DNF

Right off the back, Pen throws a book at Neil's head out of jealousy because he was more successful than her. I'm pretty sure they didn't even write the same genre, but because they were both Indigenous authors they are some how competing in her mind. She's caught on camera berating him and gets canceled, but she also convinces herself that it's his fault. As soon as they meet again, she still blames him for her own screw ups. And even though I only got so far, you could see Neil starting to doubt his own success and own talent because of Pen's gaslighting. She has clearly learned nothing from the experience and its just insufferable to follow her POV.

Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Griffin for providing this ARC to me!

Horror and romance don't seem like genres that could comfortably coexist, but Colby Wilkens makes it work. The story follows a group of four horror authors, two of whom might as well not even be in the story, as they go to a Scottish castle reputed to be haunted for a writer's retreat. Penelope and Neil have a contentious relationship (read: repressed longing/lust, and also she threw a book at him at a convention) discover that the haunting is real, and then they have to balance breaking through their writer's block, fixing the ghost problem, and wanting to screw for the rest of the book. I'm being flippant, but I also read it in two sittings, so this is a fun time.

The romance definitely outweighs the horror here, and that's okay. There are elements, like the other two writers, that feel lost or extraneous for most of the book, which isn't great, and I don't feel like Pen and Neil's Native identities were as strictly necessary as they're billed as. But as a racial and ethnic minority myself, I still love that that piece was there, because there's nothing like actually seeing yourself represented on the page, especially in a book that isn't about racial trauma.

All in all, this is a nice, cozy read. The balance isn't always right, but if you just want an escape, this is a very good bet.

I didn’t enjoy this book. The characters were too trope-y to be real, their love wasn’t believable and the mystery wasn’t much of a mystery. It felt like a side plot with little planning.

I feel like the author wanted to write a romance but needed to add more meat to the story, so it was set against a mystery. The problem is that the plot gets tangled up in the mystery. None of it is plausible and the motivations for the ghosts and the mystery are not surprising. I felt almost no empathy for the ghosts because they didn’t seem like real people.

While this was an enemies to lovers, it was ruined by the silly reason Pen hated Neil. She acts like a completely immature lunatic, permanently scars him and he can’t stop looking at her boobs?

She can’t stand him and is afraid of her feelings but also gets wet anytime he’s in her vicinity. It wasn’t sexy and I kind of hated both of them. The supporting characters weren’t much more lifelike or likeable.

I didn’t hate this. I just felt the plot was subpar and the romance left a lot to be desired. Maybe if the author had concentrated more on the romance (or more on the mystery) it wouldn’t have felt like both were half done. It was short but it still felt overwritten, especially near the end. It got needlessly complicated with weird pseudo-cliffhangers. I couldn’t quite understand what was happening.

It started out pretty well but when the author dug in, at the appropriate time, there wasn’t anything there to dig up. I didn’t feel anything.

I wouldn’t recommend this, which is a shame because a spooky romance about writers set in a Scottish castle should have been exactly what I love. 2.5* rounded up.

Thank you to St Martins Press for the ARC, all opinions are my own.

DNF fairly quickly in to this one. Right out of the gate is a huge altercation with the FMC throwing a book at the MMC. Now I'm expected to believe they're falling madly, deeply in lust? Characters are just too flat and one track minded for me. The blurb seemed really interesting and I love love the cover art.

Four authors go on a writer’s retreat to a remote reputedly haunted castle in the Scottish Highlands in the middle of winter. What could possibly go wrong?
The majority of this small group of authors is indigenous and I would have liked to have had more information about that aspect of their lives. The book touches on their limited opportunities and how they sometimes have to make compromises in order to advance their careers, but the majority of the story is about the haunted castle and the growing attraction between Penelope and Neil. Penelope is reluctant to get involved with Neil, but if you ask me, you’ve found yourself a winner if he’s willing to take on a ghost on your behalf. A super creepy setting, plenty of heat between the two main characters, a story of ill-fated lovers, and an enemies to lovers story that drives the whole plot adds up to a very entertaining read. If you like ghost stories and sizzling romance then this one’s for you. 4 stars

I just didn’t vibe with this book - I was hopeful for a great spooky season book with romance, but it just didn’t deliver for me.

DNF. I’m sorry, but I cannot root for a heroine who physically assaulted her love interest right out of the gate.

She was also immediately insufferable outside of this incident.

But yeah, I get enemies to lovers, but I can’t reconcile her throwing a book and making him bleed with an eventual romance in a contemporary setting (I mention setting because it’s not like a fantasy world where they started out on opposite sides of a war, faction, etc.)

I loved this book. I thought that the characters were really distinct and dimensional, and I liked how spooky it was. I will say that I was expecting the ghost to have a big unfinished business to set them free, but the reason they hadn't moved on yet was a bit heartwarming. I do think that Pen was a little bit hard on Neil, and I wish she would have dug a little deeper before writing him off, but I do think that the feelings that she had towards him were quite complicated and necessitated the plotline. I thought the chemistry between Pen and Neil was fiery and I enjoyed their scenes together. Overall, I think that this was a fun, steamy, and creepy read and I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it.

4.25 rounding to 5.

thanks to a wonderful cover design and an intriguing premise, my hopes for if I stopped haunting you were high. sadly, this book didn't live up to any of them.

the most glaring issue was penelope's character. starting as early as the prologue, she exhibited quite a bit of rage and aggression that came with little remorse for her repetitive wrong behavior. because she was a difficult person to like or root for, those feelings transferred to her dynamic with neil, her love interest. in a matter of days, the pair went from pretty extreme dislike to much more, a timeline I couldn't believe given how they were first introduced.

overall, I wanted neil to have more of a backbone, more conviction. for instance, amid the final conflict, neil experienced a moment of peril, resulting in a moment of worship for pen rather than concern for his well-being. additionally, the castle setting and paranormal elements were pretty lackluster. given the genre tag of "horror" the book is being marketed with, I expected that subplot to travel in a different direction.

thanks to colby wilkens and st. martin's press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this! I don’t know what I was expecting but it was not this. I am a scaredy cat but this book gave off a very creepy vibe and just a fun read for fall!

First off, I loved Pen and Neil! All the characters are great. The events in the beginning hooked me and had me laughing. The supernatural aspect surprised and delighted. It was a great mystery added in. The romance is sexy and fun to see develop.

A rom com mixed up with a horror novel with social commentary along the way. Penelope and Neil are both indigenous authors and she believes he's sold out. No she should not have thrown a book at him but as it turns out, that got his attention in more ways than one. Now they're both at a writing retreat in a haunted Scottish castle. There's a lot going on here and to be honest, the horror section is the weakest. There was plenty to plumb with the enemies to lovers, forced proximity thing let alone with the struggles faced by writers of color. That said. it's an entertaining read. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I'd like to see more from Wilkens.

2.5 stars - going to mark this as read on Goodreads and not give a star because I want this author to succeed even if I didn't like this.

I really want to love this book. It certainly started with a bang which hooked me in, but then I got stuck at 19% and now picking it up I’m afraid I need to DNF at 43%.

This book had such a fab premise - an Indigenous paranormal romance in a Scottish castle? I mean, sign me up because I haven’t read any Indigenous romances before and I am HERE for it.

My problems are mostly that it is so slow and I just don’t get the romance which goes from Penny committing lateral violence to Neil (literally) over her anger that he’s sold out for a white market. To being stuck with each other on a road trip and suddenly they start thinking lustful thoughts about each other. It just went from nothing to something too quickly without developing any real opportunities for Penny (especially) to see Neil’s point of view.

Plus, the ghost stuff is SLOW that I just can’t continue, and, to be honest, I don’t care about it.

What I do appreciate is the author discussing the racism Indigenous authors face by the publishing world, and the two options they have – either stick to their guns like Penny did, or ‘sell out’ like Neil did so he could get published and build a profile. These are real issues and I liked it was addressed. However, at times Penny’s dialogue just comes off as one big social media rant.

But since I have throw in the towel at 43% I can’t judge if she gets better. So take my comments with a tiny grain of salt. Maybe that alone is a reason for someone to read the full book.

I would be interested to pick up this author’s work in the future though. Maybe another one will resonate more for me. We should support Indigenous authors, including this one. I truly do hope it sells well so she can continue to write. I’m sorry that I’ll need to pass this time around.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you for the arc!

Unfortunately I did not like this.
The premise sounded so good when I read it, but then already the start was such a red flag with our fmc. The dialogue felt very robotic and unnatural and the transitions were questionable. I really couldn’t grasp the lack of critical thinking from our FMC.

A pair of horror authors are bitter enemies since the competition to have the best book in the market. When both end up at a small writers retreat in a haunted castle in Scotland, it seems any ghosts will be the least of their worries. But as it goes with close proximity and shared misery…the two find they’re not so different and start to get closer on a new level…only to find themselves in the middle of an actual horror story full of spirits and secrets.
This had all the makings for a fun spooky romcom but the spice was a bit too much and sudden, the plot didn’t make sense most of the time, and the spooky parts of the book came way too late. Didn’t quite click with me unfortunately.
Thank you to St Martin’s Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I like books based at a writers retreat, so I was excited to see this enemies to lovers take on it! Unfortunately, I didn’t especially like how this started. The FMC threw a book at the MMC because she was jealous of him? Very strange behavior. Once the book got going, it was a pretty easy read. But Penelope does not get better. And the relationship between the two main characters wasn’t that great.

If I Stopped Haunting You is an interesting mash up of genres... Rom-Horror-Com? It's sort of weird, but somehow it works. I'm a sucker for spooky castles full of hidden passageways and things that go bump in the night, and this book certainly delivered that. It also delivered quite the spice. I'm not so sure I'd have those urges amidst a ghostly encounter, but these characters sure did which made it all the funnier. If you like your horror to be campy and your characters to be, well, hot and bothered, then definitely check this one out.

Enemies to Lovers
Paranormal
LGBTQ+
BIPOC rep

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

I flew through this book, the mystery aspect really had me intrigued. It was definitely more horror leaning than I expected, or have read in the past. But if you enjoy horror/romance, this may be great for you!

I really really enjoyed having two indigenous main characters, as they talked about their struggles in publishing, and how they struggle in real life. (personal note: my husband and child can trace back to the Dawes roll, and I’m familiar with that whole process)

There were some minor plot holes I still have questions about, but I did enjoy the romance aspect of this book.

I was lucky enough to get an E ARC of this book from netgalley! It’s a fun story about two authors who hate each other and get stuck together on a writing retreat at a haunted castle. I actually like how aggressive pen is. She feels and shows her emotions well (just keep her away from throwable objects). And Neil is endearing! I ultimately found this a cute story!

The premise of author enemies to lovers sounded so fun but it fell flat for me. I immediately didn't like the FMC and it never got better. I tried, I really did but I had to DNF. I really don't like doing that with arcs but I wasn't enjoying the story.