{3.25/5}

CW: spice, some horror elements

Read via NetGalley. “If I Stopped Haunting You” releases October 15, 2024.

If you’re a seasoned paranormal horror reader, or one of those people who fear absolutely nothing you read, then this book probably isn’t going to hit enough of the ‘horror’ notes to satisfy your ghostly desires. For those of us who are big scaredy cats, though, it was a fun little ride.

Ever since the Incident (the one where she called super-popular author Neil Storm a sellout and threw a book at his head), Penelope Skinner hasn’t written a single word. In fact, she’s completely retreated from the world, hiding from the vitriol she knows flew her way immediately after the Incident. When she agrees to join a writer’s retreat her best (and only) friend is putting on, it seems like a good chance to jump back into the writing game. The only problem is that Neil Storm is also on this retreat. Oh, and the castle where they’re staying is super haunted. So, you know, everything’s going great.

This was a really fun, really cute read with just the right amount of creepy horror lurking in the background. Told in dual 3rd person POV and switching focuses between our two MCs, we get a wonderfully well-rounded look at why each of them respond to each other the way they do. We don’t get a whole lot of background on either one beyond their big confrontation at the beginning of the book, so at times it can feel like things have been left a little too vague, but it didn’t detract severely from the overall story. Because of some of the information we learn from the dual focus strategy, at times the romance plotline can feel like it’s edging on a miscommunication trope issue, but it never fully crosses over, thankfully. What we’re left with turns out to be a spicy, cute romance that, although it escalates rapidly, doesn’t really feel like an insta-love or a completely unfounded change of heart from enemies to lovers; it flowed well, and it was fun to watch.

The characters are interesting, and they do have very distinct personalities from each other, but every so often I did find myself questioning their motives in investigating the haunting at the castle. It seemed like it went from ‘oh no, the castle feels weird’ to ‘we have to save everyone and fix this for the greater good’ in almost no time flat without any real reasoning. Fortunately and hilariously, this issue was easily overlooked thanks to the delightful number of acknowledgements of the standard horror movie tropes, which I personally found hilarious.

The horror elements themselves fall into what I would consider exactly the right amount of scare. That is to say that I might have stayed up a little later to make sure my heart rate came back down, but I didn’t have to sleep with all the lights on. I don’t typically do supernatural horror; something about it freaks me right out, and I like to sleep on occasion. This was a good balance for me (and my electric bill), and I think it could be a good, low stakes introduction to someone who’s never read that genre to see if they really want to jump into that sort of thing.

In the end, this turned out to be a very fun little brain break between my more involved reads. It was involved enough that I had to pay some attention, interesting enough that I wanted to, and entertaining enough to never get boring. The tension hit just right, and the scare factor was just right to balance out the interpersonal elements. If you’re looking for something a little different, or something engaging but relatively low effort, then this paranormal horror romance might be a good fit for you.

If I Stopped Haunting You - Likewise Book Reviews

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