Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. This book was a fun and different read. Yes, it was repetitive at times and yes, some of the characters could have been left out but, overall, it still made for a unique tale and I enjoyed reading how it all played out.

Maybe I’ll come back to it….
🌟🌟🌟
Honestly, I was really excited about this one. Especially due to the MC and representation. However… I found it hard to root for the MC. Seems like clashing which just kinda made the whole story feel eh.

I’m hoping to come back but I DNF’d at 60%

If I Stopped Haunting You was a very enjoyable/fun and even spooky read. This story has it all; enemies to lovers, forced proximity, comedic side characters, spicy and spooky ghosts.

If I Stopped Haunting You was a very enjoyable/fun and even spooky read. Two indigenous writers are struggling to reclaim their voices in the publishing world and have been pitted against each other as sworn enemies. A haunted house in Scotland is just what these two stubborn characters need to force them to see each other's sides of the story. This story has it all; enemies to lovers, forced proximity, comedic side characters, and spooky ghosts.

A steamy enemies to lovers romance and tragic ghost story? Oh heck yes! This story had me wrapped in its clutches from page 1. Being mixed Native and Irish, I really resonated with the main character, Pen, and her feelings of not being native enough, but not being white enough either. I totally understand her anger at Neil in the beginning. I think this book really tackled the anger of BIPOC women in predominantly male fields and how it feels to be made into a stereotype by one of your own. I also loved the Native Representation. We don't have enough Native main characters in modern romance. Colby Wilkens was able to seamlessly weave a modern day romance with a paranormal thriller. It was spooky and I was on the edge of my seat waiting to find out what was going on in that house. I was also feeling all warm and fuzzy watching Neil and Pen fall for each other. I loved the dichotomy of it. I recommend this book to anyone who loves ghost stories, romance, or just wants to read something different and fresh in an impacted genre.

This book's only crime is being given to me early instead of during spooky season. Spicy, fun, and supernatural this is a must for Halloween romance fans!

Honestly this book was ok. There were some interesting points but I found the main problem to be that it repeated a lot. It caught my attention right away but the constant fighting seemed juvenile at times. I liked Neil more than I liked Penelope.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced review copy.

If I Stopped Haunting You follows a group of authors on a writing retreat at a "haunted" castle in Scotland for a week. With enemies to lovers and a gothic feel this book shouted "READ ME I'VE GOT SO MUCH POTENTIAL"

I actually didn't want to even review this book because I hate leaving low reviews but since it is an ARC; here I am, but I will try to keep it short and to constructive.

First, the haunted castle in Scotland -- COME ON-- so easy, so so easy to build this up into the perfect setting, our imaginations are already half way there on this one but sadly… no.
The setup was nonexistent, there was absolutely no environmental vibe/setting/world building (even if the world is just a castle in Scotland) and this entire storyline with the Woman in Black fell so short and was absolutely anti-climactic.

Ok, but there's an enemies to lovers storyline, right?

RIGHT-- but also, just kidding because the enemies last for all of three seconds where Penelope physically assaults Neil until the point of blood being drawn (she threw something) IN PUBLIC and then spends 85% of the book blaming HIM that her career was ruined and no one would take her seriously after that.
But there's tension right, two rival authors snowed in with no escape…?
That falls flat before we even get to the castle, literally on the way to the castle and without giving too much away an obsession on both sides forms instantly-- most instant love I've ever witnessed, and coming from "enemies"?! Ugh.

My synopsis of went wrong:

The story is completely shattered by the head hopping internal narrative of Penelope and Neil. Their constant replaying of "The Almost Kiss ™" , the thinking of sex, having sexual dreams, Penelope's obsession with hating Neil, and Neil's self-deprecating is so over done that it interrupts every possible build up of the "haunted" storyline. It is so obtrusive you can not appreciate it nor anything else.

If/when this book gets an audiobook, I would definitely like to listen to at least the first half of it to understand the tone better. It could be a me-issue, but I had a difficult time tracking the tone of novel for up to 50% of the book. Once I was past the halfway mark, I was definitely able to understand it better and the book flowed really well. I was invested in the ghosts' stories, perhaps even more than the main romance.

My main criticism, except for the tone (which could be a me-thing), is that in the beginning, the retreat is treated as a life/death situation for Neil and Pen... A voluntary writing retreat to a Scottish Castle with a few other writers doesn't seem like it should be that serious? I understand that we need to believe that they feel like they have to be there, but it was difficult go along with it. (And I'm usually all about suspending my disbelief in romances)

I love the cover of this book and the blurb was so intriguing! Writer's block, haunted castle in Scotland, enemies to lovers... I really wish I liked it more than I did. The FMC started out as unlikeable and I thought there would be growth in the story but I felt she stayed the same the whole time.

There was some smut, which felt disjointed and kind of came at odd times in the story.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy of this book.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5!

If I Stopped Haunting You follows Neil and Penelope on a writers retreat at a supposedly haunted castle in Scotland. Both are suffering from a serious writers block because of an endless (and violent!) rivalry between them. Will the castle help cure their writers block? Or leave them with more ailments than they arrived with.

I really, really enjoyed this. Admittedly, it was not at all what I expected but that’s because it was better! I loved the main characters and while Penelope was flawed, I think that made her a lot more human and well-fleshed out. I appreciated seeing both Neil and Penelope’s perspectives on being Indigenous as writers, I thought that was an incredible aspect of the story. (Also I really want to read Neil’s first draft of For What Savages May Be!!) I found the paranormal aspect so interesting, I love gothic period ghost stories and this was a nice little addition to the romance. Overall, I really enjoyed this story!

I can’t wait to read more from Colby Wilkens!

I wanted to love this book but it didn’t work for me. The premise sounded amazing and the atmosphere was definitely creepy and leaned into the horror vibes, but the characters fell flat. I could not like the FMC. I tried so hard to like her and gave her chance after chance, but she never got better.

2.5 stars

The bones for this were really good! i just think the story could have used a little more fine tuning before heading off to the publisher. I really loved the idea of a haunted castle romance, being a steamy romance and horror novel enjoyer separately. The characters were really difficult to relate to and the plot just seemed kind of all over the place. Definitely not the best I’ve ever read but I’m looking forward to seeing what this author does in the future!

Penelope Skinner, Pen for short, is a half white, half Native American author. In a publishing industry that is whitewashed, she struggles to find her place among the novelists. Insert Neil Storm, another Native author and in Pen’s opinion, a sellout. After an unfortunate appearance on a panel at BookCon, Pen feels even more ostracized by the novelist word and finds herself fighting with writer’s block. Her best friend Lazslo convinces her to join him on a writing retreat to a haunted castle in Scotland. After he promises that Neil won’t be anywhere to be found, she agrees. After landing in Scotland, none other than Neil shows up at a bar, seemingly part of their group for the retreat. Neil and Pen decide to set apart their differences just to get through the week. As they get to know each other, Pen starts feeling things she’d rather not for him. Meanwhile, they keep seeing a ghostly woman in the halls and through the windows. Despite it all, Neil and Pen decide to team up and get to the bottom of the haunting.

Will they make it out alive?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a free copy to review!

Like the majority of other reviews, this book isn’t for me. Difficult to read. Hated the main character.

There is so much to love about this book, and I think my favorite part was (very unexpectedly) the horror. I'm not usually a scary book person, but the spooky bits gave it a Goosebumps vibe that was really fun and refreshing. I also thought the rivalry between Pen and Neil, and the subsequent thawing between them as they're trapped in the castle together, was very compelling. It was also very interesting to learn how each of them felt about their Native identities. I would have loved to see a little more development of the romance between them, and there were some loose ends that didn't quite seem to come together, but overall this was a very fun read that kept me turning the page. I can't wait to see more from this author!

I really hate to give negative reviews, but this book was definitely a no for me and I struggled to get through it. I had high hopes based on the premise of the book, a little romance, a little horror.. it missed the mark on both and I struggled to find really much of anything memorable and enjoyable.

The main character, Penelope, assaults the mmc, Neil, right from the start and she tries to justify her actions by saying she was jealous of his success and gaslights him into believing he's the reason her career as an author went downhill. Then their relationship jumps right into lust and there's no development in their feelings. I have no idea why they liked each other, or were even attracted to each other, when they hated each other so much and their relationship was abrupt, toxic, and confusing to say the least. I feel like the author was trying to rant about the lack of native representation in a way but the approach to this was all wrong. Penelope was so manipulative and none of her reasons justified her physical assault. She literally leaves a scar on his face by throwing a book at his head and making him bleed...

None of the characters were likeable and they didn't add to the story at all. I don't consider any of the romance at all because it was straight up lust and there was no depth to their conversations. The author does a good job with the creepy vibes and there was definitely some eerie imagery but overall, there storyline was bland and the characters were terrible.

I am not completely sure what genre If I Stopped Haunting You falls into. I felt it was a mix of cozy, spicy romance, and horror all mixed together. The premise of the book sounded very interesting and I enjoyed the isolated castle setting as well as the paranormal elements throughout. Our two main characters are rivals Penelope Skinner and Neil Storm. The book starts off with an epic public fight between the two cementing their position as enemies. The author dips into the struggles of BIPOC writers and uses them as the foundation for the two characters' antagonism. I would have liked their culture to have played a larger part in the overall story. I found the romance jarring at times and it distracted me from the paranormal and mystery elements which I personally enjoyed more.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

Spooky, sexy, thoughtful. The book more than fulfills its promises of chilling supernatural mysteries and ceaseless romcom shenanigans. It also unflinchingly grapples with the tokenism rife within the publishing community as the protagonists work to overcome their feud and find their way back to the root of their craft.

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and rate this book.

Despite the wonderful opening, this took me a while to get into. I found the FMC to be a little too emotional. The reason she hates the MMC was eye rolling until the end. I loved the sppoky scenes! However, while some will enjoy the mix of creepy and spice, I felt like it was too choppy and pivoted between the two way too quickly.
The spice was decent, but I felt a whole chapter of it was overkill. Especially when I only got a page or two of the creepiness at a time.