The Cuddle Clause

by Roxie Ray

Living with a werewolf is… complicated.

Maggie James is thirty-one, freshly dumped, and emotionally scorched.
Losing her relationship also cost her the apartment and the business she built with her ex. Now she’s broke, unmoored, and answering a roommate ad from a total stranger.

A stranger who turns out to be a neurodivergent werewolf with a detailed lease agreement… and a legally binding cuddle clause.

Roman Velasquez likes quiet, structure, and his Good Plate.
He’s used to living alone—until pack politics force his hand. To avoid being mated off for supernatural convenience, Roman needs to convince his Alpha that he’s already claimed. He panics, blurts out a lie, and suddenly he and Maggie are fake-mated, cuddling after full moons, and trying very hard not to catch feelings.

It’s just a roommate agreement. Just magical paperwork. Just a fake relationship to stop a supernatural power grab.

They both know the rules.
Don’t touch the plate.
Respect the schedule.
No falling in love.

Too bad they’re already breaking all of them.

🐾 For fans
→ fake dating with fangs
→ grumpy/sunshine but genderflipped
→ structured touch, cozy spice, and emotional support cuddles
→ neurodivergent romance that doesn’t center trauma
→ one (1) sacred plate

Genres: Romance, Paranormal, Fantasy, Shapeshifters, Paranormal Romance, Fake Dating, Forced Proximity

376 pages, Paperback

Published January 4, 2026

About the author

Roxie Ray is a group of writer friends who love to write Sci Fi Alien Romance and Paranormal Romance. They love to talk, read and write this lovely genre. They hope you love their books and strive to make sure you have a steamy, wonderful experience!

Reviews

[Tara Copeland · Rating 1 out of 5]

I will probably finish it bc that’s my personality but this book is so all over the place and weird that I looked up the author to see if it might be written by AI. Turns out, it’s written by a group of friends. And, boy, does it feel like it. It’s so very disjointed.

[IllyrianShadowsinger · Rating 2 out of 5]

I keep doing this. Why do I keep doing this?

Welcome to me having a day off and having no idea what to do with myself.
So I guess I'm reviewing this.
Yippee.
The story has a decent premise; Roman, a werewolf (I'm immune to mockery at this point so don't even try) has to mate with someone to strengthen their packs magic, or ✨ consequences ✨ what are said consequences?
Hahaha
Who the fuck knows?
After Maggie is unceremoniously dumped by her asshole of a boyfriend, Eric, she agrees to move in with Roman because he has decent rent, an amazing apartment, and he walks around shirtless with amazing abs.
Honestly, I want that deal.
Cuddling was barely mentioned, so if you started reading for fluff, turn back. A lot of this book was mainly angst and drama, with sprinklings of humor.
Roman has an ex, named Seraphina, who's apparently desperate to get Roman back, so she continuously pesters and emotionally violates Maggie. And Roman does about
..hmmm...
Nothing.
Yep. Meet the perfect guy, who doesn't interfere in his "fake mates" matters even though he got her in this mess.
...yay..?
Then, of course, because that's not enough; Eric continuously pops back into the book to annoy, pester, and emotionally Nazi Maggie until the end, when he tries to get her back.
One thing I hated about this book was that Roman didn't fight for Maggie.
She fought for him every day. Fought with Seraphina, fought with Eric, tried to maneuver in his pack politics, even though she doesn't even really need to.
And in the end, he left her to go with his Alpha, to meet a woman from his past named Willow. His first love.
After railing at Maggie for not saying no to her ex fast enough, even though she was in shock that he at his pure audacity to try and get her back after what he did.
Excuse me? Please, go suck on your own dick and contemplate whether or not you want to bring that *attitude* into this room.
All in all, super unsatisfying. Roman did the bare minimum for Maggie while she worked so hard for him, and in the end, his apology wasn't even very good. It was just mildly embarrassing, and super public, so if she said no, she's the bitch
Because society, am-i-right?
Anyway, wouldn't recommend. I'm just exceedingly bored. And tired.
Why am I so tired?
Probably because I'm reading stupid books.


I need a palate cleanser. Anyone have recommendations?

[Sasquatch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here's the thing. There's not actually any cuddle clause activity in the book. Like, they cuddle after they're intimate but I'm kind of disappointed that the book didn't actually address the whole narrative that it sold me on - a neurospicy werewolf who needs cuddles.

Like that would have been cute.

The book was still cute but like... Roman wasn't that neurodivergent? It touched a little bit on it in a shallow way with the anxiety and masking, but the story mostly focused on being a cute romcom like most of these cute supernatural romcom stories out there: kind of shallow, still sappy enough that I liked it, but didn't hit on any depth and instead just brushed over things.

[Lea · Rating 1 out of 5]

My first thought when seeing this book, reading the title, was, "don't do it don't do it don't do it don't do it." Here is how I find myself in this situation:

Typically for lunch at work I bring something cold: a salad, a yogurt, sliced cheese, etc.
However, on the particular day I crossed paths with this book, I decided to bring leftover pho. It's all downhill from here.
So I heat up the pho in the office microwave downstairs and now I'm on a ticking clock - I need to get upstairs with my steaming hot pho and choose a new book to read before this soup becomes room temp. I can't run up and down the stairs to reheat the soup like a spring chicken anymore. It's one and done with the microwave.
Normally, finding a book is never a problem for me - I have a tbr list the length of my body, BUT today was a special case because early that morning I had to finish the last 200 pages of Empire of Storms before my hold expired on libby at noon and the mean library people yanked the book right out of my hands. So here I am, pho's getting cold, I'm still reeling from SJM, and there is NOTHING on hoopla or KU that's going to grab my attention. Basically, it was either this book or an Ice Planet spin off and I'm not ready to open that can of worms again.

THIS is how I ended up reading something with the word 'cuddle' in the title. I knew I was doomed from the start but remember, the pho was getting cold.

Let me just say that the artwork on this cover is beautiful; this is where the positivity ends. From here on out this is going to be straight up mean.

88% of this book was pure sarcasm. It wasn't funny. It wasn't necessary. It shoved itself down your throat and strangled you in every other sentence. I can't remember the last time I cringed so much. I see what the author was trying to do, I really do, and at the end of the day it's not her fault - whoever edited this should've told her she's not funny.
I thought there was nothing I couldn't stand more than useless cursing in a novel, but I've been proven wrong - if I had a dollar for every instance of sarcastic simile in this book, I would've just saved myself the eye rolls and bought the next Throne of Glass book on kindle instead of waiting for my turn on libby like a loser. Honestly my library is at fault for a lot of this.

PLOT? what plot? This is a book about werewolves that did not even have to be about werewolves. The MMC's job was literally just being a werewolf - like he actually could've been a computer programmer working for a tech company and I could've found ways to make this storyline work exactly the way it did. I felt genuine secondhand embarrassment at the application of werewolves in this plot line. Also if you're going to make me read werewolves, at least give us... you know. you KNOW.

Maggie is pathetic. She had absolutely no personal growth, no sense of pride, no value beyond being worthy and 'wanted' by her ex and then by the werewolf. The third act was literally her sighing and saying, 'I guess no one will pick me 😔' boo hoo!!!! You know what Maggie, not being chosen by the frat bro who cheated on you or the simpering werewolf who needs cuddles is actually a mercy - congrats, you escaped not one but TWO hells.
Also we get it, she likes to wear her hair in a bun. Imagine every single lame trope of the typical 'average girl' and this is maggie personified. AND, as a graphic designer myself, you can not convince me that this girl could swing it as a freelancer. This is not a girl who meets deadlines, trust me.

Why was Rowan so, so feminine in every way and then suddenly flipped the switch in bed? You do not get to say "please don't use the blue plate that's the only plate that calms my anxiety" and then also say "you were made for this cock" - Pick a lane!
I think the attraction of women to the MMCs in romance novels is the emotional maturity, the capability - those are features you can't find in men in real life. But Rowan flew so far in the other direction - too emotional, too feminine, too 'in tune with his feelings' that the miscommunication trope in the third act DID NOT WORK.


I READ THIS BECAUSE THERE WAS LITERALLY NOTHING BETTER AVAILABLE AND I SHOULD'VE JUST LET MYSELF BE BORED. What do people do on their lunch break besides read? Netflix? I'm about to find out before I read another book with the word 'cuddle' in the title, that's for sure

[Ciru · Rating 1 out of 5]

Cute cover.
Cute premise.
Abysmal execution.

I think this is a one and done author for me.

Goodreads should come up with a .5 staring mechanism because technically this is 1½ stars but because it frustrated me so much there's no way I'm hiking it to 2 stars.

I can see different reviews on whether the book is AI or different people writing the same story. Either way, there is no continuity in the feel of the story. Maggie especially had like 3 feels to her. Roman was either smirk central, look at my abs or caught up in his neuro divergent needs.

I finally, mentally checked out at 51% in Chapter 17 when it's fade to black (then in a later scene it's open door) and Roman+Maggie are each having internal monologues of doubt without speaking up/out their actual wants for each other.

The man who’d now made me feel like the stupidest woman in the world.


Was that what I was? A tool? A performance?

Yawa. On top of all that we have to also contend with constant run-ins with the other woman (up until the final chapter (not the epilogue) Seraphina is still a fixture in the story) AND the other man.

We have over description of things in a flowery tone. Miscommunication/lack of communication as the main building block of the story, which, if I knew when I started this book this is where we'd be 98% of the time, I wouldn't have read this.
And internal doubt. SO MUCH INTERNAL DOUBT. It was so exhausting.

Chapter 25 was the most exhausting, most annoying, most immature, most elaborate set up for failure scheme I have ever read in a book.

Enough of this pussy-footing around. You’re not a side character in your own damn life.”

The irony in that statement!!!! I was angry laughing.

What the fuck is other, OTHER woman doing here at 86% (Chapter 30!)!?!?!

Chapter 32 is when finally feelings are confessed (the story ends at Chapter 33).

Now, Doris was put in as a humourous device. It started off that way then towards the end she was also an irritant and this for me was particularly because I have lived in a place with such a landlady. Guess what, they don't suddenly have a change of heart and become supporting neighbours. They instead double down on the micro-managing and self inserting themselves into your daily lives until you move out.

Nimechoka. Never again.

[Dankinia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since it's almost Halloween, I decided to read a few werewolf/shifter romances. The premise of a roommate contract that included a clause about cuddling to help with post-shift emotional over-stimulation caught my attention.

Based on my rating scale, I'd put it at a 3.75/5 because I enjoyed this book, but it probably won't make my re-read list. With ratings for each category as follows: 🤩Enjoyment - 4; 👥Characters - 4; 📖Plot - 3.5; 🗺️Atmosphere - 3.5 and🖋️Writing - 3.5 with the first 3 categories being most important.

What I liked:
- neurodivergent characters portrayed in a way that embraced their challenges, had positive discussions around their needs, and grew to care for each other because of their differences, not in-spite of them.
- The MMC's open communication when it came to his needs and expectations, even if the FMC didn't always read the fine print

What I didn't like:
- For how well the MMC communicated about his needs due to being neurodivergent, there was a lack of communication about other topics leading to some misunderstandings

I'd recommend this book to someone who wants to read a cute (but still somewhat spicy) shifter romance.

Finished Reading
10/12/2025

[MariVsHerTBR · Rating 1 out of 5]

There is something very off about the writing. I came on here to see if it was written by AI. it is written like a high school fiction assignment.

[Dani (Daniiireads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

After being unceremoniously dumped by her boyfriend of three years, Maggie is desperately in need of finding a new place to live. When she stumbles across a listing too good to be true, she jumps on it, not knowing how much her life is about to change.

I'm a sucker for fake dating, so I adored Maggie and Roman's story. If you're looking for something quick, cute, and steamy, I highly recommend.

𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗧𝗢 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗘𝗖𝗧:
- human + shifter
- roommates to lovers
- fake dating

[Devon Rose · Rating 1 out of 5]

There’s no way a real person (or persons) wrote this. It’s so chaotic and disjointed and the grammatical errors are just the type to seem robotic instead of actual human error.

Doesn’t matter, I’m DNFing at 20 percent in. Too goofy even for a book I assumed was going to be stupid and vapid and a quick easy read.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

adorable 😍

[Elizabeth]

DNF at 22%.

This should have been adorable. I love neurodivergent rep, a heroine who actually has her financial life in order, positive female relationships, shifters, cozy vibes, and cute af descriptions.

However, this story is so all over the place (to borrow a phrase from another reviewer) and the author skips stuff that would be awesome to build the world or relationship and adds random things like a landlord trying to illegally pop in on her tenants that detract from the story.

As cute as some of the words are, I'm going to skip past this.

[Daria Pack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I think this book is enjoyable. I think the chemistry between Maggie and Roman is believable. I think the flirting is fun and a good time.

Things I really liked were: 1) the unconventional alpha, Lucien, for the pack Roman is a part of. 2) The handling of Roman's quirks with his autism. He felt like a character, not a caricature. 3) The fact that Maggie has at least one friend/sibling to rely on outside of her love interest. I personally really like it when female characters have female relatives and friends they talk to and are close to. Helps make the story feel more real. 4) A hateable ex who isn't completely scum of the earth. Some authors get carried away with making exes look like they kick puppies and hate rainbows. This ex was unlikeable, but human.

Things that could have been improved: 1) the real first encounter with the required cuddling with the whole cuddle clause. the story skipped over that and went to them being roommates for a month and how things were now normal. I felt like the reader is missing out, not seeing that awkward trial phase. 2) Eric the Ex's interest in keeping tabs on Maggie just felt off, in the sense that he wanted her to show up on a double date with him and his new girlfriend. The girlfriend Eric may or may not have been cheating with while he was still with Maggie. The fact that Roman even agreed to the double date felt forced by the author. 3) The magic system felt a little too vague. Especially when the resolution of the magic problem that caused the whole fake mate thing was about building connection and being authentic. It made me wonder if the whole problem could have been solved sooner if Lucien stopped wearing his "mask". But this is probably just me being nitpicky.

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Soft, sweet, and beautifully neurodiverse.

There’s such a lack of neurodivergent representation in fiction, and too often it feels like people think adulthood “cures” autism. It doesn’t. Autistic children grow into Autistic adults—many of whom learn to mask well in public and then spiral at home where they aren’t seen as “too much.”

That’s why I loved Roman so much. I saw so many of my own “quirks” in him. I have my special plate and fork. Lightbulbs really do make a sound. Decompressing after socializing is a need, not a luxury. It felt validating to see those things on the page.

Even readers without an official diagnosis may see pieces of themselves here. And for once, the miscommunication (or rather lack of communication) trope actually makes sense.

This is a cute, soft, quick read with laughs and tenderness—two people learning who they are, not because of each other, but because someone finally sees them for who they truly are.

4.5 stars. Gentle and important.

[Toni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Refreshing

KU Read
350ish Pages
Cost Paranormal Romance
Roommates to Lovers
Fake Dating (with a cuddle clause)
Slow Burn
Neuro diverse Shifter MMC
Autism Rep
Hot mess FMC

This was unexpectedly refreshing. It didn't follow the usual pattern of a shifter romance so didn't feel like I was reading another book repeated like you sometimes do with romance novels. I loved both Maggie and Roman I their own right, they were easily lovable and we'll written characters in their own growth journeys when they met and began growing together and supporting each other.
Special mention to Doris the nosey landlord, I'm not sure is she was scary or straight up crazy but I liked her all the same.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️
No brain power needed

[Katie · Rating 1 out of 5]

It’s my own fucking fault at this point, like just read the title.

The similes were killing me. The word “like” is used 1000+ times in 300 pages. Feels like they didn’t even try to fix the writing. And sure, some of that usage is the real use of the word. 90% are for simile usage.

Goodreads is saying the author is a group of friends, and boy does it feel like it. There is a title card at the end claiming it’s written by a human, but the AI author art and subsequent marketing I found (hate scrolling on insta) beg to differ. Even with the AI card at the end, I could see AI having written an outline or manuscript then someone trying to “clean it up”. Because why would they write 8 times she has a messy bun? Why would they write another 8 times (verbatim), “because of course he is”?

For the love of God, do NOT READ THIS.

[Amy]

20% in and we keep being told it is cuddle time but there is no cuddling?!

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

eh. fine.

My biggest complaint is that Roman’s autism struck me as much more “quirky” than it was real and something that affected his daily life. Also, “mild” autism spectrum disorder isn’t a thing. This book was released recently enough that it should have been updated with the levels of autism designated by support needs, with an explainer by it for those not educated in autism. It would have fit in perfectly since an actual autistic person would likely use correct terminology and then clarify it for any who don’t understand in the contract where the autism is first listed.

[Lindsay Letourneau · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found myself smiling while reading this story far more than I expected. Roman and Maggie are so real it almost hurts. I wanted it to just keep going.

[Caitlin Galena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this! I have a super soft spot for autism so that was a huge win.. and they were cute and funny together. I loved it! Super cute, silly banter. A cute cute shiftery read.

[MC · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.0 / 5.0

I am conflicted on this because it is good, I enjoyed the story and the characters, but I didn't get a sense of the romance for almost half of the book and the composition is chaotic. The neurodivergent representation is fantastic but some scenes are cut and pasted in weird places, making the pacing and flow strange.

It really focused on miscommunication in a roundabout manner, and that's my least favorite plot device, so I had to slog through some of this really searching for the nuggets. The writing cycles, almost like a formula, and the world-building is thin. We start with just a contemporary story but then the "shifters exist" thing is just casually thrown in, no background or life experiences from the FMC to advance that. As readers we know that makes this a fantasy, so maybe some clarification? Especially if the landlord is allowed to discriminate against them, like outright prohibiting her tenants from being shifters or face eviction... how is that legal?

Overall, it is interesting and I will probably read more but I need to check a few things first. Mainly, I think the cover and part of the writing is AI-generated. This book and some others in the author's library exhibit suspicious markers of AI. Since this author is a collective of writers, the actual ownership of this is messy. I haven't dug into the research on it yet, but I will before purchasing any more of these books.

Until Next Time,
MC

[Kristen ⭐️ (beansbooktrove) · Rating 4 out of 5]

he’s neurodivergy and they have a cuddle clause, what’s not to like?

[Aelin Sage · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall Rating - 3.5⭐️

I’m gonna be honest, I grabbed it because it seemed like a silly story. It was still worth it, though, for the escape. This story would have been so much shorter if there had simply been communication, but I’d guess, then you’d have no story? Neurodivergent werewolf was definitely refreshing. Doris the landlord was comedic relief. As much as I hate the miscommunication trope, I fall for it every single time. I’m not gonna think too hard on that. Read it if you’re looking for a silly and goofy little time.

[Bri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Get it here:
Amazon US * Amazon UK

[Erika Knickerbocker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not for me

I thought I would like it. I like reading romances about shifters. I just didn't connect with these main characters. It just fell flat for me. I kept having to force myself back to reading it and found myself skimming the pages.

[Kirsty Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

Sweet and funny and endearing and warm fuzzies. I love Roman and Maggie, but also Lucien was quite the scene stealer at times.

[Book enthusiasts 😍 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Im having a hard time deciding whether this book is AI or just really badly edited.

I thought this book was okay, but it has the potential to be so much better. The first 25% felt like it was a little rushed and all over the place. We don’t really get much background to Romans shifter world, we are kinda just thrown into it and go from there. The constant need to keep bringing back Mags ex just felt odd to me because it didn’t really add much to the story. Also the city is not that small, so how they kept running into Seraphina and Eric was just annoying to me.
I really did like the relationship between Roman and Maggie, I felt like they had a lot of chemistry, but I only really felt it until half way through the book. I did expect Roman to be a lot more “submissive “ because i just assumed he would be because he literally required a cuddling session after shifting, but i was sadly mistaken. He was kinda dominant, which isn’t a bad thing but i was just expecting something else.
Overall this book needs heavy editing. A lot of things are repetitive, and some are contradictory. I understand that the book was written by multiple authors, but that is no excuse for such poor editing.

[Agata Liberska · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's very fun but I feel like it needs some polish, for example Roman is a great character but feels like three completely separate people?

[Jessica Lyman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Light and fluffy, just what I was in the mood for today.

[Mandy Pittman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the MMC(Roman) in the beginning. I did get annoyed at times in the beginning of how he let the alpha run all over him. I got tired of his behavior toward our FMC(Maggie) about half way through and by the end of the book I was down right annoyed. He should have throughly groveled. When it comes to Maggie, I understand she was going through a heartbreak while meeting someone new so she was trying to process a lot of feelings but at a certain point it’s like move on! I also wish that for the start or the book it wouldn’t have showed her moving in and the a month time jump. I felt like we needed to see in this specific book the connection the MCs developed. This book was an okay read to me. It didn’t honestly give me shifter vibes. It kinda seemed too busy.