I have a coworker who loves Shelly Laurenston so I really tried to give this series a chance, but it wasn't for me. The heroines are all so superpowered that there's never even a hint of narrative tension, and... I'm not sure how to word this, but the *attitude* of the books reminds me of when I was writing fanfiction at age thirteen and everyone I wrote about had to be the absolute coolest person in the room and everyone else in the story had to know it.

This brings new meaning to "honey badger don't give a damn" and even though I find the idea of shapeshifting into a badger.....strange....this was a really good book!

So, let’s be honest, if you are looking for a normal, run of the mill romance novel, even with the hints of paranormal that many enjoy, you are not gonna find it with this author. Shelly Laurenston once against takes us into the wild and slightly psychotic world of the shifters that she has made so many of us love. In this story, the final MacKilligan honey badger sister has found her mate in the most unexpected of men and ways. Max is the craziest of the sisters (and that is saying something) and she is definitely the one most likely to kill you with a blank face and never think about you again. She has gotten herself kidnapped in order to find the asshole that has it out for her, but when she begins her plan to escape she finds herself faced with a male that really shouldn’t be there and has to kidnap him right back to keep him safe. Zézé is an uncover operative trying to keep Max safe, but he has no clue that he is actually a shifter until he wakes up to find himself in her home and his life completely blown apart when he learns the truth of the world and himself. Soon he learns that Max is even more insane than he originally thought, but he is drawn to her inexplicably and as he gets deeper into this new world he knows that he won’t be letting her go. Enemies are crawling out of the woodwork after Max though and only with her whole family and her team can she and Zé overcome the killers after her and survive through the war. Max has been my favorite sister since we first met the honey badgers, simply because she is unapologetically out of her damn mind and I love that confidence. She obviously has her own issues with her father, her past, and the way her life has shaped up, but overall she is happy in her life and just wants to live it without enemies coming after her or her sisters for once. It was amazing seeing her craziness used for good and the way she embraced Zé and helped him, in her own weird way, to find his way through their world. Zé is a man that has no idea of the real world around him until he stumbles into it by accident. His adaptability and lack of judgment as he gets to know Max makes me like him more and more, showing that he truly is a good male even if he is just so CAT. I liked watching him find his footing in the world of the shifters and in the process coming to fully embrace his own true nature. It was great seeing Max and Zé as they fell into love, starting of course with lust, and you can see they will make a great pair as they live together for years to come. My favorite part of course was seeing all the previous couples from way back, even years back, in previous series in Laurenston’s shifter world, and spotting all those hints of characters I knew and loved in the past. I am dying to find out if more of Max’s girls are going to get their owns stories in the future because these honey badger women are just too good to not see in action more and more. Another crazy-as-hell addition to a series by a woman that most would probably say is certifiably insane, but can definitely write a story that makes me laugh so hard I cry.

Once again, did not enjoy Max and Xe's story as much as Charlie and Berg's, but perhaps more than Stevie and Shen's? Anyhow, I'm still enamored with this world and all of the outlandish going's on with these shifters and the MacKilligan sisters in particular. I'm delighted at the way the author has maneuvered the plot and characters so that we get more stories beyond Charlie, Stevie, and Max and I can't wait to see what she comes out with next. 4 out of 5 wine glasses.

Wow, great laugh! I love all the characters and the love the sisters have for each other. I can really relate to how siblings argue. There were so many elements that connected and made the story interesting. I really enjoyed this installment and I can't wait to read more. I wish there were more romance but for these characters, it worked.

Since I had luck reading In a Badger Way after finishing Hot and Badgered even though I’m not usually much of a binger or immediate follow upper, I decided to see if I’d be successful in reading the third book right away too. Sure enough, as soon as I started Badger to the Bone, it was so easy to keep with it. I just love this world of honey badgers and all the animal shifters that come along as well. Everything is so rich and fun and the family aspect of it being not only blood related but a chosen family as well just really warms my heart and makes it impossible not to love the Honey Badger Chronicles. Badger to the Bone was another wonderful installment, I positively loved it, and I can honestly say that if I had the next book right now, I’m certain that I would be on my way to reading it once I finished this review — I am truly, wholly obsessed and I can’t wait for more!

~ Sonja, 5 Stars

So much going on, so many revelations! Absolutely fantastic. Max is stellar and ZeZe is just too cute. Seeing Max in protective mode over someone other than her sisters or team was great. Laurenston is one of my favorite authors, can not wait for more.

This series has been very fun to read and Max is by far the craziest sister! The book is fast, funny, and violent. I enjoyed meeting Ze’s character and watching him and Max fall in love!

This is another great installment to the Honey Badger Chronicles. If you liked the first two, you're gonna like this one. I have loved Max since book one and was glad she finally gets her own book. There is a LOT happening in thi book, so hold onto your butts! It's gonna be a wild ride!

Shelly Laurentson delivered again with a great cast of characters and her signature humor and writing style. Her books are fun and will have you laughing at so many different parts. I love how all of her books are connected, it makes reading one feel like visiting old friends when old characters pop in.

More honey badgers! While Charlie is my favorite MacKilligan sister, Max is a close second. She is so unapologetically herself, and I love it! I also love that she is so devoted to her sisters too. I can't get enough of deadly killing machines who will murder everyone to protect the people they love. Ze was a great match for Max too, because she definitely needed someone who respects her skills, and he does. I wish we could get more stories about these sisters, because I don't want to let them go!

OMG, I had been looking forward to this book since I tapped onto the last page on Stevie's book. Of all the books in the series, I had a feeling that Max's would be the most outrageous, fast-paced and crazy story of the series and I wasn't wrong. From beginning to end and all throughout the book, Shelly Laurenston had me entertained, laughing out loud and completely engrossed to what was happening on the page.

Once again we get to experience the bond between the sisters, their bickering and their unique quirkiness. We also get to meet a whole new set of secondary characters, that truthfully were a little hard to keep track of sometimes. However, their presence added to the story and made it that much more enjoyable.

Then there was ZeZé, the wild card of the bunch, at least for me. I didn't know what to expect from him and couldn't anticipate how his role in the story was going to play out. His relationship with Max was unconventional too, which intrigue me. From the get go you knew it would take a special kind of man to get Max's attention enough to start any kind of romance. Max is a force to be reckon with and I didn't know ZeZé enough to make any kind of prediction. It certainly didn't help me that there were so many things happening at once. Eventually, I was able to see their connection grow and blossom as they bickered and flirted their way through the chaos taking place.

In the end, we get a clearer picture of how these sisters came to form such a tight bond and how much they have grown into their own since they settled down a bit. I am sad to see their story come to an end, but I did enjoy myself immensely in the process.

ARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

I’m kinda sad there aren’t any more badger sisters out there to read about because I loved Charlie, Stevie and now Max’s story so much! These three were the balanced crazy that I loved and although I’m definitely curious about Max’s teammates (all badgers and just as nutty) I don’t think it will be the same as the easy flow that I read between these three originals.

Max is the middle sister, although the smallest in stature. But she makes up for her tiny size with an enormous personality. I think she easily became my favorite character. Not because she was OTT (which she so is!) but because I loved seeing a different side to her than what we’ve previously seen about her. She wasn’t just this crazy, violence loving little psycho. She was also really sweet in her own way and seeing her share that sweetness with Ze was 1) surprising and 2) freaking adorable.

I never would have imagined her as the mentor/nurturing type but I love that the author was able to spring that on the readers and really give us something to delve into with Max. The fact that she’s instantly drawn to Ze and then bonds with him when he’s thrust into this crazy shifter world he never knew he was a part of. She is the rescues-herself type but when she teamed up with Ze, they were both pretty bad ass.

In typical SL fashion, the book isn’t solely about the MCs, we also get to meet some new characters, Charlie and Stevie make a few appearances and there is an ongoing plot that still hasn’t been resolved. If you haven’t read SL before, the writing style might be a bit intimidating but if you hang in there, you’ll get the flow of it and the story will be worth it.

Would I recommend?
Yes, I loved this (mini?) spin off series and although I’ve read other Shelly Laurenston books, these three have by far been my favorite. They are safe (no cheating) and always pack a punch! If you don’t mind OTT, crazy characters and like a good dose of humor in your reads, I think this one would be worth a read 😊

Shelly Laurenston is absolutely one of my favorite authors. She has a way of pulling together characters within and series and helping them grow as they go along. I'm sorry to see the series of these three misfit sisters end and hoping that the author decides to add them to future books.

I made the mistake of requesting Badger to the Bone from NetGalley without realizing that it was the third in a series that is itself part of a greater fictional universe. Usually picking up a book midseries isn't a challenge for me, but, with this book, trying to make sense of everything going on, with the plethora of characters and back stories, was just too much. That and I didn't really like most of the characters.

The heroine Max is super violent, like mentally ill level of violence and lack of empathy. One of her sisters called her a "sociopath with malignant narcissism" at one point, and that sounds about right. I am all for strong and powerful woman, but this felt unhealthy, not empowering. The family dynamics between her sisters and herself are bizarre and not particularly healthy, as is the greater family backstory that I was able to gather from the 25% of the book I was able to read before I just found myself giving up. The whole book felt frenetic and exhausting and slightly disturbing. Ze, the hero, seemed like a likable character, and one I could root for, trying to sort out this new world and identity that he's suddenly been dropped into. But I couldn't understand how Max could be in a relationship with anyone, including Ze. And I didn't want to read about it either.

The best things I can say about what I read of Badger to the Bone is that the world building, with animal/ human shifters of all kinds, is really creative, with a lot of potential for fun. There's some really humorous lines and a ton of diversity, with characters of all kinds of ethnic backgrounds and racial identities. It just wasn't enough to carry the book for me.

This book just made me tired trying to read it, and life is too short to read books that aren't enjoyable, no matter how hard and how constantly they try to be funny. Maybe someday I'll go back and read the first book in the series, and see if it makes more sense and is more to my taste, but for now, I will not be reading any more of this book.

Shelley Laurenston always has a diverse and zany cast of characters. This book made me laugh out loud. I definitely think you should at bare minimum read the two other books in the Honey Badger series, though you should really start with her Pride series to truly enjoy all of the wild and crazy characters. Laurenston brings in a lot of characters from previous stories so if you are not familiar with their story line, you will not enjoy this book as much.
I love seeing the love and protectiveness of the MacKilligan sisters. They may stab each other and fight with each other but as soon as someone else takes a swing at one of them, they are a united front. Poor Ze does not know what is getting into when he gets involved with Max. Literally, he is unaware that he is even a shifter. Max steps up to the plate to help bring him into her world. Again, poor fellow. Thankfully he is such a cat and ends up landing on his feet.
I really enjoyed this book. I laughed out loud and at the end, I had to reread the entire series.

Shelly Laurenston kills it every single time with these books, I love her humor so much and I am always recommending these books. I love the family dynamics and I thought the hero in this one was perfect with how much he didn't like people but still found himself amoungst all these people constantly. I can't wait for the next book!

My thoughts
Rating: 4
Would I recommend it? Yes
Would I read more of this series? Yes
Would I read more by this author? Yes
This is the first time I've read anything by this author and it had me laughing at some of the the things that was been said , with that said I want to thing Netgalley as well as the publisher for letting me read it as well as review it

Absolutely loved it! Humors and engaging. I would recommend to any of my college age and above friends/students.

What can I say? This was yet another fun and flirty hilarious novel in the series. There’s nothing that this author does better than humor her books are so freaking funny you just can’t stop reading them there sexy they’re funny and the plots are always so interesting and unique I really really enjoy this series.