3.5. I enjoyed this! a little bit off at points, like the author had too many thoughts and world building points in the brain and tried to cram it all in one short book. but the story was good the characters were likeable. I will say that I expected more raccoon interaction based on the cover but I am happy with what we got!

I was absolutely delighted by this confection of a paranormal romance! Charlotte Stein can do no wrong in my opinion, and I found the audio crisp and fresh.

It was fine. It definitely was not anything that I will read again. I enjoyed the story, but there was a lot of points where I felt like they didn’t connect and the things that were happening didn’t quite make sense. I fully understand it’s a supernatural romance about this girl and her werewolf boyfriend friend whatever you wanna call him. It was just not for me as what I will say.

I'm retiring this at 33% (Chapter 9). I might pick it up again as a physical book but I'm struggling with the audiobook.

The narrator's performance is great. The story is cute and the characters are charming. But there's a lot of inner monologue as the character reflects on every interaction and conversation. I could probably read through it very quickly on my own but as an audiobook it lags even more.

If you like a second chance, stumbling onto the supernatural and flirting/denial then you'll enjoy this. She goes back to her hometown after 4 years to settle her grandmother's affairs. She runs into her ex-best friend and turns out he's a werewolf. Together they're going to research her own potential for magic and finally confront their past. The lore behind the witch magic is cool.

The tone is light but the sexual tension has me thinking with will be upper YA - new adult.

**𝑨𝑹𝑪 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘** 𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒂 𝑯𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒓𝒚 𝑾𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒘𝒐𝒍𝒇 𝒃𝒚 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒆 𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒊𝒏 (𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑺𝒖𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝑪𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝑺𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 1)

Release Date: October 1, 2024

4⭐️5🌶

This book was bright and adorable! A full of fluffy paranormal friends-to-lovers romance between a witch and a werewolf.

An extra fluffy teenage girl who wants nothing more than to hang out with her nerdy guy friend, when he slowly starts to associate with the "cool kids" in school and then permanently leaves her behind when he teases her ruthlessly in front of the whole school.

Years later, she finds him writhing in pain in her grandmother's basement. She decided to help him, because he has no other options, and he seems sincerely sorry for what he did so long ago.

I hated this. I wanted to love it. The premise- perfect. A curvy woman finds out she's a witch and is reunited with her childhood best friend who is now a werewolf. But the sexual tension is so overwritten, it felt like a teenager who had read 1-2 smutty books and tried to give it a go.

I'm certain there are readers out there who will love this, but they're not me.

This is a cute, quirky, paranormal read. The banter between the two main characters is hilarious. And the tension is there! This is a fun and quick if you’re looking for something lighthearted on the paranormal side.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and publisher the eARC.

This book was painfully devoid of romance, making me cringe throughout. The attempt at a redemption arc for him at the end fell flat and did nothing to redeem his character in my eyes. The entire story was so frustrating that I was on the verge of putting it down for good multiple times. It was a real struggle to get through it.

This was the first book I have listened to by Charlotte Stein. The narrator Yael Rizowy did a good job telling this story and held my attention. I definitely didn't expect this kind of story. I thought it was going to be a cozy little romcom but it turned spicy!! I don't mind spicy books it just came out of no where. So if you're not wanting spice then this book won't be to your liking. I did have plenty of laugh out loud moments. I felt like the characters were likable and enjoyable. I did enjoy this supernatural romcom and I would recommend this audiobook.


Thank you Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen to this ALC for my honest opinion.

I had hoped for this to be a halloween/ fall version of all the cute christmas books I love during the holidays, but it fell flat. Slow beginning and immature characters plagued the story throughout the book. Don't think I will take time to read the rest in the series unless something drastic happens in the story telling that blows everyone away.

I had a lot of fun with this book. I really love paranormal romance books. Cassie and Seth were a great couple. The banter and chemistry really worked for me. There was plenty of steamy goodness. The overall story was a little uneven and overstuffed. This will be a series and I will be checking out the next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillian Audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio for the gifted ALC of this one! These are my honest thoughts.

OKAYYYY CHARLOTTE STEIN. I SEE YOU.

This was just... so much spicy paranormal fun, I barely have any words. This is an almost second chance, ex-best friends to paranormal creature friends to lovers tale. Cassie is shocked to find out, after her grandma dies, that her best friend Seth became a werewolf after they stopped being friends in high school. But also, SURPRISE, she's actually a very talented witch. Her grandma made fun of her "cooking abilities" in order to protect her from anything bad happening via her accidentally cooking up some witchy medicine, but that particular skill comes alive around her ex-best friend and current werewolf, who is suffering from some pretty serious ailments related to his werewolf-ness.

Please read this immediately if you love witchy/werewolfy stories, paranormal among humans, SKILL LESSONS, HELPFUL *POTIONS* and witchcraft that... ahem... works... horny BFFs, curvy fmc's who really step into their own, mmc who help fmc gain confidence, dirty talk, and quite a few LOL moments.

This was such a lighthearted read that's perfect for this season! Definitely give it a read or listen when it publishes October 1st! 4.25 stars rounded down here!

4.5 stars rounded up!

This was a delightful read! In a similar vein to Jenna Levine’s My Vampire books, this felt like a raunchy D-COM original storyline. Cassie and Seth were such fun together and I absolutely loved watching them come back together (I also loved watching them being the horniest beings alive. 😂) Also I can’t forget to mention Pod, Cassie’s raccoon familiar - the absolute love my life. 😍🦝

Both the print and audio versions of this book were perfection so I think either route will be a fun time! A big thanks goes to NetGalley, SMP, and MacMillan Audio for the advanced copies of this book. How to Help a Hungry Vampire drops Oct. 1 (just in time for spooky season!)

NetGalley review! This is def not my norm, nor would I have picked it if I’d known content prior. I loved the fantasy elements: werewolves and witches and the like; but it’s way more sexually graphic than I’d normally read. So if that’s your thing and you like fantasy elements, then this book might be for you. However, it was not for me.

Read if you like:
👯‍♀️ Friends to Enemies to Lovers
✨ Supernatural Romances
🧙‍♀️ Witches, Magic, & Potions
🐺 Werewolves
🥵 Horny Banter
🏫 High School Bullies

This book is the epitome of don’t take yourself seriously and just have fun!

I truly loved the spicy and tension filled banter, all the innuendo, and awkward relationship of ‘what is going on’ mixed with ‘I guess I’ll help you out’ and everything that comes out of this combo bringing former besties turned high school enemies back together when our FMC returns to her hometown after her grandmother passes away and leaves her home to her, and then catching her ex bff trying to break into said house looking for her grandma.

Then comes all the tension, one liners, awkward banter, sexual comments mixed with the supernatural aspects of what happens when you bring together a witch and a werewolf…

Thanks so much to the Macmillan publishers for my ARC and ALC in exchange for my honest review!

I’m not going to say anything negative about this book or author.

Sometimes readers don’t connect with an author. Maybe it’s the writing style, or tone, or characters, or storytelling. Whatever it is, sometimes readers and authors don’t connect and THAT IS OKAY.

This is my second book by this author and I have solidified she’s just not for me. Thanks for the arc though!

The narrator was the best part of this whole experience and the audio was superb! Love the audio publisher!

I've been a huge fan of Charlotte Stein's since reading When Grumpy Met Sunshine at the beginning of this year, so I was beyond excited to see what she could do with her latest, a paranormal rom-com, How To Help A Hungry Werewolf!

So, what happens when a werewolf and a witch re-connect in Hollow Brook after sharing a mortifying high-school experience? How about being forced together by a do-or-die mating bond, which results in some steamy scenes that had me longing for more dirty talk between Cassie and Seth! It was extremely refreshing that neither character harbored some huge resentment towards the other for that high-school drama, yet their feelings didn’t just get swept under the rug either; it was exactly the right amount of bitterness to create the perfect enemies to lovers’ recipe!

I didn't know I needed to read a book about werewolf mental health until this book came along! OMG what amazing rep for those werewolves among us, plus an everyday bonus for those of us that fall into that mere mortal category!

This book was a fabulous mash up, two-creature-for-the-price-of-one-admission book that had me eating out of one hairy palm while simultaneously desperate to figure out how to get the spell book that the other hand held (because, yes, of course I'd want to be part of a mating bond with Seth)!!!

Bonus? This title seriously has me lusting after it! The use of the word “hungry” has me obsessed!

OMG Yael Rizowy did a great job with this audiobook narration! Between Seth's breathy, bulky, angry voice and the cute, cuddly, Oompa-Loompa voice used for the raccoon familiar... it was just so perfectly fitting to mirror the fun plot!

This is the first book in Stein's new series, The Sanctuary for Supernatural Creatures, and I will be howling at the moon until the next book comes along!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin and Macmillan Audio for the complimentary copies to read and review.

𝐀𝐑𝐂: Thank you NetGalley
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - I was laughing and the progression of the story was great
𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐞: 🌶🌶🌶 - Well hot damn… A gentleman in the streets and a freak in the sheets
𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: Tuesday, October 1, 2024

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this book early I thought that it was the adorable cover and who doesn’t love werewolves?

I am excited to see what the author continues to do with the series, if book two will continue to follow the same MCs or have new ones in the same town as the town is full of creatures of all kinds.

This was a fun and easy listen; I got through it in less than 24 Hours. I think that the the only issue I had toward the end was the major smut scenes and that was just due to some of the choice words that were used; other than that I didn't mind the smut scenes and I had a blast reading this story.

This book has:
🌑 Witches
🌑 Werewolves
🌑 Talking raccoon familiar
🌑 Deals with body issues

audio-ARC from NetGalley.

This book shouldn't have worked for me. Honestly, I was wondering what I'd gotten myself into for the first little bit. But I'm glad I gave it a chance.

After the death of her grandmother, Cassie moves back to her hometown to set affairs in order. Very quickly, her ex-best friend appears ... and then just keeps showing up. She wants nothing to do with him: The last time they saw each other, he called her a fat-ass and helped a team of bullies humiliate her in front of the whole school. But there may be more to the story than that, and, as it turns out, Cassie and Seth aren't just two people. They're a little more supernatural than that.

Parts of this story were grating - the miscommunication trope was strong with this one, and the whole "exploring the magical world" plot line just seemed unnecessary - but I found our protagonists lovable. Cassie was so sweet and genuinely funny, while Seth has redeemed the name "Seth" for all of mankind. After acclimating to its whimsical nature, I even grew fond of the lackadaisical magic system in this world. (I, too, would get teary-eyed over a sentient microwave that hated me.)

The best part of this, though, was definitely the chemistry. Stein effortlessly combined second chance romance with friends to lovers. Cassie and Seth's past friendship and present tentative attraction felt so real: the way they bounced off each other, their ability to read one another, the consistency of that draw between them. And THE SPICE. The dirty talk in this book gave me literal goosebumps.

The vibes of this book are Bewitched meets Hocus Pocus meets Hallmark with a sprinkling of spice and a dash of I Dream of Jeannie.

Definitely a fun, lighthearted romp.

Tropes you may be looking for:
- hate to love
- second chance
- friends to lovers
- fat heroine
- virgin hero
- shifter
- fated mates

And, for those concerned about the hero's fat-shaming at the beginning of the book, I'll spoil that now: After some goading, Seth was telling the school bullies not to call her a fatass, and they knew just when to activate the backstage microphone for maximum damage.

I was very excited to listen to this book with its premise being a mix of Gilmore Girls and What We Do In The Shadows. The narration of this audiobook is great but the book itself fell very flat for me. The main character is in her late twenties but is still holding tight to things that happened in high school. This is the part that bothered me the most. She was so wrapped up in self-pity that she couldn't get on with her life. Personally, her attitude ruined the whole book for me.