Tock never expected a simple rescue mission to go south so fast. Shay never expected a desire to cover someone's six to go bad so quickly. But when bad goes to worse will the honey badgers still rise?
Born to be Badger is the latest in Shelly Laurenston's Honey Badger Chronicles series. Yet another of the girl gang has met her match...and in a stubborn cat at that. But I enjoyed getting to know both Tock and Shay. Shay isn't quite sure what to expect with Tock but she amuses him. And she understands his daughter always a plus. But danger seems to follow her. Can he protect her and his daughter? Will Tock even let him in her life? I enjoyed seeing Shay work his way past Tock's defenses. She isn't quite sure how to handle the cat that isn't as laid back as he portrays. There are unexpected twists but I enjoyed the journey Shay and Tock take as they fight the unexpected emotions they have for each other.
This is a wonderful addition to this series and I can't wait to see where Ms. Laurenston will take us next.

BORN TO BE BADGER is the fifth instalment in Shelly Laurenston’s contemporary, adult HONEY BADGER CHRONICLES paranormal, romance series-set in the author’s Magnus Pack and Pride Worlds. This is Amur tiger shifter and single father Shay Malone, and badger shifter Emily ‘Tock’ Meyerson-Jackson’s story line. BORN TO BE BADGER can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty but I recommend reading the series in order for back story and cohesion.

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from several third person perspectives including Tock and Shay BORN TO BE BADGER follows several overlapping scenarios including the hunt for the person(s) responsible for murdering Finn, Keane, Dale and Shay Malone’s father; the take down of a human trafficking ring; and the ongoing investigation into a powerful drug created to take down the honey badger shifters.

Shay and his brothers are desperate to find the person(s) responsible for the murder of their father but without the help of some powerful shifters, Shay struggles to ferret out those responsible. Meanwhile, the honey badgers have been targeted, and Tock Meyerson-Jackson has found herself the victim of a powerful tranquilizer, a drug meant to incapacitate the violent badger. As part of a search and rescue team, that was ambushed, Shay becomes guardian and protector of our story line heroine, something Tock does not need in the face of her large extended vengeful family. The search for any and all suspects reveals a human trafficking ring and a possible connection to a larger coalition somewhere in Europe.

The world building is detailed, complex and elaborate with many references to a number of shifter sports league and powerful groups, including families and deep ops organization, most of whom we met in the PACK series. We are up close and personal with Tock’s broad circle of blood family and family by friendships, as well as the considerable extended matriarchal family of questionable cousins (The MacKilligans), aunts, sisters and close friends. If you have not read any of Laurenston’s previous story lines or series, I recommend starting with The Magnus Pack then the Pride Series where the author begins to build her fantastic shifter world full of snark and fun-you will have to have a sense of humor for some of the darker scenarios. Ultimately, all of the shifters are predators, and therefore, killing is part of the cycle of life.

The secondary and supporting characters are numerous, powerful and energetic.-wolves, bears, lions, tigers, hyenas, badgers etc. We are introduced to Shay’s brothers Finn, Keane and Dale, as well as his daughter Dani, and the return of several Van Holtz including Ric and Niles, and the Dunn Triplets. The requisite evil has many faces.

The relationship between Tock and Shay is slow to build as there is limited break in the action, the impending war between the badgers and everyone else, and the take down of the people responsible. The Badgers are a powerful and vicious group of shifters, a group that every other shifter fears the most. The $ex scenes are limited but passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

BORN TO BE BADGER is a story of power and control, betrayal and vengeance, secrets and lies, friendships and family, acceptance and love. Shelly Laurenston pulls the reader into a humorous and frenetic action-packed story of secret organizations run by animal shifters, and the fight for control. The fast paced, character driven premise is intricate and fantastic; the characters are determined, dynamic and boisterous; the romance is subtle.



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Born to Be Badger is the fifth book in the Honey Badger Chronicles that follow a group of basketball playing honey badger shifters who moonlight as thieves, killers and rabble rousers. This action-packed installment will leave you exhausted from trying to keep up with some seriously disturbed honey badger shifters and their equally crazy friends. This story reunites us with some favorite characters from the past. There is a slow burn love interest but that is about the only thing in this book that goes slow. I literally howled with laughter. Bring on the next book.

And again we are pulled back into Shelly Laurenston’s Shifter World with the latest tale of
The Honey Badger world. In Born to be Badger we get the story of Tock, another badger B-Ball/Special Ops teammate who discovers that what she is investigating is crossed over with the Malone’s looking into their fathers death. Shay Malone for some unknown reason (only to him) can’t seem to leave Tock alone. He doesn’t seem to understand his concern for her. As they work together with the Malones and Honey Badgers to unearth many secrets in the shifter world they slowly discover what they are meant to be to each other. I was really happy to be brought back into the Pride world and I always love seeing glimpses of characters that I have long ago fallen in love with in these stories. This book was no exception, but I will say one thing I didn’t like was the fact of how long it took Shay to figure out his emotions… by 70% into the story he was still denying any type of emotional connection to Tock, even with everything he had already done for and with her. He took Oblivious to a whole new level. I would definitely count this as a slow burn book but with all the action we have in it it was still a really fun read. Can’t wait to see who’s next in this crazy world, really looking forward to seeing the last Malone brother fall into the trap that he never thinks will happen to him.

OMG I loved this book just like I have loved all the other honey badger books and Shelly's writings since Pack Challenge. Once again, she delivers a snarky, smart, strong, psychotic a$$ b!tch. The way she writes her female characters are some of my favorites as they are no wilting flowers and are usually starting and ending any trouble they start which this book had in spades. I loved Tok and she was hilarious to read especially when it came to her neurotic behavior about time. This book had me smiling and laughing from start to finish and I loved the MMC Shay and his relationship with TOK and his daughter as well was in some ways a mini TOK. This is a slow burn with spice at the end of the book, so I do wish there was a little more of that and I do feel that their relationship was really only just starting at the end of the book though there was tension and a growing connection from the start of the book. I just wish the book had continued a little more just focusing on their relationship as it was just starting to get good, and I didn't want to stop reading about these two. I thought they were really cute together.

In the end I love this book and I loved Shelly's writings which are always my comfort rereads when I get in a book slump. You will have to read the other books in the series and not just the honey badger one but much further as there are characters popping up from a lot of the previous books, but you will not regret it as they are all amazing reads.

This book is about Emily "Tok" a honey badger obsessed with time who along with her best friends/basketball teammates are working to take down a human traff!cking ring being run by lion shifters. But she isn't going to let some arrogant hair loving lions get in her way especially when she finds out they may be responsible for the de@th of a "friend's' father. This friend is tiger shifter Shay who got himself involved with her missions because he wanted to help her and got himself in over his head, but he wants to find out what happened to his father and help Tok because she is just so cute, especially when she snaps her fangs at him or cuts his artery "accidently."

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this arc. All thoughts are my own

<strong> Slapstick Humor, Intense Action, A Dash of Mystery, Two Teaspoons Of Romance, And Three Spicy Chili Peppers Combined Into One Great Book.</strong>


<b>Quote:📖</b><i>
These girls were true honey badgers. Mean, vicious, snarling, honey badgers that no one should ever sneak up on. Or try to kill while they were having a sleepover at a friend’s house.
</i>
<b>Thoughts: 💡</b>
I love Shelly and this story captures her iconic sarcasm and wit entwined with intense action sequences and romance. For the last few years Laurenston’s books have encompassed more action sequences and intricate plot twists than romance elements and that trend has continued into this book. It’s still an exciting page turner and has a fun little dose of smut, but there is very little romance.

<b>Writing Mechanics: ✍️</b>
The story is well written and edited with a plot driven storyline that has a few twists. Each character is deeply developed with motivations and back stories. There isn’t a lot of romance but there are 🩸 action scenes in every chapter. The characters are staunchly morally gray with their own code of ethics and a love of chaos. “Honey badger don’t care” is the prevailing theme. I laugh at some point in every chapter, usually multiple times.

<b>Fun Bits:</b>
⚜️ Deadpan Humor
⚜️ Fierce Give No 🤬 FMC
⚜️ Cinnamon Roll MMC With A Killer Instinct
⚜️ Hilarious Side Characters
⚜️ Close Friendships

<b>Important Note:✨</b>
This is an interconnected standalone that builds on the previous books.
✨✨✨ There are multiple POVs in this book and none of them are marked, you have to figure out which is which while you read.



<b>Stats:📊</b>
Spice Scale: 2 🌶️🌶️/ 5
Character Dev: 5 💙💙💙💙💙/5
Genre: Paranormal Shifter Romance📕
Tropes: Solving Crimes, Catching a Killer, Unlikely Allies, Opposites Attract, Found Family, Multicultural, Organized Crime, Honey Badger Don’t Care📘
POV: Multi 10+ POV 💃🏻🕺
CW: Violence, Gore, Murder, Death, Assault⚠️

Baking good. Mass murder bad. Words to live by. #TeamHoneyBadger

Tock is a honey badger on a shifter basketball team. Shay is a tiger on a football team. Shay follows Tock as back-up when she leaves on a secret mission. She really needed back-up because there is trouble in shifter-land and everyone is going to be called into service. I forgot to mention Tock's grandmother. The badguys call her "Grandmother Death". Great banter, lots of shifters and a few good humans.

Reasons to read this book:
Dresses with pockets (best to hide knives)
FMC who has dissed Kissinger (yes the Henry guy).
10 year old girls who love math.
The return of Charlie MacKilligan, the honey badger that bakes to relieve stress.
Fine cuisine like fresh scorpions, grilled cottonmouth snake in BBQ sauce and poison-laced wine. A diet only a honey badger could love.
A woman who values time management hooks up with a man who doesn't wear a watch.
A group of older, female honey badgers who pissed off Reagan & Bush? Yes, please and thank you.
And I almost forgot -- PUPPIES!

I did not want this book to end! I love the Honey Badgers and all their friends/family. There is war brewing and I am always #TeamHoneyBadger.

5 stars

The Honey Badger Chronicles is one of my favorite series. Born to Badger is Tock and Shay’s story but not the main storyline. I love the antics and snark the other honey badgers provide to the story. I recommend reading in order as the plots all tie together. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.

Everything Shelly Laurenston writes is gold.
Born to be Badger is the fifth book in Shelly Laurenston’s Honey Badger Chronicles Series. this book focuses on T, Emily “Tock” Meyerson-Jackson, a honey badger-hyena shifter and, Shay Malone, a Siberian Tiger shifter.
I have to say this is probably my favorite book in the series. The characters are so well written and well rounded for this series.Their story is one of friendship, love, respect and support.

This story is filled with excitement,action, annoying family and awsome friendships. it has many diffrent points of viiew, not only from the main characters but many others. This is a continued story and should be read in order, or you will be lost. If you like strong woman (shifters), protective hero's and strong cast of characters with a intresting story.
Warning this will cause you to laugh out loud, so use caution when reading this story.

Born to Be a Badger is another winner for Laurenston’s Honey Badger Chronicles series that take place in the Pride world she created.

As usual, the badgers personalities shone through and the plot moved forward in a direction that should bring plenty of drama and action. The romance between Tock and Shay is quite lovely if a bit slow, but what really takes center stage is the relationship between the Badger teammates and their insane family dynamics.

I absolutely adore this series and the world Shelly Laurenston has created and I cannot wait for more!

(The review will be posted on Amazon as soon as the book is released)

Born to be Badger is the fifth book in Shelly Laurenston’s Honey Badger Chronicles Series. It is a paranormal shifter romance filled with humour, interesting characters, a great storyline, a precocious ten year old and her dogs. This story has a happily ever after for the couple and no relationship cliff hangers. However, the reader is left wanting to learning more about the interesting shifter world that Laurenston has created and the “can of worms” the honey badgers have opened.

This book is written in third person and from the view point of multiple characters in the series. The heroine, Emily “Tock” Meyerson-Jackson, a honey badger-hyena shifter and the hero, Shay Malone, a Siberian Tiger shifter have been mentioned in previous stories in the series. But it’s in book fifth that they get their own story. The chemistry between the two main characters was intense and entertaining as they learn to navigate, as a couple, the complicated world of the MacKilligan Sisters and their friends.

Great read! I hope there’s a book sixth in the works! I’d love to see if Keane Malone or Tock’s friends get their own stories.

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

I’m loving this series, it’s so dark and funny and irreverent. The main characters are complicated badass women and I can never guess where the plot is going to take me, i just know that there will be some steamy romance, lots of conflict and animals everywhere. Looking forward to the next one!

Ms. Laurenston has done it again. In this episode of the Badgers series, we find ourselves following Tock (or Emily Meyerson-Jackson) from the troublesome 5 as I think of them; or as most of whom follow the series know them, Tock, Max and the basketball loving teammates/BFFs. I rated this book as 5 stars because it satisfied my personal criteria of both entertaining me and making me laugh out loud regardless of who was nearby. The honey-badgers never fail to entertain and this story was no exception. They are nuts but you can't help but root for them because while they may be predators, they're smaller than most of the predators they're up against and yet they're fearless, cunning and their storylines are always taking you to unexpected places with the normal violence and snarky scenes you expect when these ladies are involved.
In addition to the zany happenings of the honey-badgers, we also have Shay and his brothers (Siberian Tigers) involved in the madness looking for revenge and watching out for their baby sister (who is a hybrid and related to Max, Charlie and Stevie).
I loved how the "romance" between Shay and Tock warms up like the best rising of a good dough when baking. It takes its time and then heats up and it's just this fabulous product in the end.
The story has some visits from previous favorite characters and hints on their current family updates (which made me smile). It covers a lot of ground and I enjoyed it as I fully expected to with many laughs along the way. Can't wait for the next honey-badger adventure.

Another great installation in the Honey Badger Chronicles. In this book we have Tock, the bomb expert, teaming up with Shay, who is her complete opposite in every way. Tock’s mission is to bring down a ring of lion shifters who have set up a human trafficking ring. Shay tags along and is instinctively protective of Tock, though it takes both of them a while to realise they are mates. It’s very much a slow burn, low steam romance, with the focus firmly on the action ( and sometimes violence) as Tock and Shay take on the lions. The plot is fast paced, full of fun and craziness. The dialogue is absolutely hilarious and had me giggling out loud as I read. Although this book can be read as a standalone, it is so much better if read in sequence.

I have really been enjoying the Badger Series. I really enjoyed this story line. It had a good story completion while taking us a step closer to the continuing story arc being completed. I really liked Tock and Shay both, they made me laugh a lot. I took away one star just because I didn’t feel the steam between the two main characters quite as much as normal. They were both so good at hiding their feelings even from themselves that it made it harder to pick up on. It is usually so much easier to see the attraction between the main characters in this series. It is still there, but just not quit so noticeable. I still really enjoyed this book. This entire world is such a great place to enter if you feel like you need a good laugh, all while figuring out a serious plot in a book. I definitely recommend this book and series. If you haven't read the first in the series, Hot and Badgered, I would recommend starting with that one. Or if you haven’t yet read the Pride series that is set in the same world you should really start where it all began just to enjoy this great world Shelly Laurenston has given us. You will not regret it.

I've be reading Shelly Laurenston for a long time, and have enjoyed all her books and this does not disappoint. I love the family, humor, even the violence (because they're Badger shifters trying to save to track down human traffickers, and if they can steal something while they're at it, all the better). This book focuses on time obsessed Tock, Shay who doesn't know the what time-management means, but loves his daughter, Dani. Add the MacKilligan sisters, and the Malone brothers looking to avenge his father's death and let the crazy begin.

The author weaves past books and series together seamlessly, and it's always fun when she bring in other series characters. Totally disappointed when the book ended, but as always, I look forward to the next installment.

Title: Born to Be Badger (The Honey Badger Chronicles, Book #5)

Release date: 11/28/23, read 11/24/23

Author: Shelly Laurenston-an auto-buy author for me

Page Count: 414

Setting: NY

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Tropes: opposites attract, shifters, single dad

Rating: 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Source: Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington for this ARC💛! I voluntarily give my honest review and all opinions expressed are my own.

Quick summary: The honey badgers are being hunted, and the culprit may have been involved with the death of the Malone brothers’ father. Emily "Tock" Lepstein-Jackson goes on a secret mission and Shay Malone decides to invite himself along. She doesn't tell him anything about her mission but asks that he be her look-out. When all hell breaks loose, nothing angers Shay more than sneak attacks on his mate. Neither of them knows it though.

Content warnings/triggers: murder, human trafficking (mentioned)


Review: This book had plenty of shifters, found families, action, and humor. The romance was very slow burn and took a backburner to the crazy banter and fights. I love Keane and can't wait for his book. I didn't read ANY of the other books in this series (but having read all her Pride and Dragon Kin books) I let myself forget about all the crazy family characters' names and focus on the main romance with laughs.

You know, there are shifter books, and then there ARE SHIFTER BOOKS that you just cannot put down - love Shelly Laurenston’s Honey Badger Series. This is yet another great installment, and you’ve got to love those Honey Badgers…really. There are a few characters who have had more backstories in previous books, so it would definitely benefit to read from the first book, and honestly, it is worth every minute to go back to book one.

The humor, the crazy antics, their crazy reputation, and last but not in least, the snark - this is a great story about Tock and Shay, and her daughter Dani. Even better, there will be another book in this series!

This is one of the best gifts you can give yourself, a great escape, a peek into the antics and episodes in the world of shifters, and who knew badgers were the best ones!!!

*ARC provided via Netgalley in exchange for honest review*

If you are one of the people, like me, who wait with baited breath for anything that Laurenston releases, this book will not disappoint. Full of the same antics, the need to completely turn off your disbelief and just enjoy the ride, and the exclamation points (!), this book pairs up another of Max McKilligan's teammates with one of the Malone brothers. Somewhat rigid Tock (time management is NOT just about being on time) might not initially be thought of with the laid back Shay (he's a tiger shifter who owns dogs) but the two actually work really well together. Tock isn't actually as rigid as she appears, she just prefers to have a schedule. Shay isn't lazy, he just doesn't care about most things. But he appreciates Tock's need to be on time as well as how well her personality meshes with his daughter's. Except for the felonies. But Tock does try really hard to keep that from her.
There are, of course, also old grudges and new characters that come into this book as well as a lot of killing. A LOT of killing. Especially since Tock's grandmother. But we do finally get to know more about what happened with the Malones' father and you can definitely see the beginning of how Laurenston will be able to wrap up this arc in the last book.

Four and a half stars
This book comes out November 8, 2023
Honey Badger Chronicles #5
Follows Breaking Badger
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley and Kensington Books
Opinions are my own

This was a great addition to the Honey Badger Chronicles. Shelly Laurenston blasted it out of the ballpark again. I have loved all the books and their characters. The main characters in this book are Tok and Shay. I Loved meeting new badger characters like a new Van Holtz's and new Malone's. I love how Shelly brings in characters that were in previous books. While reading this the book opens up a new world within the shape of the shifter universe. There are some series and great topics brought up in this book like human trafficking, but she intermeshes it with her humor. So, it's not too hard to read about. This is an adult book being a romance and sci & fantasy, but it does not have a lot of spice, so it is safe for readers that like a more safer spice level read. I cannot rave enough about how good this book is or about the whole series as a hole so far, I would highly recommend them to anyone.
Thank you NetGalley for the Arc copy.