3.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
I’ll start by saying this was a very cute rom com! I don’t know if I really thought it was as funny as it wanted to be, but at least the effort was there. My biggest hangup was with the entire middle of the book - there was just so much mutual pining between the two MCs that by the time they actually ‘gave in’ I was already over it, which was too bad because they did have some serious chemistry! I did think the story wrapped up nicely and the author’s world building set things up additional books if desired.

2.5 stars.

i feel like the plot for this just got completely lost somewhere around the middle of the book. there were a few plot lines that just never went anywhere. i thought the ending was so cringey honestly, and the tension was drawn out wayyyyy to long. i don’t know, the beginning of the book and the end of the book just felt like two completely different things.

and the level that cassie went to with denying her own feelings also seemed sort of over the top.

this was just a bit of a ridiculous book - which isn’t always a bad thing! i enjoyed parts; a himbo - well, maybe more like himbo adjacent - mmc, familiars, the general paranormal world, and the banter between cassie and seth in the first half. but lots of this ended up falling flat, and i wasn’t especially excited to pick it up.

and one other thing! for me a character with magical abilities has to have limits to those abilities - or at the very least consequences for using them - to make the story more compelling (and believable). and cassie did not appear to have any limits whatsoever to doing magic soooo yeah, i had fun but feel quite meh

This book is an emotional rollercoaster. The chemistry between Cassie and Seth is there from the start but past history and new found magic make this a slow burn path to an incendiary finish. A terrific first.

This book is delightfully magical, weird, hilarious, poignant, and horny! A super-sexy paranormal with even more magic that I'd expected, and a great second chance romance to boot.

This was a cute concept but it wasn't for me, for the same reason I bounced off When Grumpy Met Sunshine: I found the love interest to genuinely be a creeper. Okay, his reasons were understandable, but he breaks into her house multiple times--including in the middle of the night--and doesn't even apologize. Plus, he bullied her in high school. I thought that was going to be a misunderstanding, but nope, it seems like he genuinely sided with and joined in with her bullies.

3.5 stars.

I’m still not totally sure how I feel about this book. The prologue paints the mmc in a really bad light which is a little hard to move on from, though it is later explained. The beginning of this book is also incredibly dialogue heavy. Like, page after page of just the two mc’s talking with basically no plot. It was a little hard to get into at first because I wasn’t really sure what was supposed to be happening. It turns out this book is really more vibes based than plot. There’s a little bit of a story line but it’s really just 200 pages of foreplay and then smut the rest of the way. Not like super graphic or anything but that’s really all that happens.
I thought the end of the book was cute and I liked the characters well enough I just felt like it wasn’t really anything special or memorable

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the Arc

I highly recommend How to Help a Hungry Werewolf if you love fated mates, supernatural romances or cozy towns like in Gilmore Girls. Also, friends to enemies to friends to lovers.

Well, this was just completely adorable and hilarious! This has all the literally-laugh-out-loud humor and fabulous banter of Stein's last book (When Grumpy Met Sunshine) combined with really fun fantasy elements I loved - not just the classic horror-movie-style werewolves (NOT the standard sexy shifters in most contemporary paranormals) but just great fantasy magic in general, which a real sense of wonder and fun. And oh, the sweetness - !

The hero and heroine started out as best friends before becoming enemies, and their mutual longing to go back to that all-important best friendship is SO palpable. They're just such perfect soulmates...and the final shift from best friendship to best friendship-AND-romance is really lovely (AND funny, because that's how Stein doees it)! The second half of the book is incredibly steamy, but part of why that works so well is because it's so perfectly grounded in the adorkable pair being so perfectly themselves throughout and loving each other for it.

My one note of warning is: the book opens with a flashback to the terrible moment in high school when their friendship was broken, and honestly, it's written almost TOO well. If I hadn't trusted Stein as an author, I might have given up then because I really, truly did not see how I could EVER root for a hero who'd done what he did in that intro. It felt impossible.

But I stuck with it because I do trust Stein, and I was SO well rewarded. So this is my encouragement with you to not worry about that part, either! Because it absolutely works in the end, especially once you find out exactly what else was happening behind the scenes at the time.

And oh, I just really, truly love rom-coms that are so genuinely FUNNY. I can't wait for her next one!

loved this romance between enemies to lovers and magic and being a werewolf. I loved that they both talked and dealt with their issues and that they both were able to help each and that they both fell in love. I hope to see more of this world. I enjoyed the smexy times and that she learned magic along the way.

I received a free copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press; all opinions expressed are exclusively my own.

This was an extremely cute read for fans of comedy, romantasy, and best-friends-turned-enemies-turned-lovers tropes. I didn't realize until midway through reading this book that the author also wrote When Grumpy Met Sunshine, which I also enjoyed a lot. The author is extremely aware of what tropes she's writing and how to write them in a satisfying way, so if you love the idea of werewolves, supernatural romance, second chances, secret cinnamon rolls, and goofy comedy, you'll get exactly what you're in for with this read. On a very minor picky note: occasionally the main characters voices sounded almost too similar in a way that pulled me out of the story (I'm sure it was meant to reinforce the sort of soulmate kind of situation, that's just how it struck me) and I would have liked one more spicy scene post resolution because I'm spoiled and greedy. Really, these are not huge drawbacks, but wanted to do my due diligence in noting them.

For sensitive readers, this book contains elements of body horror, violence, explicit sex scenes, grief, trauma, and negative self image.

This book is so much fun from page one to the epilogue. It is laugh out loud, over the top nonsense with incredible banter, the wildest magic rules, and yet is so grounded in human emotion.

Cassandra may be a newly realized witch discovering that goblins poop marbles and she has a raccoon familiar, but she is also learning to trust herself and those around her, and love herself as a person in the real world. Seth may be a werewolf particularly *affected* by horniness, but he is also unabashedly trying to prove his trustworthiness and goodness to his former best friend.

Watching them learn each other again after a high school prank gone wrong was delicious. When Cassandra first discovers Seth's new "condition," they fall right back into their latent friendship with her giving him sh*t and him trying valiantly to defend himself in the most ridiculous way.

"That depends. What do you think you totally saw?"
"You becoming some kind of hideous thing."
"Hey, I think 'hideous' is a little strong."

And is there anyone in the world that doesn't want to watch their former (presumed) bully literally lose control over how attracted they are to you? I think not. "So certain grabbing instincts very briefly took over. But I swear, I would not have sunk my teeth in. And if I had, I definitely wouldn't have done anything beyond a little light nibbling." To say this book is h*orny is the understatement of the century. It literally defines Seth and watching him grapple with, face to face with its inspiration, is A GOOD TIME. And when it is finally *realized*, well, it is *magical*.

I giggled with delight at this author turning cliche witch tropes on their head (she flies a Hoover instead of a broom) and introducing new, bonkers ideas to the rules of this magical world (see above: goblins pooping marbles that are somehow valuable). This actually reminded me a bit of Just Like Magic by Sarah Hogle in that the author leaned into every harebrained idea they had, and I love to see it! Can't wait to see more in this world, and I'm sorry for all the asterisks.

The blurb and cover were what drew me in. I wanted to love this because the premise seemed exciting but unfortunately, I don’t think this book was for me. The characters felt flat at times and I found the majority of banter and interactions between the main characters juvenile. I did, however, find the world building compelling, especially the whole magic system, in which I hope is continued to be explored in the series.

I'm an avid romance reader but mostly stick to historicals. The cover of this book is adorable, and the premise sounded pretty fun, so I was really excited to get and ARC from Netgalley and check out a paranormal romance. Overall, the story was a quick, enjoyable read. I liked the whimsical side characters (tawdry fairies, a sentient microwave, and a raccoon) and wish they were a little more developed. The bulk of the story is told through dialogue between the two main characters, which could be a little overwhelming at times. The spice was spicy, and the small town setting and local residents seemed to have a lot of potential for a future series.

How to Help a Hungry Werewolf by Charlotte Stein was a very different type of book for me.

I'm not used to reading paranormal books and that took a minute (just a short one) to get used to, but more than that, I struggled at the beginning to even continue because of the bullying and the fat shaming that Cassie had to go through by the MMC, Seth.

Cassie is a better person than me, because if the man who made my life hell needed my help, it would be very, VERY hard to overcome that to come back to my hometown and offer that helping hand, but Cassie was that person.

I'm glad I stuck with the book because I actually did enjoy it, it was nice to see Seth grow in character and that's always a good thing.

The characters, both main and secondary were fun, goofy and even though I just wanted them to get together for goodness sake, I did enjoy the book.

Read the trigger warnings though, this really did have a tough start.

3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in consideration of an honest review.

Huge thank you to St Martins Press for the eARC! This book started a bit slowly for me, the fat shaming and self loathing that Cassie experiences is heavy. That being said, it also ended up being uproariously funny as well. Pod is the Hei Hei of our generation, and Cassie’s discovery and wonder at the magic she encounters was wonderful. Overall, super cute!

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin’s, and to Charlotte Stein for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for a review!

Alright, buckle up friends. Scooch in. This review feels sacred to me, like it should be typed out on a computer instead of with my thumbs. For starters, I LOVED When Grumpy Met Sunshine, so when I received an email giving me the opportunity to read an arc of this book, I couldn’t believe my luck. Charlotte’s writing style is so unique, and human, and endearing. Reading one of her books feels like being gifted a warm blanket and a hot mug of tea, just by cracking open the pages. And this book!!!!!! This book was no exception, but perhaps even more magical and touching.

The main characters are friends to enemies to lovers, in the most relatable human (and yet supernatural) way. There is YEARNING. There is PASSION. There is a raccoon baby. There is a tangible ache and longing throughout the extent of this book, and you’re dying to scream, “YOU LOVE EACH OTHER, YOU IDIOTS!” but also, “No, this is so messy and cute, continue! I want to see what you make of this!”

This book was everything I wanted and more. Cozy fall vibes. Innocent little golden retriever vibes. Molten lava spice!!!! Beginning to end, this was a thrill to read. A million stars to this book, and to Charlotte Stein, and to baby raccoon familiars.

This book was so many things at once. It was fantasy, comedy, romance and definitely smut. But smut with crack in it….. I could not stop reading it. Even when there were talking chipmunks and pooping goblins…
There were a few moments of what the f**** am I reading?!
But for the most part I so enjoyed this book. Cassie and Seth were the second chance, enemies to lovers, with a magical twist that I didn’t know I needed. This will be super fun in Halloween time! ❤️🧙🪄

Unfortunately this book wasn't for me.

The synopsis sounded great but it was chapters and chapters of dirty talk before they finally have sex. There's something about a sex spell and fated mates. I actually DNF at 90%. I just couldn't read any more (and I'd been skimming for ages at that point).

The author has some trigger warnings posted at the front of the book -- the biggest being fat shaming and public humiliation. So heads up on that.

Second star is solely for the raccoon and microwave. I wish the book had more of that quirkiness.

The cover is also great. I miss the days when you could tell how much sex was in a book based on the cover. These cutesy covers blindside me frequently.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you, St. Martin's Press.

ARC REVIEW (Thanks NETGALLEY!)

This book is not for the weak. If you’re not used to Charlotte Stein’s writing style I don’t think you’ll like it.

I don’t think anything worse could happen to any of Charlotte Steins neurotic characters than finding out you’re a paranormal being. Bad enough your childhood best friend fat shamed you back in high school but now you’re back in your hometown and he needs your help. Cassie is a bleeding heart and still sees the boy she loved behind the wtf? WEREWOLF?! Oh and btw he fills you in on the fact that you’re a witch, a pretty powerful witch at that. I very much enjoyed the fact that there’s a lot of time spent on Cassie actually coming to terms with all this information. Most pnr books characters just dive right in, Cassie needs reassurance and who better to give it to her than the person that knows her best.

I do think book was kind of long and there was some fluff in there that wasn’t necessary. The fated mate/sex spell stuff seemed to come out of left field and I wish it had been explained a little more/better. The will they won’t they went on a little too long for my taste. I did enjoy Seth’s omission on how he became a werewolf. I hope this is the beginning of a series though because I did enjoy it.

If you’re into werewolves and knotting look elsewhere; our boy Seth is knotless 😭😭

TW: fat shaming

How to Help a Hungry Werewolf by Charlotte Stein is an entertaining contemporary and paranormal fiction that was unique and interesting and is the first in a new series: The Sanctuary for Supernatural Creatures.

This definitely had a nice fall, spooky vibe with contemporary characters and attitudes mixed in. I am all for an entertaining paranormal romance as long as it isn’t too off the rails and keeps my interest.

Seth and Cassie are interesting main characters that have their own human flaws and shortcomings despite their supernatural identities. That brought a nice combination to keep them relatable to the audience.

I was not as drawn to their interactions and chemistry but it was still engaging and I wanted to finish and see how it all ended up. I am still interested in the subsequent books that this series will contain for the future and will give them a try.

3.5/5 stars

Thank you NG and St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 10/1/24.