I have loved every minute and every page of reading the Honey Badger Chronicles series. Both book one and two in the chronicles were 5 stars oh-my-god-I-love-‘em books. This…was not.

Do I want more? Oh yes, of course.
Was the book faithful to Max’s personality? 100% and more.
Humorous? Definitely.
Bat-shit crazy? Well, duh. It’s the badgers. ‘Nuff said.

Then what was wrong? The romance! I know Shelly doesn’t usually focus on the sex in her books. Which is fine – her books work perfectly without tons of book-banging sex! BUT, where it lacks on sex, it makes up for in romance – development of the characters towards each other, a relationship that sneaks up on them. That kind of thing.

Well, that’s not here. I looked down, saw I was at 79% and was literally struck frozen. I thought I had way more to go! There was hardly any romantic development in this book. It was like Max and Zé decided to have sex (they did have some great chemistry) and that was basically that. That’s when the “relationship” began and I don’t really know how to feel.

That being said. There were great relationship moments between the sisters. Zé was hot and funny. Max’s book introduces some intriguing characters that I’m DYING to know more about. And there was a HUGE plot (not exactly twist, but almost) point that will make future books interesting.

Overall, not as a great a read as the first two books, but still pretty good. I would recommend this book for fans of: Shelly, badgers, and humor.

Badger to the Bone brings readers back into her fantastic world building of shifters with strong, often times insanely different female characters. This is the third book about the McKilligan Honey badger sisters who while trying to outwit and basically if possible kill their no good father manages to find love in the most unlikely meet cutes. Yes, clearly this book is much better appreciated if you’ve read the first two and basically because its part of Ms. Laurenston’s ever popular shifter world, these two books will be enough of a back read. Only because that world is so immense its going to be a lot of backreading. Max Yang is the heroine and possibly a sociopath killer and Ze Vargas is a cat shifter possibly a jaguar but no one knows not even him. So when they met it was basically bloodshed at first sight and from then on Ze Vargas was caught in a world he clearly wanted to forget but unfortunately can’t. Now they have to evade bad guys, some of which are Max’s relatives solve a mystery and maybe fall in love.
Badger to the Bone will definitely leave you breathless with laughter, tense with adrenaline and definitely entertained by the opposite attract romance.

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

I absolutely love ANYTHING Shelly Laurenston writes. She just has a way of weaving amazing character with action, heart and humor that I have yet to see anyone else accomplish.

Badger to the Bone is the third installment in this spin-off series that originated from the sensational Pride series, which in turn came from the Magnus Pack trilogy... I for one hope that we keep going deeper and deeper into this world 🙂

In Badger to the Bone we get to see a bit more of the 3 Honey Badger sisters past and finally witness Max fall in love with someone that I find perfect for her!

Zezé is a lovely male lead and more than a match for kickass Max. They work so well and complement each other in a way that only Shelly can deliver.

A lot of Honey Badger high jinx goes on in this novel, so I don’t want to spoil even a second of it. Just know that Laurenston gives us a few more Badgers to root for and witness fall in love, since she has been contracted for at least 3 more Badger books! YAY!

I hope at some point we get a short story anthology of stories about previous couples in the Pride series... I love getting a glimpse of them in the Honey Badger series, however I can’t help but want more.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars

This book was fantastic and so great! It was hilarious as always, as bloodthirsty and dangerous as the previous books, and all in all a great read! I really enjoyed having Max find happiness with Zé, and for Zé to enter this world! It was such a ride!

Max and Zé were a really fun couple. Max because she's a MacKilligan, and kinda crazy. Zé, who is a cat who didn't know it. It was a really fun read. And then there's this asshole that's trying to recruit Max and her team, which was a bucket of fun!

One plot point for this series is the money that was stolen from the one side of the family, involving Freddie. And the hacker. And both plot lines are pretty much resolved in this book, and it was so great to read, I wasn't expecting that!

Before I read this book, I wasn't sure whether or not this series was done after this book or not. I'm still not sure, since this is the Honey Badger Chronicles, not the daughters of Freddy MacKilligan. Because we're introduced to some more female Honey Badgers, and one in particular. So there could be more, I'm just not sure!

This book was just so hilarious, and I enjoyed reading it so much!

I adore Shelly Laurenston!

She had created some of the funniest bad ass characters I’ve ever read. The MacKilligan sisters are like no other sisters you’ve ever read about. These ladies are not to be trifled with. Badger to the Bone is all about Max “Kill It Again” MacKilligan, she’s ruthless, fearless and enjoys killing.

The relationship between her and Ze is extremely weird to start off with (some may say off putting) I mean she forgets about him after she blow up his life! Max will never be normal but why should she be? She’s a honey badger, a kick ass lady.

The story is entertaining and leaves you wanted more with a surprising plot twist at the end that teases this may not be the end of the Honey Badger Chronicles and I’m extremely happy about that. Not only do we get new intriguing characters, Shelly also throws in golden oldies.

Ze is still very much a mystery and his family history. Why his grandfather kept such a big secret and how Ze is going to cope with this new world ~ the shifter world.

**Thanks to the Author and Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

I know I say this in almost every review for this author but I love Shelly Laurenston so much! I love how she writes her stories and her worlds and her characters. I love that there is so much humor and love. It all just fits into the perfectly funny book.

I have been looking forward to Max's book since the first. Her character is so brash and kickass. I wanted to know everything about her. I was looking forward to more of her in your face, don't care attitude and we did get it but we also go to see her other side. We got to see that she does care and she cares deeply for the people she lets in. Which was awesome to see but it kind of made her character less interesting.. I know that sounds horrible but I just didn't love her as much in this book.

Ze was pretty funny. I liked that he had no idea he was a shifter. That was a different than the other books. The only thing is.. I feel like we really didn't get to know him that much. Which is crazy because he is the other MC in this book. Maybe we do get to know him and I just didn't connect with him. I'm not sure. I just know that I didn't really care for him. And that kind of dragged down Max a little bit for me too.

Okay so I know it might not sound like it but I did really enjoy this book. It has all the same humor and crazy that comes with this world. So it was a wild ride that made me laugh the whole time. I just didn't seem to connect with the main characters

I laughed so much and was so happy to read this book. Max's story was worth the wait and it brought so many witty characters from the past and new ones that I stay up all night to read.

This style of writing I can never get tired of reading.

In my opinion, handsome and kind men mixed with unpredictable and violent women are just a recipe for an entertaining read - and Shelly Laurenston always delivers the entertainment.

I liked both characters from the start. Max (our spunky and psychotic heroine) was introduced in the two earlier books in the series but Ze (our tough but kind hero) is new. Both characters are well written, funny and a joy to watch cause havoc but ultimately save the day.

The secondary characters are a lot of fun and the storyline pulled me in from the beginning. I also hope the next books Laurenston writes focus on the basketball team because they are a big ole pot of crazy waiting to be explored.

I would recommend this book to any fans of Shelly Laurenston, or anyone who enjoys well written and hilarious books.

I received an ARC in exchange of my honest review.

While I enjoy Laurenston's books, often I feel like the romance takes a back seat to the wild plots, kickass heroines, etc. And usually that's still okay with me because every other part of the book manages to make me happy and the romance is still there, even if it's not the dose I prefer.

But this one was definitely the least romance-y I've read so far and it did not work for me at all.

On top of that, Ze's character depth and development was pretty much nonexistent. He might as well have been a cardboard cutout occasionally being moved around in the far, faaaar background.

I'm not saying the hero needed to outshine the heroine, fuck that. But I need him to be at least equal to her [as far as their presence in the book] since this *is* [supposed to be] a romance. How can I believe she's fallen for someone who has far less page time and development than almost any other secondary/tertiary characters in this series? How am I supposed to care about him at all, even if there wasn't a relationship involved?

Overall this book was not tight at all. The romance wasn't, the characters weren't, and even the story in general wasn't tightly done. I was left with a lot of questions, some major others minor but no less annoying when abandoned.

For me, Badger to the Bone was not the campy escape I was hoping for. Instead it took me days to read and I found myself skimming and zoning out far too often. It never pulled me in like previous Laurenston books, and I was relieved when I was finally done, even as I was left with the bitter taste from being underwhelmed and more than a bit annoyed.

Max is sassy, stubborn, definitely crazier than anyone else around, but she is also one kick-butt honey badger shifter who you do not want to mess with – and someone just did. Time for the evil family members to make a play again, this time by trying to kidnap Max and she’s having none of it especially when a jaguar shifter is in on the action against her – but wait, Zé didn’t know he was a shifter? Oopsie. Well, he does now and he’s about to get lessons about that magical world from a woman who can go from calm to crazy, to kick your butt around the block faster than anyone he’s ever encountered before. And he’s about to be taken on a whirlwind adventure with sisters, evil family members, and just maybe fall in love with a butt-kicking honey badger along the way. Life just got interesting for Zé.

Badger to the Bone is the rip-roaring, action-filled, intense third story in The Honey Badger Chronicles series – and if you haven’t read this series yet then I’d gently suggest you start at Hot and Badgered and move forward first (if you can, I know not everyone can do that) for these sisters have a collective tale to tell, plus they’re all really good stories. The romance between Max and Zé simmers throughout their story, it is not the main focus the fast-paced action part is more the main story, but they blend together so well that it reads as it should when Max is involved in the situation. We will also meet up with some characters from the earlier series, Pride so when you meet them here I’d definitely recommend checking out their stories if you can, again, well worth the time and effort for these additional stories.

I’m not going to go into any details here – you really need to experience Max and Zé firsthand but it is an intriguing story that never ever seems to slow down. I had a blast, and if you love a good shifter story, or diving into a paranormal world then this is the story or/and the series for you. Highly recommend.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from Kensington Books via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

Loved every moment of it. It had feels, funny and action. I love when others from the PRIDE series and the MAGNUS PACK series come out to play as well.

I hope the next book is about Natalie and Kyle.

I'm so disappointed that I didn't enjoy this book more. I love Shelly Laurenston. She can make me laugh and smile like no other, but this book just didn't have the romance I come to love from her funny shifter books. I loved Charlie and Stevie's books, and I loved Max in those books, but this one was a bit of a mess. First off it jumped around so much. One minute we are reading from Max's pov then the next some random character from one of her many other series/books. The cameos of past characters was out of control. Truly I think I was visited by the ghost of every character of past. Some from books I read years ago and it would take me a bit to even remember who the heck they were. Which just took me out of the story and confused me. Add to that almost zero romance besides the rushed bit at the like 85% and it really didn't work for me. This book wasn't all bad though and it did make me laugh, but it's not want I wanted or expected.

I loved this book so much. Shelly Laurenston is one of my favorite authors - I love her Pride series and the Honey Badger Chronicles, which are set in the same world and share characters. There are shifter owned and run restaurants, divisions of law enforcement, sports facilities and other institutions, all operating in mostly plain sight among all the oblivious full humans (us). I love the sports facility - the full humans use the above ground part, and the shifters' very fancy complex is below ground. The characters in the Pride and Honey Badger books remind me of the Three Stooges TV show I loved as a kid, only with short tempered shifters who unleash fangs and claws instead of funny looking guys in suits slapping at each other.

Can I just say that I love the menus in shifter run restaurants? Leg of gazelle, etc.

This is Max's book, the middle sister of the three MacKilligan sisters, who have the same (horrible) father and different mothers. Max is the only one of the sisters who is full honey badger shifter. The book has a prologue which seems to show how devious, manipulative, unscrupulous, violent and cunning Max can be. Well... yeah. Then it leads into the next chapter - 9 years later - where Max, who is late for her own kidnapping, leaps into the suspicious idling van, pulls the hood over her own eyes, and then things get even funnier. During the kidnapping she meets Ze, one of the team of full human kidnappers. Max realizes something very important about Ze ... something that Ze himself does not know.

Suggested songtrack for this book: Bad to the Bone

I highly recommend all three books in the Honey Badger series, and the whole Pride series. They are bound to charm you and make you laugh.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions expressed are mine.

I received this arc from NetGalley. I have previous books by this author and have loved them. This book unfortunately dragged for me and was hard to get through and I eventually gave up on it. Parts of it were funny but other parts were just boring. #BadgertotheBone #NetGalley

Finally, finally Max gets her HEA! Max is probably the least likely of the MacKilligan girls to get a hero of her own, and Max's unconventional romance with a shifter who doesn't know he's a shifter is typically Max. Who else but a cat could put up with everyone's favorite honey badger? Great addition to the series and final romance for the MacKilligan sisters.

4.5 stars--BADGER TO THE BONE is the third instalment in Shelly Laurenston’s contemporary, adult HONEY BADGER CHRONICLES paranormal series-a spin off from the authors PACK, and PRIDE series. This is honey badger /basketball player Max MacKilligan, and jaguar shifter, former US Marine and Black Ops member ZeZé Vargas. BADGER TO THE BONE can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous instalments is revealed where necessary but for back story and cohesion I recommend reading the series in order.

Told from several third person perspectives including Max and Zé BADGER TO THE BONE follows several paths but continues to focus on the MacKilligan half- sisters: badger/ wolf Charlie; honey badger Maxie, and badger/ tiger Stevie MacKilligan.

In the aftermath of an abduction in the Netherlands of badger shifter Max MacKilligan. Max is surprised to discover one of her would-be rescuers is a jaguar shifter, a shifter who is unaware of his DNA. Upon return to American soil, Max would become ZeZé Vargas’ mentor in an effort to acclimate her foundling ‘kitty’ into the unfamiliarity of the shifter world but everything continues to spiral out of control as the fractured and broken MacKilligan family dynamic targets our heroine from a number of sides. What ensues is the slow building relationship between Max and ZeZé, as Max, along with Charlie and Stevie, must come to terms with the fall-out of their father’s life.

Like their human counterparts, the shifter world is constantly at war. From secret military organizations, to illegal money laundering, and the battle between shifter nations, specieism and discrimination are at the heart of everything that continues to go wrong. The MacKilligan family’s reputation is well known in the world of the shifters but Charlie, Max and Stevie are a weapon unto themselves. When another ‘secret shifter’ organization recruits Max to help shut down a human trafficking ring, Max knows, not only will her sisters be by her side, but her basketball shifter team that will always have her back.

Once again, as per Laurenston’s style of writing, the back and forth, frenetic energy between characters and situations is fast paced, humorous, snarky and fun. There is a large ensemble cast of colorful and energetic secondary and supporting characters-many whom we have me in this (who doesn’t love the bears) and the author’s previous series, as well as the introduction of more members of the cat nation, and a surprising addition to the MacKilligan family. The premise is imaginative and thrilling; the characters are spirited, sassy and playful; the romance is passionate and enticing.



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I have read all of Shelly Laurenston's paranormal books over the years, besides the Crow and GA Aiken books. Every single one had me glued to the story and most have me laughing out LOUD! When at a doctor's office, people can't help but just smile or laugh with me even though they have no idea why they are laughing! (Which means I refer her books often! lol) Unfortunately, during this horrible time of the COVID-19 epidemic, I have gotten sick with sinus garbage, headaches, sore throat, and low-grade fever, etc. Thankfully, we believe it is not the virus, Yes, I had the "Assessment" done, The nurse cleared me and I have been taken extreme extra measures anyways, to not infect anyone else. And again, Thankfully, I had this book by Shelly to keep me busy and most of all, laughing. In this book, we finally get to see how the 3rd MacKilligan sister gets her man. (Btw a little side note: did you ever noticed that Shelly named these 3 psychotic killer siblings with a name that, if you sound it out and think about what you are really pronouncing, that sounds like it says......Mac-Kill-again. Get it?! LMAO I wonder if she did that on purpose. I wouldn't put it past her to do that. I mean, if you read her other paranormal books on shifters, you'd see her humor is SO awesome that her purposely making the MacKilligan name sound like that would be right on point. :-)) Okay, Sorry, got off track when I realized that. lol

Back to the story: Again, I'm glad Max had her turn. I am also glad she got a hottie mac-hottie cat too. (Even though she didn't favor cats before. (still.)lol) The little twist with him not knowing was fun in and of itself. We also got to have a visit with some past characters and am looking forward to future books with some old characters making some pit stops again. As with all books from Shelly, you get a good sense of all characters, scenery, and situation she writes about. There is LOADS of humor, love, great fighting techniques, family loyalty, some surprises, and twists, and much more. I really don't want to get too into it and/or say too much because I am a strong believer that anyone who is considering reading the books, would prefer to experience What's going on in the story themselves. Plus, I am a HUGE stickler for NOT giving any spoilers. READ THE BOOK if you want to know. Plus, you WILL not be disappointed. I promise!

I do have a request for Shelly..... do you think you can please bring back a short story or a few of them with like the big baby Brendan Shaw and his Mane. (HAHAHA) Or with Gwen the wild dog and her HUGE Russian hockey maniac bear. (OMG I miss these characters!) Just a thought Shelly. They were such a HUGE part of my life when I needed humor in it. (I thank you for that. I thank you for taking the time to share your stories and sense of humor with all of us. They got me hooked on your books and they have stayed with me for years since reading them. It'd be great for new readers to get a novella of them to get them to go get your older books plus it'd be a huge treat for us old fans getting a treat from friends of the past. If you are too busy, I get it. Either way, your books have left a mark with me and I have talked about them constantly along with referrals to people I talk to about shifter books that have so much personality.

As I am sure it is obvious, I highly recommend this book and actually all of her paranormal books. You can't really go wrong. This book can be a stand-alone, but I do not recommend it. There is too much in the other 2 books that you will want to know about in order to get the full feel of her book. Happy reading!!

I received a free, advance copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased and honest review

4.5 stars

I enjoyed this book much better than the last one. Laurenston's wacky badgers and action filled plot made this incredibly enjoyable to read!

This is the 3rd book in the Honey Badger Chronicles and I would absolutely read the previous ones before reading this one or you will be completely lost. In this one we finally get Max's story!! ZeZé Vargas has been hired to kidnap a woman but has no idea why. But when things goes sideways-he is just trying to get them both out of it alive. He just doesn't realize that the woman he kidnapped is completely crazy and has her own plans. Max “Kill It Again” MacKilligan has no idea what one of her own is doing with the gang that kidnapped her. At least not until she realizes that he has no idea what he truly is. But she is more than happy to show him what he is capable of. At least until she realizes just what her enemies are willing to do in order to wipe her out. Too bad for them that Ze' is going to do what it takes to keep her safe and that she is so hard to kill!

I absolutely loved Max's story!! I always thought she had to have some sort of hidden depths after the previous books and this one definitely shows that there is more to her than meet's the eye! Yes, she is hard core but she is also all about her family and doing what is best for them. No matter what. Ze' is this stand up guy who has no idea that he is a shifter. He is just trying to do what he believes is right, even when it is unnecessary. I might have laughed so hard I cried at some points! This book has it all! Humor, romance, suspense, action-it kept me hooked from the start and I definitely didn't want it to end! I especially loved the little twist to it and can't wait to see where that leads us!! Can't wait for the next book!

Max is crazy and a honey badger shifter who is trained to kill. She's just about as lethal as you can get. So when she finds herself kidnapped, it's not really a problem for her to escape but she wants answers first.

Ze is one of Max's captors but when Max starts calling him a cat shifter, he just thinks she certifiable. Max is something different though and he's not sure just what kind of crazy she is.

Max saves Ze and brings him back to her home where her sisters and other shifters live. Then she tries to make Ze understand that he too is a shifter but it took a little time for him to finally believe her. Max says things that just made me laugh out loud, she can be so funny. But she's also lethal and doesn't seem to feel bad about hurting or killing someone. Most shifters don't seem to like humans and they tend not to mingle with other animal shifters. Each group of animal seems to keep to their own group.

Of course there are government agencies that want to use the shifters for their own resources and one of Max's sisters have told one such group to keep away from her and her sisters. So when a group comes and wants Max and her friends to work for them, her sister, Charlie is not happy about it and lets them know it. All I can say is, don't piss off Charlie. Seriously, don't piss her off.

Then there's one of Max's cousins who tends to come after her and wants her dead, just because. These sister's seriously have some messed up family. Max and her sister have family that hate them, Ze has family that lied to him and the government agencies just keep coming back to get them to work for them.

This book had so much butt kicking action, but it also made me laugh out loud so many times. It was a lot of fun to see what would unfold next, what new character would pop up with some kind of emergency or who would come around sniffing for Charlie's baked goods. This was such a fun book.

Disclosure: I was given an ARC of this book via NetGalley but all opinions and thoughts are my own.