When I saw Charlotte Stein's follow up to When Grumpy Met Sunshine was a werewolf romance, I do not think you understand the scream I scrumpt. And this was, for the most part, quite a delight! The premise and the magical world were silly enough to be entertaining and the pining between Cassie and Seth was *chef's kiss*. I LOVED seeing Cassie come into her own as a witch and build her confidence in magic, all while learning to trust her childhood best friend turned foe turned hot neighborhood wereworlf again. There were a few moments where the will they or won't they felt a little forced and the third act conflict was REALLY late breaking, but I sighed and swooned and kicked my little feet when everything got tied up in the end!

Cassandra has returned to Hollow Brook to clean out her grandmother's house, but she finds more than she expected when her ex-best friend, Seth, turns into a werewolf and it turns out that Cassandra is a witch. Cassandra has to figure out the supernatural world, how to help Seth deal with all the downsides of being a werewolf, and suppress her feelings for him that she's sure he doesn't reciprocate.

I found the communication issues both very frustrating, but every understandable given both character's backgrounds. This book had so much going on, and while I loved it, I wish I had gotten to learn more about the town, the side characters, and the magic of this world.

Thank you to Netgalley for this Arc!

I really wanted to like this one. I love werewolves and a paranormal romance, but the dialog between Cassie and Seth stalled the story so much. The chemistry felt forced and the writing in general needed editing. Sad to DNF but this was not for me.

A fun romp but ultimately nothing to write home about if very memorable. I enjoyed the lighthearted adventure and found myself breezing through this. Good read for one sitting.

I could not get into this story to save my life. The story had a great premise, but the characters annoyed me to death. They were both incredibly immature. Also, the amount of dialog was insane. Between the dialog between characters and the main character's inner dialog, I felt like the story was at a stand still.

Content notes: bullying and fatphobia, brief references to parental neglect



Dear Charlotte Stein,

Cassandra Camberwell has returned to Hollow Brook to sort out her grandmother’s house after her gran’s recent passing. She hasn’t been back for years, having left the small town she grew up in shortly after finishing high school (and the last part of that schooling was at home) because of bullying by a group of jerks and her former best friend, Seth Brubaker.

Seth and Cassie had been thick as thieves, spending almost every waking moment together as kids. Then Seth became one of the cool kids and started hanging out with the jerks and Cassie was bereft. Even so, it wasn’t until he participated in humiliating her at the school talent show that she realised their friendship was truly over.

Now Cassie is back and almost the first person she meets in Hollow Brook is Seth, asking strange questions about her grandmother’s death and even breaking into her house looking for something mysterious. Clearly something is going on – Seth seems desperate, although not physically dangerous. It becomes quickly obvious that Cassie’s grandma was helping him manage his affliction. And by his affliction, I mean Seth is a werewolf.

Cassie is disconcerted by Seth even before she knows he’s a supernatural being. He’s bulked up, filled out and is just about everything she finds attractive wrapped up in a plaid shirt and cords.

And that mouth. How did he have a mouth like that? His upper lip was as plush as a peach. However, his lower was almost mean. It made him look like he was three seconds away from murdering you at any given moment—but in such a soft and seductive way that you’d be really happy about it when he did.

But to find out not only that Seth is a werewolf but there are also all manner of supernatural creatures and beings existing in the world is a shock she’s not ready for. Seth has a way of delivering the news that if it doesn’t exactly help Cassie deal, was good for making me laugh out loud.

Not only were vampires apparently not real, they weren’t even massive-ridiculous-castle dwellers.

And that was just insult added to injury.

“Oh my god. You take that back,” she finally said, more fiercely than she intended.

But even the fierceness didn’t make him bend reality back to what it was supposed to be.

“I can’t, it’s the truth. There are no castles at all. Or even fancy houses. In fact, I know of one of them who lives in an apartment with two other dudes. And the apartment is pretty crappy. Two of them share one bedroom—and not in the cool way, either. In the sad way that makes me want to ask them how come they’ve been alive for hundreds of years but don’t have so much as a bean between them.” He sighed and shook his head. Then seemed to consider something, before adding, “Though to be fair, I’m not sure I really need to ask them that. It’s pretty obvious, when one of them thinks televisions have tiny people living inside them.”

Added to everything, Cassie realises she’s a powerful witch. Her grandmother had been using Cassie’s own “recipes” to cobble together potions for Seth but with Cassie herself making them, they’re on a whole nother level. Cassie and Seth make a deal; she will help him by providing potions to heal his wounds and stop him from wolfing out and he will help her learn about being a witch and the supernatural world which has just been revealed to her.

It’s obvious that this pair have been in love with each other since high school but neither felt brave enough to say anything to the other. The issue of the incident of bullying Seth participated in during high school is resolved early with a genuine and heartfelt apology as well as some additional context. But Cassie is determined to hold him at arm’s length to limit any harm he may do to her. If he doesn’t know how vulnerable she is to him, he can’t hurt her as much. Which leads to much hilarity as they stumble over their attraction, made all the more compulsive by “werewolf sex hormones”.

Never let him know that you like a single thing about him, she told herself, firmly.

Then she put her shoulders back, and lifted her head, and responded. “Yeah, okay, Seth. I get that you have a six-pack now,” she said, and rolled her eyes. Though it didn’t exactly have the intended effect. He just glanced down at his own stomach with this pleased look on his face.

“You really think I still have a six-pack? I thought I kind of lost it when all this madness made me want to eat everything all the time, and sleep so long it feels like a coma, and also—just generally being this way makes you a lot thicker and burlier, you know?” he said, all affable and blasé about it. While she carried on floundering in this sea of weird feelings.

First there had been that flush and the urge to stare, and now here was another fucking rush of concern. Your entire body and metabolism and sleep cycle changed, she wanted to say. But even after she managed to fight that down, nothing good took its place.

“Well, even if it has, it’s definitely still there,” she blurted out.

And could only thank her lucky stars that he didn’t take it like a compliment.

“Right, but I mean, it’s less defined.”

“Something being less defined is not a bad thing.”

“So you like it thicker like this, you like more of a belly.”

“What the fuck does it matter, Seth. That’s not the point.”

Seth is a goofy and adorable guy who is constantly tripping over his words, earnestly making their simmering attraction worse despite being well-meaning.

At one point Cassie makes a joke about Seth’s (at the time theoretical) huge penis and this happens:

“Probably would have been best for my mental well-being if you hadn’t,” she said.

“Sorry. It just sounded like you knew already. You said it so confidently.”

“I was joking. I was just being funny.”

He nodded, regretfully. “Yep, I see that now.”

“Wish you’d seen a second ago, so I didn’t have to have the image lodged forever in my brain. But you know, those are the breaks. One second your head is empty of your mortal enemy’s potential penis, the next you have to live with it endlessly unraveling in your head like a fruit roll-up,” she sighed, weary and sarcastic enough that she thought this would be the end of the matter.

But oh no. No, no. He kept right on going.

“Well, you know it’s not so long that I have to wind it up. Usually I can just kind of keep it down one thigh and then wear long, tight shorts, and it sort of stays in one place and oh my god I need to stop talking.”

Because of those werewolf sex hormones, their attraction becomes all encompassing. Neither will admit there’s more to it than supernatural compulsion; Seth because he doesn’t believe it’s even possible that Cassie could think of him that way especially after how he behaved in high school (even though she’s forgiven him) and Cassie feels similarly, for pretty much the same reason, only in reverse. But her witchy sense clearly tells her that the only way out is through so eventually (and it takes a long time to get there) they decide that bang they must.

So maybe we should just think of this as you know . . . casual sex. Or scratching an itch. Or any other kind of fun activity we might do together. Like, say, really weird, intense tennis,” she tried.

Not surprisingly, the jerks return to make trouble. It’s also clear there are other people in Hollow Brook who have been and will be an issue for the supernaturals – this is the first book in a series so I expect we will find out more about this in upcoming books. (Here for it.)

For the most part, I found How to Help a Hungry Werewolf (I believe the working title had the word Horny instead of Hungry) to be a delight. It was funny, sexy and charming. I especially enjoyed the worldbuilding, which included such things as a sentient appliances; among them a snarky microwave and an opinionated television, a witchy guidebook which revealed more and more information as the reader became ready for it, plus a talking raccoon. It was wondefully quirky and fun, vastly entertaining.

I did think that the miscommunication between Cassie and Seth went on a bit too long. The point became just a little too laboured for me. It really was so very obvious that they were endgame for each other, each was just too frightened to really believe it. I understood why they felt that way but eventually I started thinking Cassie and Seth were being willfully dense about it all.

I loved that Cassie was very much the heroine of the story; Seth her faithful sidekick. Yes he will protect her but she can kick ass herself thank you very much. I also enjoyed that both, at base, were just plain kind. Seth had a blip in high school (intent doesn’t equal impact but he was truly remorseful about that behaviour) but apart from that, they are both the sort of people who help, who care, the kind who offer friendship just because, and that is something I have come to appreciate more and more over the last few years.

Charlotte Stein has a particular and distinctive voice – it’s immediately obvious to a reader, no matter whether it’s a contemporary or a paranormal romance. How To Help a Hungry Werewolf is no exception. It has all the hallmarks of Stein at her best.

Grade: B+

Regards,
Kaetrin

I....
Well, I....
I did not expect to fall so hard in love with this story.

Sometimes the MC got really annoying with their thought patterns, but then I realized that was because I've had those same thought patterns. And people tend to have less patience for things that they recognize within themselves.

It felt like the two leads started out pretty two dimensional. Not many layers. But the author really did a great job peeling back the curtains to show us deeper into what made the characters, after the setup.

I fell in love with all of the characters (that weren't the baddies), even the originally inanimate ones. Haha!

And I am completely jealous about the Familiar that bonded with the MC.

I really hope that the future planned books for this series have the same MC and LM. I would love to see the adventures continue! Heck, this was really easy to picture in my mind, as if it were already a TV series.

3.5 Stars A fun paranormal romance just in time for spooky season! Sometimes paranormal books can have difficult to understand world building, but How to Help a Hungry Werewolf was easy to understand and the writing style was easy to follow along with as well. The MCs are fun and interesting, and I liked both of them! A light cozy romance!

How to Help A Hungry Werewolf is a hilarious and steamy book from Charlotte Stein. Cassandra returns to her hometown upon the death of her grandmother. What she doesn’t expect is to find her former best friend Seth exactly where she left him. When Seth starts acting strange, she learns that there is a magical world that was previously kept from her. Will Cassie embrace her new witchy powers or is it time to leave again?

My favorite part of this book was the hilarious banter between Seth and Cassie. I also loved the sentient microwave and raccoon familiar. At times the plot danced a little too close to absurdity, but I think once the silliness is accepted then it works. The bullying explanation fell a little flat, though Seth being such a ding dong rang true in making it believable. Seth is the definition of a himbo who is down bad for Cassie. However, Cassie must fight some of her inner demons before she can think about accepting Seth’s love. They make a cute couple!

Readers who enjoy banter, silliness paired with steaminess, and magical contemporary romance should check this book out.

Thank you to Charlotte Stein, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Cassie and Seth had that chemistry made this fun and spicy!

From their past to their present time they were it. Now add magic to this dynamic and you are in for a good rollercoaster ride that has moments that are relatable and pull at the heartstrings. My second book from Charlotte Stein and it had what I liked about her writing in the first book I read from her and I will always on the look out for more of her books.

This is a cute and quirky book. Perfect for a fall time read. I love Cassie and watching her grow with her witch abilities. I liked the enemies to lovers vibe with the slow burn. While I enjoyed reading about Cassie and Seth, it did read juvenile for them to be in their late 20s. They just didn't feel mature for their age and that took me out of the book.

DNF @ 25%

The writing was too chaotic, and I was soured to the book from the prologue. I can't stomach fat-shaming.

Review:
... I hate being negative but I really didn't enjoy this. I listened to the ALC and also read it via eARC and I did not enjoy it at all. I wasn't a fan of the characters and felt like they were lacking. The plot was also just not the vibe. At times I had the hardest eye rolls because the circumstances were just so off. It felt like the author was trying too hard to be "the funny girl". I'm happy to see representation of bigger bodies but I really felt like she could have given the character a little more than just being the "fat quirky" girl.

Once we get into the smut it never stops. It was so forced in the second half of the book. It was really hard to enjoy when it was literally shoved in your face so much.

Anyways... I never say don't read a book because you may like it even though I didn't. So pick this up if a werewolf x witch "second chance romance" sounds like something you want to read.

Thank you to @netgalley, @macmillan.audio, and @stmartinspress for the ARC and ALC.

What would you do if you found out that your love of creatures from paranormal movies found their way into your real life and that you yourself was actually a witch? Our main character has to deal with that as well as many other issues. This book is funny, sad, romantic, frustrating, anger inducing and stirs many other emotions as our main character comes back to deal with her grandmother's death and face off with her bullies, ex-bestfriend turned bully and other grumpy townsfolk. Not all is lost though as she finds not everyone is unhappy to see her! This is a great story of second chances and learning to love yourself. If you like werewolves, witches, fairies, trolls, goblins, talking animals and more along with a fun spicy romance then you are in the right place. I love the narrator for the audiobook as she really brings the characters to life, especially the snarky thoughts of the main character. I really hope there will be more from these characters or townspeople as the author has created a wonderful world that I would love to explore more!

Title: How to Help a Hungry Werewolf
Author: Charlotte Stein
Genre: Romance
Rating: 2.5 out of 5

When Cassandra Camberwell returns to her hometown of Hollow Brook to clear out her late grandmother’s ramshackle old house, the last thing she expects is Seth Brubaker on her doorstep. Her former best friend was responsible for the worst moment of her high school life, and she can’t imagine he wants to do anything but torment her all over again.

Until she unearths the real reason this annoyingly gorgeous beast of a man keeps hanging around: he’s an actual werewolf, who’s certain she’s the witch that will ease his suffering. But Cassie just isn’t sure if she can trust him again. So Seth offers a pact: he’ll teach her all about her undiscovered magic, and she will brew the potions he needs. No feelings, no funny business, just a witch and a werewolf striking a deal.

Totally doable. Until they get hit with a do-or-die mating bond. And now the heat is rising, in between fights with formers bullies and encounters with talking raccoons. They just have to not give in. Unless giving in just might be the very thing they never knew they always wanted.

I thought the first half of this was decent, if a little predictable and juvenile. The second half turned into some sort of wannabe-erotica without any believable worldbuilding or plot. I’m not sure what else to say about it.

Charlotte Stein lives in Leeds. How to Help a Hungry Werewolf is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for giving me an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to love this book, but it wasn’t for me. I couldn’t connect with the MC at all. I found her sort of annoying actually. I also thought the writing was a bit immature.

The plot of the story was decent though, I just wish the writing would have been a bit more adult. If you don’t mind a little immaturity and you like a werewolf romance with fall feels then this might be for you!

Oh man that was a fun story! I don't even know how to describe it without almost spoiling it. Haha! The banter was fun. It was fun to see Cassie grow.
My only issue was some of it felt obvious. Like I was getting annoyed with how slow the characters were "getting it". And there was also a fee instances where it felt like details were missing from one part to the next. Hopefully those were corrected since this wasn't a corrected proof.

Thank you to NetGalley and SMP/Macmillan for the eARC.
Unfortunately this book was not for me. I found the story to be much more YA with some spicy scenes tacked on near the end. The characters did not act like they were nearly 30.
I think this could have been better for me if the behaviors and dialogue from the characters were more mature or this was a true YA novel.

I’m giving this book 3 stars because I feel like it has potential, especially if the series continues.

A couple of the things I enjoyed:
- The banter between Cassie and Seth was fun to watch. Their dialogue was by far my favorite part of the book
- I liked the small town, however, I wish we had seen more of it.
- I liked the spicy times, they weren’t over the top descriptive, but they weren’t closed door.
- I liked the childhood best friends to rivals to begrudging allies to friends to lovers dynamic they had going on
- I loved Cassie's powers manifesting via cooking and how everything about her background was revealed

What could have been better:
- As noted above, seeing more of the town would have been nice
- Cassie came off as very wishy-washy to me, while Seth came off as very submissive to whatever Cassie wanted but in a way that he would say something and immediately change course because he thought she wasn’t ok with what he said. Neither one of these types of MCs is my favorite to read, personally.
- It took too long to get to the spice. There were a lot of little adventures which were fine, but with the characters not being my favorite, the town not being explored, and the little adventures not amounting to much, I would have preferred the spice quicker.
- And perhaps my biggest criticism is these characters did not feel mature enough for their ages. I have no problem with their background or why she still feels hurt over their past (that makes sense to me), what didn't make sense was their actions and discussions about even trivial things. These people were in their late 20s but they felt as though they were right out of high school. I believe I would have enjoyed this book a lot more if the ages of the characters had been changed to 19/20, as it would have made a lot more sense to their personalities.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Charlotte Stein for the opportunity to read a copy of this book. The thoughts and opinions expressed above are honest and my own.

Seth and Cassie meet up again after years of her hating him because of a prank he and his friends pulled on her in high school. But once Cassie's grandmother passes away and leaves her a house, she comes back to town to clean out the house and probably sell it. But Seth shows up and sets a whole slew of things in motion. For one, Seth is now a werewolf and needs the potion or recipe that Cassie's grandmother used to make him so he can control his shifts. But instead Cassie just thinks he's in the basement trying to steal something until he starts to shift and he has to tell her to run, block the basement door and wait. Which she does and is not prepared to face her new reality that paranormals exist, the next day.

Seth and Cassie start to spend more time together because Cassie has a lot of questions and she doesn't have anyone else to talk to about this stuff. So Seth fills her in but she's not sure she can trust him yet even though the prank was years ago. He really hurt her since they had been best friends before the whole thing happened. But the more time they spend together, the more she sees her friend in Seth again and they start to act like friends again. All the while Cassie is trying to help Seth with a couple of potions to help him out and they need some ingredients that they have to go looking for.

In the meantime, those old jerks that Seth used to hang out with and set Cassie up for the prank in high school are still holding a grudge against her and Seth knows she's in danger from them. But then halfway through the book the plot takes a backseat to the mating urges that first Seth starts to feel and then Cassie feels. They are so strong that they have a hard time focusing on anything else and the book focuses on sex between them for quite a while. After they get that out of their system, it gets better and we get back to the plot of this story. I really liked the characters, and Pod the racoon familiar for Cassie after she realizes she's a witch.

It was a little slow at times and a little wordy but the storyline was a lot of fun. You can bet this won't be the last book I read by this author.

Disclosure: I was given a copy of this book via NetGalley but all thoughts and opinions are my own.