I enjoyed this steamy, sweet and suspenseful enemies-to-lovers romance. Nothing like forced proximity in a haunted castle to make things exciting. Both being successful Native American writers, Pen and Neil have a lot in common but can barely stand being in the same room together and have said hurtful things to each other and about their careers. Being stuck on a writer's retreat together, they realize maybe it's not just hate they feel for one another. A fun and refreshing read especially for horror lovers out there.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

It’s no secret I love a great steamy enemies to lovers romance. And this one is amazing! This one has some great banter with tension, and a great horror aspect to it. It’s a great addition to your spooky season as well.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If I Stopped Haunting You is the perfect blend of romance and horror all wrapped up in a writing retreat in a haunted castle! This book somehow manages to be fun, sweet, and terrifying all at the same time while still managing to address some bigger issues with the publishing industry today. Both authors in the story struggle with either being "too Native" or "not Native enough" in a publishing world that aims on limit and pit POC against each other. Seeing the way this issue challenges and forces the two main characters to come together and reflect on their own issues and insecurities, all while being haunted and falling in love with each other just sold this book for me!

I wanted to like this book, however I was unable to finish it. The book just didn't grab my attention, and I couldn't find myself wanting to go any further.

This drew me in quickly with the writing that led me into the creepy setting. The dual narrators, chapters felt like overload at the beginning but, began to work in the second half of the book. I have a question, why is it implied indigenous people write horror? I am hoping Colby Wilkens plans to take this dual into a sequel!

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review this advanced copy. The premise sounded like a fun escape from more standard fare, with a horror/romance/humor description, and a high rating at this early point collectively on GoodReads.

I so wish I could give it a better review for all of these reasons, and to support the author. Her being Native American and queer, and weaving those aspects into the novel, especially makes a negative review more disappointing to have to write. The queer part was written adeptly and lightly with side characters and humor. The NA part with commentary by characters on the difficulties and trade-offs for aspiring BIPOC authors was threaded into a main aspect of the romantic plot.

Unfortunately, I don't have much else good to say here. The writing was not poor, which saves this from being a 2 rather than 3 star review. But there was nothing notable nor worth spending time on, in the goofy and obvious romantic and "horror" plots. The "haters to lovers" romance and where it was going had no real tension. The sex scenes, written with some attempt at detail and vividness, felt empty and boring. The ghostly plot was like being hit over the head with a hammer, so extreme and lacking in any subtlety or even possibility of semi-believability. While I realize this was not supposed to be exactly believable, it was just beyond any way to even approach it. I was glad to read this in two days as I wouldn’t have wanted to waste more time, but I did decide to complete it in exchange for the favor of an early read and review.

I wish the author the best of luck in her future endeavors.

This was a fun one!
Enemies to lovers trope. Haunted house. Mystery to solve.
What was done well:
-The character depth of Pen and Neil. I liked getting to know them as people and they felt 3 dimensional.
-The insight to the publishing world. It was really interesting to see the competition of 2 Indigenous authors vying for shelf space. The issues that they both had with publishing.
-The romance. Even with the whole haunting thing going on, the romance felt believable. (There is a fair amount of spice in this one)

What could have been done better:
-I think the story line could have been fleshed out a bit more. The mystery with the ghosts had some more story to tell.
-The timeline. Sometimes I felt like time was just lost, like we jumped forward.

Overall, it was a solid read that combined 2 genres I wouldn't have thought would go well together.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for an early copy for review.

4 stars! This book was a lot of fun. I liked both MCs, but sometimes the FMCs motivations were a little murky and not explained until the MMC POV figured it out. Loved that both MCs had normal body types. I also stan the rise of lower stakes horroromance (that’s a term now, right?). It’s ripe for an external 3rd act conflict that gets resolved together. The writer stuff felt a little meta at points, but it was still enjoyable.

Really enjoyed this one! The balance of spooky and sexy is great. The characters and chemistry are what shine here. More Native romance please! and where can I get my F*ck the colonizers swag??

The premise of enemies-to lovers trapped in a haunted Scottish castle on a writers retreat sounded great to me. Unfortunately this book didn't really deliver like I had hoped. I am not a horror reader at all but even so, this wasn't scary in the least. It felt more an episode of Scooby-Doo complete with ghosts, secret passages, and paintings that watch from the walls. The characters also felt immature (more like 20 than early 30's) and pretty one dimensional. They ridiculously fell into every scary movie cliche including not asking their friends for help even though they supposedly feared for their lives. The only thing that kept me reading was to find out the "mystery" of the ghosts and even that fell flat as well. #NetGalley

Wilkens weaves a story of love, lust and haunting that captures the readers attention. The reader is drawn into the story within the story. Her characters are well developed throughout as to get a glimpse into their actions and reactions to each other and their environment. I recommend this book for those that enjoy a bit of mystery and a lot of steaminess.

Okay, whoever said romance and horror can’t coexist clearly hasn’t read this book and it shows.

Set within the walls of a remote, possibly haunted Scottish castle, this book has so much to love!

From the slow burn between Neil and Pen that is so hauntingly good, to the representation (!!!) - this book was truly an unexpected surprise in the best way!

For fans of The Dead Romantics and The Haunting of Bly Manor, this book did not disappoint so don’t be scared and give it a try!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an arc of this book. All opinions are my own.

DNF @ 55%

Aw man I really wanted to like this but unfortunately it didn't quite come together for me. The premise is so intriguing. I loved the native American rep and I appreciated the conversations about the difficulties in getting positive rep published. I also loved the bi rep as well. I adore when MCs are bi in straight romances. It's so cool to see that normalized. Unfortunately the emotional development just wasn't there for me in this book. The attraction was there from like chapter 2 but I wanted to see them having conversations that moved their relationship forward and that wasn't happening which was very frustrating. The dialogue felt a bit clunky and that meant the elements of the story didn't quite gel together. The things that made this book not work for me might be because this book is a debut. I feel like this author has the potential to be a favorite of mine because her characters and premise were so intriguing so I definitely want to read her future books.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

i was not expecting to love this as much as i did! it was a little fast-paced, but still had all the perfect elements of a slow burn. the enemies banter was SO GOOD, and there was sm tension i just wanted to shove them into a closet. i adored the representation the author included and their writing style was simple to follow + so good, perfect for a romcom such as this one. the little suspense, side of mystery thing made the reading experience all the more enjoyable.

the romance was ROMANCING in the way i needed it to. i love the growth between the characters and seeing their relationship flourish once they got down to communicating was so wholesome and sweet. perfect for mystery lovers who also love romance!! would highly recommend!

If I Stopped Haunting You by Colby Wilkens is a romance is a supernatural romance in that it's a romance where the main characters interact with the *cough* supernatural. I was originally attracted to the idea of a romance in Scotland in a supposed haunted castle, but found the supposed haunting part an afterthought and pretty silly.

At a writer's retreat in Scotland, Pen and Neil can't stand each other but soon can't keep their hands off of each other. Throw in a potential haunting and it's fun, if not very serious.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this in ARC in consideration of an honest review. All opinions are my own.

3.5 stars

I loved the idea of a romance/horror writer’s retreat gone wrong, but unfortunately this one fell a little short to me. Would have loved a little more character development between Pen and Neil.

Overall, I loved the concept of this book, and if you enjoy rivals to lovers, haunted castle vibes, give this one a try!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

This was a steamy enemy to lovers romance set in a haunted mansion. I liked the elements about being a BIPOC author and pressured to conform.

I thought the supernatural elements were rather weak and didn’t add much to the story. I was not particularly interested in the backstory and felt that those parts dragged and felt low stakes.

Pen and Neil both hate each other and lust after each other. After they're tricked into attending a writer's retreat together in a haunting Scottish castle, sexy fun times ensue. Between bouts of sex, they discuss their relative difficulties as indigenous writers in modern US publishing. There are also occasional interruptions to interact with the haunting, but the ghost plot line is pretty thin and the resolution doesn't really stick the landing.

3.5 stars

If I Stopped Haunting You is an exciting mashup of steamy romance and horror. I really liked the duality of the different genres all set in an atmospheric gothic castle in the Scottish Highlands.

Pen and Neil are both extremely relatable MCs and I enjoyed getting both their perspectives throughout the story. In terms of the plot, I appreciated the representation of Indigenous characters, especially the struggles they experience in the writing/book world. I wish the plot had made this a larger focus, but it seemed to get lost in the competing plots of the ghost story and the romance.

The ghost story is another area I wish was fleshed out just a bit more, with slightly more elements of horror. I’d honestly classify the level of horror as more suspense than the gruesome type you expect. However, I would recommend this story as the perfect entre into the horror genre for those looking for something a bit more light-hearted. Overall, this was a fun and cozy read, perfect for curling up in front of the fireplace on a chilly spring day.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely adores this!!! The blurb (and cover) were the main reason why I decided to pick this book and I do not regret it a single bit. The premise was amazing and it certainly meet my expectations. It was a fast paced book and I cannot wait for otherd to read it as well.