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If I Stopped Haunting You
An enemies to lovers romance with a spooky twist where two feuding writers end up on a writers retreat together at a haunted castle in Scotland
It's been months since horror author Penelope Skinner threw a book at Neil Storm. But he was so infuriating, with his sparkling green eyes and his bestselling horror novels that claimed to break Native stereotypes. And now she’s a publishing pariah and hasn’t been able to write a word since. So when her friend invites her on a too-good-to-be-true writers retreat in a supposedly haunted Scottish castle, she seizes the opportunity. Of course, some things really are too good to be true.
Neil wants nothing less than to be trapped in a castle with the frustratingly adorable woman who threw a book at him. She drew blood! Worse still, she unleashed a serious case of self-doubt! Neil is terrified to write another bestselling “book without a soul,” as Pen called it. All Neil wants is to find inspiration, while completely avoiding her.
But as the retreat begins, Pen and Neil are stunned to find themselves trapped in a real-life ghost story. Even more horrifying, they’re stuck together and a truly shocking (extremely hot) almost-kiss has left them rethinking their feelings, and… maybe they shouldn’t have been enemies at all? But if they can’t stop the ghosts pursuing them, they may never have the chance to find out.
Full of spooky chills and even more sexy thrills, If I Stopped Haunting You by Colby Wilkens is the funny, fast-paced romp romance readers have been waiting for!
It's been months since horror author Penelope Skinner threw a book at Neil Storm. But he was so infuriating, with his sparkling green eyes and his bestselling horror novels that claimed to break Native stereotypes. And now she’s a publishing pariah and hasn’t been able to write a word since. So when her friend invites her on a too-good-to-be-true writers retreat in a supposedly haunted Scottish castle, she seizes the opportunity. Of course, some things really are too good to be true.
Neil wants nothing less than to be trapped in a castle with the frustratingly adorable woman who threw a book at him. She drew blood! Worse still, she unleashed a serious case of self-doubt! Neil is terrified to write another bestselling “book without a soul,” as Pen called it. All Neil wants is to find inspiration, while completely avoiding her.
But as the retreat begins, Pen and Neil are stunned to find themselves trapped in a real-life ghost story. Even more horrifying, they’re stuck together and a truly shocking (extremely hot) almost-kiss has left them rethinking their feelings, and… maybe they shouldn’t have been enemies at all? But if they can’t stop the ghosts pursuing them, they may never have the chance to find out.
Full of spooky chills and even more sexy thrills, If I Stopped Haunting You by Colby Wilkens is the funny, fast-paced romp romance readers have been waiting for!
320 pages, Paperback
First published October 15, 2024
195 people are currently reading
28129 people want to read
About the author
Colby Wilkens
3 books309 followersColby Wilkens is a USA Today bestelling author of romance. When she's not traveling, she can be found at home in the PNW stewing up some new sweet recipes with her partner, 2 cats, and a good audiobook.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,452 reviews
October 24, 2024
10/24 hi please don't support this author, it came out that she's pretending to be poc 😭 why do people think they can get away with this, I need the audacity to end
Y'all I'm sorry but this book ain't it
I wanted to like this book because the premise sounds so great and enemies to lovers is my favorite but this relationship made me so uncomfortable because the main character, Pen, was a borderline abusive, self-centered gaslighter. She assaults the love interest a million times, one time even scarring him, convinces him she's the reason she got canceled as an author (the real reason is because she assaulted him because she was jealous people liked his book more???) and spent the whole book breaking him mentally until he had no confidence and self worth. She has no remorse, no growth, no accountability, and this book ends with her getting everything she wants. It was giving wildly toxic relationship and I'm not here for that
Y'all I'm sorry but this book ain't it
I wanted to like this book because the premise sounds so great and enemies to lovers is my favorite but this relationship made me so uncomfortable because the main character, Pen, was a borderline abusive, self-centered gaslighter. She assaults the love interest a million times, one time even scarring him, convinces him she's the reason she got canceled as an author (the real reason is because she assaulted him because she was jealous people liked his book more???) and spent the whole book breaking him mentally until he had no confidence and self worth. She has no remorse, no growth, no accountability, and this book ends with her getting everything she wants. It was giving wildly toxic relationship and I'm not here for that
April 5, 2024
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.
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.
April 9, 2024
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.
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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.
Follow me on medium.com to read my articles about books, movies, streaming series, astrology:
medium blog
October 15, 2024
Welp! I so wanted to love this one. First off, I loved the title! How cute is that!?! Plus, the synopsis piqued my interest - an enemy to lovers with a paranormal twist. How fun, I thought. A perfect book for the fall season. But sadly, this book did not work for me. We can't love them all and unfortunately this is the case here.
One of my struggles with the book was not liking either of the main characters. I had a hard time connecting with them. I get they didn't like each other in the beginning. Penelope Skinner loses her cool and blasts Neil Storm publicly and tops it off by throwing her book at him. So yeah, she might have a little temper, impulse control, acting before thinking issue going on. Having someone throw a book at your head does not help Neil with his self-esteem issues. On top of that having your book publicly trashed might cause a little writer’s block. Enter a writer's retreat at a Scottish Castle stage left. It's haunted as well, so let the fun begin.... or not.
As I mentioned, I thought I would love this book. Sadly, it just wasn't for me. I did enjoy the setting, the descriptions, and the banter of some of the characters. This one was just missing that little bit of something (mainly likeable main characters) that would have earned a higher rating. There are many who enjoyed it, so please read their reviews as well.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com 📖
One of my struggles with the book was not liking either of the main characters. I had a hard time connecting with them. I get they didn't like each other in the beginning. Penelope Skinner loses her cool and blasts Neil Storm publicly and tops it off by throwing her book at him. So yeah, she might have a little temper, impulse control, acting before thinking issue going on. Having someone throw a book at your head does not help Neil with his self-esteem issues. On top of that having your book publicly trashed might cause a little writer’s block. Enter a writer's retreat at a Scottish Castle stage left. It's haunted as well, so let the fun begin.... or not.
As I mentioned, I thought I would love this book. Sadly, it just wasn't for me. I did enjoy the setting, the descriptions, and the banter of some of the characters. This one was just missing that little bit of something (mainly likeable main characters) that would have earned a higher rating. There are many who enjoyed it, so please read their reviews as well.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com 📖
dnf
October 16, 2024DNFing 12% in - not for me.
A romance that starts with one of the love interests throwing a hard object at the other’s head at a work event unprovoked is not a romance I’m on board for.
A romance that starts with one of the love interests throwing a hard object at the other’s head at a work event unprovoked is not a romance I’m on board for.
October 25, 2024
⚠️Please go read this article before reading this book! ⚠️
https://nypost.com/2024/10/21/us-news...
Well, I was just about to start this book for the weekend. I got one chapter in and immediately disliked the main character for physically assaulting the assumed love interest. I mean, his damn head was bleeding! We are not romanticizing abuse I don't care if she eventually gets the help she needs or says sorry to him that's a big no no and the wrong message to send out.
Also, I saw a review that said this author is pretending to be indigenous so ofc I went to threads and searched their name and literally the first hit was a linked nyt article about how she's not actually a part of the Cherokee nation as she has been claiming. The tribal alliance literally researched her ancestry and found nothing but white settlers.
I'm disgusted and will no longer be reviewing this book or any of this authors work.
https://nypost.com/2024/10/21/us-news...
Well, I was just about to start this book for the weekend. I got one chapter in and immediately disliked the main character for physically assaulting the assumed love interest. I mean, his damn head was bleeding! We are not romanticizing abuse I don't care if she eventually gets the help she needs or says sorry to him that's a big no no and the wrong message to send out.
Also, I saw a review that said this author is pretending to be indigenous so ofc I went to threads and searched their name and literally the first hit was a linked nyt article about how she's not actually a part of the Cherokee nation as she has been claiming. The tribal alliance literally researched her ancestry and found nothing but white settlers.
I'm disgusted and will no longer be reviewing this book or any of this authors work.
November 14, 2024
i received an advanced review copy from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. this did not affect my rating.
if this book has no haters, i am dead.
so, they’re enemies because he wrote characters in a way she didn’t like, which prompted her to literally assault him while they were both attending an event. after her showing off her book throwing skills that ended up burying her career, she somehow has the audacity to blame the guy for it. as if her anger issues are his problem, you know? granted, there’s a bit more depth to the issue with the native characters that were, in her eyes, bad representation, but i still don’t think it justifies playing baseball with someone’s forehead and a book. and besides the physical assault, she also dragged his career through the mud at every given opportunity, while the dude was just existing. and then all is forgiven, and we’re supposed to root for their relationship?? if someone hits me to the point i need a hospital trip and i fall in love with them, please whack me again. it’s the concussion talking.
“and there you were, sitting with your glowing stack of books before you, and all I had was a measly copy of my one and only, and I just…” – part of her answer as to why she threw the book.
the dialogue was so awkwar that sometimes it hurt to read. for example “we don’t mean your castle any harm, brother protector ghost! she called. it’s just a silly game, a very foolish mistake, we won’t be making again! please, don’t kill us.”. sometimes it felt like some lines were said just for the sake of it, without having the character saying said line in mind, because i would not believe you if you told me it’s penelope that’s talking like that – the penelope that’s allegedly some sort of writing goddess from what neil’s been saying.
i wish neil was allowed to be his own character, but every single bit of information about him is given in the context of “was penelope justified in her hatred?”, which is annoying to say the least. he’s got the personality of a cardboard cutout and he’s constantly being gaslit – to the point he himself thinks penelope had some sort of motive for acting like a child for a bunch of years. we also get crumbs of backstory for each character, so we only see them as they are now with no motive behind their choices and beliefs.
their so-called friends simply push them towards each other and that’s it, that their only role here. literally they add nothing else to the story and i could not point out a single trait they had besides “horror writers”. laszlo has one scene in which he tells penelope that she’s being absurd to hate someone for playing the hand they were dealt, but daniela was a completely useless character. you could’ve taken her out of the story, and nothing would have changed. she’s the text-book definition of a filler character.
the fact that the romance develops in a maximum of 36 hours is also incredibly hard to believe because would you not have at least a little bit of self-preservation and question the other person’s motives considering they’ve been vocal about literally wanting you dead?? truly a romance that gives you whiplash, cause you blink and they’re in love! the spice was also interesting to read but i will keep my thoughts to myself because i think it’s a matter of personal taste, therefore other people could enjoy the way it was written. it’s also quite funny how this is marketed as “slow burn”, yet the action takes place in like 3-4 days. and they also make-out at the worst possible time, like a ghost nearly went chomp on you, can you at least wait a bit??
another poor choice the characters made was not telling the other two what was going on because they weren’t seeing the ghosts, which is stupid considering they’re very worried about the spirits in the castle possibly hurting them. so, you think they have the ability to harm you, but you’re not warning your friends about it? ok.
who decided mentioning ghost cum was a good idea? just, this book went through multiple hands, and nobody looked at that passage and asked themselves if that’s a good addition to the story? i cringed so hard, i nearly went to another dimension.
the horror that was promised did not deliver at all. this had crumbs of horror, if anything and i think the story wasn’t given enough time to develop and the characters ran in circles for like half of the book. we barely got any answers, and the ending was so anticlimactic, it was borderline funny how everything was resolved, no questions asked. there are things randomly added just so the story can be wrapped in a pretty bow – like at some point a magical torch appears and nobody bats an eye, nor did we get any explanation as to how that’s possible. just magic ✨
and towards the end they pull a little prank on their friends (that had no clue what was going on, let me reiterate) and blame them for “leaving them with the ghosts”. the ghosts you didn’t mention that they were somehow suppose to magically know about? mhm, right right.
the pacing was all over the place with things barely happening in the first 30-40% to suddenly being thrown into a paranormal scene to them doing the deed in the next page. so, we didn’t have the time to sit with anything and everything felt either too slow or too rushed, no balance in-between.
i do have to mention, this has native representation, so maybe someone will be able to see themselves in these characters, i cannot comment on that. the book also tried to touch on the issues within the publishing world, but i think it would’ve done better if it didn’t pit these authors against each other. the publishing world is the true villain here, not the guy that had his worked chopped until it didn’t resemble the original story at all because he felt he simply could not speak-up against it.
so, i have been, once again, fooled by the pretty cover. i think this could’ve been a nice book had the author spent more time polishing its timeline. we definitely needed more time seeing the characters be friends before jumping into a relationship. i also think penelope’s character didn’t really have any sort of a redemption arc, since she constantly pushed the blame on other characters. granted, she did wake up towards the end, but it’s a bit too late to make it credible.
if this book has no haters, i am dead.
so, they’re enemies because he wrote characters in a way she didn’t like, which prompted her to literally assault him while they were both attending an event. after her showing off her book throwing skills that ended up burying her career, she somehow has the audacity to blame the guy for it. as if her anger issues are his problem, you know? granted, there’s a bit more depth to the issue with the native characters that were, in her eyes, bad representation, but i still don’t think it justifies playing baseball with someone’s forehead and a book. and besides the physical assault, she also dragged his career through the mud at every given opportunity, while the dude was just existing. and then all is forgiven, and we’re supposed to root for their relationship?? if someone hits me to the point i need a hospital trip and i fall in love with them, please whack me again. it’s the concussion talking.
“and there you were, sitting with your glowing stack of books before you, and all I had was a measly copy of my one and only, and I just…” – part of her answer as to why she threw the book.
the dialogue was so awkwar that sometimes it hurt to read. for example “we don’t mean your castle any harm, brother protector ghost! she called. it’s just a silly game, a very foolish mistake, we won’t be making again! please, don’t kill us.”. sometimes it felt like some lines were said just for the sake of it, without having the character saying said line in mind, because i would not believe you if you told me it’s penelope that’s talking like that – the penelope that’s allegedly some sort of writing goddess from what neil’s been saying.
i wish neil was allowed to be his own character, but every single bit of information about him is given in the context of “was penelope justified in her hatred?”, which is annoying to say the least. he’s got the personality of a cardboard cutout and he’s constantly being gaslit – to the point he himself thinks penelope had some sort of motive for acting like a child for a bunch of years. we also get crumbs of backstory for each character, so we only see them as they are now with no motive behind their choices and beliefs.
their so-called friends simply push them towards each other and that’s it, that their only role here. literally they add nothing else to the story and i could not point out a single trait they had besides “horror writers”. laszlo has one scene in which he tells penelope that she’s being absurd to hate someone for playing the hand they were dealt, but daniela was a completely useless character. you could’ve taken her out of the story, and nothing would have changed. she’s the text-book definition of a filler character.
the fact that the romance develops in a maximum of 36 hours is also incredibly hard to believe because would you not have at least a little bit of self-preservation and question the other person’s motives considering they’ve been vocal about literally wanting you dead?? truly a romance that gives you whiplash, cause you blink and they’re in love! the spice was also interesting to read but i will keep my thoughts to myself because i think it’s a matter of personal taste, therefore other people could enjoy the way it was written. it’s also quite funny how this is marketed as “slow burn”, yet the action takes place in like 3-4 days. and they also make-out at the worst possible time, like a ghost nearly went chomp on you, can you at least wait a bit??
another poor choice the characters made was not telling the other two what was going on because they weren’t seeing the ghosts, which is stupid considering they’re very worried about the spirits in the castle possibly hurting them. so, you think they have the ability to harm you, but you’re not warning your friends about it? ok.
who decided mentioning ghost cum was a good idea? just, this book went through multiple hands, and nobody looked at that passage and asked themselves if that’s a good addition to the story? i cringed so hard, i nearly went to another dimension.
the horror that was promised did not deliver at all. this had crumbs of horror, if anything and i think the story wasn’t given enough time to develop and the characters ran in circles for like half of the book. we barely got any answers, and the ending was so anticlimactic, it was borderline funny how everything was resolved, no questions asked. there are things randomly added just so the story can be wrapped in a pretty bow – like at some point a magical torch appears and nobody bats an eye, nor did we get any explanation as to how that’s possible. just magic ✨
and towards the end they pull a little prank on their friends (that had no clue what was going on, let me reiterate) and blame them for “leaving them with the ghosts”. the ghosts you didn’t mention that they were somehow suppose to magically know about? mhm, right right.
the pacing was all over the place with things barely happening in the first 30-40% to suddenly being thrown into a paranormal scene to them doing the deed in the next page. so, we didn’t have the time to sit with anything and everything felt either too slow or too rushed, no balance in-between.
i do have to mention, this has native representation, so maybe someone will be able to see themselves in these characters, i cannot comment on that. the book also tried to touch on the issues within the publishing world, but i think it would’ve done better if it didn’t pit these authors against each other. the publishing world is the true villain here, not the guy that had his worked chopped until it didn’t resemble the original story at all because he felt he simply could not speak-up against it.
so, i have been, once again, fooled by the pretty cover. i think this could’ve been a nice book had the author spent more time polishing its timeline. we definitely needed more time seeing the characters be friends before jumping into a relationship. i also think penelope’s character didn’t really have any sort of a redemption arc, since she constantly pushed the blame on other characters. granted, she did wake up towards the end, but it’s a bit too late to make it credible.
dnf
April 6, 2024i’ll save u from her neil dont u worry
January 10, 2025
A lite horror novel disguised as a romcom.
The FMC, who has zero emotional intelligence and desperately needs therapy, throws a book at another author after she makes an immature outburst at a panel. She physically leaves him bleeding and scarred. (Like an actual scar.)
Months after this event, their two mutual friends set them up using a writer's retreat as an excuse.
Then Neil slowly gaslights himself into falling in love with someone who physical hurt him, saying that it was all in the past. She denies it at first, but in abuser fashion, she then starts to encourage him and calls it "love."
Truly a horror story for the ages.
The FMC, who has zero emotional intelligence and desperately needs therapy, throws a book at another author after she makes an immature outburst at a panel. She physically leaves him bleeding and scarred. (Like an actual scar.)
Months after this event, their two mutual friends set them up using a writer's retreat as an excuse.
Then Neil slowly gaslights himself into falling in love with someone who physical hurt him, saying that it was all in the past. She denies it at first, but in abuser fashion, she then starts to encourage him and calls it "love."
Truly a horror story for the ages.
October 2, 2024
**perfect spooky read as we enter into fall and you are looking to be deliciously haunted with a side dose of romance, enemies to lovers style**
I really loved the setting and plot to this book. Four authors meet on a writing retreat and haul up in a haunted castle located in a small town full of rich history.
Two of the authors have previous beef. One dreams of publishing his true story to tell with inspiration from his own family experiences that highlights realistic tales of indigenous people. Over time his work has been rejected and edited to be “palatable” to readers. The other author is angry at him for being a sell out and struggling to get her voice heard in her own writing.
When they find themselves on the retreat together and are forced into close proximity, searching for inspiration to write whilst fighting off ghosts and their growing feelings for each other.
A cute fun fall read! All the vibes 🫶🏼
I enjoyed the alternation between narrators and POV so we could see first hand what the two characters were thinking and feeling as the story progresses. The book is narrated by: Curtis Michael Holland; Kyla Garcia and they both did a great job.
Thank you to Dreamscape media and Colby Wilkens for the ALC!
Publish date: October 15th 2024
I really loved the setting and plot to this book. Four authors meet on a writing retreat and haul up in a haunted castle located in a small town full of rich history.
Two of the authors have previous beef. One dreams of publishing his true story to tell with inspiration from his own family experiences that highlights realistic tales of indigenous people. Over time his work has been rejected and edited to be “palatable” to readers. The other author is angry at him for being a sell out and struggling to get her voice heard in her own writing.
When they find themselves on the retreat together and are forced into close proximity, searching for inspiration to write whilst fighting off ghosts and their growing feelings for each other.
A cute fun fall read! All the vibes 🫶🏼
I enjoyed the alternation between narrators and POV so we could see first hand what the two characters were thinking and feeling as the story progresses. The book is narrated by: Curtis Michael Holland; Kyla Garcia and they both did a great job.
Thank you to Dreamscape media and Colby Wilkens for the ALC!
Publish date: October 15th 2024
April 25, 2024
Good stuff overall. Lots of repetition in spots.
~~~~~~~~~~
I was looking for something a little different to read and this one landed for perusal. I really like the concept of a bit of romance and some ghost story vibes.
The opening scene is quite memorable between the two leading characters. But what I found interesting as the story continued to develop is that the female lead character was really kind of a jerk.
While her initial anger at Neil could’ve been justified, the fact is she did not articulate it to him at all. It was a burst from nowhere as there was not any in-depth backstory.
There were other parts of the story that just didn’t jive well. The building romance started rather abruptly after the female lead had so much anger towards him. That was odd. Plus, she was a little wishy-washy when deciding between her anger and lust.
Speaking of lust, some of the romance pieces, (of which there were quite a few, Hooray!), appeared at weird times in the story. Like here, we’re going to be haunted, but let’s get hot and heavy. It was kind of odd.
Another portion that struck me was the haunted house itself. The concept is great, the plot was well thought out and worked. But I would not categorize this as horror in the least.
Overall, I did like the story as it is entertaining and different. With some tweaks, I think this could’ve been a 4-5 star read. Maybe the other two supporting characters could have more valuable input into the story. They really did not impact the book other than some comic relief. Not memorable characters.
If I Stopped Haunting You reminded me of a cozy mystery with hauntings and sexy times. There are plenty of entertaining parts for a well-rounded good story.
~~~
* I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
* full review - https://amidlifewife.com/if-i-stopped...
~~~~~~~~~~
I was looking for something a little different to read and this one landed for perusal. I really like the concept of a bit of romance and some ghost story vibes.
The opening scene is quite memorable between the two leading characters. But what I found interesting as the story continued to develop is that the female lead character was really kind of a jerk.
While her initial anger at Neil could’ve been justified, the fact is she did not articulate it to him at all. It was a burst from nowhere as there was not any in-depth backstory.
There were other parts of the story that just didn’t jive well. The building romance started rather abruptly after the female lead had so much anger towards him. That was odd. Plus, she was a little wishy-washy when deciding between her anger and lust.
Speaking of lust, some of the romance pieces, (of which there were quite a few, Hooray!), appeared at weird times in the story. Like here, we’re going to be haunted, but let’s get hot and heavy. It was kind of odd.
Another portion that struck me was the haunted house itself. The concept is great, the plot was well thought out and worked. But I would not categorize this as horror in the least.
Overall, I did like the story as it is entertaining and different. With some tweaks, I think this could’ve been a 4-5 star read. Maybe the other two supporting characters could have more valuable input into the story. They really did not impact the book other than some comic relief. Not memorable characters.
If I Stopped Haunting You reminded me of a cozy mystery with hauntings and sexy times. There are plenty of entertaining parts for a well-rounded good story.
~~~
* I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
* full review - https://amidlifewife.com/if-i-stopped...
October 15, 2024
If I Stopped Haunting You by Colby Wilkens
Contemporary paranormal romance. Enemies to lovers troupe.
Horror writers Penelope Skinner and Neil Storm end up on a writers retreat together in a haunted Scottish castle. She thinks he sold out to get his book published and then threw a book at him at a conference. Neither have been able to write since the conference so the retreat is exactly what they need. As soon as they can civically talk to each other and get rid of a ghost or two.
🎧 I alternated between an ebook and an audiobook which was narrated by Curtis Michael Holland and Kyla Garcia. The two offset each other very well taking their POV and using different distinct voices for Neil and Pen for their chapters. The chapters are labeled for whose POV it is but the audiobook is easier to hear the change. They both do a great job with emotions, in particular when encountering the ghosts and arguing with each other in frustration. The audiobook was great for the minor secondary characters with accents that I wouldn’t have heard correctly reading the print version. But with the print copy I was better able to visualize the castle.
I listened at 1.5 to more closely match my reading and conversation speed. Both formats or either recommended.
Reading about authors writing books is always an amusing topic although I’m sure most authors won’t find the topic of writers block all that encouraging. The haunted castle and ghosts added a creative twist for the romance. I’ve toured a bunch of castles and don’t know that I’ve actually encountered any ghosts but watching the caretaker run away isn’t a good sign for an overnight stay!
I was glad when Pen thought more about, and acknowledged why Neil may have made changes to his novel. That went a long way in changing her from self righteous to likable.
The secondary characters added a lot of humor and personality to the story.
A bit gothic and campy with several steamy scenes thrown into the mix.
I received a copy of this from NetGalley and publisher Dreamscape Media.
Contemporary paranormal romance. Enemies to lovers troupe.
Horror writers Penelope Skinner and Neil Storm end up on a writers retreat together in a haunted Scottish castle. She thinks he sold out to get his book published and then threw a book at him at a conference. Neither have been able to write since the conference so the retreat is exactly what they need. As soon as they can civically talk to each other and get rid of a ghost or two.
🎧 I alternated between an ebook and an audiobook which was narrated by Curtis Michael Holland and Kyla Garcia. The two offset each other very well taking their POV and using different distinct voices for Neil and Pen for their chapters. The chapters are labeled for whose POV it is but the audiobook is easier to hear the change. They both do a great job with emotions, in particular when encountering the ghosts and arguing with each other in frustration. The audiobook was great for the minor secondary characters with accents that I wouldn’t have heard correctly reading the print version. But with the print copy I was better able to visualize the castle.
I listened at 1.5 to more closely match my reading and conversation speed. Both formats or either recommended.
Reading about authors writing books is always an amusing topic although I’m sure most authors won’t find the topic of writers block all that encouraging. The haunted castle and ghosts added a creative twist for the romance. I’ve toured a bunch of castles and don’t know that I’ve actually encountered any ghosts but watching the caretaker run away isn’t a good sign for an overnight stay!
I was glad when Pen thought more about, and acknowledged why Neil may have made changes to his novel. That went a long way in changing her from self righteous to likable.
The secondary characters added a lot of humor and personality to the story.
A bit gothic and campy with several steamy scenes thrown into the mix.
I received a copy of this from NetGalley and publisher Dreamscape Media.
July 25, 2024
If I Stopped Haunting You
By Colby Wilkens
This is an arc book I received in exchange for my honest review. Thank you, NetGalley, and the publisher.
I saw this was advertised as a paranormal and horror, and boy, was I eager to get this. I don't read a lot of romance, but almost every story has some romance. This was to have steamy scenes, which is OK in some books. So, I went into the book with that knowledge.
Now, what I read was totally different. Anyone that follows me knows I give many 4s and 5 stars because I enjoy a wide array of subjects and styles. But this is one of the few negative reviews I have made.
Two writers that hate each other act like children until about halfway into the book when they realize that they now find each other very attractive and they let nature take it's course. Then that's all they want to do.
Not one character was likable. The plot was so overused. I saw no real horror. There is more horror in children's stories. Steamy scenes? Pathetic! Laughable.
I gave it 2 stars for the ghost that had to endure the stupidity of the characters!
I hate writing negative reviews. I am glad I don't have to write them often.
By Colby Wilkens
This is an arc book I received in exchange for my honest review. Thank you, NetGalley, and the publisher.
I saw this was advertised as a paranormal and horror, and boy, was I eager to get this. I don't read a lot of romance, but almost every story has some romance. This was to have steamy scenes, which is OK in some books. So, I went into the book with that knowledge.
Now, what I read was totally different. Anyone that follows me knows I give many 4s and 5 stars because I enjoy a wide array of subjects and styles. But this is one of the few negative reviews I have made.
Two writers that hate each other act like children until about halfway into the book when they realize that they now find each other very attractive and they let nature take it's course. Then that's all they want to do.
Not one character was likable. The plot was so overused. I saw no real horror. There is more horror in children's stories. Steamy scenes? Pathetic! Laughable.
I gave it 2 stars for the ghost that had to endure the stupidity of the characters!
I hate writing negative reviews. I am glad I don't have to write them often.
Read
February 15, 2025The implication that ghosts are able to ejaculate is not something I’ll be forgetting anytime soon
Edit: I just found out that the author is pretending to be indigenous PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS BOOK
Edit: I just found out that the author is pretending to be indigenous PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS BOOK
October 12, 2024
2 stars
Potential not reached, If I Stopped Haunting You is plagued by shortcoming typical in a debut: hodgepodge of disconnected ideas, weak characterization, and absence of an involving pacing. There are nuggets of quality throughout, and the various representations are wholeheartedly welcome, but overall this supernatural, hate-to-love rom-com is a miss.
The story opens in the wrong foot immediately with the root of its 'hate' element; the heroine's unprovoked public shaming of the hero is so pointlessly hurtful and irresponsible (She's basically being Kayne West to Taylor Swift during 2009 VMA), there's really nothing the author can do to redeem the heroine afterward—the way the hero rationalizes this as a thoughtful wake-up call (when it's basically public defamation) further adds salt to injury.
Things does get more interesting when the supernatural element is introduced, unfortunately it turns out to be a 'non-story' as the buildup to its mystery leads to a very limp, anticlimactic conclusion—more of a scattering of creepy moments rather than a cohesive secondary plot line.
If I Stopped Haunting You is half-baked across the board: characters in their 30s read like horned-up juvenile teens, surface-level commentary regarding racism in the publishing industry, and a romance that's subtly problematic. Everyone has to start somewhere, and I hope Colby Wilkens' next novel will only improve from here.
**This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated!**
Potential not reached, If I Stopped Haunting You is plagued by shortcoming typical in a debut: hodgepodge of disconnected ideas, weak characterization, and absence of an involving pacing. There are nuggets of quality throughout, and the various representations are wholeheartedly welcome, but overall this supernatural, hate-to-love rom-com is a miss.
The story opens in the wrong foot immediately with the root of its 'hate' element; the heroine's unprovoked public shaming of the hero is so pointlessly hurtful and irresponsible (She's basically being Kayne West to Taylor Swift during 2009 VMA), there's really nothing the author can do to redeem the heroine afterward—the way the hero rationalizes this as a thoughtful wake-up call (when it's basically public defamation) further adds salt to injury.
Things does get more interesting when the supernatural element is introduced, unfortunately it turns out to be a 'non-story' as the buildup to its mystery leads to a very limp, anticlimactic conclusion—more of a scattering of creepy moments rather than a cohesive secondary plot line.
If I Stopped Haunting You is half-baked across the board: characters in their 30s read like horned-up juvenile teens, surface-level commentary regarding racism in the publishing industry, and a romance that's subtly problematic. Everyone has to start somewhere, and I hope Colby Wilkens' next novel will only improve from here.
**This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated!**
Read
January 8, 2025this book is a 0/5 stars bc 1) it feels like it’s written by a 16 year old AI generator and 2) THE AUTHOR IS POSING AS AN INDIGENOUS PERSON??? yeah no thanks! dnf @ 26% :(
May 28, 2024
IF I STOP HAUNTING YOU might be listed as a romance paranormal, but it was no TWILIGHT. I won mine in a Goodreads giveaway as an Advance Readers' Edition. I therefore felt obligated to finish it even though that was a chore. It took over a third of the story before enemies became lovers. I wouldn't have minded if it was more than just the same anger/lust over and over again. To tell the truth, I finished the last 50+ pages sitting in a waiting room or I would still be working on it. I will pass it on in the hope that somebody else enjoys it.
Trigger warnings were in the front of the book, which was a nice gesture.
Trigger warnings were in the front of the book, which was a nice gesture.
March 23, 2024
the enemies were enemying a little too hard in this one. in a contemporary romance, it is never that serious, and quite frankly, penelope is a jerk and there will be no redemption for her absurd behavior at the beginning of the novel. if I fell in love with a woman who physically assaulted me to the point of bleeding and also publicly humiliated me by dragging my entire career through the mud, I would hope a loved one would admit me to the nearest psychiatric facility.
I also heard there is ghost cum, and although board studying already has me in shambles, I cannot in my semi-right mind stick around to see what that's all about.
thank you to Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review
✧ DNF 22%
I also heard there is ghost cum, and although board studying already has me in shambles, I cannot in my semi-right mind stick around to see what that's all about.
thank you to Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review
✧ DNF 22%
Read
October 30, 2024Not starring this - the author has been revealed to have faked Indigenous identity, and luckily I didn't get to this ARC before I heard that. Consider this notes to self, Bon. DNR.
November 4, 2024
The grand gesture in this story should have been an emergency MRI and a restraining order.
It’s just a no from me - and I am beyond bummed. DNF at 30%. The premise sounded like a cute spooky season rom-com, but I do not find the characters redeemable or even minutely compatible after even just the first chapter; where our main lady violently chucks a book at our main man’s head during a panel at a book convention and draws blood. After this, there appears to be no growth (on her part). No ownership of the awful actions (again, on her part). And after such an opening act of violence that she seems to repeatedly defend? These two people should not be together. I cannot and will not root for them.
“Sliding her left foot behind her, she turned and chucked her book at the cocky bastard. She watched gleefully as it smacked into the side of his temple, and he flew out of his chair, yelling obscenities. There was a twinge of guilt in her gut as she watched blood trickle down the side of his face, but Pen stamped it down as people rushed forward to help the Prince of Horror and she was dragged backward out of the room by convention security. Alone. She was alone.”
Umm duh? You have a horrible temper, violent tendencies, a dangerous sense of self-righteousness and absolutely not a leg to stand on. Who would stay?
Oh wait - apparently by the end of this story, the guy with an obvious brain injury from the book chucked at his head will stay. 🤦🏻♀️
Gender-reversed this plot would NEVER fly. And that’s a final nail in its coffin for me.
Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advanced electronic copy in exchange for an honest review. 🫣
It’s just a no from me - and I am beyond bummed. DNF at 30%. The premise sounded like a cute spooky season rom-com, but I do not find the characters redeemable or even minutely compatible after even just the first chapter; where our main lady violently chucks a book at our main man’s head during a panel at a book convention and draws blood. After this, there appears to be no growth (on her part). No ownership of the awful actions (again, on her part). And after such an opening act of violence that she seems to repeatedly defend? These two people should not be together. I cannot and will not root for them.
“Sliding her left foot behind her, she turned and chucked her book at the cocky bastard. She watched gleefully as it smacked into the side of his temple, and he flew out of his chair, yelling obscenities. There was a twinge of guilt in her gut as she watched blood trickle down the side of his face, but Pen stamped it down as people rushed forward to help the Prince of Horror and she was dragged backward out of the room by convention security. Alone. She was alone.”
Umm duh? You have a horrible temper, violent tendencies, a dangerous sense of self-righteousness and absolutely not a leg to stand on. Who would stay?
Oh wait - apparently by the end of this story, the guy with an obvious brain injury from the book chucked at his head will stay. 🤦🏻♀️
Gender-reversed this plot would NEVER fly. And that’s a final nail in its coffin for me.
Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advanced electronic copy in exchange for an honest review. 🫣
February 24, 2025
Ewie. Bad writing, was this written by a 12 year old?
December 8, 2024
I’m kind of obsessed with how completely awful this book is. Like, actually UNBELIEVABLY bad. I just want to make it clear that even if the author isn’t lying about her identity, the book still sucks. Her Native background or lack thereof really doesn’t change that If I Stopped Haunting You is poorly written, shallow, and riddled with plot holes.
Let’s start with my most newsworthy complaint: the female protagonist of IISHY, Penelope, is a white passing mixed Native person, and we are supposed to believe that she is MORE marginalized and victimized than the male protagonist (Neil) because she is white and not enrolled in a tribe. I’m not even kidding. We’re told that people don’t think she’s Native enough and that means they don’t take her seriously even though she’s the most authentic and brave writer on Native identity (we’re TOLD this about her writing, and never given any supporting details about her books aside from a very short excerpt that, unsurprisingly, sucks). Neil, who is described as having darker skin and being enrolled in a tribe, is painted as having more privilege than her because he’s more obviously Native. And then he supposedly wastes that privilege by “selling out” and writing Native stereotypes because his editor tells him to (again, no details about what exactly this sellout book looks like aside from one or two extremely vague conversations between the characters).
Okay. I myself am a white passing mixed race person, and I understand well the whole “being too much of x for one group and not enough of y for the other group.” I also think it’s ridiculous and honestly embarrassing to believe people who look like me (white) face anything close to the marginalization of people who don’t look white. And to say that this white passing character is braver and truer to the Native experience than the darker skinned character is, to say the least, *telling* in terms of how Colby sees the world.
Then there’s the fact that this book is set in a Scottish castle, and outside of a couple of conversations and clumsily shoe horned-in details, there is very little connection to any kind of Native history or culture. All the texture in this book comes from the descriptions of Scotland and the castle itself — the characters imagine European lords and ladies drinking their wine; we’re treated to lavish descriptions of the castle’s majesty contrasted with its ruin. The characters’ “Nativeness” is nominally important to the story but doesn’t show up in any meaningful way in Colby’s writing. It seems like she wanted to write about people with green and gray eyes in a European castle (yes, Neil has green eyes and Penelope has gray eyes) and decided to make those characters Native to make the book stand out. I’m being serious when I say you could swap out a few details and tinker with a few conversations and Penelope and Neil’s conflict could be changed to almost any marginalized identity. I’m not trying to speak out of turn, but Colby’s identity is in the spotlight and this is what I mean when I say the book is shallow. Its discussion of identity is supposed to be a major selling point of the book, but that discussion has very little actual substance.
The worst part is that Neil concludes that Penelope is right—that she IS a braver, better, more authentic writer than him; that he DID take up space that more rightfully should have gone to her (again, the white person); and that she was right to throw a book at him in public so hard that it drew blood and left a lasting scar. (Let’s not even get into the physics of how the hell she PERMANENTLY SCARRED him by throwing a book.) Neil’s bizarre capitulation to Penelope not only doesn’t make any sense, it also makes the conflict far less interesting than it could be.
But aside from all the identity stuff, there’s also a godawful halfbaked ghost story to contend with. This piece of the book was just mediocre. The scary details were far from bone chilling, the mystery didn’t hook me at all, and the resolution was simplistic and unsatisfying. Not the worst I’ve ever read, but pretty boring and uninspired, and not helped by the heaps of cringe-inducing meta comments throughout (“Dorian Gray level shit”, “I can’t believe I, a Horror Author, am going to go into a haunted room”; that kind of thing). Cynically, I don’t think this book is anywhere special enough to have been published without the Native identity aspect of it, even though that aspect was so poorly done.
There is a lot more I could say (I’m going through my kindle highlights and getting mad all over again lol), but I’ll cut it off there. I read the whole book, much to my regret, and it’s very bad. Never should have been published, regardless of whether Colby actually has Native ancestry. Too bad how it all shook out. Publishers should have realized how terrible the book was and saved her from herself, lol.
Let’s start with my most newsworthy complaint: the female protagonist of IISHY, Penelope, is a white passing mixed Native person, and we are supposed to believe that she is MORE marginalized and victimized than the male protagonist (Neil) because she is white and not enrolled in a tribe. I’m not even kidding. We’re told that people don’t think she’s Native enough and that means they don’t take her seriously even though she’s the most authentic and brave writer on Native identity (we’re TOLD this about her writing, and never given any supporting details about her books aside from a very short excerpt that, unsurprisingly, sucks). Neil, who is described as having darker skin and being enrolled in a tribe, is painted as having more privilege than her because he’s more obviously Native. And then he supposedly wastes that privilege by “selling out” and writing Native stereotypes because his editor tells him to (again, no details about what exactly this sellout book looks like aside from one or two extremely vague conversations between the characters).
Okay. I myself am a white passing mixed race person, and I understand well the whole “being too much of x for one group and not enough of y for the other group.” I also think it’s ridiculous and honestly embarrassing to believe people who look like me (white) face anything close to the marginalization of people who don’t look white. And to say that this white passing character is braver and truer to the Native experience than the darker skinned character is, to say the least, *telling* in terms of how Colby sees the world.
Then there’s the fact that this book is set in a Scottish castle, and outside of a couple of conversations and clumsily shoe horned-in details, there is very little connection to any kind of Native history or culture. All the texture in this book comes from the descriptions of Scotland and the castle itself — the characters imagine European lords and ladies drinking their wine; we’re treated to lavish descriptions of the castle’s majesty contrasted with its ruin. The characters’ “Nativeness” is nominally important to the story but doesn’t show up in any meaningful way in Colby’s writing. It seems like she wanted to write about people with green and gray eyes in a European castle (yes, Neil has green eyes and Penelope has gray eyes) and decided to make those characters Native to make the book stand out. I’m being serious when I say you could swap out a few details and tinker with a few conversations and Penelope and Neil’s conflict could be changed to almost any marginalized identity. I’m not trying to speak out of turn, but Colby’s identity is in the spotlight and this is what I mean when I say the book is shallow. Its discussion of identity is supposed to be a major selling point of the book, but that discussion has very little actual substance.
The worst part is that Neil concludes that Penelope is right—that she IS a braver, better, more authentic writer than him; that he DID take up space that more rightfully should have gone to her (again, the white person); and that she was right to throw a book at him in public so hard that it drew blood and left a lasting scar. (Let’s not even get into the physics of how the hell she PERMANENTLY SCARRED him by throwing a book.) Neil’s bizarre capitulation to Penelope not only doesn’t make any sense, it also makes the conflict far less interesting than it could be.
But aside from all the identity stuff, there’s also a godawful halfbaked ghost story to contend with. This piece of the book was just mediocre. The scary details were far from bone chilling, the mystery didn’t hook me at all, and the resolution was simplistic and unsatisfying. Not the worst I’ve ever read, but pretty boring and uninspired, and not helped by the heaps of cringe-inducing meta comments throughout (“Dorian Gray level shit”, “I can’t believe I, a Horror Author, am going to go into a haunted room”; that kind of thing). Cynically, I don’t think this book is anywhere special enough to have been published without the Native identity aspect of it, even though that aspect was so poorly done.
There is a lot more I could say (I’m going through my kindle highlights and getting mad all over again lol), but I’ll cut it off there. I read the whole book, much to my regret, and it’s very bad. Never should have been published, regardless of whether Colby actually has Native ancestry. Too bad how it all shook out. Publishers should have realized how terrible the book was and saved her from herself, lol.
October 6, 2024
2 stars.
I did not like "If I Stopped Haunting You" by Colby Wilkens. I tried to get over the fact that Pen, the main female character, starts the book by physically assaulting Neil, the main male character, by throwing a book at him in a public setting (a book panel at a convention). Four months pass, and Pen and Neil find themselves in each other's orbits again when they stay in a haunted castle in Scotland for a writer's retreat. Repeatedly, for the next 300+ pages, Pen attempts to justify her actions by gaslighting Neil. She makes *herself* the victim of the situation and blames everyone else for her issues. This did not sit well with me at all. I love books with complicated female main characters. In fact, I frequently and actively seek them out, but there is a fine line between complicated and straight-up toxic. Pen is just toxic, full stop. *Maybe* she could have been redeemable without the assault (which scarred him, by the way!), but the fact that she does not grow at all during the entire novel leads me to believe that's not the case. She's still the same sanctimonious, self-important, angry person she was in the beginning. By the end of the story, the only difference is that Pen has convinced Neil that he wants to be with the person who assaulted him. Representing what it is like to be BIPOC in the publishing industry is important, admirable, and necessary. Indigenous romance stories are few and far between, which is a disgrace. I also appreciate the bi-representation here. We need more diverse books in the romance genre! This is, by far, the best part of the book. Unfortunately, the rest of it is a mess. The haunting aspects were also not all that spooky. It was just a letdown all around. I usually love enemies-to-lovers and forced proximity stories, but this was not my cup of tea. I do not recommend this one.
Thank you to NetGalley, Colby Wilkens, St. Martin's Press, and St. Martin's Griffin for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.
I did not like "If I Stopped Haunting You" by Colby Wilkens. I tried to get over the fact that Pen, the main female character, starts the book by physically assaulting Neil, the main male character, by throwing a book at him in a public setting (a book panel at a convention). Four months pass, and Pen and Neil find themselves in each other's orbits again when they stay in a haunted castle in Scotland for a writer's retreat. Repeatedly, for the next 300+ pages, Pen attempts to justify her actions by gaslighting Neil. She makes *herself* the victim of the situation and blames everyone else for her issues. This did not sit well with me at all. I love books with complicated female main characters. In fact, I frequently and actively seek them out, but there is a fine line between complicated and straight-up toxic. Pen is just toxic, full stop. *Maybe* she could have been redeemable without the assault (which scarred him, by the way!), but the fact that she does not grow at all during the entire novel leads me to believe that's not the case. She's still the same sanctimonious, self-important, angry person she was in the beginning. By the end of the story, the only difference is that Pen has convinced Neil that he wants to be with the person who assaulted him. Representing what it is like to be BIPOC in the publishing industry is important, admirable, and necessary. Indigenous romance stories are few and far between, which is a disgrace. I also appreciate the bi-representation here. We need more diverse books in the romance genre! This is, by far, the best part of the book. Unfortunately, the rest of it is a mess. The haunting aspects were also not all that spooky. It was just a letdown all around. I usually love enemies-to-lovers and forced proximity stories, but this was not my cup of tea. I do not recommend this one.
Thank you to NetGalley, Colby Wilkens, St. Martin's Press, and St. Martin's Griffin for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.
October 8, 2024
This made me not want to read any other spooky books this year. How does something like this go through editing and publishing and it’s still this bad?
First off, I wanted to DNF for homegirl’s violence against her future love interest in the freaking first few pages. If the man had thrown the book at the woman’s face and made her bleed, people would be sharpening pitchforks. Men should have the same protections against violence. It did nothing to help the story, and could have easily been left out. Speaking of, story? What story? I couldn’t even remember this plot an hour after I finished the book. I’m sure part of that was the trauma I suffered but also, it’s because the story isn’t good. Homegirl (I cannot be bothered to remember their names at this point) is an abuser, a gaslighter, and a conceited jerk. Homeboy has no spine, and she basically spends the entire book tearing him apart until they get together. These two are supposed to be enemies to lovers/competing authors, but there was no competition. It was rushed abuse and then a “happy ending” was forced in there at the end, if that’s what you want to call it.
The sex scenes were bland. The horror elements were stupid and boring. The characters are awful. The plot is non-existent.
I started telling people not to read this when I was 10% of the way into it, and that did not change. Please, for the sanity of us all, do not read this book. Enough people have suffered.
First off, I wanted to DNF for homegirl’s violence against her future love interest in the freaking first few pages. If the man had thrown the book at the woman’s face and made her bleed, people would be sharpening pitchforks. Men should have the same protections against violence. It did nothing to help the story, and could have easily been left out. Speaking of, story? What story? I couldn’t even remember this plot an hour after I finished the book. I’m sure part of that was the trauma I suffered but also, it’s because the story isn’t good. Homegirl (I cannot be bothered to remember their names at this point) is an abuser, a gaslighter, and a conceited jerk. Homeboy has no spine, and she basically spends the entire book tearing him apart until they get together. These two are supposed to be enemies to lovers/competing authors, but there was no competition. It was rushed abuse and then a “happy ending” was forced in there at the end, if that’s what you want to call it.
The sex scenes were bland. The horror elements were stupid and boring. The characters are awful. The plot is non-existent.
I started telling people not to read this when I was 10% of the way into it, and that did not change. Please, for the sanity of us all, do not read this book. Enough people have suffered.
March 29, 2024
thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me early access to this title in exchange for an honest review.
this one's going to be short. i didn't like this. maybe it might just be me and the timing, but this was not a book for me. i LOVE and KNOW all things paranormal and this just did not hit the way i wanted it to :/
this one's going to be short. i didn't like this. maybe it might just be me and the timing, but this was not a book for me. i LOVE and KNOW all things paranormal and this just did not hit the way i wanted it to :/
October 30, 2024
Upon discovering the author was dishonest about her heritage and posed as an Indigenous person, I will not leave a full review any longer. Before I found that information, the book was still incredibly problematic.
March 30, 2024
I received a free copy of, If I Stopped Haunting You, by Colby Wilkens, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Horror writer Penelope Skinner is at a writers retreat with her nemesis Neil Storm, in a castle. This was a nice book, a little scary and romantic at the same time.
January 19, 2025
Penelope Skinner and Neil Storm, both Native American writers, get off on the wrong foot when they appear on the same panel at a Book Con. But then their mutual friend Laszlo invites them both on a writing retreat in the Scottish Highlands in the hope that they will, um, bury the hatchet. Next thing they know, they're snowed into a haunted castle, wondering if the ghosts and their own past can be laid to rest.Wow, y'all, this book was terrible. I'm 2-starring it because it was maybe 15% not completely awful. I love the title and was really hoping for something enjoyable, but this was a pretty lousy start to 2025.
There are just so many fails.
First, I nearly stopped reading after the prologue, because the story opens with Pen throwing a book at Neil at the conference, and there isn't any excuse to justify physically assaulting someone like that. Then this is supposed to be an "enemies to lovers" story, but from the second these two are in the same place together, all they do is drool over and lust after each other. I'm sure there's more tension in the author's head story, but all that comes across on the page is their attraction to each other, with a feeble attempt at them both thinking "this shouldn't be happening based on our history!" The chapter POVs alternate between Pen and Neil, and they are both boring; neither of them has any personality, plus they both come across like they're sixteen, not pushing thirty. The writing is clunky, with some very odd word choices and descriptions -- there is not a single page in this book where I did not stop and go "huh?" at some point. And the plot set-up leaves all kinds of questions, too. Why go all the way to Scotland for this retreat? Why is a haunted castle such a bargain? I thought the world is full of paranormal fans who would pay a premium to stay there.
Then there is the big question, to me anyway, of why bother making these characters Native American. It doesn't really inform them or the story. They talk some about how hard it is to be a BIPOC author, but it doesn't really feel organic (and all of the dialogue in this book is just bad). The presentation reads like a Mad Libs for writing characters -- insert Ethnic or Racial Background here; insert Cultural Ritual You Found on Wikipedia here. I hate to be mean, but it felt exactly that stiff and shallow. I was really hoping that their Native backgrounds would at least provide a unique insight into how to bring the ghosts to rest, but nope. The ghost story is pretty bog standard in both its origin and its resolution.
I'm not even sure why I finished this book, except that first I was determined to at least get to a ghost sighting, and then after that I started reading it like I was watching one of those late night so-bad-it's-good horror movies, and I started laughing at the awfulness instead of groaning.
This book needed much better editing and some tough questions; a less off-putting beginning and a more subtle growing attraction between the characters; and a more natural-feeling presentation of Native authors. It also did not help that having a character named Laszlo made me hear Laszlo from What We Do in the Shadows every time he opened his mouth.
I hate writing such a negative review, but wow. There was absolutely nothing to recommend about this. Wish me a better next read!
July 18, 2024
Thank you, Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for approving me for this ARC!
Rating: 4 🌟🌟🌟🌟's
-》Review《-
This book flaunts being both a "steamy hot enemies to lovers romance" and a chilling haunting horror story. To be frank, it wasn't much of either. The two main characters, Penelope and Neil, quickly go from hatred to sex scenes, and the scenes aren't that steamy. I attribute this to the lack of buildup, I love slow burn stories and seeing two characters come together over time while slowly falling in love. This book was the opposite of that, Penelope and Neil go from disliking the other person to sex scenes in the next chapter.
Nevertheless, there is still a massive page turner aspect to this book! I read it in a solid two days, and keep coming back to read even just a few pages during my bathroom breaks at work 😅 It is well written, and although it's cliché, it's the haunted house cliché you wanted.
This book won't be everyone's cup of tea, and I feel that it is falsely advertised as both a streamy romance and a thriller. To me, it was more of a romcom/parody of a haunted house. The characters seem like your classic 'How to not survive a horror movie' type, and watching them consistently make dumb decisions keep me reading.
Overall, if you like romcoms and clichés then this is a book to add to your shelf! It comes out October 15th, so you can read it with a cup of hot chocolate in an oversized sweater, perfect autumn romcom 🫶
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