This was such a unique concept and I really liked it! Who knew I needed horror romance in my life? 😂

This book was a mess. It tried to be too many things at once. It tried to SAY too many things at once without saying anything. I felt like it was maybe originally a YA novel or perhaps a "new adult novel?"? Except the publishers told the author that sex cells so let's make them almost in their 30s and have sex a lot.

I was almost finished with the book, and it felt like I had ordered "Beach Read" from Shein. Even though I didn't like this book, I am willing to give her second book a try? It's basically lesbian Indiana Jones.

I was given an advanced reader copy by Netgalley. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher. I am not being paid for this honest review

Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read this Arc!

This book is both horror and romance. I don’t really like to be scared so like why would I read this book?? I don’t usually read horror so to me it was a bit creepy at certain parts, but it wasn’t super scary overall. I’d say this book is mild horror, so win for a scaredy cat like me! The romance was good, but I did feel like their switch from enemies to lovers was a little fast and their hating each other wasn’t built up enough for me. But Neil?? I loved him 😭🤍
Overall this book was good, I’d recommend it when it comes out ☺️

I really tried with this book, I picked it up and put it down a few times before I was able to finish it.

Paranormal romance, enemies to lovers, fiery chemistry, horror, cozy vibes.

I wanted to love it, I wanted to love the characters but I didn't. The book follows the two main characters at a writers retreat in a haunted Scottish castle, navigating through it. Loved the side characters, I had a hard time getting into the relationship between Penelope and Neil, their relationship fell flat for me.. I wish it was a bit faster paced, a little less repetitive. I will try and reread in the future to see if my opinion changes!

This book had very good detail and a good style of writing. I love the characters and unique names and nicknames. The book is also the perfect size for new readers. Even though the book was super good I personally don't like the genre mix but I know there are people that for sure will. Its just a personal opinion because i love horror and romance but it is just not a good enough mix for me. You did write the horror side of the story very well though. I don't think I've been scared reading a book before but that was changed after reading this. Great book!

Thank you!

DNF at 83 pages, I just couldn’t connect with the main character and I found out that paranormal romances are not my cup of tea! I might pick it up again in the future and I think it’d be a great book for a different reader, much love!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this advanced copy. The book's premise—mixing horror, romance, and humor—sounded like a fun departure from the usual, especially given its high early ratings on Goodreads.

I truly wanted to give this a better review to support the author, especially as she weaves her Native American and queer identity into the story. The queer representation was handled with a light touch through side characters and humor, while the Native American perspective, highlighting challenges faced by BIPOC authors, was integrated into the main romantic plot.

However, I found the book lacking in several areas. While the writing itself wasn't poor, which saved it from a 2-star rating, the romantic and "horror" plots were too predictable and unengaging. The "enemies to lovers" romance lacked real tension, and the sex scenes, despite detailed descriptions, felt empty and uninspired. The ghostly plot was overly exaggerated, lacking subtlety and believability, even within a fantastical context.

Overall: 3/5
Characters: 3.5/5
Plotline: 3/5
Writing: 3.5/5
Tropes: F/M Romance; Rivals to Lovers; Forced Proximity; Paranormal Romance

Themes: 4/5
Romance: 3.5/5
Spice Factor: 1.5
Enjoyment Factor: 3/5

Review: This was fine as a romance, I enjoyed the topics of inclusivity especially when it comes to the Indigenous population and think that this could spark important topics within the publishing world, but with that placed in a paranormal romance it was almost too many things for a short book. The ghost mystery didn't super make sense by the end. The characters were good, and I liked their dimensionality throughout the story. I wish the romance had more time to develop since there were so many plotlines going on it was hard to focus on their romance.

Penelope Skinner and Neil Storm are writing rivals. It hadn't been the same for either of them after Penelope threw a book at Neil at Book Con. So when they both realize they are going to the same writing retreat in haunted castle Scotland, well, neither of them are happy about it. But as the retreat begins, they both find themselves in a real life horror story.

I love, love my romcoms and contemporary romance. I haven't really read anything that is this genre-romance with a dash of horror-so I found it unique. That was what initially got me interested. When I started reading, it definitely gave spooky vibes that I didn't want to read it at night (but maybe that's just because I get easily spooked). On to our main characters, Penelope and Neil weren't shy showing their hatred for each other, but underneath all that hatred, was also a lot of sexual tension and misunderstandings. Once they called a truce, communicated, and had worked together, their indifferences turned to understanding and something more.

> Enemies to lovers
> Forced Proximity
> Spooky vibes
> Steamy sexual tensions

This book seems unfinished.

There was clunky and awkward dialogue throughout.
Character A would ask Character B “what?” multiple times only for Character B to respond with “nothing” way too much.
The mystery/gothic element a the heart of this supposedly spooky story didn’t feel like it hit the mark for me.
I feel like some readers will love this, but I found it didn’t work for me.

I think I got through about 60% before finally DNFing this one. I was really rooting for the couple and I thought the setting of an actually haunted castle was intriguing and really caught my interest. However, I just didn't really care for the pacing -- like there was a lot of lead up of them being rivals (which was definitely compelling) but then they just got together? I was confused and then just fully uninvested.

I really wanted to love this book. I’m a huge romance reader and the premise of this novel sounded amazing. There were things I liked, but overall, I was really disappointed. The pacing, in particular, was really, really weak. Nothing happened for the first half of the book. I’m all for a slow burn, but…. This was more like a tepid bath than a slow burn. Nothing happened with the romance. Nothing happened with the ghosts. There was no tension in the friend group. Nothing.
Also, pen kind of sucks. She’s way too hard on Neil for no actual reason.

This was a decent romance book. Though promoted as a 'horror-romance', this book is more romance than horror. Even at that, the horror elements of this book are poorly done. The characters were decent, the romance alright making it a good one-time read for a romance reader wanting to read something a bit different.

I DNF'd this book! I just could not get into the writing style of the author.
It seems so cringe and cheesy for me and I could not continue or enjoy the book at all.

Thank you so much for allowing me to read the advanced copy of this book. It was a fun combination of steamy romance, thriller, and horror. It had all the needed pieces to be a cozy and compelling favorite. A wildly dramatic set up for an enemies to lovers plot, a cast of unique and quirky characters, a haunted castle in Scotland, and an underlying POV/criticism for how indigenous people’s stories are white washed.

The BUT coming is- the story is very clunky. There is beautiful writing and really thoughtful perceptions shared, but it was almost still in an outline format. Like there was a goal of everything that needed to happen in a given chapter or scene, but the emotional and/or action transitions were sometimes missing. It kept pulling me from the story.

An example that comes to mind is when Pen and Neil track down the “tap-tap” and end up going to Daniela’s room and interrupt her spicy video call. There were sex toys of all over her bed, she reveals her and Penelope’s previous interlude to Neil, and then kicks them out of the room, The scene immediately transitions to Pen thinking about how she’s drawn to the West Wing. The reader is left totally hanging. That was a weird and funny scene to have landed in and whether or not Pen and Neil are even fazed by it is not addressed. It was like the record skipped and I missed part of the story. That happens a lot in this book. I’m holding this review back from other sites until publication to see if anything is smoothed/fleshed out, I’ll definitely raise my rating if so, because all the goods are here,


Another note- Penelope assaulted Neil at the book convention and whether Neil had secret shame about the choices he made or not- it wasn’t cool. Her obstinance to fully recognize how out of line she was and her crappy apology felt super toxic. I did get emotionally invested though- silver lining!

I think this is a good book but just not the book for me. I loved the representation and the premise of this book but unfortunately the execution was not there for me and the plot didn’t hold my interest.

What better setting could there be for a group of horror and paranormal writers than a haunted castle deep in the snowy wilds of Scotland?

The weeklong writer's retreat may have sounded perfect to author Penelope Skinner, but things go wrong from the start. Only a few months earlier, she sparred with her literary arch nemesis Neil Storm at Book Con. The acrimonious panel of Native horror writers ended with Pen throwing a book at Neil's head and etching a black mark next to her name in the publishing world. Pen hasn't written a word since; unfortunately, neither has Neil. The lingering writer's block casts a formidable shadow on both of their burgeoning careers.

While Pen and Neil lock horns and glare daggers at one another, a ghost lures Pen toward a forbidden wing of the castle and haunts the hallways with a rotten stench of decay and ominous glowing eyes. Is the ghost seeking to kill? Hoping to reveal long-kept secrets?

As the mystery deepens, Pen and Neil are the only ones who seem to notice any paranormal activity. Drawn together to figure out what's happening, they are forced to face the truth underneath their feelings. With a new-found understanding, respect, and relationship secured, the only question remaining is, will they survive the week?

IF I STOPPED HAUNTING YOU is spooky, sweet, and steamy. My black heart wished for Pen to be the target of more imminent danger rather than Neil, but that is little more than plotline preference. There is much to like in this debut from Colby Wilkins, and I look forward to reading more from her.

This was such a fun and unique book! I loved the blend of romance and like spooky vibes/horror. It is not going to be a book for everyone as it was a bit weird at times and the plot wasn’t quite what I expected but I really enjoyed it and the characters (bonus they are Native American which is so cool and underrepresented in media). Will be adding to our library.

"I didn't realize I needed a romance book married to cozy horror but now I'm wondering where this particular mashup has been all my life. Can't wait to read the next!" - Jessica Clare, New York Times bestselling author

I couldn't have said it better myself. This book was such a fun read. I was surprised by the combination of romance and horror, and how much I loved it. The horror elements were just enough to entertain and keep you on the edge of your seat without overpowering the other parts of the book.

I do wish we got a little more insight into the other characters in the story, but perhaps that leaves the door open to other books. ;)

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and think it's a perfect spooky season read! I'm so excited to share it with others! My review is live on Goodreads now and I will promote this book this fall on my Instagram.

I really wanted to love this book, but it feel short.
What drew me to the book was the fact that they are two Native Americans, you rarely see that in romance. But the romance felt forced and you didn't feel the connected between the two characters.

The horror aspect was annoying - honestly the ghost was the best character in the whole book. The "horror" couldn't decide if it wanted to be creepy or an annoying part of the story.

Also, you meet the main character physically assaulting the love interest.. and she's abusive the rest of the book and is told as the guise of her being jealous of his success as an author.