How to Help a Hungry Werewolf is a fun book about a woman attempting to help her former friend after she realizes he is a werewolf and she is a witch. Despite loving the premise, this did not end up being the book for me. I found it hard to get into at the beginning and thought the funny, witty dialogue seemed forced and unrealistic at points. I also was frustrated by the relationship between the main characters. The miscommunication and unwillingness to talk about their feelings for each other lasted the majority of the book. I just kept wishing for these characters to have a real conversation about their relationship.

That being said there are some things that I did enjoy about the book. I loved how obsessed Seth was with Cassie, and how sweet he was. Meanwhile, Cassie was strong and fought her own battles, plus I loved the fat representation. Without saying spoilers, there are some aspects of gender dynamics that are flipped in this book compared to many romances, and I really appreciated that.

Overall, this is a fun book that many people will enjoy, but I found the miscommunication to be too much for me.

2.75/5??? 3/5?? ⋆｡°✩

I have such mixed feelings about this book. I loved the premise, the overall pacing, the setting, and cozy vibes but good lord was the dialogue cringe. I almost DNF'd within the first three chapters but I'm glad I kept reading because I really did love the characters. They were so goofy and felt like real people but their conversations at times were just so awful. I should have written down some quotes but it pained me to even think about repeating some of the cringy things in this book.

Cronge dialogue aside, the magic system was so unique! I haven't read a novel involving a witch who makes potions for everything in a very long time and loved this book for it. The way Stein incorporated the explanations for things felt natural given the context. No info dumping, thank goodness. I would for sure read more set in this universe (fingers crossed the dialogue gets better) just to learn more about the supernatural aspects and creatures.

It's pretty easy to see the plot twist coming but I did appreciate that the third-act miscommunication trope was minimal. I'm not normally a fan of friends-to-lovers but I do enjoy a good friends-to-enemies(?)-to- friends again-to-lovers trope. Would I recommend it, probably yes if you like supernatural romances but not if you can't handle some cringy dialogue.

Mini Playlist:
Howl - Florence + the Machine
Running with the Wolves - Aurora
It Will Come Back - Hozier

A huge thank you to Charlotte Stein, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for the E-arc in exchange for an honest review.

DNF. Unfortunately, I could not get past the first 2 chapters. Sorry but could not understand how the FMC could eventually fall in love with the guy who literally bullied her.

Unfortunately I did not finish this book, it was not for me but I do think it has a lot of potential to be a great Halloween time romance for people who enjoy this genre!

This book currently sits at 3.35 stars on Goodreads. Reader, you’re going to see that my review is much different than other readers’. I can tell you that this is not my first Charlotte Stein, and no, I do not think her writing is perfect. Mainly because no one will ever be perfect. What I CAN tell you, however, is that this book was perfect for me.

I’ll start with what I didn’t like - whichis in no way is an ACTUAL criticism to Stein or this story. Stein prefers to write from a single point of view, which is, as far as I have seen, the female character. I just happen to prefer a dual POV from each of the love interests.

So, when I tell you that I loved this book - let it be known that I loved it even though I truly dislike single POVs in my romance reads. I found How to Help a Hungry Werewolf to be funny, fun, whimsical, spicy, and sweet. I loved reading about Cassandra and Seth and their journey back to each other while also getting to love an animated microwave and a sassy racoon. Like, if you love whimsy and spice, this read is for you. Definitely. I never knew that’s what I wanted actually, until I read this story. There was something about Cassandra and Seth’s personalities and their history that got me feeling all kinds of ways. But that is what Stein’s writing does to me. I cannot reiterate enough that I do not like single POVs in romance and yet somehow, someway, Charlotte Stein just...hits.

I enjoyed this one! This book had a fun premise and a lot of potential! I loved the cozy vibes that this book gives off but I felt it missed the mark a bit with the characters. I did love the romance between the characters though! Definitely recommend checking this one out!

Absolutely adored this spicy werewolf romp! Friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes and friends to enemies to lovers even more so! When i went into the book I was a little nervous about the plus size representation because the whole crux of the book is he “accidentally” bullies her when they’re younger but it was actually handled decently even though she shouldn’t haven’t forgiven him so easily. The spice is top notch and the build up is excellent! I definitely recommend this book!

Rating: 4/5
I received an eARC for my honest opinion.

When Cassandra returns back to her small town to clear out her late grandmother’s house, she finds that not everything was as it seemed with her grandmother and she only figures this out when her former best friend Seth won’t stop hanging around her grandmother’s house. She finds out that he is a werewolf, and he makes a deal with her that he will teach her all about the magical world and she will brew the potions that he needs now that her grandmother is gone.

This was a cute, cozy paranormal romance. It does have spice to this book, and I thought the author did a great job with making it spicy but still a fun paranormal book. I found the plot to be new and fun, with a different magical system that I haven’t read before. I loved that Cassandra was the one that had the fun making potions with her cooking abilities. I loved that you will see a strong MFC and a great MMC as well. There is some bullying in the book, but I loved that you will see the person ask forgiveness and do their best to make up for it. Even with Cassandra being a strong character you will see that she still has insecurities, and I love when characters have flaws because it makes it easier to relate to them. I found the banter between the characters to have been great, because you will find yourself laughing at parts out loud. I love that Stein writes her characters that will stick with you. With Cassandra you will find a curvy, confident woman but who is still not sure about everything and just wants to be reassured. I wouldn’t mind being reassured by Seth though, he is a great character who is trying to make up for his horrible choices that he had made in the past. I liked that he was willing to put himself out there to prove to Cass and I enjoyed watching them connect again after not talking for years.

I read When Grumpy Met Sunshine, earlier this year I knew that I would love any book written by her and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin Press for the opportunity to review this book.

It has been over a decade since Cassie Camberwell has seen former best friend Seth Brubaker – not since he embarrassed her in front of everyone in town and sided with the bullies that had always tormented them. Now Cassie is back in Hollow Brook to handle her late grandmother’s home and who should appear but Seth. Seth who is in worse shape than Cassie had expected to ever see him in…and that’s before he transforms into a werewolf. A world of magic opens up before Cassie and she discovers she’s a witch…which is only the beginning of the possibilities and problems that lay ahead of her.

How to Help a Hungry Werewolf is billed as What We Do in the Shadows meets the feeling of Gilmore Girls and it’s neither of those. Charlotte Stein’s first Sanctuary for Supernatural Creatures book had a lot of potential but was an absolute miss for me.

Let’s start with our protagonists: Cassie and Seth. They are over a decade out of high school and honestly, this book would have been better if it was written as a young adult book because they still act like teenagers. They’re both immature and I think what was supposed to be humorous banter was just cringy and awkward. The romance was painfully awkward and full of so much back and forth that I put the book down numerous times. I’m not going keep going on about it, so suffice it to say I didn’t enjoy any aspect of the characters and their semi-development, nor did I enjoy the romance.

The supernatural world of How to Help a Hungry Werewolf is where the story had the most potential. The sentient appliances and Pod, Cassie’s raccoon familiar, were the highlight of the book. However, what should have been a wonderful world of magic and discovery felt inorganic and flat. There’s a way to write a main character who discovers they have innate abilities, to show that things come naturally to them in a way that feels organic. How Cassie’s magical abilities were described felt like lazy writing. It took me three months to read this book because I kept getting annoyed by the writing. Overall, I just could not bring myself to like anything about Cassie and Seth’s story (except, perhaps, Pod). The intended humor missed me by a mile, but your mileage may vary. How to Help a Hungry Werewolf simply isn’t the book for me and I won’t be continuing the series.

Such a fun read for the fall! I loved the way the story moves from friends to enemies to back to friends and finally lovers!

This was a great paranormal romance. I absolutely loved the characters and their back story. Stein does an absolutely fantastic job at the world building and I would read a whole series set in this world. I'm not a big fantasy reader but I've been reading some more paranormal romances over the past year and I've really grown to enjoy the sub-genre more than I was expecting. This read was the perfect blend of cutesy and spicy and I absolutely loved it.

I really wanted to love this but the characters were a bit flat and stereotypical. It felt a bit immature and the writing just felt juvenile.

Although I didn't finish this book, I did get half way through so I figured I would rate it. The humour wasn't the funniest and the book started with fat shaming and making fun of the woman. I was looking forward to reading this but I won't be recommending it now.

This book was an absolute romp and I loved every second of it. The magic, the small town cozy Gilmore vibes, the last third of it being near nonstop spice… I loved it.

Cassie and Seth are both incredibly funny, sweet, and like ale characters. And I love that while our big trope was the miscommunication trope, which can be sticky, it was valid and well written miscommunication—both Cassie and Seth generally keep things close to their chest.

I loved this one and do look forward to hopefully seeing more in the future from this world!

How to Help a Hungry Werewolf is a witty and fun take on a paranormal romance. Cassandra and Seth are great characters and it was fun to read their story and see them fall in love.

How to Help a Hungry Werewolf is a cozy, quirky and surprisingly spicy read!

Cassie left her hometown after a traumatic high school prank involving her best friend that left her insecure and socially awkward. Years later she is back to pack up her late grandmother’s house as quickly as possible so she can leave again, but Seth, her ex-best friend turned mortal enemy, turns up on her doorstep looking for help. Soon she is swept into a magical world right before her eyes leading her to discover who she was always meant to be, and maybe the things that happened in high school weren’t all that they seemed to be.

Overall, this story has a promising premise with decent world-building and humorous banter, though it felt like the mating bond subplot interrupted the story rather than really furthering it along at times. Another thing that felt out of place in this story was the maturity of, or rather lack thereof, the humor. It definitely made the characters seem younger than they were. Stein’s writing style is very stream-of-consciousness which took a bit to get used to but made her storytelling interesting. I am interested to see what she does next for the Sanctuary for Supernatural Creatures series.

This really wasn’t for me… I didn’t like the writing style or the characters and I had to dnf it about a quarter of the way through.

Thank you so much to St. Martin’s Press for providing me a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

When Cassie’s grandmother passed away, she ventures back to her hometown with the intention of cleaning up her house to sell. Things get weird when ex best friend turned high school bully, Seth, comes knocking on the door looking for her grandma. This leads to Cassie uncovering her own magical abilities and the truth about Seth’s beastly side.

I thought this book was set up with a cute premise- the witch girl helps out her werewolf ex friend and then they forgive each other and they fall in love. I think the set up with the grandmother passing was a great start to fun mysteries in the book. Cassie having inherent magical abilities with her cooking was such a cute idea that I felt was a clever way to create magic.

The issues in this story start with the many side characters. I think the intention was to create a world with a lot of people so it seemed busy and lively. Unfortunately, many of the characters introduced are only seen once or twice or they have a very flat 2-D personality that isn’t fleshed out or actualized. This leads to many characters that are just “bad guy”, “old man”, or “friend” without motivations or personalities that would humanize them.

Something I found disappointing was the magical world that was introduced. This book promises pixies and vampires and all sorts of magical creatures, but I feel it barely touched the surface of the potential this could have. I understand this is likely to set up subsequent books that take place in this universe, but there is so much wasted potential. Many of the interactions are brief, conflicts are so easily fixed, and a lot of the magic in this story is played off as humor. For a book about magic, there really isn’t as much as there should be.

If you like silly, easy-going romantasy with witches and werewolves, then you can check this book out. I personally did not enjoy it, but that doesn’t mean you can’t!

Charlotte Stein’s How to Help a Hungry Werewolf is one of the horniest books I have ever read. It is incredibly innocent and filthy at the same time. I laughed and I blushed. I also felt like this book was written just for me, which has made it very difficult to review.

Cassie Camberwell doesn’t know she’s a witch until she inherits her grandmother’s house, meets her ex-best friend again, finds a notebook with recipes and brews up a potion. And it turns out that her ex-best friend, Seth, is a werewolf. Vampires are real. Fairies are gross.

As a number of reviewers have noted, the prologue does have a scene where Seth publicly fat shames and humiliates Cassie. It was a hard scene to read, and every reader should take care of themselves. I’ve read enough Charlotte Stein to trust that I’m going to be ok with where she takes the story. And I was. The grovel is very popular in romance, and Stein takes it in a different direction. Seth’s grovel is low key and full of concrete action rather than flowery words. More importantly, he approaches Cassie without an expectation of forgiveness. He needs a potion from her, but he doesn’t expect her friendship. For readers looking for a grand apology scene, they may be disappointed. I loved it and found it refreshing.

Cassie spends a good portion of the book discovering and growing into her powers as a witch. She’s a kitchen witch at that. As she’s brewing potions, her kitchen comes alive. I am not a witch, and my microwave has not developed a personality, but the feeling Stein conveys on the page feels like the obsessive focus I have when I am playing with recipes. Once Cassie accepts that she’s a witch, the book really goes full bonkers with flying vacuum cleaners, a raccoon familiar, and so much masturbation, pining, sex pollen, and general horny nonsense.

I love the way Charlotte Stein runs full tilt at a story. It makes for a joyful reading experience.

I received this as an advance reader copy from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.

This book had so much potential and had so many parts that I really enjoyed, but it also felt long. There was so much going on that it felt like it lost the plot a couple of times and the relationship between the FMC and the MMC was cute in a lot of ways but the way they kept emphasizing open communication but still somehow continued to not communicate anything important physically pained me. I will probably try this author again for future work because I think the potential is there but this one was not a hit for me.