The Lone Wolf Café: A Cozy, Sapphic Paranormal Halloween Romance (Mainely Magic)

”The Lone Wolf Café” by Sydney Wilder is a cozy sapphic Halloween romantic fantasy. It is a perfect book for autumn, because who doesn’t like to crawl under a blanket with a cup of tea and just lose themselves in a good book? Well, this is the book you should have during such a sweet time. Witches, werewolves, elementals (cutness overload!) in a wonderful world created by the author were just the things I needed to light up my days. I was quickly pulled into Nettie and Rowena’s story. Their slow-burning romance was so adorable, so awkwardly cute that it wasn’t a surprise that their feelings toward each other ran so deep. I loved how the anxiety and overcoming past trauma were presented in here. The idea of anxiety-influenced partial shapeshifting was amazing. I liked it a lot. I mean, shapeshifting is all based on control, and when you are in emotional overload, you just lose it. It made perfect sense. There were great plot twists I wasn’t expecting that made the story even better. Also, tea, baked goods, pumpkin spice and coffee! Well-described Halloween activities and general cozy autumn vibes made this book one of my favourites this year. I really enjoyed reading this story. It was sweet, funny, entertaining, heart-warming and just simply amazing. And it was just book 1 in a Mainely Magic series. I can’t wait to read the future ones. I had such a good time reading this one.

Nettie is a werewolf that has run away from home to find some independence and accidentally stumbled into a witch community where she has to pretend to be a witch to pass. She meets a witch who owns a cafe an might have a bit of a crush on her but can they overcome their species and secrets? This started out as a cozy werewolf witch story and ended up being pretty exciting with some action and mystery in there too. I’ve never read a sapphic romance with werewolves before and I loved it. The spice was only one scene but pretty great with the discovery experience. It was a little slow to get into but once it ramped up it was a good one.

What can I say about this book? It starts off strong, with young Nettie escaping the only life she's ever known and fleeing to another island. When she arrives in one town, she realizes she's in over her head and flees in terror and shame. Eventually, she makes her way to Wisteria Grove, a secluded town of witches with a werewolf problem. She meets Rowena, the town outcast and they begin a tentative friendship. As time moves closer to Halloween, Nettie decides that she needs to leave and go elsewhere, hoping that the werewolf pack won't give her any trouble. I'll leave the rest up to you to find out. 😉 The friendship and romance between Nettie and Rowena was paced very well. Nothing seemed rushed, and their growth was very organic. The pair worked together beautifully, and their journey was so perfect. Overall, I did enjoy this book. The side characters are interesting, and I am excited to see who else gets their story told in future books in the Mainely Magic series!