A review by jaechristy
If I Stopped Haunting You by Colby Wilkens

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

There were components of this book I really liked: I enjoyed the dual perspectives, I thought the setting of Scotland and the castle were great, and the beginning of the horror aspect was creepy. I also thought that “the incident” was well written and that the author was great at making the scenes of the book come to life. There was a lot of spice which was great. The things I didn’t like: this is supposed to be enemies/rivals to lovers but we moved to lovers way too fast. The reader never really understood why they were enemies in the first place and once we got to the castle they were both pining for each other. I also wish that we could have gone a little deeper in their hate for each other. The resolution with the ghosts felt rushed and unfinished. Lastly, I felt like the addition of Daniela to the retreat group was odd. It felt like she was only a device to show that Pen is bisexual? Both minor characters were pretty one dimensional. All in all, I enjoyed myself reading this but there was definitely room for improvement. I will say it was great to get Native representation where the BIPOC gets to exist in the world and do something like horror in a foreign place like Scotland. It just really goes to show that you can have diverse characters doing anything, not just tied to the typical tropes or settings