Title: Badger to the Bone
Author: Shelly Laurenston
Series: Honey Badger Chronicles #3
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: 2020

Like ever other book in this series, or, indeed, by this author, Badger to the Bone is freaking hilarious. It’s witty, cute, fun and humorous. Although, I did have a bit of a moment of regret – this is the last romance of the three MacKilligan sisters. But, it did also introduce Max’s basketball team and those four women also need their own stories, so I have another rabbit hole to dive into. Very, very happily.

As much as Max is totally a psycho, I’ve been dying to read about her since the prologue in Hot and Badgered. I loved getting more of an insight into just why she acts the way that she does. Particularly in her relationship with Stevie – finally, the way that Max is constantly aggravating her begins to make sense. Plus, Max is the only full honey badger of the three siblings, and this difference was incredibly fun to read about.

I love that although you know that Max is chaos personified, she is actually kind of a do-gooder. She hides it really, really well. And she refuses to let others in on her goodness. That, and the fact that although Max thinks that Charlie is unaware of many of her extracurricular activities, the older sibling is still completely in tune about the insanity that is her younger sister. Yet another amazing sibling moment that had me grinning from ear to ear.

ZeZe is a great counterpoint to the insanity that is Max. Where Max is just pure chaos and happy in her own skin, she is also a serious handful. ZeZe, being entirely cat is quite happy to just stand back and watch the insanity unfold. With humour. And feeling entertained. Much like a real cat would I imagine. His smugness and contentment (once he accepts what he actually is) made me an incredibly happy woman.

ZeZe’s journey in this, whilst totally overshadowed by my love for Max was fun. I love the idea that he doesn’t actually know that he’s a shapeshifter and anything about fitting into the world that he should have been born into. Likewise, the relationship with his grandfather is a little bit tender, but ultimately beautiful. A reminder that sometimes people do the wrong things for love. And a great way to get more and more glimpses into Laurenston’s world of shapeshifters. Now I just need to keep diving into these amazing stories.

Image source: Kobo

Title: In a Badger Way
Author: Shelly Laurenston
Series: Honey Badger Chronicles #2
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: 2019

I must admit, I’m kind of completely obsessed with the Honey Badger Chronicles, because… well, honey badgers. But also, Laurenston writes amazing romances that are filled with wonderful friendships, strong women and a whole lot of humour. They make me smile with every single page turned and leave me incredibly happy that I’ve had the pleasure of discovering such amazing books. The fact that this continues to follow the MacKilligan sisters, who are most certifiably insane and completely lovely, well, that made me dive right in. Actually, it took me a little while to actually get to this – because I can’t seem to put these books down once I start reading them.

I love that this story is about Stevie, who is most definitely the most neurotic of the MacKilligan sisters. I particularly enjoyed that she just… decides that Shen is her boyfriend. He is such a chilled being and kind of just meanders along. The dichotomy between Stevie’s intensity and inability to relax, and Shen’s calm nature worked really well in this relationship. It was fun getting to know another species of shapeshifter in this series – Shen’s enjoyment in upsetting the other bears with his bamboo chomping in particular. There’s also the way that, although Shen is so damn calm all the time, he is also not exactly the kind of being that you want to mess with… kind of making him the perfect laid back balance to Stevie’s high-strung reality and tendency to find herself in dangerous situations.

Stevie’s other form is definitely terrifying and intense – as demonstrated in Hot and Badgered. It was thoroughly enjoyable getting to know more about just what Stevie is capable of in this form. And just how much damage she can truly do. Although, the moment when she realises that she is actually a badass with DNA that eats other DNA… I thought this was freaking fantastic. And may have laughed for a good minute after reading this. Stevie’s ability to finally accept a part of herself that she’s both feared and reviled was a really nice moment. Definitely gently helped along by Shen’s quiet presence, but also just finally growing enough to realise that just because you’re scary, it doesn’t mean you’re bad.

This might have been a romance about Stevie and Shen, but, yet again, it’s the MacKilligan sisters and their honey badger kin that really steal the show. I genuinely loved the parts where everyone attends a honey badger funeral… there’s a truck vs. badger collision, Charlie wanting to kill her father (again), and a whole bunch of snakes thrown into the mix. It’s not quite what I expected, but fits in completely with the idea of honey badgers being certifiable, down to the last one. I honestly don’t want to stop reading about any and all of the crazy honey badgers that are running rampant through this series. But, it’s not just the honey badgers that steal the show, it’s all of the sibling pairs. Laurenston has a wonderful way of writing about sibling relationships which just feels genuine – there’s loving and affectionate antics, but also those that are about just pushing each others’ buttons, because that’s always fun. I’m honestly hoping that Shen’s, Berg’s and Kyle’s siblings all get their own stories as this series continues on….

This was such an amazing paranormal romance. Not just for the wonderful, steamy sex. The beautifully matched couple. But also the high jinx and shenanigans. Every time I read one of the wonderful stories written by Laurenston, I’m transported to a wonderful world that has me smiling and laughing. Also having all the feelings, because that’s what you should always have in a good romance.

Image source: Amazon

Title: Hot and Badgered
Author: Shelly Laurenston
Series: Honey Badger Chronicles #1
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: 2018

I have to admit that I have a somewhat unhealthy obsession with honey badgers, like I’m kind of ridiculously obsessed with the silly things. So when I found out that there’s literally a paranormal romance / shapeshifter series which features honey badgers… I don’t know if I’ve ever been quite this happy in my life. And that was before I had the pleasure of actually reading this book. When I found out that the shapeshifters featured in this book were also sisters, and ones who are none to be incredibly chaotic… so many of my happy buttons were pushed.

Throughout this I honestly couldn’t stop laughing out loud at the shenanigans of the MacKilligan sisters. I mean, the first time you meet them, one is jumping out of a bedroom window, and the other runs a man over… multiple times. Then, to complete this chaotic trio, you have a panic attack prone genius who thinks a stay at a mental health institution is a nice holiday. And that’s just the character introductions in the first few chapters. The more supporting cast that you get to meet, the more insanity unfolds. I honestly can’t believe that this is an author who hasn’t been on my shelves yet. One that I can’t wait to read more of in the future.

I can’t wait for more of the MacKilligan sisters’ insanity as this series unfolds. The series most definitely starts out with the sanest of the three – Charlie spends most of her time running around trying to stop the other two from just killing everyone. I’ve got one younger sister that I keep an eye out for, and she doesn’t have homicidal tendencies – I can’t imagine watching two who are definitely insane. Charlie is a ridiculously fun lead, one who doesn’t hesitate to be herself and finds a way to carve out her own happily ever after.

Although this story is a romance between Berg and Charlie, for me it was about the relationship between the sisters. There is something great about a well written family bond, and Laurenston has the exasperation and love pegged perfectly in this story. Berg and Charlie are also a fantastic couple that you are rooting for from the very beginning, but there’s just something about the three sisters. There’s also the fact that being bought into Berg’s life brings along a whole cast of characters who I want to get to know even better. Berg’s two triplet siblings being some of them. I’m hoping that the more I dive into the world of Laurenston, the more I will get to meet different members of this world. All of whom have a whole lot of humour and sass in their creation.

Image source: Kobo