inkwellshadows 's review for:

If I Stopped Haunting You by Colby Wilkens

1.5

medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Disclaimer: I read/reviewed this novel prior to what ended up coming out about Colby. Doesn’t change my opinions, I still hated this book.

Full review: Similarly to the conflicting feelings the characters have for each other throughout this novel, I am incredibly confused after reading this book.

I went into this thinking it was going to be a romance novel mixed with some light fluffy haunting, but it was a full blown attempt at adding a horror element to it. The tone between the romance aspect of the book plus this scary ghost element did NOT mesh well for me at all, and instead felt underdeveloped and gimmicky.

For example, every time something horrible or tragic happened regarding ghost activities in the house, Pen and Neil (the two main characters) just wanted to bang each other. This was the major reason why I questioned why even have this incredibly scary supernatural side plot if the characters don’t even seem to be affected by it?

I truly believe this book would have worked better for me if it was one or the other: a romance OR a horror novel, but that spooky side definitely would have needed work. I feel like the mystery behind the ghosts was interesting, or justified the haunting at all.

I am giving the book two stars because I was able to finish it instead of DNFing, but I can say for certain this novel was not for me.


Thank you St Martin’s for the e-arc approval via netgalley.