I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I enjoyed this slow burn book. The paranormal code have been a little more fiery chemistry between the main characters made this an enjoyable reading experience that I highly recommend.

This was one of the most spellbinding reads I’ve opened in so long, I’ve been ready for my spooky season reads and this was JUST what I needed. I cannot suggest this enough if you’re looking for romance with a twist

The premise of the story, enemies to lovers stuck in a haunted Scottish castle, is what drew me in! I enjoyed Colby's writing style and the representation of Native American culture along with LGBTQ+ community. I enjoyed the horror elements throughout the novel! The tension between Pen and Neil was, unfortunately for me, resolved too quickly. It was difficult to grasp the fast burn. Fans of quickly resolved tension and rapid romances will enjoy this work!

An interesting take on romance, but add in a haunted castle.
Neil Storm and Penelope Skinner had a falling out four months before this story takes place. Pinned to be rivals in the writing world because they're both Native American authors, their feud comes to its boiling point at a book convention, causing Pen to throw a book at Neil. Then their mutual friend Lazlo invites them both (without saying that the other is coming) to a writer's retreat with his friend Daniele to a haunted house in Scotland, to help get their creative minds flowing since they both have writer's block. The groundskeeper Fanny gives them cryptic warnings about this haunted castle, one being not to enter the west wing. But Pen feels drawn to the west wing. Why is she drawn to it? Who is the mysterious black ghost Franny warned them about?

This story had a lot of potential. I'm all for throwing in some paranormal moments into a romance novel. But I feel like the romance was forced at times. It felt like we jumped into steamy scenes and kind of threw the actual plot to the wayside. I did like how there was no third-act miscommunication or falling out. Instead we have Pen wanting to solve this mystery and Neil chasing after her because he wants to protect her. The descriptions of the settings and the castle were well-written.

Thank you, Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for approving me for this ARC!

Rating: 4 🌟🌟🌟🌟's

-》Review《-
This book flaunts being both a "steamy hot enemies to lovers romance" and a chilling haunting horror story. To be frank, it wasn't much of either. The two main characters, Penelope and Neil, quickly go from hatred to sex scenes, and the scenes aren't that steamy. I attribute this to the lack of buildup, I love slow burn stories and seeing two characters come together over time while slowly falling in love. This book was the opposite of that, Penelope and Neil go from disliking the other person to sex scenes in the next chapter.

Nevertheless, there is still a massive page turner aspect to this book! I read it in a solid two days, and keep coming back to read even just a few pages during my bathroom breaks at work 😅 It is well written, and although it's cliché, it's the haunted house cliché you wanted.

This book won't be everyone's cup of tea, and I feel that it is falsely advertised as both a streamy romance and a thriller. To me, it was more of a romcom/parody of a haunted house. The characters seem like your classic 'How to not survive a horror movie' type, and watching them consistently make dumb decisions keep me reading.

Overall, if you like romcoms and clichés then this is a book to add to your shelf! It comes out October 15th, so you can read it with a cup of hot chocolate in an oversized sweater, perfect autumn romcom 🫶

I loooved this book. It comes out this October and it’s the perfect spooky vibe for romance fans. Sure the main character starts out rough, she literally throws a book at him in a rage that smacks him right in the face. But I fully disagree with other reviewers that she beats him down, she explains why his book was disappointing to her and they come to understand each other. All while set to a mystery involving a haunted castle in Scotland. It was just spooky and spicy enough to cozy up with a coffee and a warm blanket this fall. 🎃👻

Thank you to St Martins Press & NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

When I first started this book, it took me a little bit to get into it. I was not a big fan of Penelope for about the first half of the book. It was obvious she was not only disappointed in Neil’s writing, but also she was extremely jealous and sometimes that just rubs me the wrong way. But as the story went on, their enemies lovers story ended up being a good one. The haunted castle was written very well. This will be a perfect read for spooky season. If you’re into haunted houses, the Scottish Highlands, enemies to lovers and slow burn spice….I’ll think you’ll enjoy this one.

Thanks to netgalley for the EARC.

My students really like the theme of enemies to lovers. I as well as haunted houses and more paranormal themes. I think they will enjoy this book, I as an adult didn't like it as much as i think they will. Mostly the main characters didn't seem fleshed out so their relationship wasn't believable.

So....this was a book. I wanted to like it because the premise was spooky yet romantic, which is right up my alley. Plus, enemies to lovers is my kryptonite, but this relationship made me so uncomfortable. Neil and Penelope are supposed to be my "enemies-to-lovers" couple but they felt like the single most forced couple in existence. Instead of building up tension and chemistry between them, they hook up way too fast. It made everything else about this book fall by the wayside.

This was a cute romance with a haunted house(or rather mansion) writer retreat setting! It was different than I expected in terms of the paranormal aspect but I liked it a lot. Rivals/enemies to lovers trope served but I didn't really love the romance? I liked how they could connect over their background but the relationship itself wasn't one I felt a connection to.

This wasn’t inherently good, and I believe with the premise it had the opportunity to be but the execution lacked. This romance follows four writers, more specifically two enemy authors, experiencing writers block through a writers retreat in a haunted castle. The “horror” aspect wasn’t really horror more as just haunting ghosts, and there wasn’t quite a balance between the haunting and the romance.

What I did like about the book was the overall representation of Indigenous writers (the main characters) and the struggles and discriminations they face. Other than that, the characters were a bit flat and the romance was not well fleshed out. The spicy scenes did not blend how I would have expected either. The supporting characters seemed unnecessary as they did not quite “support” the story in a meaningful way, which I think the book would’ve improved if they served better roles. The MMC was boring but tolerable, the FMC was abusive and manipulative. I was hoping that this enemies-to-lovers trope would wrap up with the FMC, Penelope, growing and apologizing for her past behaviors but instead it was just doubled down. Abuse, whether physical or emotional, is never excused or ok. She never explained or articulated her anger towards the MMC and the publishers in a way I would have hoped.

Lack of character depth aside, another thing I could not understand about the writing was the need for Penelope Skinner and Neil Storm’s names to be used in full, multiple times. Throughout the book, written in third-person dual POV, randomly we go from addressing the characters by their first names, their last names and their full names, it’s a bit of an oddity.

Thank you St Martins Press and NetGalley for the ARC to read and review.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC of If I Stopped Haunting You in exchange for my honest review.

I thought this was going to be right up my alley, a spooky romance in Scotland?? Sign me up! But…this definitely did not deliver in either category: spooky or romance. There was no believable connection between the two main characters, especially after that opening scene. I genuinely think I’d have stopped after it if this hadn’t been an ARC I wanted to give a chance to. One of the worst FMCs I’ve read in a long time which is so unfortunate.

I’m usually not into paranormal books, but this paranormal romance has a gothic atmosphere and a chemistry between the main characters that is fiery. It’s a quick and entertaining escape. Many laugh out loud moments. Would recommend to others to read!

If I Stopped Haunting You – Colby Wilkens

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for a copy of this ARC!

If you’re looking for a book that is a blend of both romance and haunted-castle horror, then this might be the one for you. In this we follow two writers who unknowingly end up going to the same writers retreat to recover from their severe case of writer’s block. When they arrive, they realize that this is the least of their worries now because one, they absolutely hate each other, and two, they are forced to stay in a creepy haunted castle in the middle of nowhere, together.

My Review: 👻👻/5

For me I was drawn in by the cover and premise. Anybody who knows me knows that I love any story that involves ghosts, and I was sold. However, this book did not work for me. I hate leaving negative reviews, but I could not stand the main character. And I know that wasn’t the intention to create such an unlikeable, unprofessional, short-tempered, self-centered MC or at least I hope it wasn’t. Regardless it didn’t work. The only thing that kept me from dnfing the book was the fact that this was an ARC otherwise I would have stopped during the prologue or so when the main character literally assaulted the love interest during a live book panel for no good reason at all.

So, because of this, the romance and story fell flat. I did however enjoy the spooky setting and hidden corridors but wished everything else held up.

Hotheaded Penelope can’t stand that Neil gets so much attention as a Native American author because he’s writing stereotypes instead of helping break them. At a writing conference, she blows up at him. Unfortunately, her anger backfires and she gets into her head and stops writing. When a friend urges her to attend a private writing retreat in a haunted castle, she agrees. However, she’s surprised to find that Neil shows up to round out their small group. How is she supposed to be with him after what she did to him? What he did to their people? They try to work out their differences and break the creative dry spell each of them find themselves in.

As if being penned up with your enemy wasn’t enough, they find that the castle is haunted and they're trapped. The threat is real and compelling. How can the group stay safe and get their writing mojo back? Sometimes you gotta add heat. Penelope and Neil are drawn to each other in this enemies-to-lovers romance.

I missed the description of “steamy hot” to describe the romance, so be prepared for graphic descriptions of the sensual moments. Maybe it was my surprise; maybe it was the younger age, but those interactions were way more explicit than I expected, so it was off-putting for me. Once I adjusted my expectations, I was able to get back into the story. I do think a more gradual romance buildup would've worked better for more readers. However, if you are comfortable with that level of heat early in the relationship, then you should be good.

As for the elements, the horror was interesting. It was also great to have some insight into a Native American author’s experience. I’m glad to see representation.

Overall, this combination is original. The mashup didn't quite work for me. However, I'm sure it might for others.

Thanks for the advanced reader copy for review, @NetGalley! @ColbyWilkens
#IfIStoppedHauntingYou #EnemiestoLovers #NetGalley #romance #romantasy #paranormalromance #ghostfiction #stmartinspress #spookybooks #romcom #SpicyRomance #Scotland #SnowedIn

If I Stopped Haunting You by Colby Wilkens expertly blends elements of suspense, challenging dialogues, and passionate moments to provide readers with a gratifying debut novel and a thoroughly deserved Happily Ever After. From the very first page, I found myself captivated and unable to put the book down.

This was a good first story. I wish I could say that I loved it but I didn't. What I can say is that I see potential in colby Wilkins writing and will check out future work when available!

Penelope Skinner needs a getaway after an explosive encounter with fellow horror author Neil Storm. After throwing a book at him, she feels like a pariah. So, when her friend invites her to a writing retreat in Scotland, she jumps at the chance. However, her peace is shattered when Neil also arrives. The two must navigate their rivalry and the ghosts haunting the castle they’re staying in.

The Scottish castle setting and spooky romance were intriguing, with excellent representation of Native American authors. The dual POVs and excerpts from the characters’ books added depth. However, the ghost subplot was underwhelming, and the romance developed too quickly, lacking substantial conversation. Despite these issues, it's an interesting read that many romance fans will enjoy.

This gave me all the Romantic comedy vibes I laughed so much and I don’t think I ever stopped smiling when I read this it was that good. I’m pretty sure my cheeks still hurt from smiling so much.

This title failed as a horror and a romance. The horror story was truly pointless. Two ghosts wandering around and one forgets what happened to her? Also, I don't know how many times we need to read about the character knowing they shouldn't run to danger, but doing it anyway. So dumb. The romance was better than the horror, but barely. I just saw a ghost, let's make out. This one was a hard pass.