Badger to the Bone by Shelly Laurenston

I absolutely love this book and this series. I look forward to the next honey badger book and can't wait to read it. The logic and humor that Shelly Laurenston uses in her books always makes sense to me and I love the results. If you enjoy paranormal literature then you will love this series.

These books are crazy fun, so outrageous they are irresistible and a complete escape into fantasy. Charlie, Max, and Stevie are half-sister Honey Badgers; they are tough, mean, and an extremely tight family. This is Max’s book, but is filled with all my favorite characters, not just Honey Badgers, but the canines, felines, and bears. And a bunch of her crazy Honey Badger relatives.

Max lets herself be kidnapped to finally track down the man who has been after her, and to protect her sisters. She accidently outs an agent, who is undercover with the kidnappers. When Zé risks his life to save her (as if she needed any help), she feels responsible for helping him. And then she realizes that Zé is a shifter and doesn’t know it! And he is a cat! Max doesn’t really like cats, but there is something about Zé.

I love the way the sisters bicker and fight but stand together when one is threatened, the way everyone fears Charlie who bakes to relieve stress and seems like the calm one, and then there is the mangy cat that hangs around the house and gets in fights with Max. A little housecat who seems to get the best of Max “Kill It Again” MacKilligan. Too cute.

I received an ARC of Badger to the Bone from NetGalley and this is my honest review.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this shifter world. I love the humor, the violence and the family loyalty. SL took a turn from her books being heavy in the romance department and they read more like shifter chic lit with a side of romance now....especially in the HBC series. These books are about Stevie, Max and Charlie and the ties that bind them together and the people lucky enough to become part of their family. This book is technically Max’s story and her tentative involvement with Ze who just found out he was a shifter, This was a fun ride. Lots of violence and laughs, but my one “complaint” is that there is an underlying subplot that involves a lot of old characters from her other books....it’s been years since I read most of those books and I have a VERY hard time remembering the ties that bind them together and their necessity to what is happening with that subplot now. I have chosen to mostly ignore that plot-line.... it makes me feel bad since I know that it has taken a lot of work to keep track of all the players and slowly build on it book by book...but it’s mostly lost on me.

I absolutely love this series by Shelly Laurenston. I enjoy the humor amd romance that she brings to all of her stories. Max finally has found her other half and that has made me happy. The MacKilligan sisters, their friends and family have me literally laughing out loud. What a wonderful read.

I have been waiting for Max’s story and building it up in my mind on just how great it would be. Shelly Laurenston did not disappoint at all. I already loved Max going into this book but now I love her more! And Ze... oh Ze, he is oh so interesting and I instantly liked him.

I did not see all the twists and turns coming in this book. Shelly knows how to keep me entertained and surprised!

<I>Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting my request for an ARC of this book. The review below is entirely my own opinion.</I>

I love the MacKilligan sisters! I knew from book 1 that Max’s story was going to be one heck of a roller coaster ride. And it sure was!

This book was light on the romance versus other PNR‘s (and even books 1 and 2 of this series), but very much full of fun and non stop action! I couldn’t stop reading or laughing!

I will say though that you <strong>need</strong> to read the first 2 books of this series before diving in. Because there are so many characters who have been introduced in the previous books and there are also many plot references to those stories in this one, that going in blind will likely give you a headache.

And for fans of the honey badger sisters, I can guarantee that you will have a damn good time reading Max’s story!

Badger to the Bone has all the elements of a Shelly Laurenston book – snark, humor, action, sexiness and characters that match well together and you can’t help but enjoy getting to know. While it may not have as much mayhem as one might expect from Max’s story, it has plenty of action and craziness as we get to meet some of Max’s badger friends, some twists occur and the sisters’ bond continues to stand strong against others. During all this we get to watch Ze discover his own family secret and his own inner cat as he is exposed to a whole new world that will make you laugh. The attraction between Max and Ze builds steadily and they make a perfect match. A delightful read from start to finish that will make you laugh & cheer as you turn the pages.

You’ve just got to love these honey badgers. Of course, Ze’ Vargas doesn’t know about honey badgers, or cats, or bears, but he’s about to find out the hard way. Now if he can just hang on, he’s in for the ride of his life. No one can make me laugh out loud while reading like Shelley Laurenston. The only problem with one of her books is that when I finish it, I want more and wind up rereading the series just to keep my buzz going.

Absolutely loved this book. The quirky characters are outstanding, all the different types of shifters make for a great read along with an intriguing storyline. I laughed out loud and was a great way to spend relaxing with a book I didn't want to put down. Definitely recommend reading. I received a free copy of the book and I am voluntarily leaving a review

I love Shelly Laurenston. Her books always make me laugh. The story is very engaging and fast paced. The female characters are always very strong individuals. I enjoy that the book is not all about sex. I am looking forward to the audiobook I have preordered.

Badger to the Bone (Honey Badger Chronicles #3) by Shelly Laurenston

Disclaimer: I was provided with an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion.

In the first two books in the series we follow Stevie and Charlie, the other two sisters, in their quest to find a mate. And now it’s Max’s turn.

The Honey Badger Chronicles follows the Honey Badger sister, two of which are hybrids. This series is an off-shoot of The Pride Series by Shelly Laurenston, but you don’t have to read that series to read this one. But boy will you want to.

This time around we follow Max McMillian Yang, the middle sister and only full Honey Badger. She is related to Livy Kowalski Yang, who was the heroine in Bite Me (The Pride Series Book #9). While dealing with her insane family relations, from her incarcerated mother’s ex-boyfriend to her completely unlikable dad, and most importantly her genius younger sister and highly anxious older sister, Max meets Ze Vargas, who has no idea he’s a shifter or that shifters even exist.

The main thing I can say about this book and world that Shelly Laurenston has created that will not spoil the book is that there is no one that I have read that writes better female characters. They are vicious, don’t care to mold to other’s expectations, are unapologetically themselves, and prize family and friends above anything else. They have every quality that I personally value in a person. They are not flawless, a lot of them have psychological issues, come from broken homes, or just generally enjoy fucking with other people. But they are still so real that you could be friends with them.

And Max is no exception, she is the enforcer of the family. She’s an unapologetic killer and protector or family. She HATES her father and lover her mother in equal measures, and that influences her actions throughout the series.

In this book we also get to hang out with some of our favorite characters from past books such as Dee Ann Smith, Cella Malone, and Desire Llewellyn, which are my favorite group of friends in this world. They are bad ass retired military (except for Dee Ann), in the most amazing and supportive relationships and I always love getting a glimpse into what happened with them. We also get introduced to some new faces, including Max’s tight friend group who all happen to be honey badgers, and I would love to continue reading more about them.

I personally think that Shelly Laurenston also does an amazing job writing secondary characters, they all have very fleshed out personalities, and those personalities carry from book to book. My favorite example of that is Dee Ann’s father Eggie Smith, you almost never see in him person within the stories, but every time he is brought up the reactions and commentary absolutely fit what we know of him.

Also be warned this is absolutely a love story, but the protagonists fall in love because of both the good and the bad in one another. The men tend to like their women just as vicious and slightly volatile as they are, and the women recognize their men as slightly lazy, but don’t care as long as they are not in their way. This is a trope that is followed in all of the books both in the Pride Series and the Honey Badger Chronicles, and I love it. I really enjoy reading a book where both main characters love each other because of the good and the bad, not in spite of the bad.

All in all another amazing 5-star read from Shelley Laurenston

Loved Max and Ze! I went and did a reread of the first 2 before I dove in, just because I missed these characters. Those MacKilligan girls are hilarious, and endearing.
This book was all we’ve come to expect from this author and more! I loved this book, it’s introduced some new characters and story line I want more on and gave us all those wonderful past characters we’ve came to know and love.
This is a must read series lovers, if you are new, go pick up the first of her interconnecting series, Pack Challenge and work your way here you won’t be sorry.
This was a complimentary advance reader copy provided by the author/publisher in exchange for a honest review via Netgalley.

I loved this book !!

This has to be my favourite series of Shelly's, the characters are amazing and just so funny. The plot was good and there was a great twist at the end. I cannot wait for the next book, so far each one is better than the last.

Thank you so much Kensington and NetGalley for giving me this book to read in exchange for an honest view.

Another amazing book!! I love the honey badger series. It is the last in a trilogy but thankfully there may be more!! I can't give out any spoilers but hopefully we'll see a continuation or spin off!

I love the world Shelly Laurenston creates in her books. Her urban fantasy novels are what a good urban fantasy is supposed to be and it also makes space for what the real world should be for me to be happier as a human being. And all this with a magnificent comedic sense. There is a lot of action and a lot of things happening in the background, very visual and hilarious, with a bit of slapstick humour that has me laughing out loud whenever I am reading her books-

Badger to the Bone follows this line of enjoyable and well written novels. Following Max’s adventures has been as enjoyable as I hoped. I can’t wait for the next instalment.
Highly recommended.


#BadgertotheBone #NetGalley

Max MacKilligan allows herself to be kidnapped to try and track down the one who ordered the hit. What she doesn’t expect is to find a cat among the human kidnappers. Even worse, he apparently doesn’t know that he is a shifter. When she breaks free and takes down her enemies she brings the cat with her. ZeZé Vargas doesn’t know what to expect of this crazy woman going on about shifters. But like a cat, he quickly becomes attached and does everything he can to protect his honey badger, even though she doesn’t need it.

“I’ll dismember you while you’re still breathing. And, in case you’re concerned, because it seems like you’d be concerned—you’re clearly very caring—I won’t miss a lick of sleep or have any PTSD over it. Your screams will mean nothing to me, because I won’t give a fuck. Why? Because I’m a cunt. I’m a raving, raging cunt.”

I adore the MacKilligan sisters. They are crazy and have a weird sense of right and wrong. Max has always been the one I wanted to know more about and this book did not disappoint. I loved seeing the true Max. She was still a crazy killer but she has her own morals. Family first. Zé was the perfect man for Max. He balances her out. Laurenston does an amazing job at creating kick-ass characters who you can’t help but love.

“I’m a fuckin’ honey badger and by this claw”— she held her hand up—“ I fuckin’ rule.””

Zé was an ex-Marine who was undercover when Max bust into his life and changes everything. Having this new life and world thrown at him was surprising but at the same time it made so much sense. He now understands why he has always felt different from everyone else. Watching him freak out, or not freak out, about learning about shifters was quite hilarious and I loved it all. Max turns his life upside down but gives him a whole new family. I just adored these two and wish the book didn’t have to end.

“He was thinking of Max MacKilligan as his girlfriend? The crazy female who’d decimated an entire team of well-trained mercenaries with her badger teammates? Or who didn’t seem too concerned that he’d almost eaten a child? That woman he was thinking of as his girlfriend?”

Overall I cannot recommend this series enough! I would really recommend starting with the Pride Series since this series branches off from it and has a lot of the repeat characters from it. Actually, I recommend any Shelly Laurenston or G.A. Aiken (a pen name) books because she is a fantastic writer who makes dangerous, hilarious, and fun characters.

*ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review.*

4.5 stars!

I heart Shelly Laurenston! She consistently writes funny, sexy, action-packed stories that keep you entertained the whole way through!

In Badger to the Bone we finally get Max "Kill It Again" MacKilligan's story. Gods above, I love this paranormal 'verse. It is just friggin' hilarious. Max is the ultimate in honey badgers because she just simply does not give one fuck. In an effort to help alleviate some stress from her sister's constant anxious plight, she gets herself kidnapped to try to be brought back to the lair of one of the many trying to kill either Max or her sisters so she can ya' know... deal with him. But it's not her fault. It is absolutely her good for nothing father's fault! ZeZe Vargas is in the process of infiltrating a group of highly dangerous bad dudes set on kidnapping young innocent people to be held for ransom back to their respective rich, connected, and highly-influential peoples. When Ze tries to help Max, he discovers she ain't quite... right and could possibly also be trying to save... him? When Max meets Ze she knows he's a shifter. When she tries to not so delicately ask wtf he's doing with these bad dudes 'cus ya' know, he's a shifter, she discovers that he has absolutely no idea he IS a shifter. Then chaos ensues in the most honey badger of ways... (murder, death, kill)

As with the previous books we get to check in on a lot of previous characters from the Pride series and we also get a smidge of Magnus involvement too. It can be a bit confusing at times with the multiple POV, but you get used to it.

The amount of hilarity that ensues from going back the McKilligan sisters' house in bear territory and trying to not only convince Ze he is a shifter but what that means is just GOLD!

“So, what I’m going to do,” he said, standing up, “is get a shirt, borrow your cell phone to call a car, and get back to my non-crazy life.”

She could tell he meant it, too. He was going to push everything he’d experienced in the last twenty-four hours from his mind as only a cat could. Because when cats didn’t like something, they simply pretended it didn’t exist. And that’s what he was going to do. Pretend that she didn’t exist, her sisters didn’t exist, and that none of this had ever happened. But as always in the world of shifters . . . the bears came in and fucked all that shit up.
It was kind of cute, too. The Dunn triplets did it sometimes, when they thought no one was looking. In their grizzly forms, they marched through the house humming “The Bare Necessities” from that old Disney movie.

The three of them, in a line, lumbered through the living room with their big grizzly heads swinging, all three thousand pounds marching along . . . and humming.

Humming “The Bare Necessities” song.

Vargas watched them go by in silence. When they’d made it out of the room, Max expected him to grab the phone she had in the pocket of her basketball shorts but he just . . . walked out. Not out of the house, but upstairs. She could hear his bare feet slowly slapping against each step.

A few seconds later, a calm but concerned Stevie returned to the living room and pointed in the direction of the stairs. Her furrowed brow silently asked Max what had happened.

And all Max could do was cringe. “I think I broke him.”

LOL! Gold!

Anywho... I am praying there will be another Badger book. They are just awesome!

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.* 
*note: copy provided was an advance reader copy and may be subject to editing... quotes may be altered prior to release date*

The third of the series, and I am so scared that we are done with the honey badgers!!! Once again we get loads of action, some seriously funny laugh out loud moments (the chubby kid scene had me in tears); this was low on the spicy moments that we normally get, but that didn't deflect from the greatness of the story. I give this 5 stars and am pleading for this to not be the end!

The Honey Badgers that have come alive through Shelly Laurenston Prose are so many thing rolled up in one. First they are mean, fierce, and just make the reader route for them to come out on top. Main story revolves around the three MacKilligan sisters. Max shines in this tale and has stumbled upon her very own BLACK CAT! His name is ZEZE Vargas and he is a Black Jaguar that is given a heads up by Max that he is a shifter. How could he not know?? Anyway same playful neighborhood in Queens with an array of shifter characters especially the bears. HONEY you have to read this series. "A copy of this book was provided by Kensington Books via Netgalley with no requirements for a review. Comments here are my honest opinion." Lots of action at a break neck speed.

Shelly Laurenston continues The Honey Badgers Chronicles with book 3, 'Badger to the Bone', Max and Zé's story.

If you've read any of Laurenston's books, you know she brings the crazy in the best possible way and few characters are crazier (and more entertaining) than Max "Kill It Again" MacKilligan, the middle of the MacKilligan sisters..

Max and Zé meet when he, and a group of humans, are hired to kidnap her (is it considered kidnapping when she goes along for the ride... literally?)

Max soon discovers that Zé has no idea he's a jaguar shifter and Zé soon discovers that she's crazy... certifiably crazy - seems like a match made in heaven ... if they can just make it out alive.

When Max brings Zé home - determined to show him the world he's missed out on the fun really begins.

Max has always seemed like a bit of a lone wolf (lone badger?) but her character is more fleshed out and at times she even appears vulnerable (I KNOW - I WAS SURPRISED TOO!)

In past books, Max's only relationships have been with her sister and her friend Dutch but we learn there's a whole other side to Max - she even has a group of women she calls friends (BFF's - Badger Friends Forever)!! and their interactions are hysterical.

Zé turns out to be the perfect match for Max ... who knew a cat would make her to darn happy!

No Shelly Laurenston book would be complete without a cast of characters from her past books making an appearance, so if you loved her other series, have no fear ... they come to play.

Badger to the Bone won't disappoint ... it's everything we've come to expect from Laurenston - great characters, fun story-lines and sub-plots and of course killing... lots of killing.

Totally worth staying up til 4;00am to read, cause you can't put it down.