A Rebel Without Claws by Juliette Cross is a fun, steamy read with a lot of heart. Ronan, a rough-around-the-edges werewolf, and Celine, a sweet aura witch, have instant chemistry that pulls you in from the start. Their story is about healing, connection, and finding love when you least expect it. It’s got just the right mix of magic, spice, and emotion, all perfect for fans of the Stay a Spell world or anyone who loves a good paranormal romance.

This is 100% a nostalgic, perfect paranormal romance read. If you loved the first series, it felt like going home. I loved every single second of seeing the kids grown up. I know that series just finished, but it honestly felt like waiting 10-20 years and going home. It was amazing.

Paranormal romance lovers, you'll love this cute romance.

If you love Vampire Diaries or the Originals, you'll absolutely love these books. They're quick and easy to understand. There's no massive magical system to understand and they're set in New Orleans so the landscape I always picture while reading is so fun.

I cannot recommend this world enough.

If you like
- Forbidden romance
- Strangers to lovers
- Werewolf x witch
- Suspense
- Second gen
you'll love this one!

Holy hell, I devoured this in 9ish hours and somewhere in there I slept through the night. I could not put this down. I spent the first 4 chapters kicking my feet with how cute it was!

This is the first in a spin off of the “Stay a Spell” series featuring the next generation of witches, werewolves, and other supernaturals. I wasn’t sure about how it would feel seeing New Orleans from the kids’ perspectives but it was wonderful. There was so much the same that it was like coming home, but also it felt totally different and unique like a brand new story.

Celine’s strength and bravery was reminiscent of her mother, and her courage and daring from her father (and, dare I say Alpha). Ronan pulls off this “Devil May Care” attitude with everyone but was immediately a simp for Celine. I loved every second of their interactions.

Celine and Ronan are a beautiful, fresh, fun couple to start off what promises to be an exciting, dramatic, and emotional new series and I CAN’T wait for the next few stories to play out. It’s gonna be wild.

A Rebel Without Claws was a fun and quick paranormal/fantasy romance! A really enjoyed both the main characters and their stories. Ialso think Juliette Cross did a great job setting up future books in this series.
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

Paranormal fantasy with werewolves, witches and romance.

Add MMA fighting, mechanics, grief, fated mates and more.

This was a good book & quick read. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Ronan Reed is new to New Orleans, and his bad reputation has followed him, but that can't stop the attraction growing between himself and Celine Cruz, even if her over-protective family isn't a fan.

The external stakes in this book felt a lot lower than those in the books in the Stay a Spell series, but it was a still a fun paranormal romance, and it is fun to return to some favorite characters, even if these books are focusing on the next generation. I did appreciate the discussion of mental health.

High-brow literature this is not, but no one thinks it is either! It delivers almost exactly what it promises. This is a paranormal romance set in New Orleans with werewolves, vampires, and witches. What's not to like! If you are looking for a very low stakes, little conflict romance this will definitely fit the bill. There is some action and drama, but it comes very late in the book and is resolved within pages. If I'm being particular I would have liked a little more conflict, but this was fine. This was also a dual POV story, but I would say we get way more depth from the MMC Ronan's arc than the FMC, Celine. She felt a little like window dressing for his story. I would've liked her to have a little more autonomy. Finally, the spicy scenes were a struggle for me. I can only read the words "I'm coming" so many times before I lose it and that phrase is used liberally here.

I'm not saying I won't pick up the next one, but there's plenty of books I will reach for first.

Fans of the Stay a spell series will love this new spin off that sees bad boy werewolf cage fighter, Ronan falling for aura witch Celine. There's all the things you'd expect from a Juliette Cross paranormal fantasy from spicy scenes to some suspense but what really made this book stand out for me was the focus on mental health (anxiety, PTSD and therapy). These topics don't tend to come up a lot in fantasy romance and I thought it was refreshingly well done here. I look forward to reading more in this latest New Orleans series! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

I was so exciting to jump into the second generation of stay a spell. This didn’t disappoint. I loved seeing all of my favorites again. I literally swooned on multiple occasions during this. Ronan just had my heart.

A captivating blend of steamy romance and supernatural intrigue that will basically turn the page for you. Ronan Reed, the rebellious werewolf, and Celine Cruz, a compassionate Aura witch, find themselves drawn to each other despite their worlds being at odds. Their forbidden romance sizzles with tension as they struggle against family expectations, danger from lurking enemies, and their undeniable chemistry.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

I am a bona fide Juliette Cross fan. I love the way her mind works, the flow of her sentences, the robust characters, her story development … but I did not love A Rebel Without Claws. I just liked it. It was okay. Just fine. Here’s my issue: there wasn’t anything at stake for Ronan and Celine. Not really, and that made it just good. This tells the story of the next generation of badass characters from her Stay A Spell series that were so awesome and so different, so like being one the children of these amazing characters who fought for a new trajectory of supernaturals in NOLA, this next generation story sort of pales in comparison. 3.5 stars

Oh this was so much fun. I wasnt a huge fan of the insta-love .. i understand its "fated mates", but i kind of wish that part was dragged out a little bit, i wanted more yearning from the mmc. regardless, i LOVED how he was with our fmc, the "touch her and die" vibes, the possessiveness.. it was *chefs kiss*. i loved her family as well, although i dont think her father lived up to the protectiveness expectations. i wish it had been longer, and a little more in depth with a few things, but overall, i had such a fun time.

I actually read this book without having read any of the previous ones it had spun off from but I loved it! I found it to be a lot of fun with a unique setting. Ronan and Celine had quite the story and the romance was spicy, loving and swoon worthy!

I adored the therapy rep, especially balanced with a bad boy! "A Rebel Without Claws" is a dual-POV romance with two supernatural leads. The world-building is easy to follow: witches, shifters, and beyond in a semi-public setting. The New Orleans location was another great element of the setting. Ronan and Celine both have great growth and provide a fantastic complement to each other. The extended family is also very well done. I would love to see this continue in a series. Maybe with the Cruz siblings??

The climax and ending felt a bit abrupt but were not out of place with the fast pace of the story. One element that didn't resonate with me, but that I think could be a lot of fun for some readers was the focus on the music playing in the background of many scenes. It was a good way to add more depth to the setting!

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

A Rebel Without Claws by Juliette Cross is a paranormal romantasy that centers on Ronan and Celine. Ronan is a bad boy werewolf who leaves his hometown of Texas after some legal troubles, who then goes to live in Louisiana with his uncle for a fresh start. Ronan has big plans of making his dreams of being a cage fighting champion a reality, when he encounters the beautiful distraction known as Celine Cruz. Celine Cruz is an aura witch who has various supernatural beings mixed into her family line such as Vampires, Witches, Werewolves, etc.

Initially Celine Cruz seems hesitant if not fearful of Ronan, but after some very brief interactions she quickly becomes attracted to him as well. Both characters felt pretty average to me, with neither of them being fully fleshed out in my opinion. The romance definitely felt very instalove/lust, with it seeming like she falls for him after what I'm sure is meant to be the best finger bang of her life. Ronans character comes off as very pushy and possessive in certain scenes, which I personally do not like despite the "fated mates" trope. It was very hard for me to see their connection as genuine, with Celine seeming to just give in to his whims despite her own hesitations. Despite this book having fantasy elements presenting as supernatural beings, nothing really felt fantastical about this. The main characters are people in their mid 20's who feel and act more like teenagers doing everyday things.

The plot falls flat with nothing of huge significance happening, but the author gives us one major fight for the sake of adding conflict into the story. The story wrapped up too quickly and predictably for me. I think a more interesting plot and adding context might have saved this one for me, but unfortunately I'm giving this one 2 stars as it is not my type of romance. Thank you to netgalley, the publisher and the author for letting me read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the copy in exchange for a review!

I loved Juliette Cross's Stay a Spell series - so when I found out she was writing a Next Generation series I jumped at the chance to read it. I loved this book so much! I loved reading the Stay a Spell series because it had amazing family Dynamics, fun characters, and the perfect amount of spice, A Rebel Without Claws is the perfect condition for the next-gen of the family. I adored following Celine and Ronan's dynamics as well as seeing all of the characters I've loved from past books. I love Cross's books because they have the perfect amount of romance as well as a dash of danger that makes them the perfect read to snuggle up with and forget about the world.


I would recommend you read the first series first to get the maximum enjoyment of the books but this could be read as a standalone series.

I’ve forgotten how much I loved this world until I read this book. It feels good to be back!

Ronan and Celine was classic good girl x bad boy example but they complimented each other really well. I loved their connection. They both cherished and respected each other. I loved how caring Ronan was.
But still my favourite character in this whole series Alpha. When he showed up, I whopped! What a scene that was🤣.

Usually when second generation story is told, our favourite characters from first generation looses some of their charm but here, I’m so glad that author did that really well. Evie and Matteo were terrific parents.
I loved all the secondary characters and I want all of their stories (pretty please🙏).
I hope it’s Samara and a certain grumpy warlock’s story next.

Overall I highly recommend this book and the original series. It’s my favourite and comfort books.

-Good girl x bad boy.
-Werewolf x witch.
-Feel good, cute but steamy romance.
-KU, Recommended and standalone.

I received an advance review copy and I’m leaving this review voluntarily.

So much fun to come back to the Savoie family! This definitely feels just like the first generation books, just with the grown-up kids this time around. Ronan's issues with his wolf being buried were a bit predictable but I'm not enough of a connoisseur of paranormal romance to be upset. Not gonna lie, I skimmed over the fight stuff because I didn't care. Loved seeing Alpha make a memorable appearance! Good amount of spice, too!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my thoughts.

A Rebel Without Claws is a great light paranormal rom-com filled with a lot of sweet moments for fans of Stay a Spell series. Ronan and Celine were very cute - I liked the good girl vs. bad boy vibes paired with the fated mate trope. The story was easy to get sucked in and moved along at a good pace.

However, this book definitely relied on knowledge of the Stay a Spell series. It kinda glossed over the paranormal world that's already in New Orleans, assuming you've read the previous series. Also, the couple really relied on the insta-love trope which was a bit of a let down as insta-love is not my favorite in books. I love a good fated-mate trope, but I still like the build up in the couple's relationship.

3.5/5