This was almost what I wanted it to be. There's definitely a lot of potential here and a really fun idea overall. However, the romance felt a bit forced and unrealistic for supposed enemies, or any real relationship for that matter. Fantasy doesn't have to be unbelievable. I loved the commentary on Indigenous authors and their efforts in the publishing industry. The spooky atmosphere was fun. The background characters were flat and I feel like the story would have been the same without them. I'd recommend this to someone looking for a quick, cheesy romance. Overall I felt that it was pretty okay. It was very redundant in parts where Pen would think something, then say the idea aloud, and then think about it again, meaning I had to read the same passage three times. Some parts jumped around a lot, and were hard to follow. One moment the ghost of Georgina was sitting at a desk writing in her journal, and without mention was suddenly shoving Neil who was across the room. Some flowing details would have made scenes like this more believable. Also, we don't have to use the characters full government name every time they're mentioned. It gets tiring. So does the term "folds" for vulva.

This was not romantic. It was not scary. It wasn't anything really. It didn't deliver anything it said it would. The female main character is unlikeable in a bad way (because I do think you can be unlikeable and still be good). They were not enemies to lovers. I don't think you can really do that in modern contemporary setting. Pen is an awful character

Horror and romance combined in a book, sounds amazing doesn't it?

Sadly, this one just isn't that good. The horror wasn't scary at all and the romance had absolutely no chemistry. I'm all for open door romance, but only if it's written good and this one made me cringe more than anything.

I honestly could not envision our two main characters together. It felt so forced and fake, even at the end I wasn't even rooting for them!

The plot fell flat for me and I couldn't care less about anything that was happening.

I was really excited for this book, however I'm 68% through and I'm just not sold on the story. I was most excited for the haunting and the spooky vibes this book would provide however I'm 2/3 through and I feel like it's just not getting properly addressed? I also am not sold on the main characters enemies-to-lovers romance. I feel like they truly hated each other which excited me, but nearly overnight they decided they wanted each other and to get it on and that they actually had feelings for each other and the L-bomb was starting to be thrown around? I just didn't buy it.

I also feel the "hatred" they had showed such great promise however the FMC's arguments was just the same statement reworded every time the two main characters were in the same room.

After reading the marketing description, I was looking forward to snuggling in with this book.
The synopsis sounded like a good haunting and love story.

I regret to say that this book was a disappointment on both counts.

The main characters being described as enemies to lovers was believable in the enemies part of the book; a literal book thrown at Neil's head is pretty much enemy territory.
The "lovers" side of the coin was forced, written too soon with no build up, and very shallow.

The castle was intriguing, when we first arrive there.
I've always been a sucker for a good haunted castle.
This one was just okay.
There were no "things that go bump in the night" that elicited any type of emotion in me.
Even after getting the first glimpse of what was at the end of the West Corridor, I never once thought, "What are you doing, Dummy? Under NO circumstances should you even think about going back to the West Corridor!"

While I do not want to sound critical of a young author, I have to mention that this book had several phrases and words used over and over and over again, that made my skin crawl each time she used that same word/phrase YET AGAIN.
Note: As my copy of If I Stopped Haunting You is an ARC, it is possible that the final copy of the book will have edits to correct the number of times a character "Puffs out their cheeks" "sucks on their teeth" and "hisses" at someone. (Do people really "hiss" at one another?)
Nothing distracts me more while reading a book than repeated words and phrases that scream for the use of a thesaurus.

I completed the entire book and I am still not sure why the ghosts were still in the castle.
There wasn't a good "unresolved" reason as to why they remained.
The only thread of this that I could discern was that the ghosts were there to teach Pen lessons for her own life?
I don't think that is how it works.

I was perplexed by the nonchalance of the other 2 writers' attitude when Neil was clearly badly injured with a head injury yet wanted to go out looking for Penelope.
Laszlo and Daniela were cardboard characters throughout the book.

Finally, it drove me a little crazy the way sometimes Pen was "Skinner" and sometimes "Pen" and "Neil" was sometimes "Neil" and then "Storm".
I found this to be very distracting and didn't see a reason for the back and forth use of first/last name, in the context of the use of said names.

The sex scenes felt thrown in so the book would appeal to YA readers looking for "spice".
I skipped through page after page after page of those scenes as they were completely non-steamy.
They were also written into the context of very inappropriate places.
For instance, if the "haunted" castle was truly written as a legit "haunted" castle, I don't think I would be feeling lust over terror if I found myself suddenly trapped in a room where the door was just slammed shut and locked by an unseen entity.

The "revelation" that had Pen back on the right track was as forced as the "attraction" and "spice".

1.5 stars rounded up to 2 because though I didn't enjoy this book at all, I will give credit to a young author who has written at least one more book than I have.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

There are so many great things about this book, o was impressed by the writing itself. The haunting plot was flushed out and the descriptions were so impressive I stopped myself several times just to reread parts. Unfortunately I also stopped myself to try and remember what the timeline was, days and hours seemed to be compacted and drawn out all at the same time, it’s really the biggest opportunity and I would absolutely reread and hopefully give 5 stars if it were clearer. This book has a great shot at being an indigenous, LGBTQ+ inclusive hit, romance thriller hit with a little structure.

I’m having a hard time engaging with this book. The summary and concept for the book interest me but the execution is not there for me. I’m having trouble empathizing with the FMC, which of course isn’t necessary in a book but is important to me in a book of this genre. The writing can be a bit too on the nose also. Lots of telling and not much showing. Less than 10% in, I’m told that the enemies are very much alike. Don’t tell me, especially this early, show me! At times I was also confused about the setting. Where were we exactly? What does it look like? At this time, I can’t finish the book because it is not sustaining my interest. I do plan to try again after some time though. If I do, I’ll update my review accordingly :)

Story focuses on Pen (Penelope) and Neil, both Native authors who are “enemies”and who have been invited by a mutual friend to a writing retreat in a haunted Scottish castle. Pen believes Neil has sold out and caved to his publishers rather than sticking to his Native roots and publishing a Native story. This culminated in a yelling match during a book panel they’re both on, and Pen throwing a book at Neil which scars him. Fast forward several months, Pen believes her publicly attacking Neil has cancelled her and that she has no real fans.

Overall, this is a quick enjoyable, read. A romcom horror story isn’t something I’ve really read before. This could have been a terrible combo but I ended up really liking it. The horror, comedy, and romance are woven together well and in a way that doesn’t feel disjointed. A few critiques- for two people who supposed hate each other and are rivals, they get over their dislike you’re quickly. Pen’s character feels almost bully-like. She basically admits she was jealous of Neil’s success and the way the industry works so she took it out on Neil, someone who was succeeding where she wasn’t. Last the haunting aspect feels anticlimatic - there isn’t really an explanation for why they have to solve the mystery besides the unknown of what might happen (will they die?!). And is Pen related to the ghosts?! Why use the same name otherwise but not have that be part of the plot?

The setting for this book was great but overall this book was a miss for me. The characters had more in common than they realized which was great and they could have built the relationship from that but the buildup of their relationship felt hurried and undeveloped. Was unsure why they decided they liked each other besides physical attraction. It seems like the animosity from the main female character was excessive for what the wrong doing was at the beginning of the book. It made it harder to like her.

Super quick read about two people who have more in common than they think. However, their development and story felt hurriedly. Not as spooky as I had hoped for. It was just okay.

This is the first time I have heard of this author. With that being said it was an ok read. It kind of dragged and took a bit to get into it and honestly the build up to the ending was disappointing.

Fabulous setting, the characters were a bit underwhelming and parts of the story felt undeveloped. An entertaining read, but I wouldn't read it again.

I've been following Colby Wilkens for a few years, and IISHY has been on the top of my "wildly excited about" list since she announced it in early 2023. Let me tell you, it did not disappoint. Laugh out loud interactions, fully spooky hold-you-breath moments, Indigenous leads, a haunted castle, a true slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers story...this book has it ALL. Plus a dual POV? Bisexual characters? I'm in love. I cannot wait to see what else Colby writes!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

The "enemies to lovers" romance between Pen and Neil was enjoyable, as was the teasing they endured by friends/fellow writers Laszlo and Daniela. The horror element of the plot was not scary or creepy, but rather was quite amusing.

I found that this started out a little slow for me, it took me quite a bit to really get into. I loved the mix of romance and horror, I've never read another book with the same mix. However while the horror aspect was nice and fleshed out for me the romance felt a bit rushed.
It was still a good book that I enjoyed.

Let's chat about this intriguing read I got from NetGalley! " If I Stopped Haunting You" by Colby Wilkens takes two native authors who can't stand each other and throws them into a writers retreat at a haunted castle. Spooky, right? 👻 If you're into cozy books with a dash of enemies-to-lovers romance, this might be your next read.
I'll be honest—I struggled to fully connect with their journey from enemies to lovers, but the second half of the book really picks up the pace! Plus, big thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to dive into this story! If you're craving a book that's perfect for cozy weather, give "A Haunting at Dawn" a shot.

I had almost now idea what to expect when I went into this debut romance. I was hoping for a little more steam and a lot more tension than what I got. But this story of two horror writers on a writing retreat in a haunted castle was very fun.

After a contentious panel at Book Con, Pen and Neil are not friends. They are less than thrilled to end up at this retreat together. But when proximity and ghosts keep them paired up, they find that they have more in common than they realized.

The set up and the setting are both spot on, but I really wanted more character development for both of them. I felt like questions were left unanswered and background info was needed both in the romance and in the ghost story. There is so much potential here that I am rooting for Wilkens and what comes next.

What a delightful read! The enemies to lovers was really more on Penelope’s side I think. I appreciate that she stood up for what she believed in. I’m glad that Neil was so supportive of Pen.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a paranormal mystery bully enemies to lovers book. It was about two native authors who don’t like each other go on a writers retreat in a haunted castle. It was new to see the fmc be the bully and come to terms with her issues. I like the dual pov with Neil. It was nice to see how a mixed race pov on how she never felt enough for each side of her.

The beginning of this book started strong right out of the gate. You immediately get into the story and know the characters you’re going to be reading about. However, after that, the story lagged for a while for me. The idea of “wait- is this castle actually haunted??” Is what brought me back into the book- which I feel like was over half way through the book.

The idea of the ghosts, plus their budding love story, are what pushed me through this story but I kind of lost the other aspects of the story and ended up not caring about those. The backstory as to why Penelope and Neil disliked each other so much was definitely valid but with everything else going on I didn’t care about it as much as I wanted to.

Penelope and Neil are both writers and end up having a rough start when they meet at a Q and A for Indigenous writers. Due to an incident that occurs there, Penelope gets shunned from the book community. Months later they’re forced to reconnect in an alleged haunted castle for a writers retreat and must deal with each other everyday.
3/5 ⭐️
3.5/5 🌶️