I know I am late to the game, but I just could not get into this book. From the start, I just found all the characters irritating, and while I was really hoping they would start to grow on me as we got to Scotland... they just didn't. This read less like a contemporary romance. I feel like this story should have been told as a lit fiction book with complex authors battling between their cultural stereotypes within publishing and societal understanding, instead of putting this complex element into a romantic "enemies to lovers" plotline. While I think romances CAN and SHOULD have complex depth to them, I didn't vibe with the characters and found them unlikeable. Maybe it's me... it's probably me *SIGH*- DNF at 30%

If I Stopped Haunting You by Colby Wilkens is a blend of romance and mystery and of course a twist. It contains an enimies to lovers trope with Pen and Neil, I believe it was engaging, but the transition from enemy to lover felt abrupt at times. The castle setting adds a nice, spooky backdrop, though I wish there were more spooky, scary elements to the setting. Pen’s personality adds tension, but her being unpredictable can be frustrating. The side characters provide comic relief but don’t really leave me wanting more. While the pacing of the romance and some plot elements felt uneven, the story kept me entertained with its mix of banter, spice, and intrigue. A cozy, fun read for those who enjoy light mystery and romance.

Thank you NetGalley, Colby Wilkens, and St. Martin's Griffin for my advanced copy.

Sadly I could not get into this book, and with the concerns about this author coming out I decided to not finish this book.

I’m going to love any book that has ghosts, and a Reylo-coded romance. It was the kind of book that pulls you in with its unique blend of paranormal and romance. If you're into that kind of vibe, this one’s a must-read!

Sexy, spooky, so much fun! Sometimes you need a spicy book with a touch of paranormal craziness. Love it!

After the Incident four months ago, Pen has been unable to get inspiration to write, so she agrees to join her friend Laszlo on a writing retreat in Scotland to try and get inspiration. However, when she arrives, her worst enemy Neil is there too after Laszlo said he wouldn’t be. And now Pen has to suffer a week with Neil there and attempt to gain inspiration to write her next book.

Neil has been unable to write since the Incident with Pen in the last four months, being filled with doubt after her words, and now has to spend a week with her in Scotland while trying to gain inspiration for his next book.

And all of this done in a castle that is supposedly haunted. What could go wrong?

This is an okay book. I have mixed feelings. It seemed to start off pretty good, it hooked me, and then kind of just suddenly went downhill from there.

There’s a lot of repetition, especially about the two of them being uninspired and having difficulty writing a new book. The repetition got annoying after a few chapters.

Their animosity towards each other was so strong that when they suddenly seemed to just after each other and want each other, it felt like whiplash and was too sudden for it be believable or even considered as “love”. It’s more like they needed to get together and just get it out of their system, but I guess we’re calling this love 🤷🏼‍♀️

I didn’t particularly like any of the characters except for Laszlo. He was more of the comedic side of this story and helped break up the repetition in this book. Pen would say hurtful things at unnecessary times and you know it was just put in there to help us remember that her and Neil were enemies, but it felt unnecessary and made her come off as rather mean. Neil was just okay, rather sad and seemed to really allow Pen and others get under his skin too easily and came off as a coward and I don’t know what he saw in Pen. She was rather mean and he could do better.

There were spooky moments in this book, and to be honest, I was confused about why we were in a haunted castle with these authors who hate each other and they’re trying to write. It seemed two completely different stories being turned into one, or attempted to. I think this could have just been a contemporary romance without the spookiness since that seemed to take away from the main story and I don’t know what the link was aside from them working together.

Overall, an okay book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC to read. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I am sorry, but I could not get into this book. Thank you NetGalley, Colby Wilkens, and St. Martin's Griffin for my advanced copy.

This book was If I Stopped Haunting You is a poetry collection by Sean Thomas Dougherty that delves into themes of love, loss, memory, and the human condition. The book is deeply introspective, blending vivid imagery with raw emotional depth. Dougherty’s lyrical style explores the intersection of personal and collective experiences, often drawing on the melancholy of relationships and the passage of time.

The title itself evokes a haunting sense of longing and unanswered questions, a recurring motif throughout the collection. Each poem feels like a fragment of a larger conversation, one that is both deeply intimate and universally resonant. The work is celebrated for its ability to capture complex emotions with simplicity and grace, making it a moving read for anyone who has grappled with heartache or sought meaning in the ephemeral nature of life.

Would you like me to explore specific themes or poems from the book?

Due to the concerns that have come out regarding this author, I will not be reading and providing a review for this title.

DNF @ 22%

This was a letdown. I was excited to get into this as it looked to have some paranormal elements. But I didn’t even make it far enough to see the spookiness.

I just couldn’t get past our main characters. I felt they both fell flat. I found myself unable to connect to either of them. Their “instant” connection with one another with this forced proximity despite hating each other over the past year felt, well, forced. I found myself rolling my eyes at their lust toward one another after only being in each other’s presence for such a short amount of time. With how much both of the MCs claimed to hate the other for “ruining their career” as we bounced between their perspectives, it led to an unbelievable reconnection at this writers' retreat.

I hate to DNF but after barely making it a quarter of the way through and not enjoying it at all, I knew this just wasn’t for me.

I had a lot of high hopes for this book but it just was not it at all. I almost DNFed this book so many times. I also found out this author actually has no Cherokee history even though she was claiming she did. That really sealed it for me.

This is a first time read for me by this author. It offers an interesting mix of enemies-to-lovers romance with a paranormal twist, set in a haunted Scottish castle. The premise alone had me intrigued: two feuding writers, Penelope Skinner and Neil Storm, stuck together on a writers’ retreat in a supposedly haunted location. The tension between them, both personal and professional, was promising and made for an entertaining dynamic.
Penelope is a frustrated horror author, and Neil is a bestselling writer struggling with self-doubt. Both are well-developed characters, and their banter kept things interesting. The back-and-forth between them was fun, and the slow-burn romance, especially with the added layer of the haunting, made for an entertaining read.

However, while I enjoyed the chemistry between the leads and the eerie setting, the pacing felt a bit off at times. The romance felt rushed in parts, and the ghost story, while intriguing, didn’t quite hold the weight I expected. The plot often got a little lost in the chaos of the ghosts and the flirtation, leaving me wanting more exploration of the characters' internal struggles.
Overall, thisis a light, fun read, but it didn’t completely satisfy the balance of romance and suspense that I was hoping for. It’s an enjoyable romp, but not without its flaws. If you're in the mood for a quick, spooky romance with plenty of banter, this may deliver what you are looking for.
I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

Due to the backlash Colby Wilkens received last year I intentionally chose to not support her work due to her impersonating/pretending to be a POC. I appreciate the opportunity to read a book through St. Martin's, but I would not support this author moving forward.

I tried..... I don't know what else to say, other than after learning more about the author, I just couldn't bring myself to pursue this book any further.

Thanks to NetGalley for this arc in return for my opinion.

Pub Date: 15 October 2024

This seemed like a fun story with ghosts and Scottish castles and a writing retreat, but the fun just never appeared. The main characters were unbelievable and had zero chemistry, which pretty much killed the enemies to lovers concept and turned it more into an enemies with benefits scenario. The activities in the castle didn't seem much like a writing retreat and the horror was non-existent. I wish I could've enjoyed this book more, but there was just too much that irked me to allow me to.

My thanks to St Martin's Press/St Martin's Griffin, the author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's for an ARC of If I Stopped Haunting You, a fun and spicy enemies-to-lovers romance about two rival Native authors. We can check off good banter, forced proximity, and an element of spookiness to force our main characters together on their writer's retreat with a group of friends. As a girl who enjoys dabbling in horror when Halloween rolls around every year, I really enjoyed the haunted-house element as a unique environment for a romcom setting. The setting provided both some tension and comical relief that really added to the story line for our protagonists.

This was Colby Wilkens' debut novel, and as a new author, she really knocked it out of the park with If I Stopped Haunting You. I recently received an ARC of her second book which I can't WAIT to read, starring Lazlo's sister (who we briefly meet at the beginning of IISHY)!.

Book Name: if I stopped haunting you
Author: Colby Wilkens

ARC
Thank you to St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin ****for an ARC of …

Stars: DNF at 14%
Spice: DNF

Thoughts

- Character's Felt Flat
- Rivals to Enemies to Instant Lust puts me off
- No motivation for the romance or backstory
- FMC and MMC were annoying
- I ended up putting this down and didn’t pick it back up

Due to the Negative Nature of this review, I will not be posting it to Goodreads or retail sites with respect to the publisher and author.

If I Stopped Haunting you is a cute paranormal romance set in dreamy Scotland. A classic enemies to lovers, with steam and a HEA.

This book was cute, but didn’t blow me away. The premise was all there for me. Enemies to lovers, close proximity, a haunted castle in Scotland. Unfortunately the characters fell flat for me and the swift shift from hate to love didn’t feel realistic.

I can't believe this book was published. It was terrible. Putting aside everything that happened with the author, this book is just bad.