📖 + 🎧: How to Help a Hungry Werewolf-The Sanctuary for Supernatural Creatures Book #1

✍️ By: Charlotte Stein- I read When Grumpy Met Sunshine & gave 3 ⭐

🙏🏾Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin, Macmillan Audio, and Charlotte Stein for the ARC and ALC! I voluntarily give my honest review, and all opinions expressed are my own.

🗣️ Narrator: Yael Rizowy voices all the characters. The narrator's voice fit the characters with standouts from Cassie and Seth. The reading style brought the text to life, and the author and narrator worked together perfectly. The pacing and flow allowed me to get lost in the story. The narrator paused and announced new chapters and there was a table of contents which helped me follow along with the eBook and audio.

🏃🏾‍♀️Run Time: 12:31

🗓️ Publication Date: 10-1-24 | Read: 10-16-24

Genre: Paranormal Romance, Fantasy, Adult Fic

Tropes: plus size h, enemies to lovers, witches/werewolves/fairies/goblins, fated mates, small town

🌏Setting: Hollow Brook New England

⚠️ TW: parental neglect, bullying, fatphobia, virgin H, explicit sex and dirty talk

POV: 3rd person, single- Riley

💭 Summary 💭: Cassie has come home after ten years to clean out her grandmother's house. When she arrives all the bad memories from high school come back when she was harassed by her former best friend Seth and his friends. He appears looking for her grandmother who gave him "medicine" for his affliction-being a werewolf. He tells Cassie she is a witch and can brew potions to ease his pain. He will teach her about being a witch with magic in exchange for her help and she reluctantly agrees.

🚺Heroine: Cassandra "Cassie" Camberwell-27, scared to connect to people after being bullied in high school losing her BFF Seth to the "cool kids."

🚺 Hero: Seth Brubaker-27, turned werewolf who needs potion to ease his pain and turning

🎭 Side Cast

Adeline- Cassie's deceased grandmother, was a half witch who knew Seth and helped him.

Jason, Tyler, Jordan-"jerk squad" who bullied Cassie in high school. They became friends with Seth.
.
Nancy-girl from high school, kind to Cassie but she was too scared to make friends.

Marley Maples-the "cool girl" Cassie wanted to be friends in high school but didn't.

🤔 My Thoughts: It was super spicy banter between Cassie and Seth. They spent a lot of time getting each other hot and bothered but fought the urge to have sex. Seth had little sexual control, and it caused Cassie to yearn for more too. As a witch, Cassie grew more confident and managed to forgive Seth for the years of torment. I loved that she took lead when they do the deed, making everything special for Seth. I skipped some of sex talk because it was a little too much for me, but I liked the idea of fated mates between a witch and a werewolf.

🌶️Spice 5/5
🎧 Narration 4/5
😭: Emotion 4/5
❤️: Couple 3.5/5
⭐️: Rating 3.5/5

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

DNF'd. I try so hard to not DNF but I got to about 40% of this and I just couldn't do it. To get this far in the book I had already skipped some sections and found myself getting bored and stopping midway during the insanely long chapters. I really hate when it takes me about a half hour to read one chapter. At this point I realized I didn't really care anymore how these two got together anymore, I know they will and that's good enough for me.

It also bothered me so much that Seth did such a terrible thing to her in high school and she seems to forgive him for it without much of an apology. It was such a turn off and contributed to the DNF.

This book had such an interesting premise too. I had high hopes for it especially since I enjoyed When Grumpy Met Sunshine.

After her grandmother's death, Cassie Camberwell moves back to her hometown of Hollow Brook to clean out her house. She doesn't know what to expect but it's certainly not her former best friend Seth Brubaker trying to break into her grandmother's house.

Cassie and Seth haven't spoken since Seth was responsible for the worst moment in Cassie's life. Considering that Cassie still bears the emotional scars from that moment, it's especially distressing to see Seth again.

Then Cassie learns that Seth is an actual werewolf, and comes to the crashing realization that she is a witch. Convinced that Cassie is powerful enough to keep his wolf side at bay, Seth pleads for help. Given their history, Cassie doesn't know if she can trust Seth, but in order to learn more about her powers and what it means to be a witch (which is information Seth can provide), they agree to a truce.

I want to start off by saying that there are some really interesting elements to the story/world that Charlotte Stein created. Paranormal, fantasy, supernatural, etc. have been my mainstay go-to's in reading for a very long time now so it's truly difficult to find a new book that adds some spark to the werewolf or witch mythos. Charlotte Stein does that here. Most notably with Cassie's powers. I loved the inherent, organic way she puts together spells. The way it's part of her genetic makeup. I wanted to spend more time seeing how everything worked. The barrier between humans and paranormals was an interesting tidbit as well since we typically see those very paranormals hiding themselves from the human population. Here, humans almost have blinders on where paranormal elements are concerned.

Keeping all this in mind, this is possibly the horniest book I've ever read! Honestly, I lost track of the plot quite frequently due to all the horniness. The book is so insular between Seth and Cassie that it loses everything else about it that started off so unique such as the magic system and Cassie learning about her powers. The book is almost broken down into various scenes of Cassie and Seth simply talking back and forth that quickly divulges into innuendo and dirty talk. I'm not saying this is bad, I'm simply saying it was completely not what I was expecting when I started the book at all. If you are in the marked for a red-hot read, this is definitely the read for you.

I personally wish there had been a little more balance between the steaminess and everything else because the way the story started with Cassie and Seth reconnecting after their falling out, and the way that Charlotte Stein builds up her paranormal world was a very promising start. I simply wanted more of that and continually losing track of the narrative - as mentioned above - made everything seem very inconsistent and choppy.

Not only that, but the way the interactions between Cassie and Seth spiraled just didn't make sense to me. Clearly, they were each trying to deny their true feelings for one another, but the overcompensation with too much internal monologues and external dialogue going off on wild tangents didn't help the problem with me losing focus of the story.

Also, everything was so focused on Cassie and Seth that I felt there was just not enough time to deal with the conflict that pops up toward the end in any kind of satisfying way. That, too, was something introduced early on then kind of brushed aside only to be picked up again too late to make any real impact within the story.

This is a book that was very promising, unfortunately I'm not left excited to see where the series goes next. There's some potential setup, but at this moment I'm not feeling it. I hate leaving a review on such a note, I always try to be optimistic that things will get better, and I'm trying to hold onto that thought going into the next book. I guess we'll see.

DNF @ 20%

I picked this one up because the cover is gorgeous and I thought it would be a fun “spooky season” romcom. Unfortunately, I will not be finishing this one. While it started out strong, the pacing was too slow for a romcom for me. I read her debut book, and the writing felt skeletal, like things weren’t quite fleshed out enough. Her sophomore book had the opposite problem - now we get stuck in scenes for too long because there is too much depth into every detail. In true Goldilocks fashion, I feel like her third book may be just right!

I knew there was a problem in the past that lead to their friendship ending in high school, but I wasn’t prepared for *how* bad that moment was. I certainly wasn’t ready to forgive Seth - ever - but I’m sure there’s some sort of miscommunication that made that moment as bad as it was.

Charlotte Stein’s plots always sound so good to me, so I hope one day I will connect with her writing!

Someone with more patience than me, or people that really like borderline-bully romances may find this book really fun!

First, I appreciated the content warning about fat shaming. I thought it would be a trigger, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. If fat shaming something I want to read about as an overweight person, not particularly. BUT this and worse happens to over weight people regularly, and a lot of the times it comes from people we love who should be building our confidence and not destroying it. Also, it happened in high school. And humans are usually garbage rationally and emotionally at that age. So, I thought it was pretty realistic actually. I ended up really liking this book, even though it was written in 3rd person. And the spice was the bright red cherry on top.

Still reading this one but currently at 3 stars. It seems okay so far but I have to finish to give my full opinion. I like that it has a bit of an odd premise so I will update my rating when I’m done.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

Wild amounts of enjoyable tension, but such TERRIBLE miscommunication and lack of communication that it's like whiplash on the page.

I love a good paranormal (especially shifter) romance and was excited to dive into "How to Help a Hungry Werewolf" by Charlotte Stein. Unfortunately this book just did not work for me. I just couldn't get on board with MMC Seth - his teenage cruelty supposedly leaves a lasting impression on Cassie, yet he barely apologizes and somehow all is well between them? The plot is a bit meandering, and I still don't quite understand how Seth supports himself well enough to keep him in leather jackets and henleys. And while fated mates is one of my favorite tropes, it came a bit out of nowhere here. Others will likely enjoy this book, and I have enjoyed other Charlotte Stein books, but this one missed the mark for me.

2 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and SMP for a complimentary copy of this book. These opinions are my own.

I love a good slow burn romance, and this cozy paranormal romance delivers exactly that! I loved seeing the magical world come to life around Cassie as she discovers she’s not just any witch but a powerful witch, one that can help her ex best friend with his wolfy problem! I loved how incredibly sweet and nerdy Seth was, he was a great book boyfriend and I loved that he was so into Cassie the entire book! I also loved Pod and the sentient microwave, I feel like there was the perfect amount of crazy fun paranormal creatures and situations in this book, it was very well balanced between the plot and the tension filled romance! This book was very spicy once things progressed, so if that’s what you’re looking for in your slow burn romances, this book will check that list for you! I also loved how Cassie got her moments in this book to grow into a strong person, she was never the damsel, and I love that for her! She was definitely a plus sized baddie and we need more of those in romance books! I hope this series continues, I will definitely read more from this author in the future!

I love a good paranormal romance and this was a really cute slow burn between a witch and a werewolf who are ex-best friends.

I did a hybrid read, (audio and ebook)and the narrator of the audiobook was fantastic!

I read this authors other 2024 release earlier this year, When Grumpy Met Sunshine and it was one of my favorite books of the year. This book was completely different, but this Charlotte Stein is definitely one of my new favorite author.

Thank you to St. Martin’s for the eARC and
Macmillan Audio for the ALC.

This was so much fun to read! I was in a fall, spooky mood so this was the perfect book for me to immerse myself in the season. I love the mix of cozy and supernatural elements. Cassie was a great main character with many relatable traits. The representation was great, and I appreciate how the book balanced humor, romance, and more serious topics. This paranormal romance was exactly what I was wanting, and I would love to read more!

Charlotte Stein’s *How to Help a Hungry Werewolf* kicks off *The Sanctuary for Supernatural Creatures* series with Cassie returning to her hometown to clear out her grandmother’s house—only to run into her ex-best friend, Seth. Their dynamic is tense but laced with humor as they make a pact to help each other. While the world-building is strong, the story gets sidetracked by steamy scenes around the 60-90% mark. Still, it's an entertaining read with themes of trust, vulnerability, and forgiveness.

This is a chaotic (in a good way) estranged-childhood-friends-to-lovers paranormal romance full of lively banter, pop culture references, experimental magic, a flying vacuum, and multiple sentient appliances. Oh, and a raccoon. Can’t forget about Pod.

This book is marketed as a paranormal romance, which it is, but it feels more like a story about an adult woman figuring out her personal identity and life calling which happens to include falling in love. Heads up for a slow burn and lots of pining.

The main characters seemed a little immature for their ages. I would have found them more believable if they were 21, maybe 22.

The magic world is very interesting. I like the gritty, lived-in vibe of it. I wish I had Cassie’s witchy intuition. That would definitely come in handy.

How to Help a Hungry Werewolf by Charlotte Stein immediately grabbed my attention with the synopsis, as a fan of werewolves in any genre, Gilmore Girls and the humor in What We Do In The Shadows (it is neither.)
However, this book was definitely not for me. This is my first read by this author and I guess she writes ridiculously over the top stories and that’s just her style.
I really liked the “curvy” girl representation, but why did it have to center around the FMC’s torment and fat shaming from her ex-best friend turned lover? In my opinion, the bully got off way too easily for the years of low self esteem he caused Cassie, and all because he was nice to her again, hot, and needed her help.
I personally couldn’t get past that plot point. Mostly because fat-shaming and that level of torment of a young girl at an impressionable age can lead to many serious mental health issues, eating disorders, body dysmorphia, and even teen suicide as young as age 9. At least take some time and responsibility in the narrative to discuss it if you’re going to use trauma as the basis of your story. I get that he helped her to “love herself” again or whatever but that takes years not 350 some pages. I did see it was listed as a TW, so thanks for that I guess. I wanted to enjoy this book, not get into a therapy session in my head over how still no one takes bullying seriously.

Yes, It’s a goofy little silly paranormal romance with some cozy vibes, and lots of supernatural creatures that Cassie never knew existed in her home town. I liked the info dumps, world building and the magic! That’s what earned my review 3 stars.

I found the sense of humor and banter between Cassie and Seth to be childish and immature and the writing itself repetitive. The miscommunication trope was strong with this one. I wanted to reach into the pages and shake them both like OMG YOU BOTH LIKE EACH OTHER JUST ADMIT IT.

After establishing these characters as childish at about 70% in it all of a sudden turns into werewolf smut, which cool I love shifter romance, but awkward at the same time because by that point in my mind I’m picturing the MC’s as teens based on how they act. If that makes sense? The spicy scenes were just cringy and made me feel weird and icky.

After rambling on, I realize this book is just not for me, but there are plenty of other readers who would love it! I never say don’t read a book, I encourage others to read books and form their own opinions! So, despite my own experience, read the book and I hope you enjoy it! This is the first book in a new series, I could absolutely fall in love with the next book.

Story Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (0-5)
Narration: 🎧🎧🎧🎧 (0-5)
Overall: 4/5
Steam: 🔥🔥🔥☄️ (0-5) Slow burn to hello horny paranormal babes!

What I’m Starry-Eyed Over:
🤩 Single POV with one narrator—she’s a fabulous storyteller and uses lots of emotion in her voice for great audiobook entertainment. She changes her voice for other characters and moods.
🤩 Don’t we all need a witchy werewolf pairing this time of year? It’s even a witchy awakening.
🤩 Childhood friends-to-enemies-to-lovers and that need to know what happened and why.
🤩 In other words: second chance at friends-to-lovers.
🤩 I love the fast and captivating start to the plot!
🤩 Quirky characters with cute conversations so full of kinky and crazy fun!
🤩 Did I mention slow burn to hello horny paranormal babes?
🤩 With such scrumptious steamy details.
🤩 And holy hotness do I love the most clever dirty talk situation ever!!
🤩 I loooooved the magic lube and Cassie hearing Seth pleasure himself. Hot hot hot
🤩 Lots of LOL funny!

What I’m Wishing/Dizzy About:
💫 It might be 3rd person POV that makes it harder for me to feel captivated.
💫 I would have liked more from the raccoon child.
💫 I like/need some steam after the drama.

This book is an exercise on how willing you are to push through momentary distractions and banter that pause the narrative entirely for moments both inessential and not quite funny enough to justify their presence.

The barriers between the stages of romance between the main pairing feel frustrating from a reader's perspective. There are moments where I was certain they had resolved a problem and moved on but it would fall back into an earlier stage of the enemy/friendship/romance.

But with that negativity out of the way I really liked how the main couple's silliness bled into the ridiculous nature of the world of the supernatural. The banter can sometimes be enjoyable but I think it's too restricted to the main couple. There is little supporting cast here and it shows.

Thank you to NetGalley and SMP for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f parnanormal romance
-witch and werewolf
-former childhoodbestfriends turned enemies
-childhoodcrush
-one hates the other pines
-horny magic
-slow burn
-plus size rep

This was absolutely fun and bonkers. I loved the twists as these two fought their attraction. A great spooky season read.

This was not my favorite paranormal romance. I didn’t like the author’s writing style in this book. It felt very choppy and disjointed. I’ve read another one of her books that I loved, so I gave this one a try. I had to push myself to finish reading it. I don’t recommend it at all.

This book should be called The Care And Feeding Of Your Horny Werewolf. I say this with love 🙂 I didn’t realize how much of this book would be so sexy. I mean, it’s a really horny book. It just doesn’t seem like it from the back cover copy or the cover. This book is PNR light, or Cozy Rom Com PNR. it feels and reads like a Cozy Rom Com, but it’s horny. Like so so horny. Like it should be in the title.

Quick background: Cassie and Seth are best friends and in high school he does something borderline unforgivable. She thinks he’s ditched her for the cool crowd and then she lives in a world of self-doubt for years. Then her grandmother dies and she goes back to the hometown to take care of grandmother’s house, stuff, etc and one day Seth knocks on the door asking about her grandmother.

She’s a witch, but has no idea. Her grandmother must have known, and tried her best to discourage Cassie from cooking, while at the same time, cobbling together Cassie’s spells/recipes. Cassie’s powers lie in cooking. It’s so intuitive to her, that as a child, she would cook and just know what to add to the recipes. Where does Seth fit in? Her grandmother has been using her recipes/spells to take care of Seth and keep him from turning all wolfy. So when she dies, Seth is truly saddened because Cassie’s grandmother and he had become friends.

I wish we’d seen more interaction between Cassie and her grandmother. This feels like it was worth more than a few quick paragraphs. For example, did her grandmother envy Cassie for her magic? Why didn’t she teach her? Why was it a secret? I need to know!

I loved how Seth, while he didn’t grovel, he also spent the whole book earning her trust and forgiveness. That’s huge. I wouldn’t say he was a bully, and I wouldn’t call this a bully romance, but there were elements of it there. But the author did an amazing job of redeeming him. He earned that forgiveness, it wasn’t just given to him with a tidy bow. This author has skill to be able to do that so well.

This book is like a happy, warm hug, and it’s perfect for your next Autumn read. Grab a blanket, a hot drink, and this book. Boom, your weekend is made.

***ARC courtesy of the publisher via Netgalley

Cassandra Camberwell has returned to her hometown to clean out her beloved late grandma‘s home, Sorting through her grandmother‘s effects on earth, more than just memories! She discovers that witches magic are real… And she finds out that her high school best friend/ crush turned enemy/bully is now a werewolf!

Seth Brubaker I’ve made some mistakes in high school when it came to Cassandra, but he needs her help now as she comes into her magic to control his wolfy urges - Cassandra‘s not willing to more on and let bygones be bygones, but she will strike a deal eventually they strike a deal to work together against a common enemy… resulting in plenty of time and close confines and some edits to their past history!

I really like the idea of Cassandra‘s magical ability and her discovering this special talent. I did have a hard time dealing with her immature outlook at the past and not moving forward to except Seth and his actions in the present to be his true self. Cassandra was too focussed on her high school experience and not willing to move on and give a new chance. This element of the character felt very YA to me and hung a cloud over this romance.

Overall, I really liked the idea of the small town and discovery of magic and real life, paranormal beings, but I would’ve liked to see a more mature heroine. I’d be interested to see if this is the beginning of a small town series, I think we would have a lot of potential!

Thanks to St Martin’s Press for my review copy .