If I Stopped Haunting You
Ratings3
Average rating3.5
15
Ratings3
Average rating3.5
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!
Reviews with the most likes.
(4.5 Stars) Enemies-to-lovers in a bone-chillingly haunted castle. The perfect addition to your spooky season TBR.
It's a bit of a slow burn, with really great romantic tension. The passion that made them hate each other is explosive when they realize they don't. There's a fine line between hate and love, and forced proximity in a haunted castle is a great setting for them to cross it.
I expected this to be spooky, but not that I'd almost need to sleep with the lights on. The haunted house atmosphere is so well done. I was simultaneously cursing them for willingly going towards the danger while also hoping they would figure things out. The supernatural mystery is strong enough to stand on its own outside of the romance.
As Pen and Neil are both Native horror writers, there's a big focus on Native identity and how it's affected by society's perceptions and expectations. It gets very specific, but the debate of compromising to make yourself more palatable to other people is universal enough that it will also appeal to non-Native readers. There's a lot of casual queer representation as well.
I would absolutely recommend people pick this up when it comes out later this year. It's a fantastic and unique blend of horror and contemporary romance.
This ARC was provided by St. Martin's Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions provided are my own.
