This is the final book I the Mackilligan Sisters series........................or is it......................
Sit back, relax and get ready to be drawn into Shelly Laurenstons shifter world. With sassy heroines and alphas who know who truly runs the show. SL has been. Firm favourite and a permanent fixture on both my TBR and reread pile ever since I read her Magnus Pack series. Badger to the bone is classic Shelly if like me you have read the first 2 books you will already be familiar with Max and her instigator ways but now we meet her crew and these ladies will hopefully appear in future stories of their own.

So this is Max’s story and it does not disappoint we have a visit from everyone’s favourite degenerate Freddy Mackilligan and we get to watch him drive his daughters insane and we also get an insight into the sisters relationship with there grandfather. Can I just say I heart Charles that ol’ Wolfe is just amazing!! So if you have read the other books you already know Max is a typical honey badger in all the ways apart from one thing she loves her sisters and is uber protective over them without anyone realising this of course. Her leading man is Ze an unlikely choice for our honey badger having been tasked with kidnapping her also Ze is a shifter in denial having grown up as a full human he knows nothing of his shifter side until max and he meet and she introduces him to it.

Full of humour and drama I loved badger to the bone!

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

I adore this series and the accompanying one (Pride). These books are hilarious and always keep me laughing. I know what I'm getting into though. It is all humor, with a slightly confusing plot, a few good action scenes, and a romance that you know will happen, but still manages to catch you offguard with how quickly they jump from hate to mate. (heh, see what I did there?)

This is book three with out Honey Badgers, so I don't want to go into too many details and spoil things, but what y'all should know is that these books have so many different POVs-- not just the main characters or the main characters in the two books previous, but potentially all the couples and main side characters from Pride can get a POV which can be confusing especially if you haven't read any of the other books.
I love reading these books for the laugh, so go in for the humor and not a romance. Humor and some action? Yes. A building romance? No. As usual, the couple seems to just end up together.

And yet, I will totally read more because sometimes I need to laugh to the point of tears and I like the way the shifters act/behave in these books.

What happens when a plan goes wrong, And the kidnapping that was going to happen is interrupted by a crazy cousin., who is trying to kill you. Well you take matters into your own hands, kick the cousins butt and throw yourself into the van with kidnappers. Makes perfectly good sense if your a badger. Still wonder whose crazy? But it gets better, when one of the kidnappers turns out to be one of your kind! To bad your going to have to read the book to see what

"I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Badger to the Bone delivers the final (or is it) Mackilligan sister story! Max is the rough and tumble sister, who is fully honey badger. With Freddy Mackilligan as a father, and her mom in prison in Eastern Europe for robbery, Max is a force to be reckoned with.  Add in Stevie and Charlie? Yeah, you don't want to get involved with these sisters.

Max's love interest provides a first for the series-a shifter who is a grown man with no idea he is a shifter. I appreciated the uniqueness of Ze's situation. Max handles it with humor and levity which is a hallmark of all of Laurenston's books. Their romance was a slow build feel, but in reality the story encompasses less than a week!

Another hallmark of Laurenston's is a plethora of side characters and Badger to the Bone is no exception! In addition to the Mackilligan sisters, you have Max's teammates, the local bears, and some recurring characters from previous books and series! Honestly, I will say that this volume of characters made listening to Badger to the Bone a challenge. It was difficult to keep up with all the people in the story, which is told in 3rd person omniscient. This had me finishing the book via kindle-and it was still hard to keep up!

If you want a campy, fun filled romp with crazy characters and an odd romance, Badger to the Bone is perfect!

*4.5 stars*

Off the wall, hilarious must read…

Closing the final page of this book hurt so much! I did want to close the MacKilligan sisters for good, not one little bit. Ferociously loyal and combative, Charlie, Stevie and Max were half-sisters that shared a bond like no other. Any paranormal/shifter story I ever read didn’t come close to the wackiness and utter laugh-out-loud-ness, every read in this series was. The third honey badger sister, Max had (as they all did) her own unique neuroses and way of doing things. Basketball player extraordinaire, she wasn’t prepared for Ze or the feelings he would stir up… With things with their dad, and his family, and Max’s mom too, and her family, and the bears and the wolves… Yeah, you get the picture, as usual there was a heck of a lot going on….

And all of it was completely over the tap fantastic-ness! Yes, you need a scorecard to keep all the characters straight. Yes, the romance is a low, low simmer, almost obscured by the rest of the story. The rest of the story though is utter deliciousness though so it was easy to forgive….
I either want to have a honey badger, be a honey badger or become friends with all of honey badgers. Right now!

If you haven’t picked up this series yet, and you’re in the mood for a great bit of storytelling, I would suggest doing that. RIGHT NOW!

22. Badger to the Bone by Shelly Laurenston (WF/PNR) Max falls for a Cat who doesn’t know he is one. (CWs: violence, abduction, ptsd, abandonment, guns).

Badger to the Bone (Honey Badger Chronicles #3). By Shelly Laurenston. 2020. Kesington (ARC eBook).

Ze Vargas has seen a lot of things working undercover for the government, but the kidnapped woman sitting in front of him takes the cake. As Max MacKilligan blows his cover, calls him a kitty cat and proceeds to turn into a large rat with scary claws, turning the thugs surrounding them into mincemeat, unconsciousness can’t come soon enough. But when Ze wakes, it’s to the world of shapeshifters, of which he learns he is of the jaguar variety. A lot of things about his life start making sense to him. But who can make sense of the deadly shenanigans the MacKilligan clan continually engross themselves in?

I wanted this book to capture my attention. I really did. While Badger to the Bone will fit the bill for paranormal fans that want over-the-top craziness and action, those that like those elements balanced with...well, pretty much anything else, probably won’t find it to their satisfaction. While I love strong and sassy heroines, I like them best when one, they aren’t complete psychopaths and two, when there is a partnership between them and hot alpha males to a degree that is actually measurable. And, unique to Laurenston’s worldbuilding, I prefer stories without Blaine, Livy or any of the Jackal prodigies shoehorned in. And yes, I apparently also prefer them without the all-mighty honey badger.

Why do I keep dipping my toes back in? Because I absolutely LOVED the first half of Laurenston’s Pride series. To be clear, Laurenston is a talented writer, but the Pride series started off with “bad ass” and “quirky” masterfully woven together. Not too mention riddled with hot chemistry. But as she grew that series out and into this spinoff, too many characters begged for attention and development went disproportionately off the rails into head scratching territory. I’ll gladly go back and fall in love with the Llewellyn, Shaw and Smith packs again.

This book was good—I don’t think Shelly Laurenston could write anything bad— but it wasn’t great. I’ve been really excited to read Max’s story ever since she first came on the scene, but this just kind of fell a little flat. It was still good and very entertaining, and I would recommend it, but it probably won’t be one that I read over and over.

She’s the woman he’s been hired to kidnap. But ZeZé Vargas has other ideas . . . like getting them both out of this nightmare alive. Just one problem. She’s crazy. Certifiably. Because while he’s plotting their escape, the petite Asian beauty is plotting something much more deadly . . .
Max “Kill It Again” MacKilligan has no idea what one of her own is doing with all these criminal humans until she realizes that Zé has no idea who or what he is. Or exactly how much power he truly has. But Max is more than happy to bring this handsome jaguar shifter into her world and show him everything he’s been missing out on. A move that might be the dumbest thing she’s ever done once she realizes how far her enemies will go to wipe her out. Too bad for them Zé is willing to do whatever it takes to keep her alive . . . and honey badgers are just so damn hard to kill!
I have read many of this author’s books and I love them all. The author has a way of writing some crazy, kooky characters and it just works for me! I loved both Max and Ze and all of the trouble they find themselves in. My only issue with this one, and I’m not sure why, was how many times a chapter here and there would be totally different characters. For some reason, I had problems keeping some of them straight this time. I can’t wait until the next book! I highly recommend.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

One of the greatest writers Shelly Laurenston, she has done it again with the third book in the series. It's funny with a great pace she just keeps adding more and more to this series to keep on your toes.

Absolutely LOVED this book! This series about these unique honey badger sisters has been so enjoyable to read and I highly recommend it!

I love the MacKilligan girls and their friends. This addition to the series is no exception. Lots of laughter but action and suspense as well. And don't forget the family drama. I highly recommend this and all the books in the series.

I enjoyed Max as a side character in the previous books but I wasn't sure how I would like her as the main character.

Honestly i loved her. Her brand of crazy is so fun to see but also makes sense at times. Ze was also a very interesting character and I really liked his background and how its adding to this world of Shifters. Laurenston writes the animal quirks in human form so well and really brings it all together. I'm looking forward to more from this series!

So much fun. This is a continuation of the series but is still accessible for new readers. But honestly there is s much pay off for long time readers. Laurenston is a master at action packed fun and sexy stories.

I've loved the Honey Badger Chronicles and looked forward to reading Badger to the Bone. And there was a lot to like about it. It had the side splitting humor I've grown to love, a fair amount of action, and lots of cameos of some of my favorite characters from other books.

But I didn't love it. Mainly because of the romance. It felt like for Max, Zé could have been interchangable with any guy. It didn't feel like a love match at all, more like Max found someone that would do. As much as I loved the rest of the book, this bugged me. My other issue was the fact the the book ended abruptly. To the point I had to double check to make sure I didn't miss something.

Because of this, parts of Badger to the Bone were enjoyable, but my frustration with Max and Ze overshadowed that.

I enjoyed this book immensely. When it comes to reading one of Shelly Laurenston books, you know, you're going to be highly entertained. With a Fast-paced storyline, exceptional plot, and charming characters. I most certainly recommend you pick up a copy.

I loved this book, it was so funny!! I love Ze and Max’s teammates! I think Ze & Max were a good match! There was certainly a surprise at the end though so hopefully another honey badger shifter book coming!!

Oh my gosh! I can't even! I adored Ze! And Max is just is great! This is another hilarious story in a line of them I just can't get enough of! Makes me want to go back and read them all again!

In general, I love Shelly Laurenston. In specific, I love this series. However, there was so much happening in this book! I got whiplash hopping from storyline to storyline. I’d read a few pages focused on one character and suddenly we’d hop to another character - seemingly unrelated. We’d learn who they were and their role in the story only to hop away to something else. Then we’d intermittently visit these other characters to see how they worked into the plot line.

This method of storytelling has worked through these books but it felt far too big and convoluted here. We were trying to tie up half a dozen loose ends, and it was exhausting. I do think it improved after 60%, but, holy smokes, it was exhausting.

Laurenston is a wonderful escape author. Generally she’s guaranteed to be a good time. I’m disappointed this one was more work than fun.

***Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to offer my review.***


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What is not to love about badass honey badgers? I mean seriously, they are all about some girl power handling their own business. I enjoyed this story (and the series) very much. The writing is paced nicely with suspense, and humor - two things I adore. The characters are likable even though they don't want to be...also something I love.

I covered this book on Frolic.