get creepy at times, but the haunting mystery is very disappointing. The explanation is overly simplistic, as is the resolution. There are a few breadcrumbs that have no resolution at all, leaving the reader wondering what was the point of including them. The side characters have no real function, apart from providing the mechanism to get Neil and Penelope into a Scottish castle together; if they completely disappeared after the the 20% mark, nothing about the story would change.

All in all, it was a disappointing read. That said, there may still be readers who enjoy it. Recommended for readers who just want a ghost story in a Scottish castle and don't mind historical or medical inaccuracies.

I really hate to DNF an ARC but the FMC is horrible. Assaulting the MMC and then gaslighting him.
This heroine is not prickly she’s abusive.

If I Stopped Haunting You did not quite hit the way I wanted it to but it was still a solid debut. To start I liked the writing I really flew through the story. The romance was also enjoyable. I do feel like it went from hate to lust pretty quickly but I did like that the main characters didn’t get together until about the halfway point. I do wish we had more background for why they are “enemies”. It felt very one sided with Penelope hating him and Neil hating her because she was mean to him. At times it seemed like they knew each other more personally than just being Native authors in the same genre. I would’ve loved if we had a few flashbacks of them having interactions. How did they both become good friends with Lazlo? Did they go to school together? Meet at another writing retreat? There’s a line where Penelope says she would recognize his handwriting anywhere which really made me feel like I was missing background information. The ghost story was fun but the way it wrapped up was kind of weird. Also I wanted more with the side characters either involved with the ghosts or just more interactions in general. Overall I enjoyed the book but there were times where I felt like I was missing things which was a bit frustrating some times. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for her next book.

Wow! Really loved this one. It’s hit humor and heart along with a creepy-adjacent plot that worked so well. I enjoyed the romance immensely. Will be looking for more from Wilkens.

2.5 stars
A not very well-done enemies-to-lovers paranormal romance. The female protagonist's reason for hating Neil was implausible, as was her behavior. To be honest, I didn't find Neil very believable either. But Penelope was downright unlikeable, so the relationship didn't work for me, although I guess she did finally engage in some introspection and improve somewhat. I think the ghost parts were my favorite!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free e-ARC of this book.

I have conflicting feeling about this book. On one hand, it's a mystery novel and on the other it's romance. It felt like two different books to me. The first half felt romance and the second was more mystery. The plot felt rushed and the characters were just so unlikable to me.

There were some redeeming qualities for the book. The amount of spice felt appropriate, and I enjoyed the setting.


Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this book in exchange for a review.

I loved this book! The romance, the ghost, the Indigenous peoples representation (which there is not nearly enough of)! Can’t recommend highly enough!

Thank you so much to NetGalley & the publisher St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read this ARC!

I absolutely adored this book. It was just the right amount of creepy to where I was genuinely spooked, but also had the right amount of character development and heart to it. I loved getting to know our two main characters Neil and Penelope, they felt so real to me. I totally believed their rivalry from the beginning and the way that they got to know each other over the course of the book made my heart so full. The writing is amazing, so atmospheric. I could literally picture everything that was happening so vividly. Additionally, the romance didn’t seem forced to me. I think that the characters had a genuine connection, and it didn’t come out of left field. I genuinely wanted them to be together. The romance also was really perfectly balanced with the spooky mystery that was propelling the plot forward. I don’t think that any of the romantic elements were misplaced or anything.

Overall I’m so glad I got the chance to read this one, and I can’t wait to read more from this author!