I had trouble getting into this one. The concept was so enticing, but the execution was right for me. The had trouble getting into the first half. I personally am not a fan of the alternating POVs that has become so popular in recent years in romance novels. The pace just felt so slow I think a lot of that was from having to run through scenarios twice so we could get both perspectives. I think is one would have been better off from one POV instead.

Thank you to the publisher and net galley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

wanted to love this, but it just fell flat for me 😭 I found the FMC very annoying and while I liked the MMC., I just wanted more from them! I did enjoy the haunted castle element, but overall, I am just "meh" on this one.

The premise of this was cool but I don’t think I expected it to be so creepy. That’s typically not a genre that I’m drawn to or choose to read, so keep that in mind with my review. I love a good enemies to lovers trope and I felt like this one had a mature evolution into a relationship - forced proximity with a side of terrifying ghosts is a good way to talk about your feelings and examine prejudice ha

The actual ghost storyline wasn’t my fav which also brought down my rating a bit. I wanted more of a reason that Georgina had haunted the castle in such an aggressive way and I felt that reasoning could have been a bit stronger.

Thank you for the opportunity to read!

2 stars.

I did not like "If I Stopped Haunting You" by Colby Wilkens. I tried to get over the fact that Pen, the main female character, starts the book by physically assaulting Neil, the main male character, by throwing a book at him in a public setting (a book panel at a convention). Four months pass, and Pen and Neil find themselves in each other's orbits again when they stay in a haunted castle in Scotland for a writer's retreat. Repeatedly, for the next 300+ pages, Pen attempts to justify her actions by gaslighting Neil. She makes *herself* the victim of the situation and blames everyone else for her issues. This did not sit well with me at all. I love books with complicated female main characters. In fact, I frequently and actively seek them out, but there is a fine line between complicated and straight-up toxic. Pen is just toxic, full stop. *Maybe* she could have been redeemable without the assault (which scarred him, by the way!), but the fact that she does not grow at all during the entire novel leads me to believe that's not the case. She's still the same sanctimonious, self-important, angry person she was in the beginning. By the end of the story, the only difference is that Pen has convinced Neil that he wants to be with the person who assaulted him. Representing what it is like to be BIPOC in the publishing industry is important, admirable, and necessary. Indigenous romance stories are few and far between, which is a disgrace. I also appreciate the bi-representation here. We need more diverse books in the romance genre! This is, by far, the best part of the book. Unfortunately, the rest of it is a mess. The haunting aspects were also not all that spooky. It was just a letdown all around. I usually love enemies-to-lovers and forced proximity stories, but this was not my cup of tea. I do not recommend this one.

Thank you to NetGalley, Colby Wilkens, St. Martin's Press, and St. Martin's Griffin for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

I love a spooky book for the fall, and while this read delivered the spooky vibes, it fell short on the romance!

Enemies to lovers snowed in at a haunted house in Scotland? I should have devoured this, but the romance was not giving what needed to be given.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am always looking for works that are laden with native american representation, unfortunately this one fell slightly flat for me. I did not understand the chemistry between the two love interests and I found I enjoyed the ghost mystery aspect of the book much better than the romance that this is marketed out to be. I felt that the banter between friends was very strong but the leap from "enemies to lovers" seemed very abrupt to me. I definitely feel that some of the language used within the novel is a personal interpretation of the present publishing world and the way it weaves into diversity, but it has some damning implications that makes it hard to justify the position when sometimes the work put forward just isn't up to par.

I DNF this book at around 35%. I think the concept had so much potential! Spooky vibes in a Scottish castle with 2 rival authors. However, the two characters being “enemies” resulted in them just being mean to each other while lusting after the other. The writing felt a bit repetitive at times and the characters felt a little flat.

This might be the book for you with the romance, rivalry, potential ghosts and haunting, castle, and more. Sadly, it just wasn’t for me.

4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
If I Stopped Haunting You
Author: Colby Wilkens
Spooky Romcom

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martins Press for this ARC! Perfect read for the month of October. If you want a cute, spooky romcom to kick off Halloween month go preorder this now! Two feuding authors end up on a writing retreat in a haunted castle. They have a really bad history and pretty much loathe each other. Somehow they end up being forced together at every turn in this haunted castle. Both have also been suffering writers block since their on live television argument. It was silly and definitely a fluffy read but exactly what I was looking for right now! Loved the cute scary stuff. 👻. Enemies to lovers meets grumpy sunshine meets Halloween. Add to cart. ✅

Between the description and hype from author authors, I really wanted to like this one
Unfortunately, it set off badly from the prologue.

The FMC assaults the MMC, a fellow author at a conference, by throwing a book - at his face! - with enough force to draw blood

Reading on further we find out that not only doesn’t she show any remorse for the action, or any gratitude he didn’t file charges, she’s still somehow framing herself as the victim in it all.

If it was an argument, making a scene, I could have gotten on board. Throw the book on the ground, he’ll swipe his books off the table. Unprofessional still? Sure. But it is enemies to lovers, so obviously they weren’t going to start off getting along.
And the disagreement has merit.
But I’m not getting past her thinking people should support her physically attacking him. And the thought of that being the origins of a future relationship does NOT sit right with me.
(I also suspect if the places of the fmc and mmc were reversed, this would cause a lot more outrage, but that’s a whole other topic)

Thank you NetGalley and st Martins press for the arc, but I’m afraid this one isn’t going to work for me.
DNF @ 16%

3.5/5 ⭐️s

Penelope Skinner, an indigenous horror author, is absolutely miffed that her peer, Neil Storm, has been intentionally writing novels to be palatable to a white audience. She has become a vocal critic of this disservice to her community...so vocal that at a book convention Pen ends up hurling an annotated copy of her novel at his face thus becoming a social pariah. Newly scarred Neil Storm has been mulling over Penelope's words for months. He has a severe case of writer's block and a bit of an identity crisis that he cannot seem to shake. A mutual friend invites them both on an intimate writer's retreat in a haunted castle in the Scottish Highlands without informing the other of their rival's presence. It takes less than twenty-four hours before they realize that there may be more than a rivalry simmering under the surface.

After reading the premise of this book, I immediately requested an ARC. The story itself did not disappoint. As an avid kissing book reader and spooky gal, I thought this book had a great balance between romance and the paranormal. It never felt like too much time was being devoted to one part of the plot, so it was a very satisfying read.

I will preface this next part by saying that I am a white woman so I absolutely cannot and do not claim to understand the indigenous experience at all.

My main issues were with Penelope who I think could have benefited from a little more introspection and definitely a therapist. She really used our boy Neil as a whipping board for her insecurities to the point where he was questioning every single part of his identity as both an indigenous person and as a writer. She railed at him for perpetuating harmful stereotypes while simultaneously tearing down a fellow indigenous author without considering the difficulties he may have also experienced getting a book published. Throughout the story Neil really takes everything she says into consideration and thinks about ways he can try to become a better champion for indigenous voices. Meanwhile Penelope is sort of just like "oh huh maybe I treated you poorly because I had a less successful career and a boatload of insecurities?" near the end. I would have liked to see just a little bit more of her internal realization that the conflict she exacerbated could have probably been resolved via a good 'ol author coffee date and therapy session.

Overall I did enjoy this book! I cannot emphasize that enough. The story was great and it was a pretty quick read. It's abundantly clear that Colby Wilkens is a talented writer, and I will absolutely be checking out whatever she writes next!

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this eARC via NetGalley! All opinions are my own.

I think I have to DNF. I won't rate it because i don't think that's fair 12% in. The premise of this was interesting, and there's something to be said portraying to make a point about writing from the perspective of a Native. But so much of this is heavy handed. The confrontation at the castle doesn't feel earned because we barely know them or their relationship. I'm still annoyed at Laszlo for forcing them together because it was entirely self-serving and manipulative. They could have spun it as a PR thing for them both if they really needed the retreat to write.

Hopefully someone enjoys this more than I did! Just not for me, I'm afraid.

[NetGalley was kind enough to provide me with an ARC for this title.]

These are my notes on this book:
There is a dude named Laszlo.
They decided to be nice to each other way too soon and wayyy too easily.
Ghosts?
The word gurgle is just the best word ever.
Who questions renting a haunted Scottish castle? It's literally the greatest idea ever!!!!
This is the greatest book ever!!!!!
Ahh yeah, they did stuff. They're totally in love. They better hold hands. If they don't hold hands I will die.
Yeah they're soooooo gonna be in love forever.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Spooky, ghosts, love. The perfect romance.
Final conclusion: I bought copies for my bestie and sister. This book is like soup when you're sick.

This cover tho!

I thought it was a cute lil romcom with a horror aspect. Authors
Penelope and Neil have been “enemies” since a bookcon where Penelope gets in a fight with Neil about his book and ends up throwing a book at his head. Neither of them have been able to write anything since. Their friend Lazlo sets up a writing retreat in a haunted castle in Scotland. Will they make it out alive?

It was decent. I really liked the discourse on BIPOC authors in the publishing industry. Overall the romance and horror aspects were largely forgettable but it was a fun little palette cleanser.

Thanks to netgalley and st martins press for an alc and eARC.

I really wanted to like Colby Wilkens upcoming enemies to lovers contemporary romance If I Stopped Haunting You as it seemed like a great set up perfect for supernatural season. Unfortunately, it feel short of the mark for me. I had a hard time believing the two main characters, both of whom remained fairly unlikable throughout the book, would be involved in any way. Ultimately, I chose not to finish it. Hoping other books by this author will be more by speed.

Thanks to Netgalley and St Martins for the e-ARC; all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Read If I Stopped Haunting You if you like:
🪶 Indigenous Stories
📚 Authors
😡 Enemies to Lovers
👻 Ghost Stories
🏚️ Haunted Houses

This book is an enemies to lovers meets forced proximity story with a sprinkle of haunted house vibes mixed in!

Pen and Neil are enemies in the writing scene as Pen has stayed true to her indigenous culture in her writing which hasn’t gotten her far, while Neil has bent to the whim of his publisher and white washed his books to make them more palatable and has become a best seller. So when they are put on a panel together and it heats up when Pen can’t help but share her opinions they both have ramifications from that day and the publicity of their public battle.

Then when their mutual convinces them to go on a writers retreat and they are now stuck in forced proximity in a haunted house, what truly could go wrong?!

Overall, for me the pacing was a bit slow and wanted more spooky vibes with the haunted house and ghosts, but what I think was done best was the discourse around minorities and expectations to white wash for public consumption as this was so well done!

Thanks so much to SMP for my ARC and ALC in exchange for my honest feedback!

What an absolute delight! I really enjoyed the mix of romance and paranormal - and I really want to read a horror book by Wilkens. Maybe for book two???

The relationship between Neil and Penelope was true enemies to lovers and very well executed: even when happening in such a short time frame, it’s always nice to read about character development when they grow independently and also together. Realizing that they didn’t have to be competitors, that they were both working towards the same goal but in different ways, set them both on a path of change.

And also a good ole haunted castle in Scotland. If ghosts don’t force change, I don’t know what will.

Thank you to NetGalley, Colby Wilkens, and St. Martin’s Griffin for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Dnf at 10%. I literally couldn’t get into this. It’s written in 3rd person. Which I’m fine with if it’s written well. But this was not. I love spooky paranormal romance but this was just written so badly and so slow I couldn’t.

There were so many aspects of this book that I loved, and it is definitely perfect for “spooky season”.
To begin with, the romance between Neil and Pen is amazing and I loved the rivals to lovers dynamic they had! Their story was so cute and felt more real as they worked through their problems and what had caused them to hate each other so much.
The next aspect of the story I loved was the paranormal mystery. The setting of a haunted castle was amazing and so descriptive I felt like I was there with the characters. I loved that we followed Pen and Neil as they attempted to find out what was haunting the castle, and why.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to romance readers for the fall time!

Slow in the beginning, spooky throughout and steamy eventually
This was a well-written spooky ghost story with a romance between former enemies. The spooky parts, once they were introduced, were quite thrilling. I really did need to find out what stories led to the haunting of the castle where the writers’ retreat was being held. And, truly some parts were scary. The love story between Penelope and Neil took a while to develop, but was steamy once acknowledged. Honestly, this was a good book but slow in the beginning. I liked the ending, but I am not sure if I want to read another book by this author. The price is pretty steep for a good book. Now, if it were a great book, I would be willing to pay that amount. I volunteered to review an ARC of this book through NetGalley.

Cute and spooky- just in time for the Halloween season. Two enemy horror writers- Neil and Pen- find themselves at a writing retreat together in Scotland. Neither wanting to be near the other but enjoying being submerged in a haunted castle place but also unable to write anything.

Forced proximity
Enemies to lovers