Penelope Skinner and Neil Storm are two Native horror authors stuck in a years-long rivalry. Both are left in a writing slump after their feud publicly reaches a head. Months later, Pen and Neil find themselves coincidentally on the same writing retreat at a haunted castle in the Scottish Highlands.

Ugh I wanted to love "If I Stopped Haunting You" so badly but that just wasn't the case. The romance between Pen and Neil is just flat. It's toxic and they jump from enemies to insta-love so quickly in a way that doesn't account for the supposed years of animosity between them. Their characters are also lackluster. The author teases at back stories for both of them (really all the characters) that are never fully developed or even explored.

The same can be said about the horror aspect. The ghost story holds so much promise initially, but instead, it's underwhelming and the resolution doesn't fit all the setup. The story poses so many potential plot points and connections (i.e. Pen's connection to the castle) that fail to go anywhere.

The bones are certainly there. Unfortunately, this whole story feels like an early draft that needs a strong editor to help shape it into something great.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advance copy!

Feuding writers end up together in a haunted castle. What can go wrong? The answer is a lot. The enemies to lovers trope can be difficult to balance between when they stop feuding and when do they fall in love and the timeline was too sped up. There was not enough tension building to make this trope work. We also have the issue of the FMC Penelope having serious anger issues bordering on physical abuse. This is not the way to achieve a successful relationship. This book had a very fun concept but overall fell flat

I just really couldn't get into this, I don't think the authors writing style is for me. I thought the premise sounded exciting and the cover art is gorgeous but it ultimately fell flat

I thought this book was pretty cute. It did take me a while to get into it though. I will say that the story progressed pretty fast once I got into it but it did not captivate me as much as I thought it would.
I thought the premise of them being two Native writers struggling to write and being thrust together on a writing trip in a haunted castle in Scotland was really interesting. I found the ending to the ghost story to be lackluster and I wish there had been more horror elements within the story. I did find the romance to be pretty fast paced, in the sense that Penelope and Neil went from hating each other and ruining one another’s careers to being attracted to each other very quickly but I found they were pretty cute together. I do wish we would have seen more of Laszlo and Daniela as they didn’t seem to be fully fleshed-out characters.
Overall, I thought this book was a pretty quick read and I would recommend it to someone wanting a quick, spooky, romantic read.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a copy of this ARC.

Thank you for the advance readers copy!

Okay, it wasn’t terrible.
But it wasn’t good either? Somewhere in between?
When I was reading it I didn’t find myself just annoyed and forcing myself to get through it. But once I put it down, the want to pick it back up was very slim 😅
The plot didn’t make a ton of sense to me
But the little romance pieces I thought was cute

"If I Stopped Haunting You" by Colby Wilkens is the book you didn’t know you needed to pack for that weekend getaway where you just want to chill but also kinda want to be on the edge of your seat. Picture this: two snarky writers with a knack for supernatural spooks, trapped in a haunted Scottish castle (because, why not?), figuring out they might just be into each other—amid ghosts and old castle vibes. Penelope and Neil are this explosive mix of funny, irritating, and endearing, turning what starts as a typical enemies-to-lovers trope into a wild, ghostly ride. It's like someone tossed romance and horror into a blender and cranked it up to an 11. The banter is spot-on, the scares are legit, and you'll be rooting for these two not just to make out but also make it out alive. Totally a thumbs-up for a breezy, spooky read!

3.2 stars = it was fine. A lightweight romance in a spooky/horror wrapping. I really didn't have the problem that other readers had with the heroine - yes, she was prickly. But it that prickly based on fear that is not too uncommon in the romance genre. My issues were more that I had the same problem that I often have with romantic suspense and that is the transition straight from the creepy to the physical bits of the romance. It just doesn't help build the romance for me. The other issue is that I didn't really think that the ghost part of the story held together once the mystery behind the haunting was revealed. It didn't seem like the kind of thing that would generate such a spooky manifestation.

The story was interesting as a change of pace though.


ARC courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley. This is an unpaid review.

I'm not sure how I got this arc book, but it was a fun read. It's a fun enemies to lovers with some spooky twists. This book is about Penelope and Neil.

Pen and Neil are stuck at a retreat together and find themselves in a real-life ghost story.

With them stuck and working together will feelings start to evolve?

I would be interested in reading more from this author.

If I stopped haunting you is Colby Wilkens's debut enemies-to-lovers cozy horror rom com.

Native horror authors Penelope Skinner and Neil Storm have a years long rivalry that's lead them into a writing slump. In an attempt to find the inspiration to write their next book, their friends and fellow writers, Lazlo and Daniela, join them in a writing retreat hosted in a haunted castle in the Scottish Highlands. Hauntings and hilarity ensue.

What I liked the most about this book was the descriptions of its setting. I also enjoyed the banter between Pen and Neil and their relationship as rivals in the publishing industry. The commentary on the publishing industry was interesting as well.

What I didn't like so much was the resolution (or lack thereof) to the ghost story. It was rather underwhelming after all the protagonists went through to piece together what happened. I also felt the switch to lovers was abrupt, as they'd only spent about two days in forced proximity, after years of antagonizing each other (the book recognizes as much).

Overall, it's an enjoyable read, with interesting commentary about the publishing industry, some actual scary moments as a ghost story, and a great setting.

I really wanted to enjoy this, but I just couldn't get into it... The MFC annoyed me from the start. The entire relationship was toxic in a way that made me not want to read at times. Sadly this book just wasn't for me. The cover art is amazing though! I do often read books based off their covers, and this one did draw me in!

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

As a lover of both horror and romance, I can say with confidence that this was terrible at both.

Writing a book is hard. But perhaps some people shouldn't write books.

I don't even know where to begin with this review. The romance was awful, and I think it's because neither the FMC nor the MMC were fully developed. I don't know anything about them other than they're writers, supposedly (that's another thing—they're in Scotland on a writing retreat, but no writing was done), and they don't like each other. So with flat characters, a romance is going to be flat. The sex scene was awkward, there was little to no tension between them.

Speaking of characters, the secondary characters served NO purpose. You could literally omit them and it wouldn't change anything about the story. Super frustrating.

Now, the horror. Horror is definitely a YMMV, so I'm not going to say oh this didn't scare me so it's not horror. BUT it also wasn't crafted well. The ghost/horror had nothing to do with the characters. It was just a case of they happened to be there. To me, that's lazy horror writing. Again, any character could have happened upon this castle and the ghost would come out. The ghost's story also didn't make sense, and Penelope's obsession with it didn't make sense.

This was just poorly written and I still can't believe it made it through so many people and is actually being published.

This was a lot scarier than I anticipated! Reading this before bed was a poor decision on my part. Timing aside, though, this was great. The romance is hot, the ghost mystery was fun (though creepy), and I loved the bi/bi pairing and the discussions of representation in publishing. I'm even more excited for the author's next book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

a romantic haunted horror is exactly what i needed! i haven’t read a book quite like this yet and i really did enjoy it. both main characters were great to get to know and see their slow burning feelings develop for each other! it was also very interesting to see the perspective of indigenous authors and the pros and cons they go through in a publishing industry and setting.

thank you to the author, netgalley, and st. martin’s griffin for the opportunity to receive an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't know "cozy horror" was something I needed in my life and yet, here we are. This is a fun cozy little horror mystery starring two feuding writers trapped at a remote Scottish castle for a writers' retreat where they, of course, find some ghosts that need dealing with. I enjoyed this book; the dynamic of a well-written enemies to lovers trope is a personal favorite and it is handled well here. There was also an excellent amount of spice in this one so you are warned!

I really wanted to like this book. Honest I did. But for some reason I just couldn't.
I loved the idea of ghosts and stuff but I think that what didn't work for me was the insta-romance.
The banter between Penelope and Neil was ok at first but eventually it became annoying.
I really wished the insta was more in depth than it was. I say this because they were enemies for so long and then bam now I feel that they were rushed.
I loved the setting of Scotland. The way the author describes the scenes I felt like I was there.
The setting became my favorite part of the book.
Overall, the book could've been just teeny tiny bit better than it was.

okay so the romance aspect of this was good, but the rest was a little meh?
i think the characters is the real flaw here:
- right off the bat i did NOT like penelope <spoiler>the book throwing was absolutely wild, and just made me upset lol</spoiler>
- neil was okay, but he was just so lackluster
- laszlo and daniela were just annoying, served no purpose, and the one time that daniela and pen slept together being brought up was just weird, like i'm not sure why that was a plot point. they just had so much potential to be these amazing, witty, side characters and instead every time they were mentioned it felt like being barged in on
and the insta-lust!! it just developed way too quickly for me, especially since they not only had unresolved anger towards each other, but like ruined each other's careers?
the commentary on the publishing industry was good, and i'm glad there was representation of native characters but at the same time, you didn't really get that aspect too much outside of the publishing industry talk, so i wish we got to see more of that.
the ghost/haunting stuff was very cool though so if you're looking for a quick, fast-paced, spooky, spicy read then this is the one for you!

Hellooooo this is so good. I loved it and the author just announced book #2 and I'm so excited. I can't wait until I can buy physical copies.

This book is about Pen and Neil, two rival novelists with writers block who find themselves in the same retreat in a haunted castle in Scotland.
The premise sounded very interesting, but somehow I couldn’t get into the book. The two had no chemistry but somehow she gets horny whatever he does, it seemed like only a physical thing and rushed. Their relationship got a bit better around the middle of the book but that wasn’t enough to make up for the start.
The whole ghost part of the story felt somehow unnecessary for the book, it didn’t really contributed anything and was partly unsensible.
The criticism about the publishing industry was good as was the discussion about the discrimination of native Americans although I wish there would have been more information about this culture.
Overall a classical enemy to lovers that just wasn’t for me.

Ps: It’s kinda ironic/funny/meta how the FMC accuses the MMC of using stereotypes in his books while this book itself does is all the time 😄

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the earc!

the premise of this book sounded so good but it ended up falling short of what i expected it to be. it’s described as “chilling haunted house horror”, but i found the horror to be lacking. it felt like any time there was some kind of creepy tension building up, it was interrupted by the romance, so the balance between the two felt a little off for me. i wanted the horror to be scarier.

the romance itself felt like it was developed too quickly - the development while reading through it initially felt okay, but then there would be a line somewhere reminding you that these two characters who have hated each other for months inexplicably fall for each other within a day of spending time together, and it kind of takes you out of it a bit.

the main female character, penelope (or pen), threw a book at the main male character, neil, at a book panel to start their feud, and although i felt like neil had decent character development, pen never really actually apologized or took responsibility for her actions in any significant way. although this helped establish the enemies-to-lovers bit, it made it harder for me to connect with pen, since i didn’t really understand why she had such a violent reaction in the first place, and then her redemption from it also just wasn’t satisfying.

the two friends that they went on this writer’s retreat with just kind of existed, and i could not tell you what their purpose was other than to serve as a buffer between pen and neil. i wish that they had been more involved in the story itself.

i did enjoy the mystery vibes to the book, and thought that the ghost backstory was interesting. the character banter was entertaining and i liked the setting of the story. the feud between pen and neil was also something i liked, i just wish it had been resolved a little differently. and the cover art is gorgeous.

This is my first paranormal romance I’ve read, so I was curious to see what this was about. I found it to be a quick and easy read with sprinkles of spookiness and some romance.

I see Colby’s vision, but I feel like the story is missing some pieces. I wasn’t able to fully connect with the characters and found it to be quite repetitive at times. It wasn’t until I hit 60% that I became more engaged in the story. If there was a heavier focus on the mystery and some believable romance, this would have been a 4 or 5 star read.

I’ll be honest, the spooky scenes did scare me enough that I had to read this in the daytime, lol. Overall, I didn’t hate it but didn’t love it. If you’re looking for a quick and easy read, this is it.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC! :)