Thank you to St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I love paranormal romances, especially when they include witches or a little bit of magic, so I thought I would really enjoy this book. Afterall, the synopsis describes this as a mashup of 'What We Do in the Shadows' and 'Gilmore Girls' (both shows I love!). Unfortunately, it just really missed the mark for me.

The book starts with fat shaming and bullying and it's just really hard to ever root for Seth. He's constantly unable to answer her questions (it comes across as wishy-washy) and I'm not even sure there's enough of an explanation for why he did what he did.

The story has a lot of telling and not enough showing. A lot in the second half of the book felt repetitive and would have benefited from some heavy editing. Their banter felt extremely juvenile with all the innuendos (I had to go back and check that they were 27 and not 19).

I don't know how to explain this better but even though they hook up, it's such a slow burn (not in a good way). The will they won't they felt like it went on forever.

It took until about the 30-40% mark of the book for me to get into but very soon after the plot shifts to werewolf smut (sans knotting). It felt like a real bait and switch. All of a sudden there were fated mates? It was really hard for me to finish this book.

Maybe if there had been less smut and more of a focus on the plot and dialogue, I would've been able to enjoy it more. As it currently stands, it was almost a DNF for me.

I've read a few of Charlotte Steins books, and I try to
Give it a change. But I'm not loving the fat shaming bullying that happened. NOT A FAN.

Moving on.

Once I got past that it was an ok read, paranormal, werewolf smutty, had a few hard parts to get through, inconsistent pace. Wasn't bad but wasn't my fav! Bully romances tend to turn me off. But if you like that, I won't yuck your yum.

Witchy/werewolf enemies to lovers slow burn? Absolutely! There was a lot to love about this book, but there were some shortcomings as well. What did I love? I loved the world of the supernatural in this book! I felt like it was a new twist on this type of fantasy with the world that was presented to the reader. I loved the potion-making and how Cassie just felt the right way to do things. The sentient kitchen and microwave were ADORABLE, and I LOVED POD!! I need more Pod. I also liked the way her Grandma presented herself in the story, too.
Now for the parts I struggled with: the slow burn was super, super slow. This normally is ok, but I felt like it drug on unnecessarily. I also agree with other readers that the bullying and resolution weren't sufficiently explained. I truly think there could have been a better bullying incident that Seth could have defended. My biggest dislike of the book was the back and forth of Cassie and Seth regarding their true feelings for each other went on entirely too long. It should have been resolved much quicker.
I know this is the start of a series, so I AM looking forward to the next book. Thank you for the opportunity Netgalley!

“A fucking raccoon was attempting to get her to define her relationship with a man she was trying not to be horny for, while they stood together in a scrappy yard, in front of a Chevy she was going to fly.”

Thank you to NetGalley.com & the author for this Advanced Readers Copy

I want to start off with the things I loved:
- THE FOREPLAYYYY 🔥 was so well written in my opinion despite the relationship being at an awkward stage.
- The magical realism and the way the author describes the town. I loved the idea that the supernatural blend in.
- I genuinely liked that the magic terminology is not “accurate” but more-so made up in a way that benefits the story and allows you to remember what a potion/spell is.
- The MMC Seth is my favorite of the story, followed right behind by the microwave and raccoon.

My dislikes:
- More often than not if felt this was written just for the tropes itself. The premise is/was there, but the immature high-school horror that the rest of the book stems from made me wonder (as a fat woman myself) what the author intended for that scene to do to the reader besides give them a big ick. I wonder if the plot was strong enough to make the book worth recommending unless for trope alone.
- This is, slow slow slow burn. And unfortunately the plot/writing style had me struggling to want to pick it back up and finish. I almost DNF’d 2x due to pace alone.

I think I would recommend this to a certain reader looking for a certain trope/storyline, I would not recommend to someone who’s randomly asking for “romance” or “supernatural” recommendations.

This book is a lighthearted and imaginative read that includes various supernatural elements. The book also provides a new take on werewolf lore, and focuses on the culinary challenges of our main character Cassie. The characters are well-developed, and the plot is both entertaining and heartwarming. The only reason I'm not giving it a full 5 stars is that some parts felt a bit predictable and the book felt like it stalled in various chapters. I understand the need to build a foundation for Cassie and Seth, but there was wayyyyy too much bickering, and not a lot of initiative to progress. However, the witty dialogue and creative scenarios more than make up for it.

I enjoyed this book.😊😊 Don't get me wrong, the shaming in the beginning of the book was horrible. More than horrible it's the person that inflicted the pain. Years later Cassie returns and Seth her friend turned enemy needs her help. The back and forth between the two is cute. It's interesting 🙂😅 watching them come to terms with their feelings for eachother....😊

Tropes:
Friends to enemies
Paranormal Romance

Quick synopsis: Cassie’s crush on her childhood and adolescent friend, Seth, came to a roaring halt when he joined in with her high school bullies and fat shamed her in front of the entire school but now she’s the only one who can help him.

I know Charlotte Stein has a focus on larger FMC. As a curvy gal, I love a curvy gal — however, the fatphobia and fat shaming is too heavy in this book. I really enjoyed When Grumpy Met Sunshine, and was able to work through it, but not possible here.
It felt like there were multiple people writing this book; it was so disconnected from paragraph to paragraph. The characters fell flat for me alongside the storyline itself.

I was pulled in because it’s pitched as a What We Do in the Shadows meets Gilmore Girls — and I can promise you it’s none of the above. Incredibly misleading. There was no humor or heartfelt female friendships or mother/daughter relationship.

I struggled to finish this and am struggling with leaving a low rating because I really loved her other book, but I owe it to be honest to all those who access review platforms.

The end of chapter 29 pissed me off. I slammed my phone down. If you make it that far, you’ll know exactly why.

Thank you for another eARC from Charlotte Stein via St. Martin’s and NetGalley.

Cassandra Camberwell has reluctantly travelled to her hometown to claim the little forest cabin (eg: shack) her grandmother left her in her will. As she's navigating harsh high school memories and getting around town, she is quickly forced to come to grips with the fact that magic exists and she is a witch. Then she finds her ex-best friend turned (maybe) nemesis, Seth, trying to break into her grandmother's house! Turns out he's a werewolf and she's the only one who can help!

This romance novel was emotional, hilarious, spicier than I expected, and so so sweet! The bullying was delt with well as well as the healing from it. I enjoyed the mad cap adventures that just kept happening and am excited to read more about this world. I look forward to the next!

This genre has been popping up everywhere and I am not disappointed. I LOVE Charlottes writing throughout the book. The plot itself was witty, comical, spicy and I am here for it!

As a fan of paranormal romance, I was eager to delve into Charlotte Stein's "How to Help a Hungry Werewolf." However, I found the fat-shaming at the beginning of the book somewhat off-putting. If you can move past this aspect, you'll discover a tantalizing childhood friends-to-enemies-to-lovers second chance romance. The witchy and werewolf elements, dropped into the cozy camping vibe, added an enchanting touch that I enjoyed.

How to Help a Hungry Werewolf is a very steamy paranormal romance with a second chance at romance theme. The characters are really likable in this story. Two nerdy best friends torn apart in high school when one of them got cool and helped pull off a prank that bullied the other so bad she went to home schooling. As Cassie is cleaning her grandmother’s house, Seth shows back up as a werewolf who needs help with a potion her grandmother had been making him before her death. And lo and behold, Cassie finds out she’s a witch and Seth is going to introduce her to the world of the supernatural so she can help other supernaturals. The plot pretty much stops here and works its way into a steamy getting it on journey for Seth and Cassie that takes up 2/3 of the book. I’m all for a HEA and second chances but the plot just seems to become irrelevant as the characters play out their fantasies between the sheets. The book is just okay and would be best enjoyed by those that like a heavy dose of lovemaking in their romances. My voluntary, unbiased, and non-mandatory review is based upon a review copy from NetGalley.

2.5 stars ⭐️ So I wanted to love this book! I’m a sucker for a paranormal romance and I’ve been looking for a werewolf romance. This book started with fat shaming in the prologue and then there was the fated mates sex spell part of it. The way the romance was written wasn’t for me. I did enjoy Cassie as a character.

Thank you to Netgalley for an arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

TW: fat shaming

I wanted to like this book, I did. But I have never read anything that leans so hard into the trope of profound obliviousness due to self-deprecation.

The amount of "Golly gee, who, ugly fat me? You like me???" was just too much for me to bear.

I'm 100% sure that this book will find its audience - it's well written, and I like the magic system, and I'm particularly interested in the way her witchiness manifested.

But the ugly duckling storyline went too hard - far beyond any point of believability, and was endlessly repeated. Every conversation was about her self-doubt. I just don't want to read that, anymore. And it didn't make it any better that it was all done in a wacky screwball style.

A bunch of people are going to love this book, but I did not.

I really wanted to like this book. And it's not like I had a bad time reading it, but man were there some major issues that are hard to overlook.

First, the speed with which Cassie not only readily accepts her status as a witch, but how it immediately becomes the solution to EVERY SINGLE PROBLEM that arises? It's poor world building/magical systems. Which, for a paranormal romance I guess I shouldn't have put much weight in...but it could have been executed better.
The "oh god" quip was also used entirely too much by the FMC. It became wholly distracting and a little grating.

Seth was also one of my least favorite MMC's in any of my recent reads. I could tell the author wanted him to have more of a himbo vibe early on, but he mostly came off as either completely juvenile or way too wise about magic. The dirty talk was painful by both parties. Making Seth a virgin was...a choice. The way he spoke, especially about Cassie, felt jarring with that fact.

Also, can we get a "horny" counter? It just felt like the characters shouldn't have been late 20s. Also...why did Seth turn into a jerk in highschool? I know he gave an explanation but it genuinely didn't make sense.

Also, stop using fake tension with Cassie declaring Seth her enemy when she so clearly didn't feel that way. I feel like their point of tension was pretty lame.

The book needs serious editing before being published, one of the rougher ARCs (grammatically) I've read.

DNF

I didn't realize that I've DNF'd a book by this author before, but the one I DNF'd was a contemporary romance and this one is a paranormal romance so I still wanted to give this one a fair try. Unfortunatley, it didn't work for me because of the same exact reasons. The writing style didn't work for me and the characters just felt a bit off and like they needed more characterization.

How was I supposed to like the mmc when the first thing he did was fat shame the fmc??He is ashamed for his past behavior, but still it stuck with me. Getting past that, this was a fun supernatural story. Great tension and I loved the witchy werewolf vibes.

This is you childhood friends to lovers/ enemies to lovers paranormal romance. Cassie goes back to her small town to help clean out her late grandmother's home. While she’s there she runs into her ex best friend Seth who was responsible for one of her worst days in high school. Seth is always hanging around the house and Cassie doesn’t seem to know why. She learns that Seth is a Werewolf and she has magical powers. Seth needs Cassie’s help and now they have to work together.
I really enjoyed the magical aspects of this book. I thought the magical world was really cool and wished there was a lot more of it. The beginning of this book threw me off because of the fat-phobic name calling Cassie receives. It was just way too much. Once I got past the beginning of the book I started to enjoy it. We got to see their relationship arc as they turned from enemies to lovers and how they were able to help each other with their magical abilities. If you enjoy paranormal romances you will definitely like this one.

I’m going to be honest.. I wasn’t sure what to expect for this but.. girl, please stand up. I’ll admit that I sometimes partake in reading romances where the high school bully is the love interest but this just felt… cruel.
And this also felt just too long. I was hoping this would be a fun paranormal romance but this just wasn’t for me.

Cassandra Camberwell has to go back to her hometown, Hollow Brook, to clean out her late
grandmother’s old house. Of course she runs into her ex-best friend, who was responsible for the worst moment of her high school life, Seth Brubaker, and he needs her help! Magic, friends to lovers, a little mystery, finding yourself, and realizing the past isn’t always what you thought it was! A wonderful fall time read!

Oof, this one was not for me. The fat shaming alone was a thread through the entire book that got tiring. I think it would’ve been a richer read had we seen the friendship between Cassie and Seth develop and change as opposed to just being told about it. The rest of the story was just hard to get through and then it suddenly turns into straight monster erotica. Needs more (any?!) content warnings.

Not for me, but that doesn’t mean you won’t love it.