This was a fabulous #ownvoices enemies to lovers, dual POV romance debut that sees Neil Storm and Penelope Skinner, two Indigenous horror authors who had a public altercation, months later attending the same writer's retreat at a haunted Scottish castle.

Set in a creepy crumbling castle with a sinister ghost, the two struggle to resolve hurt feelings, get over writers' block and solve a centuries old mystery. I loved the discussions in the book about being true to yourself, feeling like you're enough and the realities of the publishing world for Indigenous authors.

Great on audio narrated by Curtis Michael Holland and Kyla Garcia, this book makes a great addition to the romance genre written by and featuring Indigenous people. Like Penelope, Wilkens is a multiracial queer author of white and Choctaw-Cherokee descent.

Highly recommended for fans of books like The truth according to Ember by Danica Nava or Sex, lies and sensibility by Nikki Payne (two other contemporary romance books featuring Indigenous main characters). Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

The premise and location should have made this book an instant win. But the unbalanced characters, flat tropes and particular scene had me going nope, not for me.

3.75 stars

While I was excited for a horror romance, this book was hard to get into at first and that's mostly because the FMC threw a book at the MMC's face at a book convention panel. I was instantly turned off from the FMC because that is an insane thing to do. The MMC ends up with a scar from this! And then, she keeps blaming him for her publishing failures when SHE WAS ABUSIVE!

Despite this insane interaction, the rest of the book was actually quite fun. The horror/paranormal parts were written quite well. I will say the spicy scenes felt out of place at times (they JUST saw a ghost and then suddenly they banging, just don't think seeing an actual ghost would have me in the mood anytime soon) and didn't feel at all necessary to me. And I like spice, don't get me wrong, it just felt off. I also was confused on why they kept not telling the others in the house about their experiences. I think having them more involved could have been a really fun addition to the story. But overall, it was a good spooky season romance and I would be interested in more horror romance stories.

Regarding the audiobook, the female narrator was great. The male narrator was okay, his voice for some of the female characters was....odd though.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ALC!

This story has a unique premise and I liked the idea of horror writers having a writing retreat in a haunted castle. I found the characters hard to connect with though and their romantic chemistry fell a little flat for me. I did enjoy the writing style and I'm looking forward to giving this author another try with their next novel. The audiobook worked well for this book and the narration is well done.

If I Stopped Hating You was a book I was really looking forward to. Thrilled to read a queer indigenous romance. I really liked the setup of the book and the plot surrounding the ghost stuff was interesting. I didn’t love the romance though, I wasn’t really vibing with them as a couple or feeling the chemistry. It was a fine book I just didn’t love it as much as I hoped that I would.

Both of the narrators were good, I liked them and it was a solid audiobook.

I wanted to love this so much but it just didnt mesh well as a whole story.
The mystery was a let down and it didnt make a lot of sense and I kinda wanted it to be over.
The romance kinda felt out of left field and took way to long to happen. Everything happen at the end and by the time we got there I was ready for the next book.

But the biggest disappointment was the ghost part of it and why.

Thank You NetGalley for this Audio Arc in Exchange for my honest Opinions.

Overall, I would rate this book a 2 out of 5 stars. While there were elements I genuinely appreciated—most notably the representation of Native people and their culture—I found the story to be disappointing and not quite what I had hoped for.

The main character's behavior was a significant hurdle for me. She comes across as toxic and overly reactive, often blaming others for her own shortcomings. Her tendency to lash out physically is particularly troubling, especially since she never truly apologizes to her victim. This lack of accountability made it difficult for me to empathize with her, and I struggled to root for her success throughout the narrative.

Additionally, I felt the plot was somewhat sluggish. The pacing dragged at times, which made it hard to stay engaged. Overall, while there were moments of promise, they were overshadowed by the character flaws and pacing issues, leaving me ultimately dissatisfied with the reading experience.

This was just meh for me. I didn't hate it and I enjoyed the indigenous representation, but I'm still perplexed as to WHY Pen was so darn put-out with Neil in the first place.
Penelope Skinner is a horror writer who has an enormous grudge against fellow horror writer, Neil Storm. She feels like Neil is a sell-out and honestly, he is, but there's a reason and I'm still confused as to why Pen is SO angry at him. Anyway, she chucks a book at his head a writer's panel and she becomes this pariah of the author world.
Neil and Pen have a friend in common, Lazlo, who has booked them into a writer's retreat in a haunted castle in Scotland. Neither of them know the other is going until they are forced together and cannot leave as, of course, a blizzard is taking place. They get mixed up in the ghost story of the castle, unbeknownst to the other writers present, and end up falling for each other. There is a fine line between love and hate because the forced proximity and the passionate feelings lead to some saucy interactions. And of course, the ghost story becomes a love story.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this audio e-arc.*

I wanted to like this, but I did not at all.

The characters felt so one dimensional - I need some layers to the characters. I feel like the romance got lost in the haunted mansion stuff as well. There was just too much going on, and nothing got enough attention.

The hardest part about listening to this audiobook was when the narrators where using authors voices for side characters. It was very cringe, and immediately would pull my focus out of the book. Honestly,the book itself wasn't much better.

2.75 stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was a quick and easy read! I had a lot of fun with it, but I also found myself cringing at times. It was nothing to write home about but if you want to get into the Halloween and fall spirit, it's an easy remedy!

It took me a little while to get into this one, mainly because Penelope in the beginning was such a difficult person to like, but once she opened up and acknowledged why she didn’t like Neil, it got better. The best parts of the book had to do with the ghost of Georgia and the haunted castle as a whole; not necessarily scary but I like how they interacted with her. I also enjoyed learning about writing retreats and how they are run. The romance itself was OK but took a backseat to the haunting. Cute but I think there was too much going on in for the story to work.

2.5 ⭐️

I found that this book was much more enjoyable as an audiobook, allowing me to get further along than I did with the physical copy. However, I ultimately decided to stop listening after reaching the halfway point.

One of the highlights for me was the blend of genres; I really enjoyed the concept of competing ghost hunters—it was intriguing and fun! The male narrator brought a quirky charm that made the experience enjoyable, and I thought the female narrator did a solid job as well. The dual narration was definitely a great choice.

On the other hand, the romance aspect didn’t resonate with me. The initial conflict felt a bit over the top, especially with the scene where she throws a book at him. Their relationship seemed to escalate too quickly for me, and I struggled to connect or feel any real tension between the characters. While I appreciate the creativity of the story, it ultimately wasn’t quite what I was hoping

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape media for this advanced listener copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

I had the pleasure of reading this book a few months ago, and now I get to review the audiobook version.

Audiobook specific feedback: : I think I enjoyed this more than the actual book. The male narrator gave an excellent, if not somewhat goofy, performance that injected a lot of fun and energy into the story. While I rated the ebook at 4 stars, I’m giving the audiobook 4.5 stars, rounded to 5.

Full review: What a delightful marriage of genres!

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book. So glad that I gave it a chance. It was by turns funny, romantic, and poignant.

I somehow always struggle to accurately describe the central relationship in romances without saying something incredibly boring and uninformative like ‘I thought they were good together’ or ‘They had good chemistry’, both of which are true in this case. But I think what I liked best about Neil and Pen is that they help each other find and recognize their strengths. Neil helps Pen see the strength she already possesses, and Pen helps Neil find the strength to stand for what he believes in.

While Mike Flanagan’s The Haunting of Hill House gets named dropped in the book, the storyline actually more closely resembles another of his works, The Haunting of Bly Manor. Not to the extent that this work feels derivative - more like a nice little nod to the series, with shades of Henry James showing through.

The scope of this book is fairly ambitious. It’s an enemies-to-lovers romance. It’s a gothic horror. It’s a statement about the very narrow sliver of the publishing industry allotted to Native authors. I feel like it accomplishes all of these things reasonably well, but I would have appreciated a little more time being spent on Georgina and Archie’s story, as well as a slower transition from enemies to lovers for Neil and Pen.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Dreamscape Medio for the advanced copy of this audiobook,, provided in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

ARC audiobook provided in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the dual narration on this book! It helped bring the two main characters (male and female) to life and I always knew exactly who was speaking. The story takes place in Scotland at a writers retreat. This is definitely an enemies to lovers romance with the backdrop of a haunted castle to set the scene. I really loved the characters love story but really could’ve done without the whole haunting storyline. If you’re a fan of romantic comedies with just a touch of horror, check this book out!

I enjoyed the conflict/discussion around nuanced decisions and perceiving others. I didn't always agree with Neil, but having his point of view helped the conflict between him and Pen be more reasonable. I also liked how the spooky/haunting aspect of the book increased in the second half.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media for the ALC, all opinions are my own.

DNF fairly quickly in to this one. Right out of the gate is a huge altercation with the FMC throwing a book at the MMC. Now I'm expected to believe they're falling madly, deeply in lust? Characters are just too flat and one track minded for me. The blurb seemed really interesting and I love love the cover art.

I do really like the portrayal of the characters by both narrators, they had great voices but had a bit of a flat source material to read from.

Wow! Colby Wilkens can absolutely write a love story, a ghost story, suspense, authors writing, and spice that slaps and a story line that grabs me and pulls me in!
This has enemies to lovers, indigenous people ties, ghosts, ghost romances, spiteful family, monsters, oh man it has it all.
I absolutely ate this up!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨/5 loved it
🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

Thank you to @netgalley @dreamscape_media and Colby Wilkens for the opportunity to listen to the audiobook.

Get ready for If I Stopped Haunting You by Colby Wilkens October 15!

A pair of horror authors are bitter enemies since the competition to have the best book in the market. When both end up at a small writers retreat in a haunted castle in Scotland, it seems any ghosts will be the least of their worries. But as it goes with close proximity and shared misery…the two find they’re not so different and start to get closer on a new level…only to find themselves in the middle of an actual horror story full of spirits and secrets.
This had all the makings for a fun spooky romcom but the spice was a bit too much and sudden, the plot didn’t make sense most of the time, and the spooky parts of the book came way too late. Didn’t quite click with me unfortunately. The narrators, however, were both great!
Thank you to Dreamscape Media for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I wanted to love this, but it just fell flat for me 😭 I found the FMC very annoying and while I liked the MMC., I just wanted more from them! I did enjoy the haunted castle element, but overall, I am just "meh" on this one.