I've tried to read this four times, and I keep stopping like ~20% in each time. I don't enjoy the characters, and despite being super hopeful about the premise as someone that loves wolf and werewolf books, this one just isn't for me. Maybe at another point in time it will be, but it isn't right now.

As many of us who had a Team Jacob Twilight phase, I will pretty much read anything that has werewolf in the title. And after reading Ali Hazelwood's 'Bride' I wanted to get my hands on another werewolf romance. The premise sounded interesting, but it got boring really fast. For the first half we pretty much are only interacting with the 2 main characters. And they seem to repeat the same conversation most of the time.

Here's the thing. For character development I would give this 5/5! The cooking aspect was quite unique. The plot though. Non-existant. Also, the reasoning behind the mfc's reason for moving and not approving of her ex-childhood friend was overplayed. After the fifth time of her mentioning it again (to the same person might I add), I couldn't help but yell "GET OVER IT OR AT LEAST MOVE ON!"

I really wanted to love this, and I do think there are people who will. But I need more than a hot character, magic, and romance. I need a story.

Cute little palette cleanser book. The last thing I read was verrrry heavy and wanted something that made me giggle and kick my feet while reading it and this book did just that

✅ Cassie, 27, doesn’t know she’s a witch & Seth, also 27, werewolf
✅ Seth & Cassie were childhood best friends… until they weren’t
✅ despite their past, Seth is helping Cassie adjust to the new news that she’s a witch and she’s helping him by preparing a potion that helps keep him in his human form
✅ romcom - very farcical things happen
🌶️: yes

Cute; could be a little shorter

I rate this 3.5 out of 5.

I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Brief Summary: Returning home after the death of her grandmother, Cassie is trying to figure out how to move on with her life. Uneasy in a place that left her with so many emotional scars she is not sure if she should keep the house that has always felt like her safe space or move on. However, when her ex-best friend shows up looking for her grandmother, Cassie is pulled into a world she's only ever dreamed about.

Thoughts: I want to start with this, I love Steins' writing. She creates engrossing plots and makes the characters feel complex and real. She also writes witty banter in a novel way. If she has written a book I will recommend that you read it.

Now that I have gotten that out of the way...this book has one of the worst third-act break-ups I have ever read. It completely undid Cassie's emotional work throughout the book. I understand that insecurities are real and can come up in many ways. However, the whole thing felt forced and not in line with all the character development.

We also spent way too much time at the bookstore. Nora and Cassie weren't friends before the book neither do they appear to be friends during the story. Cassie actively tries to hide things from Nora about her possible relationship with Seth. So, why does Nora keep popping up? Is she under a spell of some kind that is going to be dealt with in a later book? Is Nora cursed in some way? Also, why does Cassie need Nora's help with the picture when Cassie has never had an issue developing a potion solution before this point in the story?

Also, we cannot sell this book as having a raccoon familiar. He does not appear until 68% into the book and when he does it's not anything other than some light comedic relief. There is a whole scene where Cassie is trapped somewhere and I expected the raccoon to come and rescue her as he's waiting in the car. That is not what happens.

The steamy scenes in the book were good, but it still felt like a slow-burn romance. It was frustrating at one point because it was unclear where things were going. I understand that it's a childhood best friends to enemies to best friends to lovers romance, but there were so many points where I was like please do something! Miscommunication is not my favorite troupe but it felt like it was beaten to death and then into non-existence. At one point I found myself wishing there would be a therapy session occuring in the middle of the book.

If you enjoy vivid world building you will like this book. If you like spicy scenes this book has its highlights. If you are easily frustrated by characters who avoid emotional issues and conversations I recommend you not read this book.

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Medical content, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexism, Blood, and Alcohol

Minor: Death and Torture

This was an average read where it was quick to get through and was entertaining, but it was not world-changing. It felt like the author wanted to write a YA, but their publisher told them to up the rating and add a few adult situations/hints. If this would have been a YA book then I think this writing style would have been perfect. If this truly was meant to be for adults, then there should have been some changes in word choices and the maturity of characters.

The magic system/creatures were cool, but it was a typical interpretation. I think the food magic was something that was on the more unique side, but other authors have used it as well.

I really liked the premise of this book. I think it was just not well written. I enjoyed it but wanted more.

I wasn’t able to review this book before it’s publish date but now that I have read it I am giving it 3 stars.

When Cassandras Grandmother dies, the last person she expects to find going through her grandmothers things is her ex best friend Seth.
But Seth has a secret that Cassandras grandmother was helping him with. And hopefully Cassandra can continue that help.

I struggled with this one, I am really over the clueless girl character. The strong female lead that can't see what's right in front of her.
When a guy is CL:EARLY into her and she just doesn't see it, its not cute and endearing, it makes her look like an air head.
So for that reason I struggled with this.

The end had an interested twist, but I just could not get behind this character

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review, that does not affect any of my opinions.
Overall I found this book quiet enjoyable. I almost put it down for a later time because to be honest, it took some time to get into. I REALLY got into the story about 60% through then I absolutely could not put it down. I am so glad I pushed myself to finish. At time I did find the main characters unbearable, I got so sick of the "but you could never see me that way" when it was CLEAR if they would just have a conversation everything would be fine.

How to Help a Hungry Werewolf is a paranormal romance following Cassandra Camberwell and Seth Brubaker, old friends from high school that fell out after an incident that embarrassed Cassandra in front of the whole school. Cassandra is back in Hollow Brook years later, after the death of her grandmother. She is there to take care of the house and figure things out. When she keeps seeing Seth sneaking around the house, she confronts him. Cassandra thinks of Seth as her enemy, but she shortly finds out Seth is a werewolf who needs her help. Helping Seth introduces Cassandra to the magic that is all around her.

My feelings about this book are SO complicated. I honestly think that the writing is good. It's engaging, funny, and fast-paced. I loved the world in this book, especially the supernatural elements. Hollow Brook as a whole is a great setting. My issue with this book is how trivial Cassandra's "hate" for Seth is and how a lot of the conflict stems from the two guessing what the other is thinking or will think and acting upon that. Every conflict is resolved by one person accidently slipping and telling the truth just to find out the other person feels the same. It is quite juvenile. This book is NOT YA but the conflicts throughout the novel and the way the characters act sometimes is immature. Another thing I was slightly disappointed by was that the plot had so much fantasy plot line potential, but this whole book was really just about the romance. This may be what some people want and I'm glad they get it if so, but sometimes I just wanted to focus on the magic and fantasy of this world because I enjoyed it so much.

I have complicated opinions on this book, but overall it was good. I would definitely read more books by this author. If you are interested in reading this book solely for the romance, this book will be perfect for you. If you want to read it for the fantasy, this is also a great book, but the romance will overshadow the paranormal aspects a bit.

e-ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

DNF @ 58%

This book was a huge disappointment for me. I really tried with this one but I just could not get into it and after a while I had to put it down and face the fact that this one was just not working for me. I don't feel like the book was well written at all- there was a lot of telling and not showing and the humor didn't work for me or interest me. I also had a big issue with how conveniently everything happens when it comes to the main character and her magic. She just learned that she is a witch yet she automatically has all of the answers already in her head and always knows exactly what to do to fix a situation with her magic. It was all too convenient for me and lead to the stakes feeling way too low. I also did not care much for either of the characters and their romance moved way too slow for me. By the time I had decided to DNF, there was still barely even any romance happening. This one just did not work for me but I really wanted it to and read a decent amount of it because of how much I wanted to love this but it I just didn't.

Thank you to the publisher for gifting me an advance copy of this book!

I'm obsessed with Charlotte's banter! It is always top tier. This is a great read for someone who wants a dash of paranormal in their romance without the intense world-building / high fantasy that can be too much to follow. Charlotte's book will have you naturally immersed in the paranormal world around you. I found the writing focus to be mostly on dialogue and character exposition rather than setting description, etc., but I'm not mad about it. Charlotte develops characters so well that I would happily read just about their daily lives. I literally LOL'd throughout the book. Also, replacing Hungry for Horny - AMAZING!

I found How to Help a Hungry Werewolf both fun and entertaining.

Every interaction between Seth and Cassandra at least until we get to the smexy times had me laughing, is the humor a bit juvenile? sure, but that's my sense of humor so I enjoyed it I loved seeing Cassandra overcome the insecurities she developed in high school, after a particularly embarrassing incident involving Seth and some bullies. The story's pacing does slow down a bit after the halfway mark when Seth and Cassandra seem to be getting it on, on like every other page, but close to the end we get back to the plot and I enjoyed the ending.

How to Help a Hungry Werewolf is Charlotte Stein's newest paranormal romance novel. This was the first book I read by her and I have mixed feelings about it. I'll start by saying that I liked the feeling the book gave. It had themes from Gilmore Girls which drew me in and I liked that part about it. It also felt like a perfect fall book. However, I am not sure I connected with the characters and that will make or break a book for me. The public fat shaming that occurs in the first part of the book sort of left a bad taste in my mouth which is not a great way for a book to start. Overall this book was not a favorite for me but I wouldn't steer anyone away from it if they are interested in the premise.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for a review!

I've tried another book by this author but I have ultimately decided that her books are not for me. I have a hard time with the writing and even the characters. The cover is super cute with that raccoon though! I was really hoping I could stick it out for the werewolf factor, but I had to DNF.

The way I devoured this book. My God it was so good. I was cracking up and loving this so much! It was a light fun read

“How to Help a Hungry Werewolf” by Charlotte Stein is a spicy paranormal enemies-to-lovers story is a perfect for autumn reading. I loved the premise for this and was excited to receive an ARC. Unfortunately this was just a so-so read for me due to two issues.

While I enjoyed the banter between the main characters, Cassie and Seth, and I’m always down for an enemies-to-lovers story, I honestly really struggled with the rest of this book. The story is told from Cassie’s point of view and her narration is both extremely stream of consciousness and immature. I struggled to get, and stay, interested in the story. I also found the last third of the book to be extremely boring. From about sixty to ninety percent it felt like nothing happened and then the ending was rushed.

Aside from issues with the narrative voice and pacing I did enjoy the rest of the book especially the descriptions of the town and found the world building to be intriguing. I also loved seeing a confident, powerful plus sized female main character and the book hit the perfect fun and silly autumn vibe. I’m interested in seeing where the series goes and will look for the next installment when it’s published.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My favorite parts of this book? A grumpy microwave and a protective raccoon familiar. I love a good childhood friends to lovers, as well as an an enemies to lovers trope, but it could have been executed better. I loved everything about the supernatural aspect of this as well, but the two protagonists were just so insufferable at times. Seth the werewolf and Cassie the newly powerful witch are on a quest to find a potion that will cure his werewolf pheromone induced horniness lmao it just gave such twilight vibes. Main comparison is that if he has sex with Cassie he will simply break her with his massive penis 🤣 there was so much heavy petting, talk of sex and how it can’t possibly because they’re actually attracted to eachother / love each other, that by the time the spicy stuff happened it just felt a little weird? There was a lot of potential for this one and I did enjoy a lot of it, but it was also just very corny and silly 🤣

I really enjoyed this book! The humor and the relationship between the main characters were a highlight, and the writing was engaging. The paranormal elements added a fun twist to the story, keeping things fresh and exciting. I also found myself curious about the main character’s grandma, and I would have loved to learn more about her.

That said, the pacing felt a little off at times, and I’m not a big fan of the miscommunication trope that played a part in the plot. Despite that, I still had a great time reading this book and would definitely recommend it to others!