Enemies to lovers spicy romance at a haunted Scottish castle??? Sign me up.

I absolutely devoured this book. Literally couldn't put it down and read it in one sitting (accidentally stayed up until 3am, whoops).

I think the author does a great job giving us a spicy romance while also brining heart pounding horror. My biggest complaint overall is that the resolution to the haunting is pretty meh, but the romance was sweet (albeit a bit fast) so that made up for it.

The story had a bit of a slow start for me. It took a few chapters before I really got into it. I will also say that all of the characters definitely have flaws that get frustrating/repetitive. I've seen some reviews mention that the relationship was toxic but I disagree with that. I think that they have flaws and react in very human ways. Both of the MCs learn how to face their pasts and grow from their mistakes. Also great BIPOC and queer representation.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC of this book.

The story could have been so good but there were so many holes. I didn’t understand the MCs dislike of one another. The ghost mystery made very little sense. The romance story and spicy scenes felt forced. All in all, the story felt rushed and not fleshed out. Only reason I didn’t df is because I kept hoping for more and for it to make sense.

I was invited to read this book by the publisher, and initially was excited based on the plot description, but it did not really jive with me. I liked the setting and the overall idea of the book, but the execution of the plotline felt - chaotic to me. I wasn't a fan of the main character, Pen, and how she interacted with her "love interest". I don't know, if someone was that up and down with me, I would check out pretty early. Now, I did enjoy the "horror" element of the book. I just wish the characters would have been more likeable.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to love this novel. The premise was a solid setup for something wonderful, and I was excited to dive in. The book starts in the book community with an open act of hate between the two main characters, Penelope and Neil.

From this point, Wilkins does a good job at the slow-burn enemies to lovers by continuously building the tension between the characters. Penelope comes off as selfish and angry, whereas Neil is a misunderstood pushover. I didn’t love either of the characters, but Neil was more enjoyable than Penelope. Regardless, I enjoyed how things developed between them.

I wasn’t really into the excerpts from Penelope’s book; they didn’t add to the story and just felt like filler. Yes, there is a tiny link between her book and Neil’s tattoo, but not enough to where it needs to be more than referenced during a conversation between characters.

The biggest disappointment of this novel was the horror aspect. It felt like a missed opportunity. The ending lost the book a fourth star. The big reveal the entire story built up to wasn’t much of a reveal at all. The reason for the haunting didn’t make sense. The scenes were crafted well in the moments of horror; the backstory was the issue. It felt like the story behind the ghosts was a second thought. Like, I’ll make all the creepy stuff happen, make the reader feel spooked, and then I’ll just come up with something when I get to the end. The first 3/4ths of the book painted a tragedy (and I was hooked), but the reader is left with a haunting from a societal norm of the time period.

If you read this, read it for the romance, not the horror.

Meh. This just kind of underwhelmed me. I appreciated the discussion on BIPOC representation in the publishing industry, and how Neil had to dumb down his original manuscripts to appease his publishers instead of writing truly Native stories. But the romance went from enemies to lovers a little quick for me. Like within 24 hours quick. And the ghost hunt in the castle part overtook the last half of the story. It had some scary descriptions, but then they would look at each other and start making out or jumping on each other, so it never felt that frightening. When they ultimately discovered the reason for the hauntings, it was boring and not that tragic. The two side characters were funny, but they were pretty flat, and mostly just popped up when it was awkward or inconvenient to Pen & Neil. And Pen was just not that likable. Add in that her last name, Skinner, was the same as the ghosts in the castle, but there was never any answer to whether or not she was related to them. It was just an example of a random loose end that the author could have done something cool with, but just left undone. I feel like this had a good idea behind it, but wasn’t executed that well.

An enemy-to-lovers romance set in a haunted castle in Scotland sounded truly delightful. Pen and Neil are two indigenous writers who get stuck in a paranormal investigation while on a writing retreat. The biggest issue I had with this book was flow: Pen and Neil are minding their own business and then there's a graphic sexual description, they're investigating a ghost and then before you know it someone has their pants down. They're discussing writing and then one of them drops "fuck the colonizers." There's so little transition between thoughts, actions, and events in the book it really affected my buy-in into the story.

This was an interesting read & concept.
Rival writers who have to spend time together at a writers retreat in a Scottish castle.

I loved the spooky aspects of this story & the hauntings.

Although I didn't really connect with the arguments and rivals between the characters, the arguments just didn't seem as developed as they should be especially from 2 writers.

I do love that there was great representation in this book that was just a fun haunted romcom

This was as fun read and I'm glad I got to try it out.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A solid debut! I feel really confident in this author and future releases because most of the issues I had with this book seem to be just an author finding their footing. The plot could be a little rushed, and some elements could do with more development. But overall, as a person who typically struggles to enjoy romance, not only did I speed through this book, but I really rooted for the main characters. Their dynamic was really fun, and I loved the horror subplot.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I will preface this review saying that I do have a habit of going into romance novels with quite a cynical attitude as I find I never end up liking most of them. However, this one was genuinely an anticipated release of mine, which just makes this all the more disappointing. I wanted to like this story so bad, but it just felt a little too underdeveloped to get invested. The horror plot was resolved so quickly in a way that really made no sense, the characters' relationship was well developed, but individually I was left feeling like they were very two dimensional. The emotional pacing of this book was very erratic, in some scenes the two love interests could go from being teary, to angry, to flirting in such a small time frame it felt difficult to keep up with them. I did really enjoy the horror subplot, with some scenes genuinely giving me chills, but the rest of the book left much to be desired for me,

Unfortunately, I had to DNF. The overall premise drew me in but the execution fell flat. The characters had nothing to hook me in and make me interested in their story. The writing felt very disjointed.

This one just wasn't for me, unfortunately - the tension felt off, and the "scary" elements just didn't spook me. I loved the concept, but the execution just felt flat to me.

A writer's workshop in a haunted castle in Scotland turns into something else for two of the participants. Extremely well written with authentic characters and thrilling scenes. A pleasure to read.

"If I Stopped Haunting You" is an enjoyable read with a spooky atmosphere and engaging banter between the main characters. While the exploration of Native authors' challenges is well done, the rivalry and romance aspects could have been more developed. The haunting elements are intriguing, making it a solid but slightly flawed read, earning 3 stars.

It’s was an enjoyable book. I really liked the plot and the whole spooky element. And liked the banter between the fmc and mmc. Would definitely be something I would be reading again during the fall and spooky season.

Ooof I wanted to love this one because it seemed right up my alley, but there were quite a few things that outweighed what I liked, one of them being the very 'Look At the Camera' talking points, At first I enjoyed the main character, thinking I could see where her arc was going to go (i.e. how she would change), but then the end was very pandering, trying to excuse all of her (very troubling) flaws and paint her as a hero instead, so it was okay that she threw a literal object at someone's head and made them bleed, on a stage, in public, because they 'deserved' it?! And because of that, the romance didn't work for me either. Poor Neil existed so Pen could give her talking points.

Very bummed by this one--I love genre-blending, and really thought I'd love this one!

Still very grateful to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

Native authors Pen & Neil have been literary rivals for months after an explosive confrontation at a book event pitted them against each other, but when they both (coincidentally?) end up at a remote Scottish castle for a writing retreat will the tension— and hauntings— bring them together or push them further apart?

This was so much fun! I’ve followed Colby’s path to publication since she was querying, and it was great to finally read her debut. The message around Native authors and representation in literary spaces felt timely and well thought out, and I enjoyed the close proximity of the setting. The side characters were hilarious, and I’d love to see more of them in the future. I love a dual-POV and this did it very well, I loved Neil’s perspective especially!

A few comments— the rivalry at the beginning could’ve been fleshed out a little more, as it felt a tad “tell” instead of “show” - if there would’ve been an interaction outside of the conference in the prologue to build some tension between them, that would’ve helped. It also felt like they made the switch to attraction pretty immediately, and as someone who loves a healthy build up, I would’ve loved a longer period of animosity between them. With that in mind, I wasn’t super invested in the romance. However, the haunting I was definitely interested in! It was done really well and genuinely scared me a little bit at parts. Would love to see the author try her hand at horror!!

Finally, I am BEGGING American authors who are writing books set in the UK to please please please have at least a base level knowledge of local slang. There is absolutely no way, at all, that a Scottish woman would be called Fanny as that is a very common colloquial term for *female private parts*. VERY common, as in fanny is used in the place of more medical, “proper” terms 95% of the time. Honestly, I’m surprised poor Fanny made it through the brutality of Scottish secondary school teasing with a name like that. The bullying would be, quite literally, unending. Justice for Fanny, poor lass needs a new name!

I scare easily, so I was rather hesitant to pick this one up. I am so glad I did! This story is dual POV of two professional writers who are at odds (our leading lady may have thrown a book at our lead male's head. Classic) but, find themselves tricked into attending the same writers retreat at a haunted castle near Edinburgh. When the two of them start experiencing paranormal events together they are thrust into confronting not only the ghosts of the castle, but that of their writerly insecurities as well. Attraction, spookiness and humor ensues.
The writing in this book made me feel transported. Everything was so thoughtful and descriptive. There were a few scenes i got a bit scared and decided I shouldn't read this after dark because I'm a big wimp. The romance between Pen and Niel felt so sweet and natural, but accompanied with that delicious angst of "when will they just get together." The mystery behind the haunted castle was so intriguing I just had to know what happened (albeit I was a LITTLE disappointed with the "reveal" to the mystery at the end). Again, I don't do spooky. But this was worth the spook and that is high praise coming from me. I'll definitely be on the lookout for more from this author. If you're hesitant at all I encourage you to just read it 😘

Not sure HOW this is equal parts horror and romance but WOW I was creeped out and HOT at the same time! Definitely a genre I haven't read before but I'm 100% HERE FOR IT!

I would like to express my gratitude to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press Publishing for providing me with the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Colby Wilkens’, ” If I Stopped Haunting You”, has officially made it to my list of top reads for 2024! The story of Neil and Pen, along with the haunted Castle setting, captured my heart from beginning to end. Although I am sad to have finished the book, I feel fortunate to have had the chance to read it.

This book is the perfect cozy read for fall, and it has everything one could ask for - from suspenseful and spine-chilling moments to a remarkable enemies-to-lovers storyline and even character development. The author's brilliant storytelling has left me spellbound, and I am eagerly looking forward to what other literary gems this talented author has in store for us.

"If I Stopped Haunting You." Picture this: an enemies-to-lovers romance with a spooky twist that will hopefully have your heart racing and your spine tingling in equal measure.

Our story kicks off with Penelope Skinner and Neil Storm, two rival writers whose fiery confrontation at a book convention leaves sparks flying – and not the good kind. I mean, we're talking Penelope hurling a book at Neil. When Penelope gets the chance to go on a writer's retreat to Scotland she jumps at the chance, only to find herself face-to-face with Neil, and her newfound feelings that begin to bubble up. As they navigate the corridors of the castle, their rivalry slowly morphs into something else entirely.

Now, I'll be honest with you – this book had me hooked at the start and I was excited to read it. I couldn't tear myself away from the story and always supporting Indigenous authors. But, this read left me feeling a tad underwhelmed. The romance was generally well done, and the characters had a certain sweetness to them. But when it comes to the nitty-gritty, "If I Stopped Haunting You" fell short for me. The tension between Penelope and Neil didn't quite pack the punch I was hoping for, and don't even get me started on the sex scenes – they felt more like a lukewarm cup of tea, but maybe that's expected in a haunted castle

In the end, I'm glad I gave "If I Stopped Haunting You" a read, if only for the sake of curiosity and to support an author who seems passionate about some really important topics. But would I revisit it? Probably not. Still, if you're in the mood for a spooky romp with a side of enemies-to-lovers shenanigans, go for it! It was still a mostly enjoyable read and I'm sure it could be someone's next 5-star.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a digital review copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.