This book was okay. I had really high hopes for this book for spooky season but it fell flat for me. The FMC was so annoying. There is definitely an audience out there for this book, but it isn’t me.

⭐️⭐️From St. Martin’s Press: It's been months since horror author Penelope Skinner threw a book at Neil Storm. But he was so infuriating, with his sparkling green eyes and his bestselling horror novels that claimed to break Native stereotypes. And now she’s a publishing pariah and hasn’t been able to write a word since. So when her friend invites her on a too-good-to-be-true writers retreat in a supposedly haunted Scottish castle, she seizes the opportunity.

Neil wants nothing less than to be trapped in a castle with the frustratingly adorable woman who threw a book at him. She drew blood! Worse still, she unleashed a serious case of self-doubt! Neil is terrified to write another bestselling “book without a soul,” as Pen called it. All Neil wants is to find inspiration, while completely avoiding her.

But as the retreat begins, Pen and Neil are stunned to find themselves trapped in a real-life ghost story. Even more horrifying, they’re stuck together and a truly shocking (extremely hot) almost-kiss has left them rethinking their feelings, and… maybe they shouldn’t have been enemies at all? But if they can’t stop the ghosts pursuing them, they may never have the chance to find out.
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My review: I like a little paranormal and I LOVE romance. This book didn't do a ton for me though. The MC Penelope was really not a great person. I wanted to see her point of view about Neil, but she was so blame and jealousy driven. And there is the small part about her literally throwing things at him and drawing blood. She's not a 5 year old for goodness sakes. It was hard for me to root for her and u destined why Neil was interested in her.
Neil seemed nice enough and was more forgiving but the “slow build up” was too slow and lacked realism for me. Also, who flies across the ocean for a retreat without asking any questions of the friend that planned it?
I appreciate the representation and banter. But overall, 1.5 stars rounded to 2.

⭐️⭐️Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for my review.

3 stars for If I Stopped Haunting You by Colby Wilkens. This particular novel, my first by Colby Wilkens, is marketed as a spooky enemies-to-lovers paranormal novel that takes place during a retreat in a "haunted" Scotland castle. Nemesis authors Penelope (Pen) and Neil find themselves entagled in what's to be a real-life ghost adventure. I was hoping for a fast-paced Ghost Hunters meets Ghost Adventures type experience, but sadly the book fell flat for me. I found it difficult to stay focused on the plot; the characters were just, eh! I have no doubt that there is an audience for this particular story; this one just wasn't a story-line for me. Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was excited for this book as an avid romance reader who enjoys a touch of the paranormal in my stories. Better yet, I was excited by the horror promised in the book as a way to dip my toes into something new.

I want to acknowledge that all reading is subjective and that writers put an incredible amount of effort into their art. Unfortunately, this one was not for me. The writing felt disjointed and didn't flow well. The plot is written in fits and starts, and the inner dialogue between is repetitive. We got much less character development than was needed to really connect with the characters. Penelope is self-righteous in a way that's difficult to like, literally assaulting another author?! Then she feels vicitimized? Neil is probably the most developed and lovable character.

We get very little context for the side characters, just random and somewhat shocking details about their history with the MC's with no further mention which feels bizarre. I also found it odd that there's only the 4 characters in this castle writing retreat and they somehow find this out before even arriving? I think the small pool of characters makes this story even harder to get depth from and hard to execute. And they're all upset that it's haunted even though that was the whole point?

Altogether, this book just didn't meet its potential due to lacking characters and a plot that doesn't flow or make sense. Sorry to say it's a miss for me.

If I stopped Haunting You is a paranormal romance that drawls very exact lines between the paranormal and romance, I think this is perfect for romance readers who normally don't read paranormal or horror books, but may be interested in the genres. It has all the makings of a typical romance novel. You have two writers who hate each other stuck on a writing retreat and as you would expect, the hate quickly turns into spicy angst and tension. What I really enjoyed about this enemies to lovers vibe was it's believability. I feel like in our day and age there is somethin very relatable about having a friendship break up or even romantic break up over social and political issues. I think our female main character spoke up about a harsh truth about the publishing world and their indigenous identity, and it was not well received. No shockers there. However, once our male character is able to actually take this criticism as something valid and constructive and less as a personal attack, you find that they are actually both on the same page about it. Of course a haunted castle is the perfect back drop to work out their issues as they both don't have much time to bicker and fight when being haunted by ghost and whatever is going bump in the night. I think that the romance began to feel a little goofy as more paranormal themes were introduced into the story because it doesn't seem very realistic to be worried about your love life or a make out session when you are being attacked by a haunted house. I always go into romance novels expecting a little bit of silliness or cheesiness so it didn't bother me that much, but I think this story would have worked better if it wasn't enemies to lovers. If this had been about an established couple who were on the rocks, the romantic elements would have felt less bizarre. If I was staying in a haunted house, I of course would be seeking the comfort of my husband or long-term partner, but definitely not my bookshelf enemy who I ruined my career over. Still, If I stopped Haunting you was a solid read and fun spooky time. I think the social commentary was excellent and a great take away for the reader.

I can't resist a book about writers going on a writer's retreat, so I was super excited to crack into this one.

There is so much good stuff in this book. Firstly, I loved the Native American representation. It felt real and modern. And it touched on an issue seldom addressed in literature: what it means to be Native American—specifically, the difficulties of being a Native writer. There is some really good social commentary regarding that. Also, I loved that the characters are all sexually fluid in a way that feels natural and unforced. And the writing felt compelling and well-paced.

Having said that, I do have mixed feelings about this book, to the point where I can't remember the last time I read a book that I felt this conflicted about. Let me start by saying that I'm not usually a fan of the enemies-to-lovers trope, because it tends to promote and normalize toxic behavior. And this book turned out to be a prime example of what I hate about the trope. The female main character, Penelope, is too violent and hateful to be a likable character. She's snarky, antagonistic, and flat-out mean. Yet everyone loves her, including her gorgeous, successful rival, whom she physically disfigured at the beginning of the book. Rewarding such bad behavior is so ugh and cringey.

Despite the problems that niggled at me throughout, there was still so much about this book that I loved.

WOW, the enemies be enemying, the lovers be lovering and it's all tied neatly in a bow with the spooky factor. loved it!

Never has a book had me giggling at the romance and banter while simultaneously scaring the socks off me, but does “If I Stopped Haunting You” do it all! 😱

This book was so enjoyable! It was perfect for that spooky fall feeling but also had some heartwarming characters and some fun spicy scenes 👀.

I didn’t know what to expect of this book to be honest, I’m not much of a horror, thriller, etc kind of girl but the fact that it takes place in my favorite country in the world, Scotland, and that there was a rivals to lovers romance… sign me up!

If you’re a fan of spooky books but also love a good romance, then this book is right up your alley! It had me giggling but also putting the book down at night because I was a bit spooked out.

I loved both our main characters, Neil and Penelope. I found them both a complex but also still easy to understand. As two horror authors who, as their friend Laszlo put it, are fighting for the same shelf space, they really misunderstand each other in the beginning but boy do a few bumps in the night and a snow-in in a haunted Scottish castle change that! I think they both had a lot to learn about each other, but I love the he falls first story!

The friends, Daniela and Laszlo, are such little pot stirrers! I loved it! While Laszlo is clearly serious (to a point) about this writing retreat and his writing exercises I think it’s still clear how important his two friends are to him even though they hate each other. Daniela on the other hand, definitely along for the ride, she’s just existing for the drama between these two and I’m here for it. Loved how much they kept betting on their friends to get together. It felt very real in how these friends would act.

The backstory of the haunting was giving such gothic vibes and felt like I was trying to figure out a regency mystery! It felt like Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen in the sense that the spooky-ness was being poked fun at by the characters but also feeling very real to them. I did actually have to put the book away at night sometimes because the creepy scary stuff really spooked me out! And I gotta say, I loved it!

Overall a super cute, super fun read! Would recommend if you don’t mind the spooky bits!

this book was an absolute flop, you couldn't pay me to care and go out of my way to compliment this book. there was so much potential with a justified raging fmc and i just couldn't like her at all. not to mention the mc's had zero chemistry i swear i've seen dust bunnies with more chemistry.
this was: boring one-dimensional toxic in the worst way a waste of time and space
NO THANK YOU
thank you to netgalley for providing this arc in exchange for this honest review

If I Stopped Haunting You was a really decent debut with a blend of romance and supernatural elements.

It’s dual POVs of the main characters, Penelope and Neil, who are both horror authors that are snowed-in together at an authors retreat.

There are some great tropes like rivals to lovers, snowed-in, he falls first and hard, forced proximity and a slow burn romance.

While I personally cannot speak for the representation throughout this book, I did feel that it was beautiful handled by the author. I really just loved seeing Indigenous representation.

The overall premise was entertaining. There was a bit of mystery, spookiness, and romance. The Scottish Highlands and haunted castle setting was amazing. There were also some amusing, sweet and intriguing moments.

However, the pacing of the story was very slow and the big reveal of the haunting quite underwhelming. The main characters rivalry also felt a bit immature. I wished there had been a bit more character growth/development. There were definitely just aspects that could have been more developed upon.

The romance was cute though. While, their romantic development was a bit rushed they still had some sweet and heartwarming moments. There was also a bit of spice, which was great.

Overall, just a quick and easy read with some spicy romance and spookiness.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I can't give an actual review for this book. When I opened it to begin reading there was a content warning in the beginning for explicit sex scenes and foul language. Not my thing. I will not be reading this book.

Unfortunately I couldn’t stand the FMC, but I cannot begin to understand the rage she felt as an indigenous person. I don’t see how Neil and her had any connection, there was too much anger and immaturity on her part. I loved the premise, the friend banter and the paranormal/ haunted mansion setting.

The cover and description pulled me into this book, but unfortunately this one just didn’t work for me.

I love a raging female, but the beginning scene left me not caring for her at all.

I get that she’s got issues with this author and his writing, but to be so negative because he’s a more popular writer than her felt icky to me.

I actually found myself agreeing with Neil and I don’t understand how he ever fell for her even caught up in a spooky gothic mansion.

I do feel like the author might have been projecting her frustrations with publishing through her main character and I see potential in future novels. There were fun parts in it for sure.

I’ll definitely be watching for another one of her books.

This was a fast read but I admit I have nothing much to say aside from that. I didn’t enjoy the romance because I didn’t see any real connection between the main characters. They hated each other and then started liking each other without any meaningful interactions, and I never felt like they actually knew each other at a deeper level.

The writing was good and the setting was very interesting, though it annoyed me how the Scottish characters spoke. Seriously, there’s no need to write their dialogues with an accent! Mentioning that they’re Scottish is enough!

I do have the ARC of the author’s second novel because it’s F/F and the synopsis really makes me want to read it. I hope I have better luck with that one.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and publisher for the eARC!

On a roll for all the spooky season/fall reads. This is a good choice if you’re looking for something a bit more contemporary romance with some paranormal elements. I didn’t really feel like the “horror” elements could be described as such, but that’s a personal preference. If you’re someone who is just starting out with paranormal romance, this is a good starting point.

I liked paranormal stories and the character was enjoyable. Enemies to lovers stories are a plus to me and I took my time reading this story . I will be reading more from this Author.

In this enemies-to-lovers paranormal romance, two feuding writers end up on a writers’ retreat together at a haunted castle in Scotland. The mix of lustful romance contrasted with solving a ghost mystery shouldn’t work but it does and was so much fun to read! I had a hard time putting this one down because the pacing was brilliant. Another unique angle If I Stopped Haunting You brings to the romance genre is the representation of native writers and their struggles in the publishing industry. Both Neil and Penelope grapple with their native identity and how to be true to themselves while also writing a bestselling book that people want to read. Wilkens does a great job of creating a haunting gothic atmosphere with the castle setting and I honestly found myself feeling a little spooked as I read this book before bed! If I Stopped Haunting You was the perfect Halloween jaunt and I’m eager to read more from this author.

I wanted to like this so, so badly. But unfortunately I had to DNF after Penelope threw a book and hit Neil and left a scar. A scar! That is not what I expected in an enemies to lovers, spooky rom-com and I couldn’t get passed it, unfortunately.

The premise of this sounded so cute and interesting, but it unfortunately fell short for me. The relationship felt incredibly forced and superficial. What was supposed to be enemies to lovers felt more like insta-love. The haunted castle felt cheesy and not at all scary or suspenseful. Overall, it just fell flat.

Adorable premise, but unfortunately the FMC just doesn't resonate with me. She isn't someone I root for, but instead she comes off really toxic. Had a lot of hope for this book, but there wasn't enough redemption in the ending for me.