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amysmithlinton 's review for:
If I Stopped Haunting You
by Colby Wilkens
First-Nation horror writers on retreat in a haunted Scottish castle, plus romance? That's a fresh take on the romance genre that I can get behind! Represent!
After publicly assaulting Neil Storm, a successful Indigenous horror writer at a panel, struggling writer Pen (who is mixed Anglo and Native) is ready to give up on her already-stalled career. But a friend organizes a writer's retreat in Scotland, where, to only Pen's surprise, the cutie-patootie horror writer is also attending. Along with another Indigenous writer, a woman with whom Pen had a fling some years previous.
Once installed in the castle, Pen and Neil are thrown together by the ghost of the castle. Sparks ensue.
Fans of romance will welcome the enemies-to-lovers trope—and the spice. Both Neil and Pen must overcome self-doubt, and their inner dialogues pepper the narrative, which may or may not appeal.
The genre often requires the willing suspension of acceptable social conventions (assault is NOT acceptable behavior in a mate IRL, as far as I'm concerned), as well as a certain glossing over of details (how many times did Neil hit his head? Why did they reenact the ghosts' haunting in the west-wing bedroom for their fellow writers?), but it's all part of the romance game.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the eARC in exchange for my unfettered opinion.
After publicly assaulting Neil Storm, a successful Indigenous horror writer at a panel, struggling writer Pen (who is mixed Anglo and Native) is ready to give up on her already-stalled career. But a friend organizes a writer's retreat in Scotland, where, to only Pen's surprise, the cutie-patootie horror writer is also attending. Along with another Indigenous writer, a woman with whom Pen had a fling some years previous.
Once installed in the castle, Pen and Neil are thrown together by the ghost of the castle. Sparks ensue.
Fans of romance will welcome the enemies-to-lovers trope—and the spice. Both Neil and Pen must overcome self-doubt, and their inner dialogues pepper the narrative, which may or may not appeal.
The genre often requires the willing suspension of acceptable social conventions (assault is NOT acceptable behavior in a mate IRL, as far as I'm concerned), as well as a certain glossing over of details (how many times did Neil hit his head? Why did they reenact the ghosts' haunting in the west-wing bedroom for their fellow writers?), but it's all part of the romance game.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the eARC in exchange for my unfettered opinion.