I didn't know whether to laugh or to cry or to hide my eyes... Mads and Finn's story is full of mischief, wonder and adventure, not to mention good, old fashioned vengeance. A family of badgers, famous for their bad tempers, matched with the snark from the cats, only draws the reader into the drama. Will Finn ever understand the intricacies of life with Mads and her family? Will Mads ever get away from the annoyance that is brought by the heart? Can a badger and kitty make it work?

So, I wanted to try something different. When I first got this book to review I read it straight away.
Then I waited a few months and read it again, i wanted to see if it stood up again as a reread.
It not only stood up I enjoyed it even more the second time, Mads is a really sweet character with a vicious honey badger/hyena side, She's part of the Basketball team Max is on, I absolutely love the MacKilligan sisters and they play a big part of this story. Then there's Finn he's one of the three brothers they call The Black Maloney. A huge, humongous, Tiger. Finn and his brothers are trying to find their fathers killer. They go to Charlie for help and she offers up Max and her Teammates. The story of Max and Finn is one of friendship and support. It really just Natural friendship to lovers, as two predators can be in a Shelly Laurenston story. I loved this book, the action, friendship, family and hilarious dialog. Definitely a first and Second read recommend 👌
I received this ARC from Netgalley in return for a honest review,

Laurenston continues with her quick and quirky wit. Her characters are always a joy... as in fun to read. They exhibit their badassness in bold moves and sharp tongues. What's not to love?

Finn Malone a Siberian tiger shifter though he had seen the last of Honey bagers. When he has to rescue a bunch of hard battling honey badgers from harmed. But no way can Finn have a houseful of honey badgers when he also has two brothers with no patience. Things just go from bad to worse when the badgers rudely ejected from his home turn out to be the only ones who can help him solve a family tragedy. If you want to read a very funny sexy book look no further the Breaking Badger. I loved this book and cant wait for it released to the public so I can sing its praises.

I received this ARC from Netgalley in return for an honest review. 

I have been reading Shelly Laurenston's books for a very, very long time.  I love the world she has created where animal shifters live alongside normal humans without them knowing. I love her characters, their quirks and especially their humor.  Some of the love stories in her novels and timeless.  But, Laurenston has fallen into the trap that I've seen a lot of romance authors fall into: her books are no longer romance novels but the ongoing adventures of her Shifterverse and it's inhabitants.

In this outing, #4 in her Honey Badger Chronicles series, there is no romance at all.  None. Instead, we are treated to the wacky adventure of Mads and her honey badger teammates and some male tiger shifters along for the ride. Mads, a Viking half honey badger and half hyena, is supposed to be the heroine. She is supposed to fall in love with Finn, a tiger.  I'm not sure why though-Finn's only personality trait is one he shares with his brothers: perpetual grumpiness.  Finn is supposed to fall in love with Mads because she a great person? Really funny? Has a compassionate heart?  No, because Mads loves basketball and is kind of normal compared to her friends. All of this happens after one date. One date. A date that takes up about 3 pages in the book. Be still my beating heart.  In fact, the whole romance is taken care of in about 5 pages.  I have no idea why either would be attracted to the other, how they develop a relationship after one quasi-date and what exactly the status of their relationship is when the book ends.  When I finished the book I was left saying, "Is that it?" For $9.99 a book, I want what was promised. So, if I didn't read the book for the romance, what kept me reading?  My sad loyalty to a series that once had heart but now just keeps getting more and more bland with each successive book.

But, what about the great Laurenston humor? The book is funny, right along with all of Laurenston's other novels. But, I didn't want to read about almost every other character in her Shifterverse. I wanted to read a romance between Mads and Finn.  While it is fun to catch up with previous characters, I did not want them to dominate the entire book.  Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened.  As amusing as it is to see these characters verbally spar once in a while, it gets to be reputative when it is page after page.  Max fighting with her sisters, Max fighting with her teammates, Finn fighting with his brothers, Finn fighting with the coyote, etc. There is no real conflict in this book (a brief interlude with some of Mads' family notwithstanding) and no real reason for any of these characters to be around each other.  If Laurenston just wanted to write about the continuing adventures of the Shifterverse, that would be fine.  I'd probably even buy the book, but please stop calling these books "romance".  

One final thought: please, please stop making every character in your universe a genius at all parts of life.  It made sense with the Jean-Louise Parker family, but Stevie has now become so ridiculously perfect at everything, science, law, singing, composing, etc. It is becoming ridiculous and boring.

I really can't review this book without erupting into squees, giggles, fist pumps, and the occasional spoiler. I am an unabashed fan of all things Shelly Laurenston, her honey badger shifters, and most of all, Max MacKilligan. Sure, this book is supposed to star Mads, one of Max's teammates and friends, but it really is a balls to the wall celebration of friendship, sisters, and completely gratuitous, joyous violence in its purest form.

If you came at [honey badger shifters] with bigger claws and fangs, then they had guns and knives and bombs and the willingness to not only use all that, but to wipe out several blocks around their prey, if that’s what it came to. Nothing stopped a honey badger because they were just so fucking mean.

Can I get a t-shirt that says this? Please? Considering the hellscape that is our current world right now, this non-stop joy ride of beating up bad guys, avenging family, and just messing around for kicks is exactly what my overly stressed brain so desperately needed.

Sure, this may have a understated romance between Mads and tiger shifter Finn, but the real magic is Mads and her teammates, Max and her sisters, Finn and his brothers, all gleefully speaking violence as their love language. No need for flowery words or meaningless gifts.

"If you come after my family,” Charlie told the cats gawking at her, “this is what happens to you. All of you. I don’t stop. I don’t ever stop.” With that, Charlie tossed the cat’s remains across the ground, shaking the blood and gore off her hand.

I couldn't get enough MacKilligan shenanigans (hi Charlie! hi Stevie!), as well as Mads and her teammates' mercenary antics (hi Streep!), the Malone's drive to avenge their dad and protect their sister, and of course, the cameos by The Group and other shifters. This was like one delicious smorgasbord of everything from Shelly Laurenston's shifter worlds, and I anticipate all four books (so far) of The Honey Badger Chronicles were be my comfort rereads for a long time. Can't wait for Nat's story...

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a fan of Laurenston’s work as G. A. Aiken, all those dragons and especially the Scarred Earth Saga. But Breaking Badger is the first book as Laurenston that I’ve read. It’s the book four of Honey Badger Chronicles urban fantasy series about batshit crazy honey badger shifter women, with some romance thrown in the mix.

The book description (and cover) is highly misleading. This isn’t a paranormal romance, and it doesn’t merely follow the two persons mentioned there, Mads and Finn. It most assuredly isn’t a cutesy book, like it gives to understand (“utterly irresistible kitty-cat”, lol). And it isn’t a stand-alone, like paranormal romances often are, even when they’re part of a series.

There’s a large cast of characters that each get screen time, plus a bunch of other characters that only make brief appearances for a point of view change. The main trio, Charlie, Max, and Stevie, are sisters with a traumatic past. Their stories were told in the first three books, but they continue here too. Mads is Max’s friend since school and they play pro basketball together, with three more women who also feature heavily here. Finn (as far as I know, not having read the first books) and his brothers make their first appearance here.

None of the characters are introduced properly. I have no idea how old they are or what they look like, let alone more important things, like their backstories. Much of what I know about them is conjecture, though I did read the prologues of the earlier books just to make a bit more sense of what was happening here.

Mads, a honey badger, has been abused by her hyena family all her life. Basketball is the only thing that matters to her, as is her team, which doubles as a tactical unit that kill those who abuse shifters. She’s an efficient killer, but the mere mention of her family makes her lock up. One storyline follows her finally standing up to them. But since this isn’t a cutesy romance, it’s done with a wholesale butchering, not with handholding and hugs.

Finn is a Siberian tiger, huge and lethal. He’s trying to find out who killed his father, a mystery that no one seems willing to talk about. In a cast of characters of borderline psycopaths, he’s sort of steady and normal. Mads catches his attention and the ‘romance’ sort of happens from there. In the end, the best that can be said about it is that he has a steadying influence on her.

There’s a lot going on in this book. All sort of plotlines and events that either continue from the earlier books or spring up out of blue here. Some of them are seen to their conclusion, one way or another, some aren’t. We don’t learn who killed Finn’s father, for example, and we don’t see the consequences of Mads standing up to her family. Some events are ignored completely. Like, no one seems to care who lured the honey badgers and tigers to a trap in order to butcher them all.

What this book has is batshit craziness from start to finish. At first I tried to keep up, but in the end I just let the book take me on a ride. It’s a highly entertaining ride too, if you have a high tolerance for graphic violence for comedic effect. The honey badgers are a bunch of violent psychopaths (no matter what Max’s shrinks claim), and there’s absolutely no predicting their reactions to any given situation. But I loved them all, how they’re allowed to be exactly like they are, and not ‘softened’ by love or other conventions of romance. They’re not apologising and they’re not going to change.

Unfortunately the mayhem isn’t quite enough to make this a great book. There’s no emotional payback. The romance is very low-key, and Mads dealing with her family isn’t really dealt with either. There’s a lot of action and then the book just ends.

Since this a middle book in an ongoing series, I presume that everything will continue in the next book. If it fell into my hands, I’d read it, but I won’t go out of my way to get it. Meanwhile, I’ll just wait for the next G. A. Aiken book. We’re due a new Scarred Earth Saga, aren’t we?

I finished the Breaking Badger Breaking Badger (Honey Badger Chronicles #4) by Shelly Laurenston ARC. I'm glad that I read it. There is a couple in this story, but I feel as if this is a transition book and they are the side story. There are so many story lines that are hanging, that I feel as if I need the second half of the book. I guess to build up more characters and to create the many directions she can divert her future books into, there has to be an introduction. This book is a way to achieve that goal.
The novel weaves around so many groups, the Black Malones, the McKilligan sisters, the so called "basketball" team, (who also run black ops), and the couples of the book, Mads Galendotter and Finn Malone are the main characters in this tale but they are somewhat overwhelmed by all of the other chaotic scenes. Quite a few former characters show up in this book and you get to see a different side of them. The honey badgers are quite a crew, strong, tough, and unafraid of any one whether they are supes or not. All in all, I did like it, but it wasn't my favorite.

Dear Readers, Aliens and Creatures, this author is a frikkin GEM! Protect her at all costs!!

Official title: Breaking Badger
My title: Mad Badgers Take the City
Author: Shelly Laurenston
Publisher: @kensingtonbooks
Fav character: Charlie
Type: Book - Badger series
5/5

…AND THE PLOT THICKENS…

Frankly, I don’t even know where to begin with this one, I definitely recommend that you read the others before jumping into this one, just because there are MANY characters and you’d benefit from the knowledge of where they come from… THAT BEING SAID-

Mads, the blonde Viking Hyena-Honey badger shifter, has been ‘teammates’ with Max, a MacKilligan sister since she was 13. They have gotten into lies together, played basketball together and even formed an illegal special ops death squad together, you know, basic #bffgoals #bestiegoals. But it may be time for Mads to finally grow up and find some cupboards of her own.

Mads lives a pretty contented life until she is pulled into the drama of the MacKilligans and the Malones. Finding herself paired up with one of the brothers they can hardly tell apart, will make her allergies kick into gear when THAT particular kitty wants to get near. This doesn’t mean things will be easy, oh no… because there are a few things these two need to overcome, namely:

- Mads psychotic hyena family that has always hated and bullied her and are trying to mess with her now that her awesome viking granny has died;
- Finn’s Mongolian mom’s dislike for the stench of badger (and she’ll have about 5 to 6 in her cupboard);
- The many people trying to kill the Malones and the sister the four brothers share with the INSANE Mackilligan sisters of the messed up genes;
- House-hunting in bear neighborhoods;
- Male lion shifters obsessed with their hairs; 🤣
- Testy big sisters;
- Wild little sisters;
- THE SHIFTERS PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS; and
- Crazy Best friends who are your chosen family and who want the best for you.

Whenever S.L writes a book I know my heart will swell with pure happiness. She produces unconventional feel good books, but I can’t help but DEEPLY love the supportive families and amazing friendships she creates. Love is displayed in many shapes and forms and relationships progress at different speeds and levels. It is all so natural and warm and loving. I love S.L. The end.

Read her books! Thank you for coming to my #TEDTALK 💀

(My full observations will be available on brieselby.wordpress.com on the 30th of August.

What an absolute blast to read! I’ve never laughed out loud so much or so hard. Except when reading the other books in this series. This author excels at creating characters that are unique, engaging, and always quirky and weird in their own ways.

While this is light on the romance, I never missed it as I was so entertained by all the antics this motley group gets into. Even so, it does center more on Finn and Mads and there are some steamy moments before the end giving a slow burn to this story.

I highly recommend this one if you’re looking for something to pull you out of the doldrums or want a fun, action driven read.

In Breaking Badger we get to become better acquainted with Max’s girl gang specifically Mads. This is a manic ride involving her teammates, Max’s sisters and the Black Malones. This fast-paced thrill ride takes us all over the world and has a body count reminiscent of a Deadpool movie. I laughed my tail off throughout.

We met Max's teammates and the Black Malones in the previous book of this series, and in this one we get to know them better, specially Mads and Finn.
The book was full of fun moments, an engaging plot and some romance, and we get more Stevie and Charlie too!!
I can't wait for more of this series!!

Breaking Badger is another rollicking read by Shelly Laurensten!

In this instalment, Viking half hyena, all honey badger, full-time basketballer and part-time mercenary, Mads, decides to help Siberian tiger shifter, Finn, in his quest to find out who murdered his father after he saves her and her badger besties from a deadly situation. It helps that she also thinks he’s v cute! 😆

If you’ve read other books in this series, you’ll know just how wild (heh) the characters are and this one was no exception. There was plot lines and characters galore but the author is honestly second to none in organised chaos. And she does it with SO much of her signature humour. I mean, no one else can make me laugh at entrails being ripped out of a body like she can!

The romance does take a backseat to the explosions, incinérations and defenestration, but it picks up towards the second half of the book. I really enjoyed the calm(er) character of Mads set against the fieriness of the other characters and how she just quietly got her own way. Grumpy oblivious Finn was also delightful and it was really fun to read how these two played off other established characters and expanded this shifter universe. They were an amazing team and I was SO delighted when they finally got with the program and canoodled.

I can’t wait for the next book in the series!

Note: An outdated reference to Asian people with negative connotations was used once in this book by a villain.

Thank you to the publisher for the arc.

Release: 31 August

#honeybadgerchronicles #breakingbadger #shellylaurenston #paranormalromance #shifterromance #bookmages

One the funniest and best paranormal romance I read in some time. It was a lot of fun, it's action packed and fast paced, made me laugh.
Great characters and humor, interesting world building.
I want to read the rest of the series, it's my first + an excerpt, and loved every moment.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Shelly Laurenston is my go to author that I buy every single time she releases a book. I don’t discriminate between shifters, dragons, or blacksmith queens.
Breaking Badger is a must read if you love witty conversations, sarcastic humor, and romance..

This was an entertaining, well-written book. It was funny, sexy and fast-paced, and I didn't want to put it down. This book can be read as a standalone story, though it is #4 in the Honey Badger Chronicles. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more books by this author. I will be looking for books 1-3 in the Honey Badger Chronicles after reading this book.

Breaking Badger is the 4th in Shelly Laurenston’s Honey Badger series that I absolutely have loved. They’ve all been books that make me literally laugh out loud to the point that I can’t listen to these books in public because I always get awkward stares. Laurenston’s humor is definitely hit or miss, if you look up her reviews they are filled with either ‘what the hell is this’ or ‘omg this is the best book ever’. So YMMV with these books.

These books always have emphasized family, and in particular, found family, which is one of the things I love most about them. The honey badgers at the center of these books are Charlie, Max, and Stevie and they’re sisters but they’re kind of all over the place in terms of being related? And they just pick up others throughout the books and fold them into their family – which is just the best. However, in this book, I felt that was the main emphasis to the point that the romance was shoved to the side so much it was almost tertiary. Which is fine if that is what I was looking for, I just wish there was more of a balance between the two falling in love as there had been in the past books.

These books always have 893 things happening, which is really fun and a feature, not a bug, of this series. This one is no different, fast-paced and violent, but in a way that makes sense to this world. Everyone knows not to mess with the honey badgers because they take no shit and will not hesitate to mess you up. This book heavily features Max’s basketball squad, all of whom I enjoyed, but we focused so much on them the romance was next to nonexistent.

Breaking Badger is the next book in the Honey Badger Chronicles. I love Shelly Laurenston stories and this book is no exception. I will say, I found this book to be more of a “Family Affair” than a romance although we do end up with a great couple in Mads and Finn in the end. In Breaking Badger we learn more about Max’s Team and the Black Malone boys, brothers to the MacKilligan’s half sister, Nat. This book has so many side stories and it was just fantastic. Max and Finn coming together, figuring out who murdered Finn’s father, what's going on with Nat….and so much more. With each new chapter I could just envision the books I want to come down the line because there are just so many more stories that need to be told. We get updates on Charlie and the Triplets, Dee-Ann and Celia. There was so much going on in this book that I read it straight thru and was really sad when I hit the end because I know it will be a long time before I am able to dive back into this world. Many thanks to the author for the hours of happiness they have provided to me and everyone else who loves their many books and series; under both Shelly Laurenston and GA Aiken and I can’t wait to see what comes next!

I’ll probably say this only once, but this may the sweetest badger shifter novel. To be clear, still crazy chaotic fun, but sweet. Their romance was the tamest development but there is a coyote in their bed.

This books continues the sisters lives, but our main couple is Mads and Finn. I didn’t mind that some of the focus was not on our main couple

Finn is a protector and Mads needs some protecting after a serious loss and her family continuing their threats against her. By no means is you unable to protector herself or her friends, but some times family is harder to fight against. Finn has his own mission for his family, and is seeing the advantages of having a badger team by his side.

It’s becoming clearer to me that the badger are descendants of Queen Awnyl (G.A. Aiken Dragon series), my goodness the the hijinks they get up to!

I cannot wait for more!

I’m thinking Tock/Shay which will be hilariously deadpan and sarcastic and covered in animal fur and Keane/Nelle which I‘m sure will be involve explosive/bullets/blood (you know the usual) and covered in diamonds, and I mean that literally.

Thank you NetGalley for the advance readers copy!

This book is about Mads and Finn or its supposed to be. Quite often it felt like they were side characters in their own story, barely having any interaction with each other until about half way through. They tend to take a back seat to the MacKilligan sisters Max and Charlie. That's not to say I didn't find this thoroughly amusing. I just can't get enough of these crazy honey badgers! They are absolutely hilarious!