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.

Unfortunately this book just wasn’t for me.

To start the conflict that kicks off the book and defines Pen and Storm as enemies felt lacking. While on one hand I could understand Pens feelings towards Storm and how his portrayal of natives in his books made her feel and on the other Pens feelings seemed over the top and more rooted in her jealousy of him and his career than anything else. I felt like there was such a possibility for this to be an informative and constructive conversation between the two but instead Pen saw red and lost it.

Additionally the interactions between Pen and Storm throughout the book also felt hot and cold and not in a way I did not enjoy. One second one of them will be thinking about how attractive the other is and then the next sentence it’s about how awful they are. Overall I wanted there to be more of a build up in tension between the two of them. But I found the tension lacking and couldn’t find myself rooting for either of them.

One of the things that I did enjoy about the book was getting the dual POV from both Pen and Storm. This is one of my favorite writing styles as I like getting to see what both of the characters are thinking.

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

Unfortunately this was not the book for me. I was not into the violence that the FMC displayed toward the MMC. I love a good enemies to lovers, this took enemy a little too far for my tastes.

A cute paranormal romance that had me giggling and kicking my feet in public, like I was a ghost people couldn’t see.

A very fun October read! Overall, I did not finish it because this quickly became a book I don't typically read. I saw a friend review this and loved it and thought I would give it a go, but just not for me. Would be fun for a young adult and perfect suspense for Halloween!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

This book confused me. I want to be clear that if someone is a Gothic horror girlie (gender neutral), this may be way more up their alley than it was for me. But I found the descriptions of the castle and constant discussion of the ghosts really slowed the pace down for me. The romance was spicy but clashed in tone with the horror and I found it difficult to get into one way or another. The big reveal at the end also felt very anticlimactic to me, I don't know that a malevolent terrifying ghost would manifest from the events that happened. It could be someone's vibe during the Halloween spooky season, but I felt a bit disappointed by the ending.

I enthusiastically embraced the idea of breaking writer's block at a haunted Scottish castle alongside rival writers Penelope and Neil. Their gothic horror-filled tale, complete with entertaining banter and simmering tension, kept me glued to the pages. The representation of native writers and their struggles resonated authentically, enhancing the story. Despite some immature elements in Pen and Neil's rivalry, their professional battles hit home. The engaging supporting characters added fun to the narrative. This paranormal romance promises an enjoyable read with its gothic ambiance and fiery chemistry. I highly recommend this captivating romcom.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

I want to take a moment to think Ness was the publishing company for providing me a copy of this book and exchange for my honest review.

This book brought me so much joy and you can never go wrong with an enemies to lovers book! I will definitely pick this book back up around Halloween because of the fun spooky vibes.

I appreciate the opportunity to read and review this debut. I love a spooky, cozy read. I also like an enemies to lovers trope with an unlikeable character element to overcome. That being said, this…wasn’t my favorite. The characters were too unlikeable to overcome, and I felt like I had to force myself to keep going. The plot didn’t move quite fast enough for my taste, either. I’m not saying it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but it wasn’t really mine.