If you're going into this as a romance novel, I don't think you'll be too disappointed. It's an enemy to lovers story - where they are two Native authors, pitted against each other for publishing.

It's a cute story to start. They are on a writing retreat set in a haunted castle in Scotland. But the haunting is very light to start and really only gets a spot in the story sporadically until the 20%. It's not terribly compelling, so I don't think it's a great reason to jump into this story.

Maybe because I don't read a lot of romance, I thought some of the romance scenes were awkward. The weird moment where they wondered about ectoplasm (ew) and the interruption of Daniela felt like odd additions that I found gross, not romantic.

However, the banter was cute. I liked how the two main characters struggled to define their writing and their stories - pushing themselves to discover what kind of authors they wanted to be. It was light, cute and I went into it expecting just that.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book. ( )

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Griffin, and Colby Wilkens for providing this advance reader copy (ARC) of the book. My honest review is below.

Cute name, cute descriptive blurb, lots of potential, so I took a chance on the story. It didn't live up to my expectations. The lead female character, Pen, is an awful unlikeable mess. She's a bit violent, snarky, and anti-social and I'm left wondering if she's a decent writer. The lead male character, Neil who's a published successful author, is a glutton for punishment that keeps coming back for more. Their "love" affair is too quick to be anything more than lust, they hate each other and then bam they're having sex & have become a couple. The plot of the haunted castle and solving the ghostly mystery was interesting but everything else was rushed or not fleshed out. The secondary characters are left hanging and you can't like or root for someone you don't know at all. The ghostly characters complete story would have interested me more. I'm giving 2 stars for the haunted castle/ghost part of the tale.

#NetGalley #St.Matrin'sGriffin #IfIStoppedHauntingYou #ColbyWilkens #contemparyromance #ghoststory #writersretreat #mystery ( )

Rating: 3* of five

The Publisher Says: 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!

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: Spooky castle...enemies forced into proximity...sparks flying left and right...bingo! #Deathtober read card filled.

One star off for heterosexualizing a perfectly good plot.

Author Wilkens does a fine job of entertaining her readers with a ghost story inside Gothic-novel trappings. Her domestic-violence opening...the woman throws a book at the man hard enough for the injury to bleed, and to leave a scar, and it's...somehow okay...? Like, a woman injuring a man isn't a problem but if he'd done the same to her the howling banshees would be all over it!

I was not thrilled by this.

I just barely got to a three-star rating because Author Wilkens made me chuckle many times *in*spite*of* my existing irritation. That is some serious talent! Causing an irked old curmudgeon to chuckle is a feat!

I really don't know what to tell you about the violence. You know your own tolerance for the abuse passed off as humor trope. ( )

Horror writers Penelope "Pen" Skinner (female main character/FMC) and Neil Storm (male main character/MMC) are manipulated by a mutual friend to attend a writers retreat together in a haunted Scottish castle, but each is unaware that the other is attending. They have history: they are both indigenous authors which automatically leads to comparisons between them, and Pen thinks Neil sold out to get his book published - her irritation with him, and his antagonism of her, ultimately culminates with Pen throwing a book at him at a conference. Since that moment, neither one has been able to write another thing, so on paper, at least, the retreat is exactly what they need.

The plot can be summed up as a combination of the "enemies to lovers" trope combined with that of "opposites attract." The plot fits in both, and yet, is really neither one. As we get to know our main characters better, we realize they were never really enemies, and they have more in common than it would first appear. There is also a supernatural/horror element (not TOO scary - think more...."pleasantly goth," maybe) that set up the framework for the plot and having the retreat in the castle provided many opportunities for moody, spooky, vibes. I also enjoyed the indigenous author angle of this story. It really made me think about how we categorize our entertainment "tropes" (including literary ones) and in so doing, deprive ourselves of seeing - and enjoying - the individuality of something that defies categorization.

I did not especially care for either of the main supporting characters. I thought the mutual friend who tricked them into attending the retreat was pretty ballsy - if one of my friends tricked me into spending a week or two with someone I thought I thoroughly disliked, I would've been really angry!! It smacks of manipulation and dishonesty/lack of consent, but it does make an effective plot device! The other supporting character was just rude and annoying. I'm not even sure why she was included, other than to show that Pen is queer and perhaps to provide a counterpoint to the friend who arranged the retreat? I also thought the description of the setting (the castle) could stand improvement as there was the occasional confusing moment when a trap door didn't align with the room I thought it should or a view out a window didn't make sense given what I thought I knew about the layout, etc. Minor details, but they did take me out of the story a little bit.

I rate each of the individual elements of this book on a scale of 1 to 5 stars as follows:

FMC - 4 stars
MMC - 3 stars
Supporting characters - 2 stars
Plot - 5 stars
Setting - 4 stars
Pacing - 4 stars
Syntax/grammar, etc. - 4 stars
Dialogue - 5 stars
World-building - 4 stars
TOTAL - 3.9 stars, rounded up to a solid 4 stars out of 5.

If you like romances and don't want your horror to be too graphic or bloody, I think you will enjoy this book. Based on this book alone, I would read other books by this author.

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

Things that go bump in the night!

An intriguing concept but it just didn’t engage my interest. Two writers who dislike each other at a supposedly haunted castle as part of a writing week. They’ve both lost their writing mojo and hope for the opportunity to find it. Pen’s major problem with Neil Storm is that he’s sold out his writings for success. His novels don’t do their First Nation’s heritage justice. Fascinating!
So that premise alone holds so much promise. This was a great springboard. That, along with the enemies to lovers trope should have sparkled, but I just wasn’t on board. I finished the title, skimming mostly. Not what I wanted or intended to do.

A St. Martin’s Press ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher. ( )