Title: Born to Be Badger ReRead
Author: Shelly Laurenston
Series: Honey Badger Chronicles #5
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Paranormal romance, Shapeshifters, Urban fantasy
Pace: Fast
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2023
Born to Be Badger is violent, insane and everything I love about a good Laurenston book. I love that Tock is the second of the basketball team to fall in love with a Malone Brother. The Malone brothers are just as unhinged as the rest of the Shifter World, but they just have this extra level of… crazy that I adore. And that fits in perfectly with this team of honey badgers and best friends. Then there’s the prologues that show up in these books. I love the insight into the insanity that is this specific group of honey badgers – they started out being fearsome and terrifying young, and it’s so much fun to read about the different ways in which they low key tortured their families.
So far out of the three Malones, Shay is definitely my favourite. He’s a little bit quieter and slightly more odd than his brothers. Plus, unlike Finn and Keane, Shay is just happy to go along with whatever and just… chill out. His laid back attitude is a perfect match for Tock’s more rigid stance on time management. They are such a great little opposites attract trope, one that is compounded by the fact that Tock is so similar to Shay’s daughter. And able to understand her in a way that the rest of her family (i.e. the Malone brothers) are unable to. Shay is a great father and a great character, and I love how he just… chooses Tock, and then follows along with her special brand of insanity in quite a cheerful manner.
Tock’s obsession with time is absolutely hilarious. I’m not going to lie, I kind of wish I had her app – assigning tasks in thirty minute blocks and working to not deviate from this actually sounds like a great way to keep my mind calm. If not a little bit over the top. It also makes it incredibly cute that Tock ends up finding a man whose daughter is just as obsessed with time and STEAM – a great bonding series of sessions for the two. And the imagery of how Shay’s daughter will grow up with Tock in her life has me out right laughing. I hope Laurenston does a bit of a second generation story with how a tiger shifter grows up with a honey badger step-mum.
Honestly, even though this was a reread, I was still absolutely obsessed with everything about this. There’s a reason I keep going back to the Laurenston books and the chaotic violence they are filled with. Plus, I love that Born to Be Badger has the openings valleys into the war with the de Medicis. This alone has made me really excited to read To Kill a Badger and find out how this series story arc continues to unfold. There’s going to be so much more violence, blood and vengeance!
| <- Breaking Badger ReRead | To Kill a Badger -> |
Earth and Skye 