Penelope Skinner is an author who has been rivals with Neil Storm, especially after a book panel that cumulated with her throwing a book at him. Now they’re unintentionally (on their part anyway) staying at the same haunted castle for a writing retreat. Romance and mystery ensues.

This book was fairly average for me. I didn’t fully buy Penelope and Neil’s relationship because I don’t feel there was as much tension as a typical enemies to lovers.

The mystery also had decent build up but the reveal wasn’t anything crazy and honestly they we just told what happened at the end, so what was the point of Penelope and Neil looking for answers. They didn’t find anything on their own - they had to be shown and then told everything at the end.

Has some spicy and spooky moments, but not my personal favorite. I did appreciate the BIPOC perspectives though, that bumps up the rating for me.

This was so so good!!!! I knew I was going to like this story immediately when the premise surrounded two rival authors - but this book had so much more. I loved how there was not just a clear romance, but a paranormal storyline intertwined with elements from both Pen & Neil's books as well as letters. There was just a very clear gothic feel and the setting of a haunted Scottish castle was perfect for me, this book is perfect for a cozy winter read! The story was just so well-rounded and had so many aspects that I could take away as well. The indigenous representation in particular was just so beautifully done and the way its woven into the plot is done in such a way that feels so seamless. This was a quick read for me and could not recommend it more!

Two Native writers who have been rivals meet at a writers conference and fireworks ensure. Penelope Skinner throws a book at Neil Storm and the drama begins. Months later they find themselves together again at a writers retreat in a haunted Scottish castle. The backstory of the writers was interesting, but the supernatural aspect was very loosely written and hardly made any sense. Enjoyable in part, but the ghosts were silly and unresolved.

I had higher hopes for this, but it's entirely forgettable. Was the ghost part even really a "mystery"? I thought Pen and Neil was going to solve something or discover something, but nothing really happened there. The most interesting thing about this book was the castle in Scotland.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If I Stop Haunting You was a rival to lovers romance set in a haunted mansion. It was a cute romance with a good amount of haunting for a spooky vibe. Definitely a good read for spooky season!

I loved the representation in this book followed by every twist that I could feel coming but just didn’t know what it was going to look like!

The most stated annotation for me was “white dress??” I loved that it all came together in the end.

It starts with a panel of Native authors, when Pen’s pent up anger releases on best selling author Neil Storm, ending with Pen throwing her own book at him. Four months later, she’s miserable, has writer’s block, and her friend Lazlo convinces her to go to Scotland for a writers retreat in a haunted castle. Unfortunately for Pen, Lazlo first invited Neil. When Neil couldn’t make it, he invited Pen, and then Neil said he would attend. There is a fourth author, another Native horror author, rounding out the foursome. Lazlo is the only non-native in the group. Needless to say, Neil and Pen are not happy to be locked up together, in a snow storm, in a haunted castle.

But Neil and Pen grow closer when they are the only two who seem to realize the castle is actually haunted. As annoying as Pen felt in the beginning (her first go to emotions are anger and self-defense), she eventually grew on me. Being inside Neil’s mind showed so much insecurity, and a surprising attraction to Pen. I was just hoping Pen would think before she said things, but that was her personality. In the end she finally had some insight to her negative feelings towards Neil, which was nice to see. There was talk about the four being BIPOC authors, which was a new term for me.

I was interested in Pen’s inability to prove her Nativeness, and how difficult it had been for Neil’s father to prove his Nativeness. The insights into publishing were also interesting, especially when Neil mentioned that both their last names began with an S, and both were considered Native authors, and what that meant in the publishing world. It just felt like something was missing in the story, especially with the ghost.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of If I Stopped Haunting You; this is my unbiased opinion.

If I Stopped Haunting You by Colby Wilkins
Romance/Horror
3/5 Stars

I don’t read a lot of enemies to lovers where both main characters are grumpy. While the romance wasn’t my cup of tea, I really enjoyed the mystery of who the ghosts were in the castle in Scotland. I would have loved to hear their story more fleshed out. I also really loved the side characters and would read a sequel with about their lives after the horrors in the castle.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

3.5 stars

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 enjoyed following Pen and Neil as they tried to uncover the truth about the Woman in Black while also feeling lots of confusing things for each other.

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!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

good romance between 2 writers on a retreat in a haunted castle. loved the friends but felt that they were more plot points to move the story along for neil and pen. I couldn't tell if this book was horror or something else . loved that they solved a mystery of the castle.

If I stopped Haunting You is the debut novel by Colby Wilkens, and is a rather unique pairing of romcom and horror.

I want to begin by saying that I did like this book, not as much as I had hoped, but enough that I would give this author another try.

I liked the discussion about the struggle BIPOC authors face in the publishing industry and the issues they face in trying to tell the stories they want to tell versus the stories publishers want them to tell.

The mix of horror and romance worked better than I might have thought, however the quick change between the characters being in terror, and making out against a wall in a haunted castle were startling and seemed out of place.

The romance trope in this book was enemies to lovers, but Penelope’s hate for Neil seemed over the top for what she perceived he had done. I could see her being upset with his choices, but I thought she should have been more understanding about why he’d been forced to make the choices he had. Also, it seems like Neil did not have a reciprocal hate for Penelope until after the scene from the prologue.

On the horror side, there were definitely some creepy moments in the story and the author did a good job in making the castle come alive. However, I felt like there was something missing in the search for why the castle was haunted, and how Neil and Penelope solved the mystery.

The side characters of Daniela and Laszlo seemed superfluous to the story. It might have been better if they had just arranged for Penelope and Neil to end up at the castle alone together, because their presence really didn’t add much to the story.

All in all, the story was enjoyable. I would recommend it to lovers of light horror, and spicy romance.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was so fun to read! One minute you are witnessing the amazing sexual tension between Pen and Neil and the next you are terrified by bumps in the night. What book reader wouldn’t fall in love with a story about writers on a retreat in a haunted castle???

Things I Loved —
- My favorite part about this book is the focus on Indigenous authors and the whitewashing that many BIPOC stories go through in order to be approved by the publishers. I loved Pen calling out Storm for catering to the audience and selling out instead of honoring their culture in a more respectful way. I admire Colby Wilkens for featuring this in her novel, especially when our main characters declare “FUCK THE COLONIZERS!”
- I enjoyed the setting of the writing retreat being held in the haunted castle.
- The mystery of uncovering the ghosts.
- I was a fan of the forced proximity with our enemies turned lovers in the beginning where there’s tension and being paired up with one another to do activities.
- I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy the way the smut was written - well done Colby.


My least favorite things —
— The enemies were more believable than the lovers. Enemies to lovers is my favorite trope - however, this one was a bit too instalove for me to jive with. After several years of deep disdain and disrespect it seemed a bit too convenient for them to be lovers after 24 hours of being together — however, the sexual tension leading up to their connection does help.
— The haunting was not satisfying for me; I love horror and the supernatural so I was really anticipating the ghost elements to be a bit more developed. The build up took a while to get to and once the “big reveal” happens I had a hard time accepting what was being presented.
— I really wanted to love Lazlo & Daniela, and I wish that we were able to learn a bit more about them and focus on them more than what was given to us.

With all that being said - I did enjoy this fast-paced quick read and I think that romance lovers who aren’t expecting a scary ghost story will be pleased to consume this novel. My least favorite parts weren’t inherently bad and could be what makes the book enjoyable to other readers.

Thank you so much to St. Martin’s Press & NetGalley for the ARC - I do look forward to reading more from Colby Wilkens & I hope she continues to give an authentic voice to Indigenous characters. I would highly recommend this to my indigenous friends looking for a fun read that honors Indigenous stories.

3.5 stars

Part ghost mystery and part slow burn rom com and it kind of worked! This gets a solid 3 stars from me. If I’m being honest though, I enjoyed the ghost story more than the romance. The ghost story/haunting was well done and detailed and I loved every minute of it!

I love an enemies to lovers but this was a little awkward. It was definitely a slow burn but once things got rolling it felt a bit rushed. Some of the spicy dialogue was cringey. Can we stop saying “folds”? The two MCs are Native and I liked the representation. The side characters were forgettable and the writing retreat was just their friend setting up a vacation for the 4 of them. There was no retreat.

I did notice a few grammatical errors throughout the book. Missing letters in words (hear instead of heart), incorrect spellings(d to instead of do), etc. Hopefully those get polished before the release in October.

If it sounds like something you would like definitely check it out. I didn’t love it but I also didn’t hate it. The spooky vibes saved it for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review the ARC.

I’m not really into slow-burns but this book right here!!!!! The only exception. Really enjoyed the story and the characters humor. The tension between the characters was so hot but thick, you could cut it with a butter knife. Love Love Love the spooky romance vibes. I wish more slowburns were like this

I really wanted to like this book but unfortunately it fell flat for me. I think Pen and Neil are underdeveloped and the character growth just isn’t there.

There’s a lot of things I loved about this book , I loved the romance, I loved the whole plot involving the publishing industry, I loved everything to do with the ghosts & the paranormal concept as well I think it was very cool and unique. The chemistry was also very there, also was the spice lots of it lol. I guess some things I didn’t like would be just the book being all over the place at certain times and the characters having all around way too many personalities. There was also a lot of heavier topics discussed in this book I wasn’t expecting! They weren’t necessarily bad, but I definitely wasn’t expecting so many of them, also I don’t mind spice but I don’t want my books all spice, but I did enjoy the book! The ending was very underwhelming but I had a good time reading it , I would recommend anyone this book who likes a type of paranormal romance with spice !

Thank you for the chance to review! Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes and the cover and description of this book made it a must read. The premise is really fun and interesting with two native writers who are at odds with one another being forced to stay at a haunted castle in Scotland for a writer’s retreat! I did love the idea of blending horror and romance. I did like the main characters and the setting. My biggest issue was the pacing. Pen and Neil are basically sworn enemies who almost ruined each other’s careers but 20% in and they’re already lusting for each other and are almost in a relationship by 65%. And the horror elements are while there, are shown more as inconveniences - there’s one scene where they have an experience with an actual ghost and the next page they’re going at it like it was a normal occurrence. Also at one point Pen literally draws blood (for yet a second time after The Incident) from Neil thinking she was hitting a ghost and again next page they are at it…
I’d definitely be on the look out for the writer’s future books and recommend this for those who are interested in a different type of romance

4 stars

This was a fun twist on a romance. I enjoyed the setting and could definitely feel the spooky castle vibes. I like both of the main characters in this book; I felt like they both had relatable problems and seemed very realistic (although they were maybe a little one dimensional)
Since this book is so short the pacing was a little odd, there were a lot of scenes that didn’t really add much to the plot and then others were rushed through. I also felt like the resolution was a little anticlimactic l, both in terms of the horror plot line and the romance.
Overall I enjoyed this book but it wasn’t necessarily a standout for me

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the ARC!

The book begins with Pen and Neil are both on a panel for native writers answering questions surrounding their books. Pen and Neil get into a tiff. Pen and a bunch of friends go on a trip to Scotland to stay in a haunted castle that is filled with paranormal activity. Ghosts and love letters from the ghosts pasts. At the castle, Pen and Neil run into each other.

I had difficulty connecting with the characters. I really enjoyed how they intertwined the indigenous hardships throughout the books. The actual paranormal bits did not happen until long into the book in my opinion.

Couple: Penelope Skinner & Neil Storm
Dual POV, Enemies to Lovers, Paranormal Activity