I am not a scary movie or book person at all. But something drew me into If I Stopped Haunting You. It is the story of 2 feuding authors at a writing retreat in a haunted castle in Scotland. A classic enemies to lovers with a spooky twist and creepy ghosts. Full of quirky side characters and some smart quips to overshadow the scary parts. And lots of spicy scenes. What I really liked is that the authors were both Native American and the book addressed the bias and racism that they regularly face. This was a perfect book to read leading into Halloween.

I haven’t had time to read this yet — I’m so sorry. I plan to read it when Libby has the audiobook available.

Eh, I thought this was going to be cute, but did not hit the mark for me. Thought the title was super cute though!
I ended up DNFing at 15%

Two rival authors end up on the same writing retreat... at a haunted castle.... and all of the strange spooky things keep happening to the two of them, and no one else. Will they be able to set their differences aside to figure out what is haunting them before it's too late? Will they be casting aside more than just their differences as they learn more about each other?

I loved the rivals-to-lovers plot happening alongside the haunting. The use of both of these propelled the plot forward and made the book so hard to put down. The gothic vibes of the castle were perfectly moody.

I was excited to receive this ARC ebook from NetGalley and the publishers because it looked like such a great, spooky read for the season!

If I Stopped Haunting You by Colby Wilkens is an enemies-to-lovers romance set in a haunted Scottish mansion. It follows two feuding Indigenous authors, Penelope and Neil, who find themselves in a forced proximity situation during a writer’s retreat. Neither expected the other to be there, especially after Penelope threw a book at Neil’s head during a very public discussion panel. Since the incident, both writers have been creatively stuck, hoping this retreat will cure their writer’s block. But they soon discover they’re living in a real-life ghost story while snowed in at this spooky castle.

I enjoyed the spooky ghost elements of this book, and the representation of two Indigenous main characters was a major highlight. That said, the characters did feel quite young. Penelope, in particular, comes across as immature—throwing a book and then blaming Neil for the fallout was a bit much. Once they arrive at the castle, the enemies-to-lovers arc kicks in almost immediately, making it feel like an insta-love situation. It did make me laugh, though, when they’d be in the middle of a spooky, haunting scene and suddenly be all over each other.

Overall, this book is a light and enjoyable standalone romance, great if you’re looking for a quick, palate-cleansing read.

I was so impressed by this debut romance! It is the perfect October romance read and I had a lot of fun while reading. I look forward to what comes next from Colby!

What a perfect title to read in spooky season!
"If I Stopped Haunting You' is a enemies to lovers romance that takes us on a trip to a haunted writers retreat.

Fun, romantic, and paranomal thrown in as well has created an easy-to-read fall must have.

I want to first of all say that this was a nice cozy read and a good book to start the fall season. But you’re looking for a book that’s equal parts romance and paranormal, maybe this won’t be the book for that type of vibe. It was very much into the romance portion than paranormal.

I wanted to start by saying thank you to everyone for this early copy of If I Stopped Haunting You.

I was really excited about this book, but unfortunately it kind of flopped for me. I didn’t really like the main character and found her problematic.

This a fun romance mixed with a bit of spooky. It is the perfect read for those who don't like to be scared to death, but enjoy a little fright and some paranormal elements. It was nice to also see native characters take center stage, and honestly talk about representation in the publishing field. (All the main characters are writers.) As for the romance elements of the book, it was filled with some great tropes such as friends to lovers, and forced proximity. While this title wasn't exactly to my taste as a whole I did enjoy reading it, and believe it will be loved by true die hard modern romance fans.

Two Native authors can’t stand each other on so many levels….

….but that’s about to change.

Penelope Skinner is part Native and passionate about how those who share her heritage should be depicted in fiction. She has published one horror novel but it never caught on in mainstream circles, possibly because it made non-Native readers uncomfortable. When she appears on an Indigenous Writers panel at a BookCon with an author who shares her heritage but seems perfectly fine with writing in a way that is palatable to all audiences, she knows it will be a disaster. Neil Storm was someone whose talents she admired, which makes his (in her opinion) selling out his voice for success all the more aggravating. What starts out as a little sniping escalates to a volley of angry, hurtful accusations and to Pen throwing her book at Neil (a direct hit to the head, no less). She leaves the conference having annoyed the attendees and shredded her reputation, and leaving Neil’s confidence shaken by her accusations. Neither one finds themselves able to write after the incident, and a writer’s retreat at a reportedly haunted Scottish castle seems like the perfect way to get the creative juices flowing…but neither is aware that the other will be in attendance until they arrive in Edinburgh. Their mutual friend Lazlo thought that this would be a great idea, so they can resolve their differences and move on (and make his being a friend to both far less stressful). These two avowed enemies find themselves working together when it appears that the rumored haunted castle lives up to its reputation, and a mutual attraction heats up as well. Can they outwit the spirits that seem to be be pursuing them, enjoy their budding romance, and break free of their respective writer’s block?
This is billed as a romance-cum-horror story, but its more the first genre than the second (I didn’t find it terribly scary, more a case of possessing a paranormal element to the story). The plot also touches upon the challenges of BIPOC writers….will one be deemed authentic if one doesn’t look and dress sufficiently Native, for example, as well as how does a publishing industry support addressing issues about which their BIPOC authors may want to write but which may be off-putting to a mainstream audience? There’s also the very real specter of writer’s block, which can be every bit as scary as a haunted Scottish castle. I must admit to finding the main characters more annoying than endearing, although I was glad to see them verbally work through their issues. An okay story, didn’t hate it, didn’t love it….maybe because it was trying to be too many differing things at the same time. It was for me more rom-com than romantic suspense, which made the deeper conversations about identity and the challenges of pursuing acceptance without compromising ideals feel a bit heavy-handed. Readers of authors like Jen DeLuca, Jenny L. Howe and Sarah Hogle might want to give this a try. My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/St. Martin’s Griffin for allowing me early access to this story released just in time for the haunting season.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This book didn't work for me. I had a difficult time visualizing the setting, the characters were all kind of boring or just not interesting enough for me to like, and the enemies to lovers (my favorite trope) has weird pacing so it didn't land. I didn't enjoy the inner perspectives of Pen or Storm, and I started speed reading at 50% just because I wanted to know about the ghost story, not the romance.

I did like the indigenous persons topics but other than that... I was disappointed with this.

This was an interesting novel. But a little chaotic? The plot was all over the place, and while that may add to the mystery factor for me it took away from the story itself. I found myself not focusing as intently.
Where was some pros, I did enjoy the rivals to lovers dynamic and the overall background story of the two MCs and why they landed in this haunted house together on a writers retreat.

What made me be able to finish this story was the narrators. Curtis Michael Holland and Kyla Garcia really did a great job at capturing what Colby was trying to portray.

Penelope Skinner is not a female main character many will be rooting for. The woman threw a book at her rival Neil Storm, and made him bleed! Fast forward a few months & they both end up at a haunted Scottish castle for a writing retreat. What ibliked was the awareness to indigenous authors not getting the credit they deserve & their voices being altered or not heard. I enjoyed the mystery surrounding the ghosts. What I didn't enjoy was the romance, it felt very instant & considering how much she hated this man for months, it didn't make sense she was all over him so quickly.

This was a fun seasonally spooky read that had all the best of rivals to lovers with a blend of spooky chilling horror. This was like eating a good a bar of dark chocolate with salt and chili flakes. It was a fun experience but one that involves processing. With that said, why did this get three stars? This was a bit of an awkward blend that felt like it needed more time to develop itself to really whisk me away. I would check out other books by this author in the future, because Wilkins has a delightfully wicked imagination.

I don't know what to say about this book. First, and foremost, this book had so many issues that I went back to see who the publisher was about halfway through and was shocked it was St Martin's. I have never read a bad book from them (I may not have always liked one of their books, but it was for personal preference, not from quality.) They're my favorite publisher! I also know these are uncorrected ARCs, however, I didn't find one misspelled word, so it had been edited. What this book needed was a major developmental edit.
Why? The writing and the repeating and the repeating. Pen's character - she was horrible! Constant tantrums anyone? The plot - was it a ghost story mystery or a love story? Both were done poorly. The mystery solving was ridiculous - they searched and searched through the diary and a few other things and what they "needed" was something they had at the very beginning, just lame. Neil - did the author hate this character? He was constantly hurt or scared or turned on. No depth whatsoever. The scene in the mausoleum was amateur in the telling - trying to build tension by making the character stupid does not work. Ever. And finally - why were the inset stories so much better writing than the book itself?

The only "good" was pointing out what indigenous authors face.

This eARC was provided by St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin. All opinions are my own.

I really loved the premise of this book:

Enemies to lovers
Writers
Horror aspects
Scotland as the scenery

But in the end, it didn't work out for me the way I wanted it to. I felt like the hate was just unnecessarily just hard to develop a romance from. And Pen was just not a likeable character for me.

🫶🏽What I liked
I enjoyed the weather puns around MMC's name of "Storm," as well as the more serious topics of "being Native enough," and the real talk on the Native experience in publishing. I thought the discussion on the stereotype of Natives and alcoholism was especially insightful, bringing to light factors that aren't openly discussed and considered, such as economic disadvantages, generational trauma, and lack of treatment options.

🤷🏻‍♀️What didn't work for me
The romance 🙈 It wasn't much of a development from enemies-to-lovers. Their disdain for one another seemed to come and go out of nowhere, as did their attraction to one another. Because of this, the timing of the spice was also awkward.

"If I Stopped Haunting You" doesn't seem to know whether it is a romance or a ghost story and it ends up not really being either. The enmity between the main couple - or really the enmity the FMC feels towards the MMC - is just so without real justification it is somewhat nonsensical, especially to cause actual violence. The 'romance' is essentially instalust, which I don't necessarily have a problem with, but here it feels like it comes out of nowhere. The ghost story is not well thought out and its conclusion is annoyingly anti-climactic. The FMC's thoughts are also repetitive to the point I contemplated DNF'ing, though I ultimately pushed through.

I did like the attempt at indigenous people representation.

2 stars. Thank you to NetGalley for a complimentary copy of this book. These opinions are my own.

This was definitely not what I was expecting for an enemies to lovers romance.

Wow the main characters were so mean to one another. I was cringing at the violence and just mean energy towards one another. It’s not believable that they could actually get past that to become lovers.

This was not for me.

1.5/5 stars

Thanks to Berkeley for my arc copy.