The plot of the book was good overall. I just had a hard time connecting with the main characters. I enjoyed the spooky setting of this story, though!

I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley for review. My opinions are my own.

5/5 stars

This was an extremely fun read. Two Indigenous horror writers are enemies and end up at a writing retreat together.

Surprise! The house is haunted.

They bond over shared experiences (and the haunted house!)… I can’t give anything away but I just have to say that this book is a great read. You won’t be disappointed.

Enemies to lovers. Check.
Author protagonists. Check.
Scary times. Check.
Sexy times. Check.

This was fast paced and lacked any lulls in the story.

this was definitely a different read than what i usually gravitate towards and i did find it interesting, but personally it just wasn’t my thing. i found the fmc to be very annoying and i tried so hard to like her but i just couldn’t. i loved the spooky aspect of it and thought the plot of the book was a great idea, but the characters fell flat for me. i do think the book is worth reading, it’s just not personally my thing! 2.5 stars rounded up to 3!

thank you netgalley for providing me this arc in exchange for an honest review!

This book requires a healthy dose of suspension of disbelief going in, and not because of the ghosts and haunted castle. You will have to suspend your disbelief that after the opening scene of this book, where Pen publicly humiliates, mocks, and assaults Neil for absolutely no fucking reason, that these two people can be together by the end of this book. I know we’re all on a “enemies means they actually hate each other!” kick right now, but her behavior from page one is so wildly batshit for a character who is meant to be based in our actual human world, that the story has absolutely no chance of making up the difference.

Every single time the Incident is brought up, she defends her actions with some variation of “well Neil wrote a book that misrepresents Native characters, he’s taking up a publishing spot that could go to an author who writes an authentic Native experience!” as if that’s a good reason to shit on his work at a public event and /throw a fucking book at his head/. A event at which, I might point out, PEN IS ALSO A PANELIST…like, girl, you literally have a seat at the table that you are accusing him of hoarding!! She constantly phrases her dislike of him and his work as “look what he’s done to ME, he’s ruined MY career,” managing to come off as simultaneously irrationally self-centered and deeply insecure. There’s also a bit of “publishing is easier for a /man/“ which, given that Neil is a visibly Native genre writer, I sincerely doubt is the case. Even if everything she says about him is true, how is any of that a) his fault or b) relevant to your personal relationship with him? It’s utterly baffling and makes engaging with any other part of the story nearly impossible. We never get any clear picture of why Neil’s book is considered “bad rep” and we never get a perspective from any other Native character on his work, not the other panelists, not Daniela, not either of their families, /nothing/.

Later, Pen will wonder how she could have ever hated Neil and all I can say is, girl, same. He has done nothing to Pen, caused no harm to her reputation or her career, never said a bad word to her except in retaliation for her insults to him in the opening scene (in which he is clearly trying to salvage the event). But somehow it’s his fault that she was “cancelled” and has writer’s block. This simply makes no sense and, as a result, the eventual mutual reconciliation between them makes no sense. Neil has nothing to apologize to Pen for, has never been her enemy, and has basically just been misunderstood the whole time through no fault of his own.

Pen being insufferable is taking up too much of this review, but, like I said, the foundation makes it hard to take the rest of the story seriously. This is ostensibly a horror romance, but the romance/reconciliation storyline is already resolved by the first half of the book and the ghost shit barely shows up until the second half. Literally, the first time the characters fully see the ghost isn’t until 57%. There should have been more of an attempt to merge these two plotlines, and maybe make the horror elements…actually feel scary? Pen and Neil react pretty mildly to suddenly confronting real life actual ghosts, because this still needs to be a romance novel and so they can’t actually be terrified for their lives and focused on escaping, there needs to be weirdly placed sex scenes and more feelings talks too. It results in everyone seeming weirdly dismissive of the horrific and dangerous shit that begins happening.

Other things: the logistics of the retreat are strange and make no sense—the fact that this takes place in a Scottish castle (that everyone hates?) seems to have no relevance or connection to anything else in the story, Lazslo and Daniela are non-entities (and not very good friends tbh) that only serve to interrupt Pen and Neil, comment on what they are doing, and then conveniently leave them alone, the backstory of the ghosts is not interesting and also doesn’t really tie into the story, the epilogue is silly.

I know reviews are mixed on this one, but I thought it was a solid read. The setting was lovely and I adored all of the details given. The fact they main two characters were not white made for a good read too. I was a fan all around. There was a touch of miscommunication but I think it was more about being in your feelings and judging too harshly based off that instead of anything the other did on purpose. Interesting read. The ghost aspect wasn't really scary, but it made some scenes intense.

This author’s next book looks GREAT, but I just don’t think this book was well done. It was really slow and I almost gave up multiple times. The “enemies” aspect was childish and repetitive. The side characters added nothing to the book. And the haunting was honestly pretty lame. And the books-within-the-book didn’t sell me that any of these people would be bestselling authors. I just don’t think this book was really ready to be put out with major pacing issues and overall cheesiness and predictability. I’d probably read the next one, though.

It's a cutthroat world for Native authors hoping to be published in a white-dominated field, especially in the horror genre. Penelope has always felt less than the others since she can't prove her "nativeness," no one threatens her more than Neil Storm, America's horror-writing hero. He is everything she hates about the publishing world, a sell-out of their heritage and culture, and she isn't afraid to let him know it. But now, the two are thrown together four months after a public fight at a writer's retreat in a haunted Scottish castle. Neither is happy to see the other, but they both need this retreat; they both need to be able to write again! What they never bargained for was for the place actually to be HAUNTED! Now, they are thrown together, trying to solve a decades-old mystery while fighting their growing attraction to each other. Will the two be able to lay old spirits and resentments to rest and move into a future that involves love?

There were plenty of elements I loved about this book, but there were also a few that I really didn't enjoy.

What I liked: I loved the pacing, it was fast and kept me hooked throughout the whole book. The setting was amazing, it was perfectly eerie, I couldn't have imagined a better location for a haunted castle. The horror wasn't extreme, which for me personally is great! I was able to read this book at night without having to keep the light on.

What I only kind of liked: The romance between Pen and Neil was interesting... There were moments were I loved them and their interacts, and you can really feel the pining for each other. But there were also areas where their relationship in general had the potential for more. I feel like their emotional conversations could have lasted longer or at least not been cut short by ghost shenanigans. The mystery aspect was "meh." It was shallow and predictable. But this wasn't a make or break for me, I went into this book for the romance.

What I hated/thought was completely irrelevant to the story: The fact that Pen through the book at Neil.... I hated that. I also didn't like when Pen threw her shoe and it (accidentally) hit Neil. I feel like there are other ways of showing hatred for someone. Pen also could have apologized a lot sooner.

I appreciated the diversity of the characters and the commentary on being in the publishing industry as a BIPOC author.

I look forward to seeing how this series and the author themselves evolve!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. This book was a fun and different read. Yes, it was repetitive at times and yes, some of the characters could have been left out but, overall, it still made for a unique tale and I enjoyed reading how it all played out.

Maybe I’ll come back to it….
🌟🌟🌟
Honestly, I was really excited about this one. Especially due to the MC and representation. However… I found it hard to root for the MC. Seems like clashing which just kinda made the whole story feel eh.

I’m hoping to come back but I DNF’d at 60%

If I Stopped Haunting You was a very enjoyable/fun and even spooky read. This story has it all; enemies to lovers, forced proximity, comedic side characters, spicy and spooky ghosts.

If I Stopped Haunting You was a very enjoyable/fun and even spooky read. Two indigenous writers are struggling to reclaim their voices in the publishing world and have been pitted against each other as sworn enemies. A haunted house in Scotland is just what these two stubborn characters need to force them to see each other's sides of the story. This story has it all; enemies to lovers, forced proximity, comedic side characters, and spooky ghosts.

A steamy enemies to lovers romance and tragic ghost story? Oh heck yes! This story had me wrapped in its clutches from page 1. Being mixed Native and Irish, I really resonated with the main character, Pen, and her feelings of not being native enough, but not being white enough either. I totally understand her anger at Neil in the beginning. I think this book really tackled the anger of BIPOC women in predominantly male fields and how it feels to be made into a stereotype by one of your own. I also loved the Native Representation. We don't have enough Native main characters in modern romance. Colby Wilkens was able to seamlessly weave a modern day romance with a paranormal thriller. It was spooky and I was on the edge of my seat waiting to find out what was going on in that house. I was also feeling all warm and fuzzy watching Neil and Pen fall for each other. I loved the dichotomy of it. I recommend this book to anyone who loves ghost stories, romance, or just wants to read something different and fresh in an impacted genre.

This book's only crime is being given to me early instead of during spooky season. Spicy, fun, and supernatural this is a must for Halloween romance fans!

Honestly this book was ok. There were some interesting points but I found the main problem to be that it repeated a lot. It caught my attention right away but the constant fighting seemed juvenile at times. I liked Neil more than I liked Penelope.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this book.

Oh wow!!!!! This was a first for me by this author but will not be my last! Such a good story! The characters worked so well together. Such great chemistry. Good love story!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced review copy.

If I Stopped Haunting You follows a group of authors on a writing retreat at a "haunted" castle in Scotland for a week. With enemies to lovers and a gothic feel this book shouted "READ ME I'VE GOT SO MUCH POTENTIAL"

I actually didn't want to even review this book because I hate leaving low reviews but since it is an ARC; here I am, but I will try to keep it short and to constructive.

First, the haunted castle in Scotland -- COME ON-- so easy, so so easy to build this up into the perfect setting, our imaginations are already half way there on this one but sadly… no.
The setup was nonexistent, there was absolutely no environmental vibe/setting/world building (even if the world is just a castle in Scotland) and this entire storyline with the Woman in Black fell so short and was absolutely anti-climactic.

Ok, but there's an enemies to lovers storyline, right?

RIGHT-- but also, just kidding because the enemies last for all of three seconds where Penelope physically assaults Neil until the point of blood being drawn (she threw something) IN PUBLIC and then spends 85% of the book blaming HIM that her career was ruined and no one would take her seriously after that.
But there's tension right, two rival authors snowed in with no escape…?
That falls flat before we even get to the castle, literally on the way to the castle and without giving too much away an obsession on both sides forms instantly-- most instant love I've ever witnessed, and coming from "enemies"?! Ugh.

My synopsis of went wrong:

The story is completely shattered by the head hopping internal narrative of Penelope and Neil. Their constant replaying of "The Almost Kiss ™" , the thinking of sex, having sexual dreams, Penelope's obsession with hating Neil, and Neil's self-deprecating is so over done that it interrupts every possible build up of the "haunted" storyline. It is so obtrusive you can not appreciate it nor anything else.

If/when this book gets an audiobook, I would definitely like to listen to at least the first half of it to understand the tone better. It could be a me-issue, but I had a difficult time tracking the tone of novel for up to 50% of the book. Once I was past the halfway mark, I was definitely able to understand it better and the book flowed really well. I was invested in the ghosts' stories, perhaps even more than the main romance.

My main criticism, except for the tone (which could be a me-thing), is that in the beginning, the retreat is treated as a life/death situation for Neil and Pen... A voluntary writing retreat to a Scottish Castle with a few other writers doesn't seem like it should be that serious? I understand that we need to believe that they feel like they have to be there, but it was difficult go along with it. (And I'm usually all about suspending my disbelief in romances)

I love the cover of this book and the blurb was so intriguing! Writer's block, haunted castle in Scotland, enemies to lovers... I really wish I liked it more than I did. The FMC started out as unlikeable and I thought there would be growth in the story but I felt she stayed the same the whole time.

There was some smut, which felt disjointed and kind of came at odd times in the story.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy of this book.