A delightful, haunting romance! Native American Authors Pen and Neil have history, but went their separate ways. Neil went on to bestseller status, Pen to oblivion, but they meet up again by accident at an authors’ gathering in Scotland in a haunted castle. Tension between them is electric, and the moments they give in to their passion are hot! All the will-they-or-won’t-they is wrapped around a ghostly secondary romance, so you get twice the love for your book bucks. I highly recommend you read If I Stopped Haunting You as soon as possible!
I was given an advanced copy through Netgalley and all opinions are my own.

A slow burn enemies to lovers romance between two horror writers set in a haunted castle in Scotland, sign me up! I really liked both MCs and the mixture of romance and horror was great.

I felt a little let down by the conclusion to the ghost story to be honest, I was hoping for something a bit more sinister. The romance developed in literally a day but I suppose they at least had some backstory and the spice was good. Overall this was a cute & spooky story which I would also recommend to anyone looking for Indigenous representation!

Enemies to lovers, forced proximity, haunted castle. Penelope Skinner and Neil Storm have been enemies since they were on a book panel that ended with Penelope throwing her book at Neil. Now they find themselves on the same writing retreat in a haunted castle with each other. How will Penelope and Neil make it out of this weeklong retreat alive without killing each other? How about solving the mystery of the haunted castle and its prior inhabitants? Sure! Neil and Penelope’s relationship goes from infuriation to infatuation.
This book’s story is fun, a slow build to a spicey end, and the ghostly mystery was the cherry on top. The characters are funny and enjoyable. The two friends that attended the retreat with Penelope and Skinner weren’t integral to the story but often provided comic relief. The FMC held a grudge against Neil despite her growing feelings towards him. I admit that I hold a mean grudge and I feel that in her shoes, I would likely have acted in the same manner. The haunted castle and ghost story is right up my alley, and it added some spookiness to the story. I would have liked a little more spookiness and a little more to the ghost story as I felt it was a bit of a letdown when they solved the “mystery” of the haunting reason. I definitely wouldn’t categorize this book as horror but more paranormal. Overall, I liked the romance story and I found myself getting irritated by the FMC at times because she was being a bit of a drama queen, but again, I found similarities between her and myself.
I enjoyed this debut by Colby Wilkens and I look forward to reading others by her. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me the opportunity to read this advanced reader copy and provide my honest review.

I love horror and romance and the combo of both intrigued me. But I have a few issues. Idk how you could be in a haunted castle and not tell everyone you’re with that you’re seeing ghosts?? The friendships in this one were weird. Daniela posting things about them to social media made me cringe. I feel like Penelope needed to seek therapy. The spicy moments between Pen and Neil just read as being a bit awkward. Parts of it seemed to drag for me. The ghost investigation they went in and some of the scarier scenes missed the mark for me

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for an honest review

First let me start by thanking NetGalley and author Colby Wilkens for this digital ARC of
If I Stopped Haunting You

Looking forward to the fall season already because me too! Well get excited because this book is a fun enemies to lovers, horror, mystery coming out October 15 2024!
I had such a fun time reading this novel:
4/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you’re looking for a good spooky romance to curl up and read next to the fire this fall I highly recommend picking up this book! From the romance side of this book you’re definitely getting your fill of enemies to lovers. I mean these two really do not like each other to start especially as two writers that are fighting in the same category for books sales, well besides mutual attraction haha. I will say though these characters give us the tension, bickering and sarcasm that builds this budding romance in the best way possible. But really this book keeps you pulled in with not only romance but a horror that gives you the creepy crawlys while trying to also solve a mystery! Honestly I think what would have made this book better was a little more horror or just more to the mystery. I just felt like it was missing something in the big reveal, but I still really liked it! Overall if you’re a fan of romance and horror this book will be the perfect pickup this fall just in team for spooky season! 🧡🎃💀

I enjoyed reading this story. Enemies to lovers in a haunted house? Sign me up! The story line was pretty easy to follow, but it did jump around a few times. It was also hard sometimes to follow when the couple went from being terrified out of their minds to being romantic and horny. It was confusing, but maybe just me. Anyways, I did enjoy reading this and would look for another Wilkens novel on any shelf.

There was a lot of potential for this book. Rival authors are trapped in a haunted Scottish Castle during a blizzard. There's a romantic spark, and a ghost. There's a funny best friend, even. However, the story fell a little flat to me. I had a hard time picking the book up between reads, and generally I'm an 'up all night reading" kind of girl.

The story itself had a good premise, both the authors are from indigenous culture and one sees the other as a sell-out to White America. Other than that being the impetus for the animosity between the two, there really wasn't a lot about their backgrounds or the indigenous cultures they came from. They are in a Scottish castle that is somewhat in disrepair and is haunted, but only the two authors see the ghosts and the other two people at the castle don't see the ghosts and don't believe in them.

The ending was worth the read, however and I did enjoy the story overall once I could get into it.

DNF @ 40%. I'm DNFing this book for a couple of reasons. The main one was that I thought this book was going to be more of a gothic novel rather than a horror novel. And I'm a wimp. But nope it's definitely closer to horror than gothic romance and it made me uncomfortable. Especially a scene where she's in the shower and she hears someone enter her room but no one is there. It gave me Psycho vibes.

Plus I found Penelope annoying. There's something that irks me when someone is so consumed with jealousy that they lash out repeatedly at the person they're jealous of. Also stop blaming the guy and saying he had it coming when you publicly threw a book at him. Because if a male character did the same thing, it'd definitely not be okay and would be decried as victim blaming. That road goes both ways. I don't know if Penelope grows as a person because I'm DNFing the book.

However I appreciated the commentary on the difficulties Native authors have in getting their stories published. I'd never heard of that issue before and appreciate it being brought up.

A cozy, steamy romance novel with a spooky paranormal twist that also highlights Native authors.

Tropes: enemies to lovers, slow burn, and forced proximity.

Two rival horror authors with a complicated past are tricked into attending a writing retreat in the remote and extremely secluded Scottish castle. Oh and by the way, the castle is mega haunted. Penelope and Neil are two rival Native horror authors with a very complicated history. When their mutual friend tricks them both into a writing retreat at a remote Scottish castle, they get more than they bargained for when a snowstorm traps them in the castle with not just the ghosts of their past, but some real ghosts as well. As they unravel their writer’s block and rethink their feelings for one another, they must also solve the mystery of the castle if they want to make it through the retreat alive.

The characters: I overall enjoyed the characters in this book, it was a small cast but extremely effective in using each character’s unique attributes to further the plot. Neil, the male love interest was so like-able, had clear backstory and motives, and was super hot of course. Unfortunately, where this fell a bit short for me character-wise was with Pen, the female love interest. I did not understand why she disliked Neil until way later in the book, I felt like she was incredibly unfair to him, and I just couldn’t get behind her motivations when it came to the love match. However, I did really like her character in terms of how she approached critique of the publishing industry, how brave she was in confronting the mystery of the castle, and her motivations when it came to writing and publishing a novel.

The world: I spent some time in Scotland studying abroad, so when I heard this book was to take place in Scotland I was hooked! I think the author nailed it with the spooky highlands castle!! I loved exploring all it’s nooks and crannies, I though the setting was described very well and really made me feel like I was there in the castle as well.

The plot: I really was spooked by this novel! It gave me nerves in my belly and had me turning page after page, wanting more. It was super suspenseful and the mystery was mysterious. But the end of the mystery is where it unfortunately did not deliver. I will not spoil, but I found myself left wanting at the resolution of the spookiness.

Overall: I thought this was a solid book and I would definitely recommend it if you like cozy mysteries, a little bit of spice, spooky ghosts, and insightful commentary into being Native in the literary publishing world. It was a nice, light book and while it wasn’t perfect it was enjoyable and entertaining to read and I will be reading other books from this author.

I LOVED THIS. Am I rating too many books with 5 ⭐ right now? Maybe, but If I Stopped Haunting You was the perfect amount of spooky and sexy for me. I'm a scaredy cat so I was worried that I wouldn't be able to sleep if I read too late, so I was actually glad that the sex scenes and resolution made me feel less scared. OH ALSO I totally missed at first that this was a Jenifer Prince cover. So cool!

Penelope and Neil are rivals in the Native + horror author space. Neil sold out, and Penelope is a one hit wonder who threw a book at his face during a book convention. So now they are both struggling with doubt and unable to write, and their mutual friend has tricked them into a writer's retreat at a haunted castle. But the castle turns out to actually be haunted, and only Penelope and Neil are seeing (or smelling) the ghost. So as they talk through their issues and admit to their feelings and then do ~more~, they also feel drawn to the forbidden door in the forbidden west wing of the castle where they are sure they'll find the reason for the creepy ghost lady still haunting the place.

To Penelope, Neil is a popular Native American author who claims to be "taking back" the harmful stereotypes of Native communities, but is actually perpetuating the harm and making it harder for other Native authors like her to get published. He's super popular, but he's writing for the white gaze. Penelope, on the other hand, is trying to write her truth and struggles because she's mixed race, fair-skinned, and doesn't have the documentation to become a member of her tribe. She has a lot going on. So when Penelope calls him out for this publicly (and then gets cancelled), Neil freezes because he knows that he isn't writing what he wants to write. These aren't things that can get solved in an HEA, but I appreciate that Wilkens wrote about this tension. Just as a POC (but not Indigenous or Native), this felt worthy. And I'm glad that Penelope and Neil were able to have complicated feelings about this.

This was a strong debut! I enjoyed the romance and the jump scares, and I laughed when Neil asked, "wait, if we have sex in the haunted castle, won't we be the first to die?" (paraphrase). I had a lot of fun, and I think it's perfect that this book will come out during Halloween season.

To be clear, this is a horror romance. I don't read a lot of pure horror because I start seeing things in the shadows, so I need the lighter elements. This is an Enemies to Lovers, Forced Proximity romance that takes place in a haunted castle and has a ghost mystery.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC. I will definitely be preordering this book.

I enjoyed this book for the most part, some parts were lacking but I loved how the horror and romance genres came together elegantly. This story was entertaining and different in many spots plus there was some nice representation.

From a quick read of the description, this book looked to be a unique take on both the romance and supernatural genre. On top of that, there's great BIPOC/Native representation in the book. I had super high hopes for this book as a avid romance reader and lover of the spooky season, but unfortunately this book fell flat for me. The major issues I had with the book were the pacing, lack of character development, and over all execution. The cover, description, and marketed tropes all appealed to me. I really wanted to like this book but it just did not hit the mark.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me an early digital copy of this book for review.
I really wanted to like this: Indigenous authors who write horror and a real haunted house in Scotland. However, I was disturbed at how outwardly hostile the heroine, Pen, was toward the hero, Neil. I can't believe he just so easily forgave her for clocking him in the head, in public, which actually left a scar. There's lawsuit written all over that! Also: both friends who attended the "retreat" with them were petty and silly, and really served almost no purpose in the story. As for the haunting, there was nothing truly scary, just your standard star-crossed lovers who want to be reunited in the afterlife.

I really enjoyed the concept, but struggled a bit with the pacing of the overall book. I felt a bit disconnected from the characters and didn’t find them particularly likeable or like I knew them well enough to like them. The ghost parts were less interesting than the romance (in this case), so they really slowed down the book when they came up, and I felt like there was already enough going on that it wasn’t completely necessary.

4 stars!

Two rival authors are forced to go on a writers retreat in a haunted castle to beat their writer's block. What could go wrong?

First of all, all the praise for diverse characters and shedding light on Native American struggles in society and the publishing industry. I loved Neil and Pen. The banter and tension were everything! Combined with the forced proximity of this castle retreat, it didn't take long for them to forget about their feud and realize their mutual attraction. My favorite part was just how bad Neil had it for Pen all these years, and how much he supported her and her writing.

Overall this was a great debut novel! Plot development could definitely use some work, and there was a bit of repitition (esecially in teh first 30% or so), but overall I found it hilarious and cute! This was definitely not horror, if though it was able as such. It's a rom com with some comical paranormal bits.

This was pretty good! It felt like Neil and Penelope kept having the same argument sin the beginning, but I think the author adapted well later one, and with some final edits, this will be great! Overall, I really enjoyed this.

Okay, when I saw this synopsis, I immediately wanted to read it. I was really hoping for some 'my roommate is a vampire' vibes, or even 'do your worst'. But this was not it.

A romance set in a Gothic, haunted castle in Scotland? What could be better!? The book follows two competing authors who find themselves snowed-in alongside a pair of restless spirits during a writing retreat.

I found that the obvious rivalry between the two characters was forced and thrown in our face so hard at the beginning I couldn't help but feel like, okay, okay, I get it. Enemies who will become lovers. I felt absolutely nothing for them, together or apart. The romance scenes were incredibly cringy, and even the language used made me wince. The story was also very SLOW.

The supernatural element to the story was fun but it was overshadowed by the worst MC and FMC I have ever read. I really think this could have been something much more, but there was just too much going on. The characters were also too forced and felt like the author was trying to fit them into a standard box, while struggling to make it different.

I DNFd this book as it put me in a slump. Please note I did not post this review anywhere else as it is not a positive one

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my opinion.

This book is different than any other romance I have read. It follows a group of writers that are going on a retreat for inspiration. It almost felt like a Scooby Doo plot. It was an enemies to lovers romance. They really made a quick turnaround. Parts of the book were funny. There was some spice. It was hard to follow in spots.

This was beyond good. Great if I must say. I can’t wait to rave about this to everyone. If you are looking for a good book, pick this up.

Let me be up front and honest with you here: I hate horror. In fact, I actively avoid anything in the scary genre. Did I actually read, “If I Stopped Haunt You”? Yes, yes I did. Well, there were a few moments that I glossed over the words (something akin to me closing my eyes during the scary part of a movie) describing a few of the scarier scences but it still counts as reading the book. Did I enjoy the plot of the story enough to make up for the horror? Mostly (you guys, I really hate horror)! Colby Wilkens does a fantastic job of weaving romance, suspense and horror so that no part of her novel feels lacking in any of those things. The romance didn’t detract from the horror and suspense and vice versa. So here I am, telling you that I, a horror hating, romance fanatic, enjoyed the mix of both! I know, who even am I??

Penelope Skinner hates Neil Storm with a passion. Their fierce rivalry comes to a head at the very beginning of the book at a reader event where she chucks her book at his head while they’re on an author panel in front of everyone! She makes him bleed and runs away. I always appreciate in an enemies to lovers story when we get the hatred right there on the page early because then we have more time to explore the “to lovers” part of the trope. Months later, Penelope and Neil are tricked by their mutual friend to join a writer’s retreat at a “haunted” castle in Scotland (because both of them are so in love/hate with each other that they are suffering from a severe case of writer’s block). The problem is, the quotes need to be taken away from the word, “haunted” because the castle is very much haunted.

Penelope and Neil work together to solve the mystery of the castle’s haunting which is actually pretty scary but for you horror fans out there but meaningful for you romance fans (you’ll understand when you read it). On the way, they find that their hatred is actually love (because obviously they have some sort of strong feeling for each other) and the spicy bits happen-a few times. The sexy scenes are awesome and you can tell that they were really well thought out. I appreciate a thoughtful sex scene and Wilkens does a great job with that!

I really appreciated the representation of Native writers and their struggles in the book industry. The background information on applying to be enrolled in a tribe and getting a tribal identification card and how Penelope didn’t feel Native enough or White enough added a lot of realism to the story.

Will I recommend this book to my bookish peeps? Absolutely, with a warning that there is spice AND ghosts!

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for review consideration via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.