Tabs’ review of In a Badger Way (Honey Badger Chronicles, Book 2) by Shelley Laurenston
Paranormal Romance published by Kensington 26 Mar 19

Shelly Laurenston’s shifter romances always have me laughing my face off and that makes me a happy reader. Madcap ridiculousness is the only way to accurately describe a typical Shelly Laurenston plot and that’s exactly what she delivers here. The main characters get into a number of shenanigans, including everything from accidental destruction of a ballroom, meaningful therapy sessions, the honey-badger-shifter version of an Irish wake, elaborate karaoke routines, and way more anal gland related humor than one book really should be able to get away with. 

The second in a trilogy about three half-sisters, the story centers on youngest sister Stevie. She’s a tiger/honey-badger-hybrid, a music and science prodigy, and an anxious mess. She’s constantly being hunted by various organizations and/or governments who want to use her mind for their own purposes. When some shady scientists, possibly with a tie to Stevie’s misogynist ex-boyfriend, are found to be kidnapping hybrid shifters, she and her sisters get pulled into the fray.

The sisters were my favorite part of the first book and nothing has changed here. Eldest sister Charlie is the fiercely protective one. She’s prone to overreacting with violence whenever her sisters’ happiness or wellbeing are threatened. Middle sister Max is definitely the most sociopathic of the siblings. If she has to kill a bunch of bad guys to stop her sister from being abducted AGAIN, she damn well will. The fact that she can’t stop picking fights she always loses with the feral house cat who claimed their back yard is a running gag that never gets old for me. I love the sisters and how they always have each other’s backs in the exact ways they need.

Here’s a little sisterly love:

“Do you actually think I’d be alive if it wasn’t for you?” Max asked.

Charlie thought a moment, and replied, “Yeah, I do.”

“Yeah,” Stevie agreed. “You would have totally survived.”

“Okay.” Max raised her forefinger. “Let’s try this . . . would I have survived outside of prison, if it weren’t for you?”

“Oh, no.”

“No, no. You wouldn’t have.”

Max nodded. “Exactly.”

Shelly Laurentson’s books often skew more toward comedy than romance and that’s definitely what happens here. While there is a budding romance between Stevie and panda-shifter bodyguard Shen Li, it’s not the primary driver of the book. Shen and his laid-back approach to the insanity around him are a refreshing antidote to the otherwise non-stop hijinks. He’s calm and in control and really, really loves bamboo. In Stevie and Shen’s case, opposites really do attract.

I grinned the entire time I was reading this book. I loved seeing and visiting with familiar characters. I loved the sisterly hijinks. I can’t wait for Max’s book.

Grade: B+

Summary:

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.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series: