I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
A Rebel Without Claws Series: Southern Charm #1 by Juliette Cross
Published by Union Square and Co on February 11, 2025
Genres: Adult Paranormal Romance
Pages: 320
Source: the publisher
Format: ARC
Goodreads
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Also by this author: Parks and Provocation , Peaches and Dreams
My Rating:
Blurb:
After yet another bar fight and arrest, bad boy Ronan Reed leaves Texas to live with his uncle Shane, alpha of the Blood Moon pack. Since werewolf cage fighting isn’t illegal in Louisiana, Ronan makes big plans to lead his own team in the ring. But when he sets eyes on sweet Celine Cruz, his whole world stops and she becomes a tantalizing distraction he doesn’t need.
As an Aura witch, Celine always wants to help heal the broken. She knows all too well what it’s like to battle anxiety, and so she’s dedicated her life to helping those in need. But the second she meets Ronan, she knows she’s in trouble. He’s everything her close-knit family would hate: a werewolf with a hot temper and a sinful grin to match, who runs with a dangerous crowd. So why can’t she stay away?
Ronan thinks she’s a good girl. Little does he know, all Celine wants is to do wicked things with the bad boy werewolf, who revels in breaking all her rules. But as their forbidden romance becomes too tempting to resist, Ronan notices that the wolves are circling . . . and they’re coming after his mate.
My Review
So I had only read this author’s contemporary romance stories in the SmartyPants Romance books up until now. I loved both of those, and actually had purchased the first book in her series after I met her at one of the first few Book Bonanza conventions. But hadn’t read it yet or the second one that I got as a free ebook. The publisher reached out and asked if I wanted to read an advanced copy of the first book in a spinoff series, and I jumped on the chance!
I really enjoyed all the mythology or world building in this story. And based on that, I do know I’d like to go back and read the first series. There were a lot of fun characters, and I love that we have werewolves, vampires, witches/warlocks, and humans that don’t know about them too. It’s also set in one of my favorite places, New Orleans!
There was more than just the paranormal aspect to the story though. There was a lot of dealing with past trauma and getting therapy and just working on being a good person. I liked the way Celine’s family was overprotective of course, as werewolves, but they could also tell she knew what she was doing, and that Ronan was really a good guy under his bad guy exterior. Now I’ve not really enjoyed a lot of boxer/MMA fighter books, just a few, so that aspect, the cage fighting, was not my favorite part of the book. But again I liked the way the author made it more than just fighting, it was Ronan’s dream. And I liked the way the author had Celine have the misgivings that I think anyone would watching someone they loved in a fight, but then the way she realized it was Ronan’s dream and that she wasn’t being fair to him was great. Another aspect I liked was how when Ronan realized Celine was a distraction for him in the ring when the others did the trash talking about her, yeah, he took a minute to be quiet, but he talked about it with his therapist, and also realized it wasn’t her fault or his fault. And I was so glad it never really crossed his mind that he would have to break up with her because of that issue. That has always been a cop out for adding drama in other stories IMO.
A great start to a new series, and I look forward to both going back and reading the earlier series, as well as reading on for more characters in this series getting their own HEAs!
About the Author
JULIETTE is a multi-published author of paranormal and fantasy romance & the co-host of the podcast, Smart Women Read Romance. As a native of Louisiana, she lives in the heart of Cajun land with her husband, four kids, her labs, Kona and Jeaux, and kitty, Betty. When she isn’t working on her next project, she enjoys binge-watching her favorite shows with her husband and a glass (or two) of red wine.
Find Juliette Cross online
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juliettecrossauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Juliette__Cross
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Juliette-Cross/e/B00MQ18Z1W/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliettecrossauthor/
Website: https://www.juliettecross.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7795664.Juliette_Cross
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/crossjuliette/_saved/
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Robin reads and reviews a lot of this author. She has a review of a fantasy book of hers tomorrow.
Interesting! I’ll be checking it out when I get time to do some commenting. I save all the emails about posts and go through them when I get time, if it seems like I comment really late on things.
I haven’t heard much about this one but it sounds so good from your review. I have enjoyed other books by Cross. I will definitely give this one a try!
Hope you enjoy it if you get the chance!
I read her earliest efforts and need to pick up a recent one like this latest.
I enjoyed it!
The cover and title definitely caught my eye. I don’t think I’ve read anything by this author. Glad you enjoyed this one with the well done romance and paranormal elements. I don’t think reading about the cage fighting would be something for me either, but that does sound great how the author makes it obvious it’s Ronan’s dream and how much it means to him. And I like how the third act breakup gets prevented by him talking to his therapist and thinking things through, that sounds like such a great way to handle that.
It had some definitely realistic as well as healthy ways for things to be handled in the story.