Thank you to Colby Wilkens and NetGalley for giving me a copy of this e-book in exchange for an honest review.
A main character that throws a book at a man's head? Sign me up! If you like romance, with a little bit of ghosts mixed in, then this might be the book for you. Insert two authors, trying to gain inspiration for their writing careers, a haunted castle, a mystery, and you get a steamy story written by Colby Wilkens. While I love the main characters, I did feel that their chemistry was just a bit "off" and therefore the plot seemed to go at a clunky pace. While I love the premise of this book, I mean spooky and steamy is such an undiscovered trope, I feel that it was rushed a bit in this story.

When looking for a good romance, I do often find myself looking for one that combines the obvious lovey-dovey feelings with something more than just a simple miscommunication trope (which works sometimes but can be overdone). "If I Stopped Haunting You" though went so beyond what I had hoped. The author perfectly mixed rom-com and paranormal thriller in a way that I haven't seen done so well in ages. And beyond that, she did so without compromising a dose of harsh reality that many of us need to be more aware of - the struggles that BIPOC and Indigenous writers experience. As a white woman myself, these are things I am not often forced to think of in my day-to-day life, so reading the experience of two Indigenous authors WRITTEN by another Indigenous author was a very eye-opening experience.

I loved reading about Neil and Pen's romance as well as the obstacles they faced both just as authors and as Indigenous authors specifically. I felt like I was peeking into the lives of real people...almost. Because most real people don't experience what our couple and their friends do in haunted castles in Scotland. As a history buff myself, I loved that the history of the castle was so prevalent in our story. And I especially love that this book's author chose to give us more than cold breezes and randomly falling items as we experienced the haunting there This story truly brought creepy, almost scary vibes to me as a reader, and I ate it up.

As a whole, I loved this book for the thrilling experience it delivered as well as the perspectives it explored. The ONLY (and I mean ONLY) thing I was mildly disappointed with is that there were a few loose ends I would've liked to see tied up. Now whether that was intentional in that many real-life mysteries are never tied up with a perfect bow, or if it may be revisited another time, or if it was somewhat of an oversite in the writing, I will never know. Regardless, I'm so glad I picked up this book, and Colby Wilkens is now firmly on my radar for future publications!

Thank you to Erica Martirano at St. Martins for providing me with the ARC for this title to review!

I really enjoyed the last third of the book. I thought the opening was fantastic as well and a real attention grabber. I got lost somewhere in the first half, though. Something about it seemed slow…. How the stories progressed, the characters themselves …I’m not quite sure what it was but I didn’t really become invested until hunting for answers in regards to the ghost story.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for a honest review.

This book was not for me. I found the FMC was incredibly egotistical and horribly immature. I thought the idea of the book was really clever and I’ve been wanting to read something with a little horror and romance but this wasn’t it.

This story centres around two indigenous horror authors who end up snowed in at a writers retreat at a haunted castle in Scotland. Both are seeking inspiration to try and get past their writers block. Ever since the incident at Book Con where Penelope publicly calls out Neil for abandoning his indigenous roots to write something more palatable, that in her anger leads to her throwing a book, hitting him in the face and causing her to temporarily disappear from the writing world. Penelope struggles with her identity as a light skinned native woman who has also been pitted against men like Neil her whole career. Neil is struggling with the lasting effects of Penelope's judgements about his writing causing him to doubt himself. When they arrive to the castle the pair end up in the middle of a mystery surrounding the ghost known as the lady in white. Penelope and Neil end up working together to discover her truth.

As a white passing indigenous woman, I connected deeply with those elements of the story.
This book had slow burn/tension with a spooky twist and was surprisingly spicier than I was expecting from my first judgements of the cover.

Thankyou to the publishers and NetGalley for sending me this ARC! So first of all this was definitely a new read for me. I was hesitant about a horror and romance book in one but this was surprisingly a fun and nice read. This book sets in a remote and haunted Scottish castle! The slow burn romance could of been speed up a bit I felt like there was some fillers that weren’t needed but that’s my only complaint! Definitely give this book a 3 and a half stars! It’s definitely something worth reading and seeing if it’s your vibe!

Thanks to netgalley for the ARC! I hate to say it, but Pen and Neil were kind of on my nerves. First, the book starts where you have a main female character who seemingly loses her mind with jealousy and rage and throws a book at a fellow author at and event and scars him? Not ok. Then it becomes even less ok when they are in the same vicinity again and all of a sudden keep having all the feels about each other? I kind of feel sad for both of them because she needs to handle her issues, and I guess he does, too, because dude-the scar! I guess she’s cute, but-the scar! Furthermore, the ghost story started off kind of cool and creepy and then flopped for me because-the basis of the haunting? Weak. And so many things at their fingertips where they could all do some investigative work but choose to make out and risk their lives jumping right into the haunting instead? It just didn’t feel realistic for me. The writer’s retreat they were on also felt like just some friends playing some creative writing games for kids. The story had potential but really fell short. It has language and detailed sexual situations that, frankly, I wasn’t interested in because I felt like they needed to do a little more Scooby Doo than getting all up in each other’s business.

I cannot decide if this wasn’t the best book or it just wasn’t for me. I’m not sure the author did a good job on execution.

Thank you Net Galley for the chance to read this book.

I wanted to love this book, I tried very hard to connect with it and unfortunately I just could not. It took me almost a month to finally find the courage to finish it. While it was not a bad book, it just was not for me. I did not feel any connection to the story or the characters. The spicy bits were good, the rest of the story just was not exciting for me.

Maybe one day I’ll buy the book and give it another chance.

Okay hear me out. A spooky enemies-to-lovers tale that takes place at a writing retreat at a castle in Scotland. It's like Colby Wilkens read my diary and then wrote a book involving all my favorite things. 5 stars. 10 stars if that was an option.

Solid 3.75/5 ⭐️ 1/5 🌶
Four months after an embarrassing book convention that ends with Pen chucking a book at her “rival” she finds her self stuck at a writer’s retreat with him in a haunted castle in Scotland. After several scary ghost sightings and a snowstorm, the two find them selves going from “enemies” to allies to lovers. When you fully immerse into the creepy castle atmosphere the story flows and the romance between Pen and Neil is just adorable once they stop with the petty arguments 😂👻📖

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I had high hopes for this book. I really loved the overall theme, spooky setting, mystery, and romance. Initially felt like a romantic version of Scooby Doo. Where this book frustrated me is the relationship between the two main characters. It felt really lusty and not like they had much of a genuine connection. The pacing of their relationship felt a bit off. It was hard to go from the main character’s inner dialogue to their intimate scenes.

2.5 stars

DNF @45%

I really wanted to like this one - I'm so disappointed that it was a miss. Creepy mansion, ghosts, and romance sounded like a perfect cocktail, but this really didn't have any of that? And when it did, it was really lackluster.

The romance was just not it - there was an assault from the FMC (Penelope) early on over why she thinks her books aren't selling and it never really gets resolved? At least not to the point where I stopped.

The mansion and ghosts were just meh. I think the author just didn't know how to construct a spooky setting without being too scary and taking away from the (romance?) but, I think most readers are capable of setting aside the two and enjoying a combined genre.

Thank you to NetGalley for a free arc in exchange for an honest review. I'm sad that this was a miss.

Four writers go on a writing retreat in a haunted castle in Scotland. Two of the writers aren’t too keen on each other after an incident involving a book flying through the air. Perhaps they will even find more than just ghosts and their voices by the end of their stay…

This book was pretty fun read. I enjoyed following the different perspectives of Penelope and Neil as they navigated the haunted castle while also trying to defeat their writers block. Their banter was fun and it was nice to each of them develop as the book went on, overcoming their block and feelings and finding confidence in their writing and what they want to do with it.

The ghosts in the story were pretty intriguing themselves. I enjoyed learning their story alongside Penelope and Neil.

If you enjoy and fun, quick spooky read with some spice mixed in, I recommend reading this!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the chance to read an arc!

I had high hopes for "If I Stopped Haunting You" by Colby Wilkens, but unfortunately, it fell way short of my expectations. This book promised an intriguing blend of horror and romance, but it failed to deliver on both fronts.

First off, let's talk about the characters. Neil and Penelope are supposed to be the driving force behind this supposed "enemies-to-lovers" story, but their development felt rushed and forced. Instead of building up tension and chemistry between them, they jump straight from enemies to hooking up without any real emotional depth. And all those sex scenes – they were about as steamy as a cold shower.

And don't even get me started on Penelope. She's downright awful. Not only does she physically assault Neil by throwing a book at his head (seriously, who does that?), but she's also manipulative and delusional. Her behavior is inexcusable, and I couldn't find any redeeming qualities in her character.

As for the horror elements, they were more yawn-inducing than spine-tingling. The supposed haunted castle setting felt like a cliché, and the ghosts themselves lacked any real scare factor. I was hoping for something unique and terrifying, but all I got was a snooze-fest.

And let's not even talk about the plot holes and inconsistencies. It felt like the author couldn't decide which direction to take the story, resulting in a messy and disjointed narrative.

I really hate to give negative reviews, but this book was definitely not for me and I was struggling with finishing it.

Enemies to lovers spicy romance at a haunted Scottish castle??? Sign me up.

I absolutely devoured this book. Literally couldn't put it down and read it in one sitting (accidentally stayed up until 3am, whoops).

I think the author does a great job giving us a spicy romance while also brining heart pounding horror. My biggest complaint overall is that the resolution to the haunting is pretty meh, but the romance was sweet (albeit a bit fast) so that made up for it.

The story had a bit of a slow start for me. It took a few chapters before I really got into it. I will also say that all of the characters definitely have flaws that get frustrating/repetitive. I've seen some reviews mention that the relationship was toxic but I disagree with that. I think that they have flaws and react in very human ways. Both of the MCs learn how to face their pasts and grow from their mistakes. Also great BIPOC and queer representation.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC of this book.

The story could have been so good but there were so many holes. I didn’t understand the MCs dislike of one another. The ghost mystery made very little sense. The romance story and spicy scenes felt forced. All in all, the story felt rushed and not fleshed out. Only reason I didn’t df is because I kept hoping for more and for it to make sense.

I was invited to read this book by the publisher, and initially was excited based on the plot description, but it did not really jive with me. I liked the setting and the overall idea of the book, but the execution of the plotline felt - chaotic to me. I wasn't a fan of the main character, Pen, and how she interacted with her "love interest". I don't know, if someone was that up and down with me, I would check out pretty early. Now, I did enjoy the "horror" element of the book. I just wish the characters would have been more likeable.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to love this novel. The premise was a solid setup for something wonderful, and I was excited to dive in. The book starts in the book community with an open act of hate between the two main characters, Penelope and Neil.

From this point, Wilkins does a good job at the slow-burn enemies to lovers by continuously building the tension between the characters. Penelope comes off as selfish and angry, whereas Neil is a misunderstood pushover. I didn’t love either of the characters, but Neil was more enjoyable than Penelope. Regardless, I enjoyed how things developed between them.

I wasn’t really into the excerpts from Penelope’s book; they didn’t add to the story and just felt like filler. Yes, there is a tiny link between her book and Neil’s tattoo, but not enough to where it needs to be more than referenced during a conversation between characters.

The biggest disappointment of this novel was the horror aspect. It felt like a missed opportunity. The ending lost the book a fourth star. The big reveal the entire story built up to wasn’t much of a reveal at all. The reason for the haunting didn’t make sense. The scenes were crafted well in the moments of horror; the backstory was the issue. It felt like the story behind the ghosts was a second thought. Like, I’ll make all the creepy stuff happen, make the reader feel spooked, and then I’ll just come up with something when I get to the end. The first 3/4ths of the book painted a tragedy (and I was hooked), but the reader is left with a haunting from a societal norm of the time period.

If you read this, read it for the romance, not the horror.

Meh. This just kind of underwhelmed me. I appreciated the discussion on BIPOC representation in the publishing industry, and how Neil had to dumb down his original manuscripts to appease his publishers instead of writing truly Native stories. But the romance went from enemies to lovers a little quick for me. Like within 24 hours quick. And the ghost hunt in the castle part overtook the last half of the story. It had some scary descriptions, but then they would look at each other and start making out or jumping on each other, so it never felt that frightening. When they ultimately discovered the reason for the hauntings, it was boring and not that tragic. The two side characters were funny, but they were pretty flat, and mostly just popped up when it was awkward or inconvenient to Pen & Neil. And Pen was just not that likable. Add in that her last name, Skinner, was the same as the ghosts in the castle, but there was never any answer to whether or not she was related to them. It was just an example of a random loose end that the author could have done something cool with, but just left undone. I feel like this had a good idea behind it, but wasn’t executed that well.