I really liked the premise of this one! It's perfect for spooky season and the plotline is unique. However, I was not a huge fan of the characters, and I had a hard time connecting to them. As a result, I didn't really care for the romance between to two characters. The FMC showed a lot of growth throughout the course of the book, which was a plus, and I really enjoyed the side characters, especially Laszlo. There are a lot of cute and fun things to like about this book. I am definitely wanting to check out more by this author.

It took me a little while to get into this one, mainly because Penelope in the beginning was such a difficult person to like, but once she opened up and acknowledged why she didn’t like Neil, it got better. The best parts of the book had to do with the ghost of Georgia and the haunted castle as a whole; not necessarily scary but I like how they interacted with her. I also enjoyed learning about writing retreats and how they are run. The romance itself was OK but took a backseat to the haunting. Cute but I think there was too much going on in for the story to work.

A writing retreat ends up with the writers chasing ghosts and being chased by ghosts.

I love this cover. It is so cute. Pen reminds me of Velma from Scooby-Doo. I have to admit I picked the book because of the cover (chuckle).

Colby Wilkens brings mystery, romance, barbs, and thrown books in If I Stopped Haunting You. I like how the foundation is laid out for the adversarial relationship between Pen and Neil. The romance blends well, but doesn’t disregard the base issues that Pen and Neil have.

I love the conversations that Pen and Neil have regarding the difficulties of living in truth with your culture and the reality of the publishing world. I have listened to many real-life discussions on this topic. Wilkens also delves into the perception of color and race among white and non-white people.

Now the mystery is good, BUT I think if some mystical groundwork had been laid out to get Pen to Scotland it could be better. It’s a lot to swallow since this was a spontaneous decision on Pen’s part and her friend picked the site who had no idea of its history. Not to say that ghosts are plausible or not, but it’s just too much of a “coincidence” that Pen goes there and the mystery is linked to her.

If I Stopped Haunting You is a snarky funny romantic suspense read. If you are looking for a quick escape that involves hauntings without the gore (well there is some but it’s not gross gore (chuckle)), then this story is for you.

This has major Scooby-Doo vibes… but for adults! Set during winter with lots of snowy scenes, so that pulled me out of it for a spooky read to dive into for fall but the spooky factor was definitely there as I wasn’t reading this right before bed haha. I wish there was a bit more mystery and back story behind the ghost that haunts the castle… this book was more about the romance between the main characters. Very spooky and cozy read for the winter.

Okay this was a bit too horny for a haunted house book. I thought the enemies to lovers was a bit fast paced and considering the woman was physically violent toward the dude, it was a little concerning with how quickly they got over and under each other. Falling in love in a haunted house? Fine (I loved "Haunting of Bly Manor" ) but having hot, horny sex, in a castle that is haunted? No. Absolutely not. You would never catch me naked in a bed that could possibly be haunted. I am not getting taken out by a ghost, naked. Let's also talk about the ghost. Absolutely terrifying. The description, perfect. Why's she was haunting the place? Not so much. It was boring. Barely even a reason to haunt the place. Like what sort of reason was there to stick around? No one remembered your name? Big whoop! Your husband was literally haunting the cellar!! Just go downstairs and see him. It made no sense whatsoever! It could have had so much more potential, but I got let down soooooo bad.

Okay I was not expecting this romance to be as spooky as it was! I couldn't read it before bed because some of the imagery was so scary. I loved the mystery though! Honestly, I was sometimes annoyed with how much romance was happening because I wanted to get to the bottom of the mystery. That's a Scooby-Doo kid for ya, though.

I'll be chatting with Colby in a couple weeks about this book for my podcast.

There were a lot of things I didn’t like about this book, but the “ghost jizz” takes the cake for me.

There was no chemistry between our two main characters. I could have looked past that if the ghostie/gothic/horror elements I was promised had delivered but alas, that flopped too.

This book was super hard to get into. I loved the concept of enemies to lovers except this was more enemies to lovers insta-love but let's keep being mean. They kept "trucing" then Pen would turn around and treat Neil like crap again. Also the 3rd person POV was hard to follow.

I thought this was an ok book. It was a struggle for me to want to pick it up. I thought the female main character was a little insufferable at times and I was expecting a more interesting storyline for the ghosts.

Was so excited for this Indigenous mystery but I felt it fall flat. I wasn't a fan of how the second half of the book played out and was a little dissapointed with the character development. The descriptions of the castle and Scotland were well done.

2.5 ⭐️

I found that this book was much more enjoyable as an audiobook, allowing me to get further along than I did with the physical copy. However, I ultimately decided to stop listening after reaching the halfway point.

One of the highlights for me was the blend of genres; I really enjoyed the concept of competing ghost hunters—it was intriguing and fun!

On the other hand, the romance aspect didn’t resonate with me. The initial conflict felt a bit over the top, especially with the scene where she throws a book at him. Their relationship seemed to escalate too quickly for me, and I struggled to connect or feel any real tension between the characters. While I appreciate the creativity of the story, it ultimately wasn’t quite what I was hoping

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for this advanced reader copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

3.5 rounded up. This story had really good bones but I think its weakness in some parts held it back.

The whole setting and vibe had me tearing through past my bedtime, freaked out and desperate for answers as to what the hell was going on in this spooky castle. I think the author did a really good job of building that suspense and tension to keep the reader engaged in the story. I thought the discussion of the MCs shared Native roots and their individual struggles with being BIPOC in publishing and the sacrifices they made in that sphere.

The parts I found to be weak were the romance and the big reveal of the mystery. Spoilers ahead: <spoiler>by the conclusion of the book, I still wasn’t sure what was drawing Pen and Neil together beyond just sexual chemistry. They still seemed to strongly dislike each other until they very suddenly were lovey over each other and I feel like there was a disconnect between those two states. I also felt like the reason for the haunting was kind of a let down. I’m not someone who enjoys scary stories, but I would have much rather that the ghosts were haunting the house because they needed help with a final task, or something along the lines of typical horror, rather than it just be that all the haunting stopped when Pen and Neil found their graves and peaced the story together. For how heart-pounding the plot had been, it just was a bit of a bummer and a let down.</spoiler>

Like I said, I think the bones of this story are good, and I am definitely interested in reading the next book by this author to see how she improves!

POV: dual third person

You can expect: horror author MCs, haunted castle in Scotland, enemies to lovers, opposites attract, forced proximity, snowed in.

Rep: Native American MCs, queer MCs and side characters

Spice: 2/5

CW: assault, some gore

This was an odd one. It was paranormal, enemies to lovers, with talk of racism, a little mystery plus a secluded writers retreat. It was basically everything but the kitchen sink. It felt a little all over the place and I didn’t hate it. But I didn’t love it.

Pen and Neil have had a rivals type relationship since being in the writing world together. It takes a writing retreat with friends for them to realize there is a fine line between rivalry and attraction. They are a cute team and the ghost aspect was kind of fun. The chapters were long but it made sense since this book was kind of all over the place. There were so many themes touched on and to me it felt like too much in places.

While there were definitely things that annoyed me about this book, the bad did not outweigh the good. If I Stopped Haunting You is a quirky, enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity tightrope with a haunted house mystery subplot. It features some of my favourite story elements, in that it is a book with writer protagonists, and has just enough social commentary to keep it from feeling a little too superficial and flippant.
Addressing the good first. For the most part, I did really like the characters, and while the ghost element obviously wasn’t the focus—the romance was—it was present enough for me to be aware of it and not feel like it was just tossed in for the heck of it. I really liked the spotlight Penelope put on the inequality when it came to being a woman in the publishing industry versus being a man, and how Neil’s experiences in regards to the stories he wanted to tell versus what he was allowed to tell due to his race played such a significant role in his character development.
What I got annoyed by was Penelope’s fixation on what she believed was Neil’s responsibility as a popular indigenous author. It wasn’t that I don’t believe it should have been present, as it was used as a tool to display her own racial insecurity. It was the way it was used, at times, felt extremely forced and repetitive. Like the characters would be having a normal conversation and all the sudden Penelope’s dialogue would become a soap box, complete with rehearsed speech. This happened more often than I could count, and really started to bother me as it held up the progression of the plot.
Personally, I was entertained enough to still recommend this to the romance fans looking for something Halloween themed, but not super spooky.

I don’t think I need to hear the full name Neil Storm ever again. The amount of times the name comes up drove me nuts. The story was okay, it picked up towards the end but overall it was a pretty flat read.

ARC audiobook provided in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the dual narration on this book! It helped bring the two main characters (male and female) to life and I always knew exactly who was speaking. The story takes place in Scotland at a writers retreat. This is definitely an enemies to lovers romance with the backdrop of a haunted castle to set the scene. I really loved the characters love story but really could’ve done without the whole haunting storyline. If you’re a fan of romantic comedies with just a touch of horror, check this book out!

DNF @ 2%, after the prologue. No rating.

It was clear pretty quickly this book wasn't for me. I'm not a fan of victim mentality, which this character seems to steep herself in. I also don't find assault amusing. I am always taking a chance on enemies-to-lovers, because it's one of my least favorite tropes. The danger is always that if the author can't walk the fine line of making me believe they can grow to love each other, or even like each other, the book is a failure. I may have tried to keep reading, but a quick perusal of the reviews made it clear I wouldn't end up enjoying this one.

ARC from Netgalley.

Pen and Neil have had it out for each other for as long as they can remember, and it all comes to a head when they are sitting on a panel of Native authors and Pen throws her book at Neil in a fury. From there, Pen is disgraced and Neil can’t help but take her words to heart, making it impossible for him to write. So when their friend Lazlo invites them (albeit separately and unknowingly) to a writing retreat at a potentially haunted castle in Scotland, they both see it as an opportunity to get back in the writing game. But tensions and passions flare as Pen and Neil are stuck in the creepy castle, searching for answers.

A quick read that I was never fully immersed in. There was a lot going on, but I didn’t feel that all of the ends tied together - leaving me wondering about some of the plot points. Overall, fun but not my favorite.

I was sold by enemies to lovers at a haunted castle in Scotland - however once I saw reviews calling out the fmc for throwing a book at the mmc in the prologue and other behavior I realized this one wouldn’t be for me. Thank you to the publisher for the free ebook to review.

What happens when two feuding authors end up on the same writers retreat at a haunted Scottish castle? Witty banter, amateur paranormal investigations (aka: some Scooby-Doo level hijinks), personal breakthroughs, oh and plenty of sex.

Authors Penelope Skinner and Neil Simon share a history of animosity but find themselves drawn to each other and the weird goings-on in the haunted castle in Scotland where they find themselves snowed in. Their fellow authors staying in the castle aren't experiencing any of the hauntings so Penelope and Neil take it upon themselves to save them all from the things that go bump in the night. These enemies turned lovers aren't sure whether to be more shocked by their scorching chemistry or the fact that ghosts are real!

There was plenty to like in this book. It was fast paced and kept me guessing and I enjoyed the leads coming to terms with their own self-doubt and their relationship with each other. I feel like the final reveal didn't really hold up to all the build up of the haunting. While I was satisfied with where the characters ended up at the end of the novel, I wasn't disappointed I'd reached the end.