The book is a unique take on the supernatural genre, with intriguing characters and an engaging plot. However, I felt the pacing was a bit off at times. Pen just kept talking about how she couldn’t believe that all of this was happening so fast and honestly, neither could I. Things happen quickly when you‘re snowed in at a haunted castle.

The romance was just really sweet. There’s nothing like an utter breakdown to lovers to really get your heart racing. Pen and Neil were so cute, I feel like I spend so much time reading about immortal fae males that destroy worlds and kill everyone (which I love) so it’s nice to read about a regular dude who hearts his wife.

This book is for you if you want to be scared and horny at the same time. I was genuinely creeped out reading this in the dark and then would immediately be distracted from my fear by the steamy scenes. I felt like I was in the haunted castle with Pen and Neil! The added discourse about Native authors and publishing made this book *chef's kiss*. I'd love to read more by Colby Wilkens!

This sounded really cute and I was looking forward to it, but found that I wasn’t able to get into it at all once I started reading - not all characters need to be likeable but I cannot when main characters are emotionally manipulative and abusive, verging into physical.

Penelope is toxic with a capital t - her gaslighting, physical assaults, and emotional abuse were a major turn off for me.

Added bonus /s - there’s zero character development - Penelope remains the same, showing zero remorse or personal growth. So yeah, this one really didn’t work for me and I’m sorry I gave it as much reading time as I did.



Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin and NetGalley for the DRC

Even though many writers might hesitate at the chance to overcome their writer’s block by attending a writing retreat at a haunted Scottish castle where ghosts lurk in the attic, I would wholeheartedly embrace the idea! The plot of two rival writers, Penelope Skinner and Neil Storm, who recently had a heated argument at a book convention that ended with Penelope throwing a book at the master of horrors, Neil, finding themselves locked in a castle where spirits roam, immediately intrigued me from the first chapter. The blend of gothic horror, entertaining banter, and intense sexual tension between the two rivals, both struggling with writer’s block for different reasons, and the enemies-to-lovers trope drew me into the story. I couldn't put the book down because I was thoroughly engrossed in the narrative.

The representation of native writers and their struggles in the industry, akin to those faced by any other BIPOC author, is realistically depicted. While I found the rivalry and arguments between Pen and Neil a bit immature, I easily connected with their professional challenges and their genuine fight to make their voices heard and represent their community accurately.

The supporting characters, like Laszlo and the mischievous Daniela, are also relatable and add to the fun of the story.

Overall, this paranormal romance with its gothic atmosphere and fiery chemistry between the main characters promises an enjoyable reading experience that I highly recommend.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press / St. Martin’s Griffin for providing me with a digital review copy of this delightful romcom in exchange for my honest opinions.

‘If I Stopped Haunting You’ was exactly everything it promised; a cozy gothic romance with some steamy scenes & I thoroughly enjoyed this read! It was fast-paced and I tore through it very quickly, I love the relationship between Neil & Pen, it felt authentic & sweet. We love non-problematic male love interests! I highly recommend for anyone looking for something fun and lighthearted with a bit of mystery.

I was so excited to read this based on the cover and description, and it did not disappoint! The enemies to lovers was ENEMY-ing hard. The combination of romance and haunting was perfection. We need more of this genre! The indigenous representation was perfect and needed. I give an enthusiastic 5 stars!

I don't normally do book reviews this way, but this book compels me to do it.

First 3/4ths of the book: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗
Last 1/4th: 🌕🌕

I have my reasons, but let's start with the good first, shall we?

Enemies to lovers. Chef's kiss. Wilkens nails it. It's angsty and broody and sexually tense. It's pretty great. I didn't want to put it down.

Neil having a normal, soft body rather than rock hard abs apparently chiseled from marble/diamond/ice, etc.—another chef's kiss. Not every woman is into muscleheads or lithe-like-a-snake men. (Not that there's anything at all wrong with those body types because tons of women *are* into them—I'm just poking fun at the typical male descriptions in romance.)

Okay, onto the bad.

I strongly feel that the last quarter of this book (without spoilers, everything past the west hallway confrontation) does not tonally match the first half at all. It's like reading two completely different characters, and nearly like reading a different book. Pen and Neil do not seem like the pranking types. The first half of the book is barely comedic at all. Sure, there's some dry wit, but I would not label it funny. It's simply too angsty to carry the humor of a rom-com. That in itself is not a criticism—as I've said, I really enjoyed the first 3/4ths of the book—but it means that when Pen and Neil shift into more playful personalities (i.e. the prank), it's jarring.

And ya know, I get it: hate and anger consume. Otherwise well-rounded people may not come across as such when they're so focused on their hatred. But this book focuses so much on that angsty entanglement that you barely get a picture of what Pen and Neil are like without it. The shift from "I have to prove myself" to joking about the nature of ectoplasm is jolting and bizarre. (I refuse to even address how out of place the ectoplasm joke felt.)

The epilogue is problematic, too. It gives strong "subscribe to my newsletter for an additional chapter" vibes. I get that an epilogue is the standard in romance, and I'm a reader who loves them, but this one doesn't work. It just felt like an afterthought; an excuse to add in another sex scene. Nothing important happens, and there are no revelations. The book is more solid without it.

I looove books that combine romance and horror, plus I try to read a lot of Indigenous fiction, so this book description jumped right out at me! We get two POVs from Penelope Skinner, a queer Indigenous horror author who calls out Neil Storm, a best-selling Indigenous horror author who Pen believes has sold out by catering to a white audience. Four months after a disastrous panel during which Pen confronts Neil and ends up throwing a book at his head, both authors are invited by their mutual friend to a supposedly haunted Scottish castle to get over their cases of writers' block (Pen because she made such a scene, Neil because he thinks Pen might have been right). Pen and Neil get paired up and realize that beneath their frustration with one another lies a common experience (I actually wish we had learned much more about their Indigenous heritage) and a mutual attraction. Cut to the romance... except first -- they have to deal with the haunted castle! Without spoiling anything, I'll just say that there are definitely some surprises.
There were a few scenes where I was a little confused about where in space we were, and who was around -- there's just a lot of moving parts. But overall, I really liked the combo of spooky and enemies to lovers romance and I loved all the characters.

I have been so excited to read “If I Stopped Haunting You” since I heard about a book with slow burn/enemies to lovers, set in a ‘haunted’ castle in the Scottish Highlands with ghosts, native main characters, and an all queer cast!
It sounded so original and interesting- and I was curious how the crossover between horror and romcom would play out.

I liked, but didn’t fully connect with this one. There were so many things going on at once that I found myself getting lost at times. I also think that because so much was going on, we never really got any one part of the story at its full potential. There were a lot of strong plot points that just were glossed over with such a fast pace. There were so many points I wish could have been slowed down and more fleshed out.

Overall the story was still really fun, I just think this story and characters had so much more potential that we didn’t fully get to see because we stayed on the surface of like 5 separate plot points instead of focusing in on developing any one or two in depth.


<I>Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.</I>

I wanted to love this books so badly. Enemies to lovers? Ghost story? Usually two of my biggest weaknesses that have me forgiving most sins. However, this one was rough. I had to trudge through to the end. I love spice as much as the next gal, but I firmly believe it should be earned and this one didn't give the tension needed for earned spice. It was well written, but I think there were too many ideas going making it hard to root for either character or really care much about the plot.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

This was a fun read! A horror romance doesn't seem like it would work, but Wilkens did a fantastic job of it. The mystery behind the haunting is intriguing (if a little predictable), and the romance between our two protagonists is both frustrating (in a good way) and fulfilling.

As a reader whose favorite words are spooky and spicy, this unique combination of both worlds immediately caught my attention. The story was such a fun twist on both the horror and romance drama, going back and forth between the genres as the novel progressed.

It was a tad difficult for the first half to want Pen and Neil to end up together, but as I got to see them grow together, that quickly changed in the second half of the book. The scene at the end with the tattoo filled my little soul with happiness.

The spicy scenes had me squealing with excitement but the historical horror side didn’t quite match the romance. I wish there had been a little more exploration into the ghosts stories and how they ended up trapped in the castle. The last 30 minutes almost fell a little flat, with it seeming to rush into an ending.

Thank you to the publishers and Net Gallery the early read!

3⭐️

Thank you Netgalley, the author, and St.Martins Griffin for an ARC in return for an honest review :)

I really wanted to love this one. I mean romance and horror blended sound like the perfect book! But I just was kinda bored the whole time. Even with that, this was cute and I’d still recommend

So what didn’t work out??
• the depth of the plot and characters was extremely flat. I was expecting more and every time felt like it was bare minimum. More development would have been great.

What I enjoyed:
• the place where the actually story took place sounded magical and spooky. I adored that.
• decent level of spice!!
• indigenous representation

Read if you like:
• slow burn
• LOL moments
• enemies to lovers

DNF at 20%., ARC graciously provided by NetGalley

I always hate to give a negative review, and I hate even more to not finish a book at all. I just couldn't connect with the two main characters and didn't feel too invested in them as people, let alone their relationship. For me at least, the chemistry wasn't ... chemistrying? In enemies to lovers I always look forward to cheeky comebacks or witty remarks but I wasn't receiving any of that from what I've read. This book didn't hook me in the way I was hoping it to.

Take all of my criticisms with a grain of salt, I can totally see this book being for a different kind of reader. The cover is adorable and the plot looked so promising, but unfortunately this book just wasn't for me.

i am so sad that this wasn’t the book for me. it held so much promise - rivals to friends to lovers, a spooky setting, pitched as reminiscent of beach read and the haunting of hill house. and it have some spark, but ultimately everything just fell short for me.

i had a lot of issues with the main character, pen. she was… immature and petty and childish and wildly self-centered and lacking of empathy. i couldn’t find a single redeeming quality for her. i did like neil, but his character lacked a lot of depth and personality, so there really wasn’t much to like in the first place. the other side characters weren’t much better, either.

the writing held promise, and i do think that this author has potential. i just struggled with the pacing. it felt like so much was happening, and yet nothing happened, in a weird way. i was at the 60% mark and i couldn’t even tell you what occurred plot wise, yet i was feeling overwhelmed. the plot itself was another miss for me; i liked the concept, but the execution killed it. it didn’t feel super serious to me, which took away from the horror aspects, and the romance was just not it as a whole.

overall, this one just wasn’t for me, sadly. i so, so wanted to enjoy it, and i can see why other people would love it. it just didn’t stick out to me, unfortunately.

WHATTT??!! this book has made me believe in love again. i'm not the biggest romance reader but this story was absolutely perfect, i was obsessed with penelope and neil's enemies to lovers relationship from the first page. just so good, my expectations have definitely been exceeded.

thank you netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This one didn’t give me high hopes, it sounded good in the description. It was alright an easy read but just not for me.

I really wanted to love this one but I just could not get into the story. The idea of paranormal and romance really intrigued me, but at the end of the day it did not mesh well for me. I was so excited for the enemies to lovers trope as it’s one of my favourites, but in this book it was just a bit too serious. I couldn’t get past the third-person point of view and found myself skipping ahead whenever I lost interest. I just could get invested in the story or characters. Overall, I could see how someone could enjoy this book but sadly it just wasn’t for me.

I want to thank NetGalley for the ARC to allow me to review.

2.5

I needed a bit of a break from some other books I was reading, and in that sense, this book was a great "junk food" read. It was quick and entertaining on a surface-level and certainly required no brainpower to consume.

But analyzing a bit deeper, this book... was just ok. I got lured in by wondering what "spooky romance" was, and I was a bit disappointed haha. The characters are pretty bland. Pen is pretty self-righteous and projects her insecurities onto other people in a way that felt really immature. Neil ... basically does the same but also switches gears as soon as he gets attracted to Pen? The other characters are purely filler with no substance whatsoever. The books the characters wrote / were writing about honestly sounded more interesting than this book itself. The haunted element of the book was really... anticlimactic? And finally, yes, the commentary on the publishing industry was interesting, but it didn't make up for the fluff of the rest of the book.

Received a free copy from Netgalley.

I adored this spicy, cozy, horror romcom! This story has a lot of heart and I thought the dialogue around Native authors' experiences in the publishing world was insightful and impactful. I loved the setting, I mean, c'mon, snowed in at a writer's retreat in a haunted castle in the Scottish Highlands?! What more could I ask for? And I just loved the chemistry between Pen and Neil. It'll be a perfect spooky season story when it comes out this fall.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for the ARC!