“Clash of Claws” by Elizabeth Dear: A Reverse Harem Adventure That Will Leave You Wanting More

• Author: Elizabeth Dear
• Release Date: October 24, 2025
• Genre: Reverse Harem, Paranormal Romance
• My Rating:
• ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
• 🌶️/5

💋My new favorite reverse harem (also just found out what the difference is between why choose and reverse harem) series! It may be one of my new favorite series. It lives rent free in my mind, I 100% need book two like yesterday. I absolutely loved this book, we all know I love side characters who make you laugh out loud and I love a FMC who doesn’t hold back on her thoughts, puts people in their place and swears like a sailor. Now did I almost throw this book near the end? Yes, yes I did. I knew there was a cliffhanger. I just wasn’t expecting that. 

Spoilers Ahead

🩵We meet Avery and Ian, shifter siblings living among humans and protecting them from the things that go bump in the night. Of course they aren’t going up against the monsters by theirselves, they have their Alpha shifter fathers who trained them to be as good or even better than they are. And when one night goes almost completely wrong that is when the family finally convinces Avery to go to the elite Guardian training program.

“Well, I’d say we can make room for both of these new trainees in our program. I think perhaps our trainers should take a moment to reflect on our teaching methods, as I’m certain not a single pair of students in this room could do what those two just did without the aid of a Prime beast. Welcome to the Support Squadron, both of you.”

At least there are some men-most importantly the one in charge of the Guardian training- who actually can see the value Avery offers.

Avery cleared her throat. “Thank you sir, but I’m actually here to be a Guardian.”

….

Chase finally found his voice. “Absolutely the fuck not.”

Ward just shrugged. “Earn it, then, Miss Baxter”

This is when Ward become one of my favorites. I would love to see more of him outside of the school/training setting.

♀️In a world where women are only valued for their beauty, what’s on the outside and how well she will submit to any man. But Avery doesn’t find the mold of submission female. Girl has a beast inside of her -literally- she isn’t afraid to show off her amazing skills to put down the douchebags of Alpha shifts who think just because they have a penis they can get away with treating women like shit.

He brushed a hand over the healing bruises on my side. “They aren’t going to stop coming for you, Avery. And I won’t always be around to save you.”

…”I didn’t ask you to save me, Blackwell. Not this time, and I won’t any other time. That’s the whole point of all of this-I’m just as dangerous as you are, and the Guardians are exactly where I need to be.”

He leaned down, his hand still pressed gently to my ribs, and he rasped next to my ear, “My name is Heath. Use it.”

🤭Of course the alphaholes are dream tall, sexy, smart and a mouth I know what they can do with 😏 Why is that the most violent ones always the sweet to the right person? Cause I love it, let me introduce you to Elijah Harrow the most terrifying basilisk unless you’re Avery.

“First the snake, now this. I think you’ve been living away from shifters for too long, friend, and it’s warped your judgement. Try to remember that we’re all violent, untrustworthy beasts and proceed with more caution. No petting.”

 But he isn’t the only one who seems to be drawn to her. Heath Blackwell the wolf leader, his brother Aiden an uptight jaguar who just so happens to be their professor, and we can’t forget about the cocky bear Wyatt Gale.

“Well, I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to pet that bear.”

Chapter 38 Elijah. Obsessed with this chapter. The males finally fucking their shit together -kinda and realize why they have been drawn to this female from the first time they saw her. No one out of the Blackwell Quad could figure it out, was it because she never shifted into her beast? I wonder if only the animal part of them can sense

Favorite Scenes

“I really was normal before I came here,” I told Elijah with a sigh. ”No one special. Nothing to be whispered about in the halls.”

He stopped, turning to face me. With gentle fingers pressed under my chin, he titled my face so that I was looking him right in those yellow eyes. “I sincerely doubt you’ve been normal a day in your life, Dove. No more hiding for you.”

Favorite Quotes

“Thank the Moon.” Allen muttered behind me, “because I’m actually very afraid of her.”

Elijah hummed in agreement “my dove is so vicious. I’m devastated I missed her slicing the Ashton Quad to ribbons.”

His future bonded mate would be a lucky girl. For the first time, I let myself admit, only for a moment, that I wished she could be me.

Shifter Guardians Academy

• Clash of Claws
• Edge of Steel

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