Title: Badger to the Bone
Series: Honey Badger Chronicles #3
Author: Shelly Laurenston (Narrator: Charlotte Kane)
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Release Date: March 31, 2020
Format: Audiobook
Pages: 12 hours and 55 minutes
Source: Bought

 

 

Badger to the Bone is book three in the Honey Badger Chronicles by Shelly Laurenston and narrated by Charlotte Kane.

 

I had a blast with the audiobook. I smiled a lot. Laurenston, weather writing as Akin or Laurenston; always makes me smile and feel good. I know when I pick up one of her books I’m in for a good time.

 

As always the books are full of humor, quirkiness, action and entertainment. This was no exception! We still get that fun loving feel and silly humor plus some suspense and mystery added to it. 

 

The downside to this one is that there is so much happening. The author brought back a lot of old characters from her Pride and Magnus Pack series to make appearances. I love revisiting older characters and having them worked into the story, but it was too much. It was just too many appearances and this ties into the POV issue. We get so many POV switches that it threw me. Even with the audio it took me moment to realize we where moving onto another character. 

 

Besides the old characters we also meet a number of new characters like Max’s basketball team who are all honey badgers. This leads me to believe the author might be giving them stories of their own. 

 

As for the romance. Nothing stood out to me. It was quick and almost rushed. I can’t really say they had a romance. It was some smiles and flirting; here and there. 

 

I will say I like Max. She’s a fun honey badger and then we get to meet ZeZé Vargas a character that doesn’t know he’s a shifter. I liked how they first meet up. It was fun! I also liked that Max took him home and helped him figure things out. 

 

Narration: Charlotte Kane did a great job on ALL the voice. As I said so many past characters came into the story that she had a lot of voices to do. They were distinct. The audio also helped to move the story along since we jump around so much in character POV’s, which slowed the pace down, and so having the narration deal with that, moved it along. 

 

Badger to the Bone was another fun listen in the Honey Badger Chronicles. I liked the audio and would recommend this series in audiobook formate. 

 

Rated: 3.5 Stars

 

Was this review helpful? If so, please consider liking it on Goodreads (Angela)!

 

Challenge(s):

 

• 2020 Audiobook 
• 2020 New Release

 

 Badger To The Bone By Shelley Laurenston Audiobook Excerpt

 

 
 


 

 

Angela

I was born and raised in Northern Indiana. I’m an outdoor sun loving reader living near San Fransisco. I’m a mother, wife, dog owner, animal, and book lover. I’m the owner, reviewer, and mind behind Angel’s Guilty Pleasures. My favorite animals are horses & dogs. As for reading I love all things paranormal & urban fantasy. My favorite shifters are dragons!

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

3.25 stars - Reviewed for Wit and Sin

Return to the weird and wonderful world of Shelly Laurenston’s Honey Badgers Chronicles with Badger to the Bone. Max’s book is a rip-roarin’ ride that’s a whole lot of fun, even though there are a lot of missed opportunities.

Badger to the Bone is Max’s story and for those who have read Hot and Badgered and In a Badger Way (which I recommend doing before reading this book) Max was the borderline sociopath MacKilligan sister. I was curious how Ms. Laurenston would turn her into a heroine without doing a character lobotomy. The answer is a bit of a mixed bag. Max is still deadly and full of attitude, but she’s no sociopath. She has previously unknown deep and longstanding friendships beyond her sisters and her best friend Dutch. She’s also far more stable and if not well-adjusted, then the closest approximation you’d find in this world. Because I’ve read the previous two Honey Badger books I found the lack of consistency in her character jarring, as Max didn’t so much grow as a character or reveal hidden layers as suddenly have those layers appear because it suited the story. In terms of storytelling, it felt like some shortcuts were taken. But that doesn’t mean I disliked Max – far from it. She’s violent and crazy, but also fun and caring.

A mad MacKilligan needs an unflappable hero, and ZeZé Vargas was a delicious one. Zé has no idea he’s a shifter at the beginning of the book so watching him discover this part of himself he never knew was a delight. Zé is so catlike it was hilarious and I can’t count the number of times he made me laugh. I really liked Zé and Max together, but their romance did feel at first underplayed and then rushed. I wish it had developed more organically. I also wish Zé had played a bigger role in the events of the story, but he was mostly an observer which was a pity.

There are a number of plots to be tied up in Badger to the Bone and a host of familiar faces from both this series and the Pride series show up to play a part. I can’t say much without spoiling things, but I did enjoy watching everything come together. If I had one issue it was that Max and Zé were distanced from many resolutions, which was a bit frustrating. I wanted them to be more important to their own story than they were.

Badger to the Bone is a difficult book to put a star rating on. There were so many missed opportunities that I am saddened by. However, I had a genuinely wonderful time reading this book. It was fast-paced, funny, and totally bonkers – I loved reading it. Ultimately this book is like cotton candy: thoroughly enjoyable but missing substance. But hey, who doesn’t like cotton candy once in a while?


FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Petite, kind, brilliant, and young, Stevie is nothing like the usual women bodyguard Shen Li is interested in. Even more surprising, the youngest of the lethal, ball-busting, and beautiful MacKilligan sisters is terrified of bears. But she’s not terrified of pandas. She loves pandas. Which means that whether Shen wants her to or not, she simply won’t stop cuddling him. He isn’t some stuffed Giant Panda, ya know! He is a Giant Panda shifter. He deserves respect and personal space. Something that little hybrid is completely ignoring. But Stevie has a way of finding trouble. Like going undercover to take down a scientist experimenting on other shifters. For what, Shen doesn’t want to know, but they’d better find out. And fast. Stevie might be the least violent of the honey badger sisters, but she’s the most dangerous to Shen’s peace of mind. Because she has absolutely no idea how much trouble they’re in . . . or just how damn adorable she is.

I just love this author’s books! She has the best way of writing quirky characters that I absolutely love! This book was no exception. I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend. 

**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

I was...relieved i think...that there wasn't nearly as much of the beating up of old friends. That said, there were a lot of threats that i didn't care for, and some things that were never explained. Like, why did Max kill the uncle?

The H/h were cute, although Stevie's neurosis was a bit irritating, and Shen's "I'm not your boyfriend" bit went on too long.

The side characters though... It's been a while since I read the earlier books, and while I remember *some* of the characters, it seems like there was a veritable parade of heroines past. I don't remember Kyle's parents at all. Perhaps at some point, a reread is needed.