If I Stopped Haunting You
By Colby Wilkens
3.5 ⭐️

I’m solidly in my cozy horror phase.

Penelope and Neil are author nemeses who have out a very public verbal battle that ends with P crossing a line that gets her “canceled”. A mutual friend brings them reluctantly together for a writing retreat at a haunted castle to get ever. When the ghosts seem to have favorite group members to haunt, teamwork is required to put pieces of a mystery together to leave safely. Maybe a story can come if it in the process. 🤔

P is a somewhat polarizing character. I think she’s a take her or leave her kind of girl. I like her bluntness and appreciate her POV. I don’t think she handles stress well and is willing to admit/apologize when she crosses lines. N is the demure to P’s innate bravado. He’s reserved, self-conscious, and has a classic imposter syndrome mindset. Their will they, won’t they was entertaining. They have some banter, but it’s done differently than I’m used to. The horror components of this story are semi-mild in the suspense department which is why I’d consider it cozy.

Some negatives I had with this story: Some parts are repetitive. The conclusion of the mystery was resolved quickly and was a bit meh when all said and done. I think this book does much better in audiobook format vs an eyeball read; the reader’s ability to put tone to P specifically can skew the reader harshly out of her favor.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this read. In my social book group, it wasn’t getting much positive buzz which made me nervous - for no reason. I had a good time with this book. I’d recommend the audiobook over eyeball reading this one hands down. The narrators are great to follow, and they bring a lot to the main characters that a reader could miss out on when eyeball reading.

Thank you to NetGalley, Colby Wilkens, DreamScape Media, and St. Martin’s Press for ARCs of this book.

I am always looking to read books showing different representations other than my own. I felt the rage when she was upset about how he represented his characters to be more appeasing to Caucasian readers/powers that be in publishing. I did think she took it too far and basically let a tantrum destroy her career. I mean this kind of stuff does happen in real life, so I can’t fault her too much for her Britney moment. I appreciated the spooky aspects of this book as well. Although repetitive at times, it didn’t take me out of the plot too much.

I DNF I got to page 20 and stopped. Was not able to grab my attention. Maybe it could be for others but this just wasn’t my thing.

This story was very difficult to get into. I found the prologue to be really engaging and interesting, with the potential for the clients to have a lot of depth, but as the story progressed, I found the two main characters to be pretty difficult to root for. I think the FMC was pretty immature for a 29 year old, and the ways she was interacting with her friends was not working for me. There was a time early in the story where the characters are supposed to hate each other, but the MMC touched the FMC's inner thigh and it was a recurrent thought for both of them for far too long. The romance was pretty strange and I was having a difficult time figuring out if the characters were starting to like each other, or if that were still acting as "enemies". I also felt as though they just didn't belong together. The setting being in a haunted house gave a different take on a romance novel. Some of the setup, felt as though it was taking too long to be get to the plot of the story and I was having a hard time visualizing them as authors.

I really wanted to like this one! My two great loves in fiction are romance and horror, so a romance about horror authors should’ve been a 5 star for me. However, the humor was cringy, the pacing was weird, and the ghost plot had no umph.

I don’t feel like I know anything about the characters other than the fact that they’re indigenous writers and don’t like each other. Their arguments in the beginning of the book were repetitive and boring. I had no reason to root for them as a couple, and the chemistry was absolutely non existent.

I feel like this is an example of a writer insulting romance readers by just throwing a couple of tropes on a page and collecting a check. Very disappointed!

The premise for this sounded so good but man oh man did this fall short. The FMC was physically and emotionally abusive- with very little redeeming qualities. Maybe if there had been some growth? Some character development? Remorse? But there was nothing. This was such a toxic physical relationship.

listen... i really wanted to like this 😭 the prologue actually had me hooked in the beginning, as well as the set up of the scotland backdrop and the conflict between penelope and neil being about representation of native american authors/stories in the literature world. from the way the two characters interacted in the beginning, i thought there was going to be a reveal that they were exes or something in that similar vein. but them just being vaguely acquainted from running in the same group to becoming rivals in the prologue felt a little... dramatic?

but you know what, i could get past that!

unfortunately, the book lost me somewhere in the middle, where this "horror romance" was basically just. romance lmao set in a spooky castle. the romance itself felt pretty rushed, and rather than make it a bit of a slow burn, the author used the last third of the book to remember it's a ghost story and bring in the haunted house plot. without spoiling much, i just found the horror of it all pretty lackluster, and i didn't entirely understand the resolution.

disappointed to give it two stars because i was really looking forward to it, but maybe it's a sign i should stay away from debut romance arcs for a while 🤪 thank you to netgalley & the publisher for the copy though!

If I Stopped Haunting You" is an enemies-to-lovers story about two writers who, after a public falling out, find themselves attending the same writing retreat in Scotland. While the premise intrigued me, the execution fell short. The plot felt disjointed, and the pacing seemed off, with the characters moving from hatred to instant love too quickly for my taste. The haunted castle element had potential, and the buildup to discovering the ghosts was well done, but the resolution and explanation for the hauntings left much to be desired. I did appreciate the representation of Indigenous people and the author's insights into the challenges faced by minority authors in the publishing industry. Overall, the story had interesting components but felt rushed and underdeveloped. I thought this story was going to be more fun and more spooky, but it felt like something more serious disguised as a fun romcom.

Personally not for me, I DNFed at 19%. I think a lot of people will really love this, and I generally love a spooky/paranormal romance, but something about the writing and tone just steered me away.

This book wasn't for me and I had to dnf. Pen was completely unlikable and there was just no coming back from her actions in the prologue. I never would have gotten this book if the Author's Note/warning had been upfront and in the description.

Wilkens marries steamy romance and haunting scares for a fun gender bending romp in If I Stopped Haunting You. Neil Storm, dubbed the “Prince of Horror,” is a renowned Native author whose literary achievements are clouded by his use of stereotypes. Penelope Skinner is the disgraced one hit wonder who lost her career after calling Neil out at an event. (And throwing a book at his head.) They find themselves trapped in a haunted Scottish castle during a doomed writing retreat. Together, they’ll have to face the past that’s haunting them—and their feelings for each other.

If I Stopped Haunting You by Colby Wilkens takes place in a haunted Scottish castle that a group of authors have rented for a writing retreat. The main focus is the relationship between Indigenous authors Neil Storm and Penelope Skinner. The book starts by making it clear that they are not friends and now they are forced together in this castle.

There were several elements I liked about this book. I liked the discussions of being an Indigenous author in publishing and the struggles that comes with that. I liked Neil and Penelope as characters and found them to be complex and interesting. The suspenseful moments were well written.

However, despite liking a lot of this book there were some things that I struggled with.
The side characters in the story felt like after thoughts. For as much I enjoyed Neil and Penolope, I disliked the other authors at the retreat because I didn’t have the details to understand their actions.
The pacing of the book felt off. It took awhile to get to the castle and that is where the action really took off. Also, the jumps between horror and romance were very sudden and that made the romance feel less believable.

Overall, it was fun to read a book that was a combination of genres. This book had a decent amount of spice and the mystery elements kept me interested until the end. If you enjoy enemies to lovers and ghost stories this is a good book to read.

Thank you Net Galley, St. Martin’s Press, and Colby Wilkens for the ARC.

I really liked the premise of this book, and the atmosphere set by the castle. Unfortunately, the dynamics between the characters was much less enjoyable and the haunting and mystery was really underdeveloped. The steam was solid which made it into an okay read overall. But, the writing stumbled and was a bit repetitive to be enjoyable though. Would probably still recommend to some people though and would consider picking up another book from this author.

Overall this was a fun concept for a spooky October book. However, Pen got on my nerves and she just seemed a bit childish and lacked any kind of filter. The story felt a bit repetitive and dragged out. I did enjoy the paranormal element though (points for creativity with certain bodily functions that ghosts are able to perform..,). Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A charming cross-genre romance paranormal cozy mystery about a young female Native American horror writer who has writer’s block. Her best friend who is also an author talks her into going on a writer’s retreat to a haunted castle in Scotland. Only once she arrives she finds out that her nemesis, the other male Native American horror writer is also at the retreat. And the castle ghosts? Real!

This was my first book by this author and I really wanted to love it because it was supposed to be a spooky enemies to lovers. The book felt more like the life of Penelope Skinner and how she was forever the victim. She doesn’t seem to ever take into account her actions. She throws a literal shoe at fellow writer Neil and reading through, I don’t even remember reading an apology from her to him. She plays her victim card so well that Neil actually apologizes to HER numerous times. This was just so weird to me. I wanted to enjoy this book more but Penelope and her narcissistic traits triggered my soul. The plot was there just the FMC was not great.
I do want to point out that I enjoyed how human the author made the MMC. He was built like a model and rock hard abs like most of the books I’ve read with perfect bodies. Neil seemed like a real person, which was nice

"If I Stopped Haunting You" is an enemies-to-lovers story where two writers who had a public fight end up attending the same writers retreat in Scotland. This story was a near miss for me; I found the plot choppy, and the pacing odd. The main characters went from loathe to insta-love too quickly for me. The castle is haunted, and while the lead up to the discovery of the ghosts was good, the resolution of the mystery and explanation for why they were haunting was lacking. I appreciated the Native American representation, and the author's explanation for the difficulties of publishing as a minority author. So to summarize the story has some interesting elements, but overall felt a bit rushed and underdeveloped.

I enjoyed this story. I liked the haunted castle and I enjoyed seeing the development of the characters. Great read for spooky season.

If I stopped haunting you was compelling once I got into the story, but it was creepier than I expected from a Rom-Com. Additionally, the love story was fairly standard rivals-to-lovers slow burn. The two love interests are adversary writers competing for the Native American author spot. They end up on a writing retreat together in a haunted Scottish mansion.

I tried so hard but could not get into this book, I kept pushing through but finally just had to DNF it. The story dragged and I just could not connect with the characters.