Series: The Honey Badger Chronicles, Book 2
Publisher: Kensington
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Release Date: March 26, 2019
Source: Publisher
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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.
Buckle up, because In a Badger Way is one wild ride. It’s an energetic, outrageous, wholly unique read thanks to Shelly Laurenston’s exuberant shifters.
Stevie MacKilligan, the youngest of the three MacKilligan half-sisters, grabbed my attention in the first of the Honey Badger Chronicles, Hot and Badgered. She’s a genius and the way her mind works is fascinating, which would be enough to entertain me, but she’s also kind and caring. One of Stevie’s biggest problems is that she panic shifts into a two ton badger/tiger. Oh, and she just happens to be terrified of bears…and lives in a bear neighborhood. One type of bear who doesn’t terrify her? Pandas. They’re just so cute! And none is cuter than panda shifter Shen Li. Shen, tasked to guard Stevie’s friend and teenage prodigy Kyle, is used to geniuses and for the most part is unfazed by the MacKilligan craziness. Shen made me smile more than once. He’s protective, calm, and (yes) so cute that I could happily read about him all day (and totally wanted to see more of his panda side). A genius with an anxiety disorder and a roll-with-it panda? They’re a perfect match. I adored them together and thought they made an interesting, sweet, and sensual couple, which made it easy to become invested in their story. The one downside of In a Badger Way is that I felt like I didn’t get quite enough time with Stevie and Shen. There are so many characters and points of view that I felt parts of Stevie and Shen’s relationship development were sacrificed in favor of other plots and characters.
In a Badger Way has a lot going on, but Ms. Laurenston keeps all the balls spinning in a way that only a truly talented author can. Stevie’s personal journey and her romance with Shen were my favorite parts of the book. But there was also an intriguing plot involving someone experimenting on shifters that I would have loved to delve deeper into. Not to mention the overarching series storylines involving MacKilligan family dynamics, a truly menacing assassin, appearances from a boatload of secondary characters from Ms. Laurenston’s Pride series, and more. I haven’t yet read the Pride books, but I liked the characters I met well enough and am sure fans of that series will be thrilled to check in with some past heroes and heroines. You don’t have to have read the Pride books in order to follow along, but I do recommend reading Hot and Badgered before starting Stevie and Shen’s story.
In a Badger Way is funny, over-the-top, and highly entertaining. I loved Stevie and Shen together and I just can’t get enough of the MacKilligan sisters (I’m seriously excited to see what Ms. Laurenston has in store for Max). If you’re looking for a vibrant paranormal romance that’s out of the ordinary, you can’t go wrong with In a Badger Way.
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.
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