Let's normalize putting triggers in the description on NetGalley. Not a book I'm actually interested in.

I honestly did not expect to like #howtohelpahungrywerewolf by @charlotte.stein as much as I did!! It was so stinking cute!! I loved the plot! You follow the story of Cassie as she rekindles a high school romance with a guy who treated her like dump once in high school. There is only one problem, he has since turned into a werewolf and is now HUNGRY in more than one way (😉) and Cassie has just the right magical abilities to satiate him! I loved the drama, I loved the tension, I loved the romance, I loved the little raccoon familiar?! So cute.

Def recommend for a cute, flirty, fun read!

⭐ - 1.5/5 - ⭐ DNF

✦ Witch x werewolf
✦ Friends to lovers
✦ Small town romance
✦ Bullying

⚠️ - Bullying
🌶️ - 2/5
💕 - 2/5
👥 - 3/5
🌎 - 4/5
🗡️ - 2/5
💀 - 1/5

Cassie returns to her hometown to clear out her late grandmothers old house. She left a long time ago after her best friend, Seth, humiliated her in front of the whole school. One day, Seth shows up at her doorstep. He's changed in more ways than one, mostly because he's a werewolf. He begs her to help him and she begrudgingly agrees. Come to find out, she's actually a witch and has a knack for spells and potions. As things go on, Cassie and Seth find themselves in many interesting predicaments, including fairy orgies, talking raccoons, and a mating pull that its too strong to resist.

Ok so when I started this, I knew there were some not great reviews, but I powered through anyways. My opinion doesn't always line up with others but, unfortunately, with this, it did.

The world that the author build is charming and whimsical. I was sold by the 'What We Do' meets 'Gilmore Girls' vibes, but unfortunately it didn't pan out.

The characters are immature, awkward, and, even though they're in their late 20's, act like children. Cassie is so wrapped up in her own little pity party and keeps throwing that back in Seths face.

The writing in the beginning was clever and witty but it got old very fast. I also noticed that there were a lot of weird repeated phrases like 'for some reason'. I don't know, it just seems like the author didn't know how her characters worked?

I was pretty with it until about 60% then things got weird. I could handle the childish banter, the semi bad writing, and all the bad, because the good was actually pretty good. Like I said, whimsical world, some funny moments, and some cool witchy stuff...but as soon as the spice overwhelmed the story, I STRUGGLED. These are childhood friends, they grew up together, then he hurt her and she talks about it ALL THE TIME, so with the overall child like immaturity surrounding the book, the spice was weird and felt wrong.

Don't get me wrong, I love me some spice, like LOVE me some SPICE, but at the 70% mark when these 2 'buddies' are locked in a closet, evading the bad guys, and she starts getting off on his knee...nope. I turned off my Kindle there and then. I couldn't take it anymore.

The whole story left me feeling icky and confused. I was really disappointed that the reviews were correct. It was a fun ride in the beginning, but quickly became a mess.

Thank you #netgalley and #MacmillanAudio for the ARC of this book and giving me the chance to read and review it with my own thoughts and opinions.

Woof and I don't mean that in a funny way! This was too cutesy or something I couldn't get into this story at all. It was all the fantasy things in one but a love story between a witch and a werewolf. The narrator was awful too so that didn't help

This was such a good book. It's a cozy paranormal romance. I love that a plus size character was represented. I highly recommend.

This was an interesting read for me. Looking at the cover I expected a cute paranormal rom com and what I got was a book that took a left turn straight to horny town full of chaotic energy. I did enjoy the best friends turned enemies turn friends and more vibes of the story brought around via forced proximity as well as the unknown witch aspect. I also enjoyed the banter that we did get between the 2 main characters. However with the rapid and chaotic pacing of the story, I missed the tension and build up to the relationship. I do appreciate how Stein handled the fatphobia the FMC was dealing with and how the MMC helped her learn to love herself. I combo read this via ebook and audiobook. I definitely enjoyed the audiobook more and found myself gravitating towards that. I found that the narration by Yael Rizowy fit the overall vibe of the story well. Overall, I was engaged and plan to read the next book in the series.

2 stars.

I did not like "How to Help a Hungry Werewolf" by Charlotte Stein. I am disappointed because I was really looking forward to it based in its description. This book should have been a young adult novel, especially considering the main characters act like they are 16. There was no reason this book needed to focus on adults because they certainly don't act like it. The spicy scenes feel added in at the last minute in an effort to broaden the reading audience. I totally understand why the main character, Cassie, is mad about what her supposed best friend, Seth, did to her in high school. Rightfully so! He fat-shamed her in front of the entire school, embarrassed her, and then ditched her for the "cool kids" while making fun of everything they used to love together. I get it, and I know what that feels like, so I can totally empathize. I don't need to read about it in a romance. It may have felt a little easier to believe if there was a big redemption, but Seth *barely* apologizes. Excuse me??! I did not like these characters. Cassie is SUCH A WHINER!!!! Oh my GOD, I wanted to slap her so frequently. On top of that, she deserves SO MUCH BETTER. She's just supposed to forgive Seth because he needs her help? Because he got hot? I say "F that!," BUT THEN SHE GOES AND DOES IT after complaining about him for over half the book!!! And Seth is *barely* a functioning person. He still doesn't know how to communicate in a basic conversation and she's falling for this dude?!? GIRL WHAT!?!? Baffling!!! AND!! Why are women still writing characters who fall for their bullies and not labeling them bully romances?! There is nothing lighthearted or funny about demeaning people only to turn around and let that person walk all over them years later. Even with the reason given, I was still pįssed off about how Seth treated Cassie. This is my second Charlotte Stein novel, and I have come to the conclusion that she is not the author for me. Despite the cool paranormal premise, I had a difficult time swallowing this book. It drags and drags and drags, and when I felt like it was nearly over, there was 37% OF THE BOOK LEFT. Nothing happens except talking for long stretches of time. It's plodding and infuriating. I appreciate that Stein writes about plus size characters, but they are almost always bleeding hearts with no backbone who let people trample over them for just one ounce of "love." Contrary to popular belief, you *can* have a good heart and not continue to accept disrespect from those who have wronged you. There are so many wonderful, funny, diverse paranormal romances out there with spectacular characters who have a genuine connection and know how to communicate with one another. Read those instead.

Thank you to NetGalley, Charlotte Stein, and Macmillan Audio for the complimentary ALC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

This was a fun read! I love a good paranormal romantic comedy. I will be honest, there wasn’t much to the plot. But it was fun and spicy and cozy! If you’re looking for a low stakes, fun paranormal read, then this is a good option.

DNF at 60%.

I enjoyed Stein's first book and was excited to see her take on a paranormal romantic comedy. However, I cannot continue. The dialogue is bothering me. It is very cringy. I read this via the ebook and tried the audio to see if it would help. It didn't. I will continue to read her books.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Cassie heads back home to clean out her recently deceased grandmother's home only to meet her ex-best friend Seth who is now a werewolf. They stopped being friends due to a horrible and humiliating moment that destroyed her so much that she had to be homeschooled in her final year of high school. I would think that would make him unforgivable but the story's premise is about how she realizes and explores her newly realized witch powers while Seth tries to restore their friendship.

I have to say that there were many positives to this book. I loved this little town and the magical creatures. Cassie is quippy and always looking for the good in everything even when it's so bad. She is stunted from the damage in high school as she seems not to have any deep friendships and avoids college and any major connections. The story is told completely from her POV but it gets frustrating as sometimes the dialogue is not written out but told after the fact from her perspective. I was in the moment with her one moment and then it was as if she was now looking back and relaying the incident back to the reader. It threw me off sometimes as the scenes were so lovely sometimes. Her interactions with the talking raccoon, the home coming alive, and discussions with Seth, should have continued to play out. However, it many times didn't. The chapters ended abruptly sometimes and I would scream because I wanted more. This is a good and bad thing. I loved this little world that Charlotte Stein created and felt like I only had a taste. I think this is a series so I hope to see more with other characters like Nancy and even more magical creatures.

I have to say this. I wanted to smack Seth around way too much. His lack of communication about anything drove me nuts. Just speak up Seth! Explain yourself! This would go so much easier. I just got so mad at him. Maybe this is a positive as an emotional reaction to a character is a sign the author wrote them well. However, I felt Cassie deserved better. My heart felt for her. Her friend is a fool and I wish he treasured her as she should be. Groveling should have been better.

The story was the slowest burn of slowest burns. Around the 60 percent to 90 percent mark things did get nuts and I was biting my nails and covering my eyes. It went from Gilmore Girls to Melrose Place. (Cassie, you're the beast!)

I loved Cassie and bonded with her and her struggles with her worthiness to be loved. I want more of her self-empowerment in the next books and wish I had her powers.

I was provided the audiobook as an ARC from Netgalley and the publisher. The narrator Yael Rizowy was amazing and I LOVED listening to her. She was the voice of Cassie and she captured the surfer bro tone of Seth that I wanted him to have.

This book started off as a cute cozy paranormal romance but switched into smut pretty quickly. I think I would have enjoyed it more if there was more of the cute story. There was a lot of smut, which isn't bad persay, but I think it would have had more story it would have had a better impact.

Seth and Cassie are the two main characters in this story. Seth is a werewolf, which she finds out as he is breaking into her grandmother's house. Seth has said some cruel things to her in their past, which ruined their friendship. After he breaks into her grandmother's house, they rekindle their friendship and it blooms into a very romantic one. There was a lot of built up tension and sexual frustration from their long time friendship and feelings.

I really enjoyed the narration of this audiobook and I feel that the narrator did a great job distinguishing between the characters. I think their voices matched how I would have imagined them sounding. The smutty scenes were very well narrorated also.

Thank you Netgalley, Macmillian audio, and Charolotte Stein for an ARC of this audio book in exchange for an honest review.

I have mixed feelings about this book.

Honestly, it just wasn’t great and the FMC was not relatable and was so insecure that it wasn’t really enjoyable to listen to a story from her point of view. But I actually really liked the MMC and found his nerdy werewolf vibe really adorable. So it was a hard mix match of writing for me.

A lot of time, stories like this are salvageable because of the spice, and once the spice kicks in, it’s good…but it doesn’t kick in until 80% into the book. So it just was a little too late for me.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

Thank you Netgalley and MacMillan audio for the free ALC. My opinions are being left voluntarily. I really wanted to love this but felt a tad repetitive and felt like I heard something similar before. It felt longer then needed and that's at 2x speed.

3.5/5

I went into this werewolf romance thinking I was about to get a fun ride—romance, maybe some humor. But instead, I ended up with a book I couldn’t even finish. And trust me, I tried. It's unfortunate because I really wanted to. DNF at 35%

The main character? Exhausting. She spent half the time ranting about how much she hated the romantic interest and the other half going on about how attractive he was. She forgave him way too easily for the ridiculous thing he did to her before he even really gave a reason for it. I mean, if someone treated me like that, we’d need way more than a smoldering stare to patch things up.

As for the humor, well...I was promised laughs, but what I got was cringey banter. It seemed like the characters felt the need to crack a bad joke every five seconds. After a while, I was just tired of the attempts at being funny when there was absolutely nothing to laugh about.

In the end, I had to give up. The plot wasn’t going anywhere, the romance was frustrating, and I couldn’t connect with anyone in the story. I really wanted to like it, but it just wasn’t for me.

This book was such a struggle to get through. It’s basically a YA romance made for adults with smut on the tail end. As someone who loves YA romance AND adult monster smut, this was so so disappointing. The first half of the book reads like a YA book. It’s super cringy with bits of sexual innuendo here and there. Then around 65% it’s time for sex. It was even more cringy. Like the FMC says “cumming, he just said cumming. As in a noise I would make”

It felt like this book started as a YA friends to lovers with werewolfs and witches. Then the author decided it needed to be for adults so just include bits of adult elements.

This book would have been 10 times better if the Main Characters were 16 or 17 and just dealing with being a werewolf/witch. Maybe navigating high school and you can even Include teenage hormones. OR the author could have committed to the smut and made the entire books adult and less YA. The characters could be doing sexy things that build to them finally in bed or deciding on something more adult.

This book was just a mashup of two things and I don’t think it worked.

The name of the books is “How to help a hungry werewolf” in the book we learn that’s actually supposed to be “how to help a horny werewolf. Why not commit to that. No one was horny until the book was more than halfway over.

This was so cute and funny and magical!
The town gave me StarsHollow vibes from Gilmore Girls but the story was completely its own.
Friends to enemies to lovers. A slow burn with lots and lots of magic elements. Slight bully romance themes, but mostly a redemption arc. Hooray for plus size representation! Check your TWs for bullying and fat shaming.

Cassie returns to her hometown of Hollow Brook to clear out her late grandmothers house when she runs into her childhood best friend turned enemy, Seth, who happens to be a werewolf. When Cassie stumbles upon Seth trying to steal her grandmothers recipe book, she finds out those recipes are actually magical potions. And that they weren’t actually created by her grandmother but instead by Cassie unknowingly because she’s a witch. A witch who creates potions through cooking, which she’d given up for years after her grandmother advised her against it. For years Seth had been getting her grandmother’s help through those recipes to help maintain some wolfish traits and now that she’s passed away, he needs Cassie’s help. In exchange for her help, he offers to educate her on magic and the other magical creatures in their little town. Hesitant at first, Cassie agrees. And as she learns the extent of her magical capabilities, word gets out and an angry pack of werewolves come knocking. What starts as forgiveness and newly redeemed friendship, quickly turns into fighting off said pack of werewolves WHILE also resisting a magical mating bond neither of them wants… or do they? Absolutely STEAMY. The slow burn sexual tension had my heart pounding. I loved the element of cooking being a big part of how Cassie uses her magic and did I mention she gets the cutest raccoon for a familiar?! The ending really put their past into perspective and some truths were revealed. Such a steamy, cozy read!

DNF @30%

I really enjoyed When Grumpy Met Sunshine by this author and thought a paranormal rom-com sounded like fun. Unfortunately this one just isn't working for me. Humor is very subjective and I can tell a lot of the dialogue is intended to be funny, but I'm finding it more grating and cringe-worthy. Your mileage may vary, but it does feel kind of immature and it's getting under my skin in a less than positive way.

And for that matter the characters feel rather immature as well. There's also the fact that the hero was the childhood best friend of the heroine, but then went along with the cool kids teasing her about being fat in high school. He doesn't seem mean-spirited and there's probably some explanation for why he did that, but I'm not sure I want a romance with a high school bully. Especially when the previous friendship made it such a betrayal, I think I would need a book that takes a much more serious tone in addressing something like that. This is more silly and even wacky in tone, which just isn't going to work for me. Again, you may have a different experience, but I think it's best if I stop here. The audio narrators do a great job and with a different story I would have liked them. I received an audio review copy via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

The description of this book was supppper interesting to me and on audio? How could I complain? Well, here I am complaining. I got to 30% and feel like next to nothing happened in terms of moving the plot and the two "Adults" are so stuck on things that transpired years prior in high school it's almost annoying. I DNF'd.

Cassie and Seth were childhood friends until he fat shamed her trying to be in the “cool” kids club. She hasn’t seen Seth in years. Cassie returns home to handle her grandmother’s estate. She unintentionally bumps into Seth when she finds him in her basement. There she finds out some truths. This is a fun paranormal friends to enemies to lovers plot.

This started off so cute and 100% up my alley, old childhood friends turned enemies, a witch and a werewolf, small town magic... sadly, about 1/3 into the book the main storyline became two grown-ups desperately and obviously into each other, magically in heat for each other, fighting that desire for like 150 pages. It was drawn out, boring and took away from all of the potential other plot points. Their miscommunications AKA lack of communication got tiresome.