Scan barcode
A review by accidentalra
How to Help a Hungry Werewolf by Charlotte Stein
3.0
I chose How to Help a Hungry Werewolf for two reasons: (1) the premise—after the death of her grandmother, a woman returns to her hometown only to discover that she's a witch and her former-bestie-turned-nemesis is a werewolf who needs her help—sounded fun; and (2) loved the banter between the MCs in the author's previous novel, When Grumpy Met Sunshine. That the blurb included the promise of a "delightfully cozy" read with a "swoony romance" and "small town feels" sealed the deal—I wanted (dare I say needed?) to read this novel.
But then.
But then I read it, and let me just say that the description was misleading, to say the least. I won't claim that the banter was utterly absent—I did chuckle aloud at least twice—but I have to seriously object to any sense of this novel being cozy. At somewhere just past the halfway mark, all the quippy banter and any sense of coziness was entirely overshadowed by the sheer volume of absolute smut that overtook the narrative.
Don't get me wrong—I love smut. (By which I mean that I pray that my mother never sees my Kindle Unlimited reading history.) But I need to know that's what I'm getting. When I've cozied up with the promise of some Gilmore-Girls-level-swoon, I'm unsure how to respond to the excessive and oh-so-explicit bits-and-parts-and-fluids scenes.
So.
What gets me most about this book is that it still could've worked. Unfortunately, the under-development of the how/why/what when it came to the supernatural aspects of the fated-mates trope and simultaneous over-development of the physical effects (read: both MC's extreme horniness) completely took over an entire third of the narrative. Scenes that should have moved the plot forward instead kept it stuck in a loop. Which in turn made the ending feel rushed.
That said, I enjoyed many aspects of the book and look forward to more in this series. But I also hope the author gets much better editorial advice on the next one because I'd love to see these MCs again.
Final word: if you've existed on a steady diet of Kindle Unlimited smut and are looking to transition to more mainstream publications, How to Help a Hungry Werewolf is the book for you. If, on the other hand, you pick this title up because you're looking for something cozy and swoony, just...be advised.
[I received an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.]
But then.
But then I read it, and let me just say that the description was misleading, to say the least. I won't claim that the banter was utterly absent—I did chuckle aloud at least twice—but I have to seriously object to any sense of this novel being cozy. At somewhere just past the halfway mark, all the quippy banter and any sense of coziness was entirely overshadowed by the sheer volume of absolute smut that overtook the narrative.
Don't get me wrong—I love smut. (By which I mean that I pray that my mother never sees my Kindle Unlimited reading history.) But I need to know that's what I'm getting. When I've cozied up with the promise of some Gilmore-Girls-level-swoon, I'm unsure how to respond to the excessive and oh-so-explicit bits-and-parts-and-fluids scenes.
So.
What gets me most about this book is that it still could've worked. Unfortunately, the under-development of the how/why/what when it came to the supernatural aspects of the fated-mates trope and simultaneous over-development of the physical effects (read: both MC's extreme horniness) completely took over an entire third of the narrative. Scenes that should have moved the plot forward instead kept it stuck in a loop. Which in turn made the ending feel rushed.
That said, I enjoyed many aspects of the book and look forward to more in this series. But I also hope the author gets much better editorial advice on the next one because I'd love to see these MCs again.
Final word: if you've existed on a steady diet of Kindle Unlimited smut and are looking to transition to more mainstream publications, How to Help a Hungry Werewolf is the book for you. If, on the other hand, you pick this title up because you're looking for something cozy and swoony, just...be advised.
[I received an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.]