Charlotte Stein’s How to Help a Hungry Werewolf is one of the horniest books I have ever read. It is incredibly innocent and filthy at the same time. I laughed and I blushed. I also felt like this book was written just for me, which has made it very difficult to review.
Cassie Camberwell doesn’t know she’s a witch until she inherits her grandmother’s house, meets her ex-best friend again, finds a notebook with recipes and brews up a potion. And it turns out that her ex-best friend, Seth, is a werewolf. Vampires are real. Fairies are gross.
As a number of reviewers have noted, the prologue does have a scene where Seth publicly fat shames and humiliates Cassie. It was a hard scene to read, and every reader should take care of themselves. I’ve read enough Charlotte Stein to trust that I’m going to be ok with where she takes the story. And I was. The grovel is very popular in romance, and Stein takes it in a different direction. Seth’s grovel is low key and full of concrete action rather than flowery words. More importantly, he approaches Cassie without an expectation of forgiveness. He needs a potion from her, but he doesn’t expect her friendship. For readers looking for a grand apology scene, they may be disappointed. I loved it and found it refreshing.
Cassie spends a good portion of the book discovering and growing into her powers as a witch. She’s a kitchen witch at that. As she’s brewing potions, her kitchen comes alive. I am not a witch, and my microwave has not developed a personality, but the feeling Stein conveys on the page feels like the obsessive focus I have when I am playing with recipes. Once Cassie accepts that she’s a witch, the book really goes full bonkers with flying vacuum cleaners, a raccoon familiar, and so much masturbation, pining, sex pollen, and general horny nonsense.
I love the way Charlotte Stein runs full tilt at a story. It makes for a joyful reading experience.
I received this as an advance reader copy from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.