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A review by justinkhchen
If I Stopped Haunting You by Colby Wilkens
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
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!**
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!**