(4.5 Stars)

Shelly Laurenston’s shifter books are total mind-candy for me. She never fails to craft hysterical moments and provide cameos of our favorite characters from the Pride and Magnus Pack series. It took me a minute to adjust to Laurenston’s head-hopping style but it works in this honey badger installment. Readers that are familiar with Laurenston will adore this action-packed romp.

I have been following the MacKilligan sisters since the very beginning, stalking release dates like a maniac, and Max has always been my absolute favorite. There is something about her tiny homicidal self decorated with a smile that makes me undeniably happy. Watching her character growth since book one has been fantastic as you get to see some of the reasoning behind her actions as a sister (pestering Stevie) and more.

As much as I loved Badger to the Bone, I do wish that Zé’s story arc had a bit more to it. I loved his character and really wanted to see more of him as a primary character rather than just a sidekick to Max and her sisters.

Overall, this was such a fun way to wrap up the MacKilligan HEAs and we are primed for more honey badger action. I can hardly wait to see who gets their moment first! I am shipping on particular jackal with a certain lady (no spoilers!) HARD. Make it happen Laurenston, I’m here for it! Also, I need Dutch and his loony sisters. Dutch deserves a HEA too! (I’m almost positive I included this request at the end of my review for In a Badger Way. I really want it apparently!)

Falling in love is easy...but when you fall for a series of books? It never ending. Not sure if this will be the last book of this one, i pray not but the things that are revealed are soo good. And Max. I have always love Max...and now i love her more.


FAMILY. That is what these three books are about. It is not about blood. Nor race, nor the parents that we have or share. It is the love and the acceptance what all of us are connected and we in our hearts consider each other a family.

I work 6 days a week 9 hour days and this book was worth spending the few hours I have off reading it. Once again a hilarious addition to the honey badger books. I love Shelly's writing. No matter how bad or tiring of a week I have the read makes it a wonderful week. I tell everyone to read her books. I already have the audible on order can't wait to relive the story while working!

I love Shelly Laurenston - she is one of my favorite authors and all her series are awesome. That said, I would normally give her 5 stars without a thought but there was just something missing in this book. Max (sister of Charlie and Stevie) is a complex, interesting character and I love her interactions with her siblings, extended family and teammates. However, the love interest in this story doesn't stand up and doesn't seem strong enough for Max. The character is too nice but also just blah. Most of the book is great but the interactions b/ween Max and Ze are flat.

The book is still great and definitely recommend! Laurenston is a stellar writer and has rich characters with central female friendships while also including romance. So Huzzah!

4.75 stars.
I loved this one so much....but then I never had any doubts to start with...."mad" Max Mackilligan and her crazy honey badger sisters..... such divine stuff!!!! ....absolutely hilarious reading!!!!...plus the added benefit of super-cool cat..... ZeZé Vargas.....and all the usual suspects.

OUTRAGEOUSLY FUNNY!!!!

I SAVORED EVERY MINUTE OF READING TIME!!!

In fact, I am totally incapable of being objective here as this is my absolute favorite type of snarky, tongue-in-cheek humor. So I say, if you like to laugh or enjoy "quirky" paranormal romances then with this series you have hit the motherlode!!!
Max “Kill It Again” MacKilligan possibly my most favorite of the honey badger sisters.

ARC received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review (truly, I would have begged for this one!!!).

I have always had a great love for this author and her books, but it feels like she keeps getting pulled away from the romance genre and into some weird mix of mystery and humor. Not to say I don't always enjoy her books, but they aren't as they used to be. Which, is very disappointing for me. I expect romance when I read a book in the "romance" genre. Only one sex scene and a few kisses doesn't make it a romance, it makes it just plain fiction. I hope to read more from this series in the future, as I always will read for the humor and dialogue alone. However, I can prep myself not to expect the 'romance' part of the story to be minimal.

4.5*
This is the 3rd book in the Badger series and I do have to say it is my favorite of all 3!
Max was a great protagonist and Zé was really adorable.
I liked that this book focused more on interpersonal relationships and not so much on action. There is still active but it wasn't overpowering the plot. And the humor was on point!
Having the perspective from Zé was also really enlightening and I totally understand his reactions and him one of the more realistic characters in this series.
The only thing I wished for was a bit more romance, it felt a bit underdeveloped which is a shame.
Still an awesome book with kickass heroines and incredible humor!

I thought I knew what to expect from Max's book, the final one in the honey badger trilogy. After reading so many Shelly Laurenston books, I should know better. In Charlie's book, we saw the focus on her sisters, in Stevie's it was on them and the Jean-Louis Parker family, and now with Max's book I thought it would go the loner route with Dutch. Oh, no. Max has a set of four BFFs from her professional shifter basketball team! The honey badger squad! Are they sequel bait? I guess we'll wait and see, I certainly hope so.
So the basketball friends are also there for Max in the deadly and violent ways she needs when she's kidnapped. That's how she meets Zé Vargas, and realizes he's a shifter. Except he doesn't know, and they're surrounded by full-humans. Uh oh. Anyways, she takes Zé home with her as they escape and he wakes up on a china cabinet in Queens. As one does. Then there's three strange women talking about how he's some kind of cat? And a panda bear? And bear triplets? And a lot of honey and bamboo in the house amidst the baked goods.
The romance is secondary here to the continuing adventures of the MacKilligan sisters as they deal with their nightmare father, cousin Mairi who is desperately trying to kill Max, and the rest of their zany relatives. Oh, and Max's mom has busted out of Bulgarian prison.
Badger to the Bone is my fave of the trilogy. Over the top and hilarious in that special Laurenston way, the bonds between the sisters are a highlight for me. A lot of new secondary characters are introduced in this book, with potential sequel bait amongst many of them. Zé learning about the many ways he is already a cat stereotype and finding his home among shifters is a delight.

This is the third book in The Honey Badger Chronicles and it tells the story of Max "Kill It Again" MacKilligan, the most crazy of the MacKilligan sisters and Zezé Vargas a man who has no idea he's a jaguar shifter.

I liked getting to really know Max and how she thinks. It was interesting to to know that she generally had a reason for her crazy, except for maybe the feud she had going on with the stray cat in their neighborhood. But her hatred of cats only made it more amusing when she fell for one.

A lot of interesting side characters were introduced in this series and I hope I get to read their stories sometime.

Badger to the Bone by Shelly LaurenstonGah. This book gave me so many feelings. Mostly a lot of confusion. Because there are so many things about this book that usually annoy me and... they just didn't. They might on a re-read but not this time. The first and most egregious was not enough focus on Max and Zé even though this is supposed toe their book. And this may sound odd but I'm not even sure that this was a romance because it seemed like it was on the back burner. Great character development and in depth relationship development are my numbers one and two catnip and we just didn't get either in this book. Second thing that usually bothers me is the introduction (and focus on) characters who are clearly sequel bait. Max's teammates? The shifter team that tries to recruit them? All sequel bait. And their introduction (their are, what, like 7 or 8 people total for all of them so there's a LOT of introducing) takes up most of the book that would be used for relationship development. Third, parts of people being introduced that weren't present in any other book in the series just to fit a plot point in this book.
And yet. And YET. Even though all of these things were present (or not), I still finished the book wanting more pages. Laurenston is the queen of the screwball shifter comedy and this book just continues in that vein. Max needs a group of friends who are her ride or die but we've never seen them before? Well, we'll just throw it into the story! Make it a fault of another character who never remembers them but scares the hell out of them.
Do you love Laurenston and the Honey Badger Chronicles? Pre-order this book. Right now. Haven't read them? Start from the beginning and just own them all. I fully plan on re-reading this book soon and will see if my feelings change.

Four stars
This book comes out March 31st
Follows In a Badger Way
ARC kindly provided by Kensington and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Shelly Laurenston is Always a favorite of mine. The main series as well as the Dragon series are always my go to. She is amazing at creating worlds that you love to visit. Her characters are always funny creative and a little bit crazy. This book continues with that wonderful tradition. Please keep it up

I just love all of Shelly Laurenston's books, she never disappoints, she can keep you laughing and loving the funny and quirky characters. Shelly Laurenston skills are unmatched, I don't know of any other author that can take flawed and somewhat murderous characters and make them into relatable and hilarious anti-heroes.

Max arranges her own kidnapping... okay she just helps it along, for reasons of her own. But one of her kidnappers is undercover, well until she blows his cover. So Max takes Ze home with her, and technically since he was unconscious you could call that a kidnapping too. Ze doesn't know that he's a shifter, so Max takes him under her honey badger claw to show him the ropes.

Why I started this book: I love Laurentson's zaniness, her characters absolute confidence and take of shifters.

Why I finished it: Another great book, like her others. Max is wonderful, so wrapped up in her sisters, that she's put out to remember Ze and all that he's learning. But he's a cat, and undoubtedly lands on his feet.

Shelly Laurenston is one author that has always had the most wonderful and diverse characters. Her Badger series is no exception. The cast is colorful, boisterous, fun, CRAZY, hilarious – one of a kind.

If you love PNR and shifters of all kinds, and you love entertaining, laugh-out-loud and ridiculously funny stories – you need to read this series – but please start with book one in her Pride Series. The author interweaves more and more of the Pride series with the Badgers – hello cameos from old favorite characters. And that’s also one of the reasons why I wouldn’t recommend jumping into this book without reading the other series first. There is definitely an overload of well known characters in Badger to the Bone.

I don’t think it makes much sense to talk about the plot. All you need to know is that Badger to the Bone is one of the most entertaining stories I read this year. I caught myself bursting out with laughter, snorting and giggling. It was crazily funny at times, definitely over the top crazy too. Very much what I was expecting when reading a Shelly Laurenston book. Lot’s of crazy but lovable shifters. Oh, and they are ALL violent – so you got to be ok with blood, and be ready for interesting food choices, and strong kick ass heroines – definitely those.

Badger to the Bone was a fabulously entertaining book and anyone who is a fan of this series will enjoy it. It was definitely the right book at the right time for me because I adored it. And I’m so happy the author is writing in her shifter world again. It’s my favorite series of her, and I couldn’t imagine my life without her shifters.

I have read almost every book this author had written and this book is just like the rest..... AMAZING!!! Max always made me laugh but in this book she has a whole mother side to her. The drama in the McKilligan Family is crazy and I love crazy.

This book was provided by Netgalley for a review. The opinions are my own.

This book is amazing! The author takes us back to the world where shifters are living beside humans. The main character Max is seen as psychotic by many In the book. At the beginning she rescues a soldier , Zoe, and the fun begins.

The plot is strong as the author weaves together threads from previous novels (which I highly recommend you read, but not required to enjoy the book) and creates conflict for amazon and Ze. I loved how Max changed as she and Ze tackled the problems created by their respective pasts. You will laugh out loud as Max grows and want to yell at other characters. This is a highly entertaining book. I highly recommend it.

Badger to the Bone is the third book in the Honey Badger series and is the middle sister Max's story. Max is the wild one of the MacKilligan sisters, and also the one you would want to have your back if you should find your in the middle of a fight with a bunch of mercenaries. Which is how she meets ZeZe Vargas who actually believes he's going to be Max's knight in shinning armor but quickly realizes that not only does Max not need saving , but he and the bad guys are the one's who actually need saving from Max. And that's when the fun really begins.
If you've been following along with the Honey Badger Series then you know that wherever a MacKilligan goes, a whole lot of trouble along with a whole lot of laughs usually follows, and in Badger to the Bone there was a whole lot of both. Max and Ze's story was hilariously entertaining with loads of action and drama. I'll admit, that if you're looking for a romance, even though there are bits and pieces, it's not full of a passionate and a I just can't see my life without you kind of a connection between these two, but I still loved Max and Ze just the same. Shelly Laurenston has always been must read author for me, and Badger to the Bone definitely helps in continuing my addiction to her stories.

Snark, humor, non-stop action, badgers, jaguars, and bears, oh my! As an avid reader of Laurenston's books, this story lives up to and passes all expectations. All the little details building the characters and world result in a story you can't put down anf that will go right on that re-read shelf, while you can't wait for the next one. Does read as a stand alone, but as so many characters have their own back stories it is best read as a series. Can a possible psychopathic badger find love? Can her love interest be any more like a cat? No apoilers, though I will say you will find yourself laughing out loud at the interactions between characters and many shenanigans that occur throughout the story. Truly a unique story, you have not read before!

What is there to say about this crazy series set in the author's Pride world and featuring a trio of batsh*t crazy honey badger sisters who are beyond vicious with outsiders, yet unfailingly defend their family and friends against all comers. This book was Max, the middle sister's, story. In the previous books, Max was arguably the craziest and least predictable of the sisters, and I had real doubts about whether the author could make her a heroine I could root for. She seemed to have no motivation beyond stirring the pot, driving everyone around her crazy, getting into fights with no provocation, and having "fun" as she defined it. Still, there were always hints that although she appeared completely self-interested, Max was, in fact, incredibly loyal to her circle, so I shouldn't have doubted that she could carry her own book. In Badger to the Bone, we finally get to see Max's loyalty and her motivations and I definitely came to root for her.

In terms of plot, to be honest, there really wasn't one, just basically an excuse for lots of over-the-top scenes featuring the main characters and a whole host of characters from previous books. I tend to kind of just smile the whole time I'm reading because it's all just so crazy and madcap and so far removed from everyday reality. As always, although there was kind of a romance between Max and Ze, a jaguar shifter who doesn't know that he's a shifter, the romance was not fully fleshed out and I think that's my one criticism of this trilogy, that I really wish there had been more showing of the progression of their romance.

I generally love Shelly Laurenston, but this one felt weaker than the others in the trilogy. I still really enjoyed it, but that was mostly because of the sheer absurdity of the humor and characters rather than the romance or flow of the plot. There were so many characters from previous books popping up randomly that I had a difficult time keeping up with the plot which wasn't super strong to begin with, and there was definitely some insta-lust/love going on between Zé and Max which isn't uncommon in this series but seemed even more random/sudden than normal.

Regular readers of the series will likely enjoy this addition with Laurenston's trademark humor and silliness, but I think new readers would have a tough time connecting with the story.