Breaking Badger: A Hilarious Shifter Romance

Two and a half stars. Finn and his two brothers are known as the Black Malones, Siberian tiger shifters, they are bigger and badder even than their ne'er do well relatives the Malones who are into everything slightly dodgy. Finn can't help but rescue a group of honey badgers led into a trap on an island off New York, but a total misunderstanding makes them mortal enemies, which is a shame because the honey badgers might be the only people who can help him solve the mystery of his father's murder. Mads is half hyena and half honey badger and 100% viking. Obsessed with basketball she is estranged from her hyena family. Mads and Finn might be the only sane ones in their respective families, but can they hold the warring factions apart long enough to find out the truth about Finn's father? I've been honest that I haven't enjoyed the Honey Badger Chronicles very much but I liked this the least of the four. Honestly for about a quarter of the book I had no idea who the 'happy couple' were going to be because this was such an ensemble piece it could have been any of the honey badgers and any of the Malone brothers. This just felt like Shelly Laurenston has got to a point where she has such a long list of 'features' that she needs to put in each book (eg Max being crazy, Stevie being a genius, Charlie baking for the bears etc, etc, etc) and well-loved characters like Dee-Ann Smith, that the plot got totally overwhelmed. In fact, I finished the book two minutes ago and I would struggle to give you a coherent summary of the plot, not even sure there was one TBH. Overall, I've said it before but I think I really mean it this time, no more honey badgers for me. I don't like them and it just makes me irritable reading them. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

4.25 stars--BREAKING BADGER is the fourth 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 Mads Galendotter, and professional football player / Siberian tiger shifter Finn Malone’s storyline BREAKING BADGER can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous instalments is revealed where necessary but I recommend reading the series in order for back story and cohesion as it pertains to the MacKilligan sisters and family. Told from third person perspective including Mads and Finn, BREAKING BADGER follows several paths including the building relationship between Mads and Finn. Finn Malone, and his brothers Keane and Shay are desperate to find the person(s) who ordered the kill and murdered their father, a father who appears to have been abandoned by the controlling Katzenhaus, and his extended family. With the help of the strange group of honey badger shifters Mads, Nelle, Streep and Tock, whom they met during an op that went all to h*ll, the Malone brothers begin a search for the truth but not before discovering the over the top lifestyle and existence of honey badger shifters. To thank the tigers for saving their lives, the honey badgers offer a token of appreciation that is immediately denied, and with it begins the acrimonious relationship between the tigers and the honey badgers. But as Finn begins to dig deeper into their father’s death, they make themselves targets of a powerful group, who may or may not be connected to the people in charge. Meanwhile Mads and her ‘teammates’ prepare to do battle both on and off the court. Hoping to make the basketball playoffs, the shifters, once again, find themselves targeted when Mads’ extended family accuse our heroine of theft of a priceless family artefact. Mads knows she is going to have to face the family that continue to destroy her life but never expected the help from the new family she has come to love. Again, Shelly Laurenston pulls the reader into an ongoing war between shifter species, discrimination, the fight for power, and the numerous secrets ops groups that control and regulate the shifter community. The level of violence continues to escalate in both human and animal form; there is no forgiveness or sympathy in a world where one is more animal than human. As per Laurenston’s style, the humor and snark between characters is front and center in the dysfunctional family units that are often beyond repair but the bonds of friendship usually make up for years of questionable upbringing. BREAKING BADGER begins a new story line arc, and introduces the reader to a new cast of characters: Mads teammates and friends Nelle, Emily aka Tock, Cass aka Streep; Finn’s brothers Keane and Shay, sister Natalie, youngest brother Dale, and mother Lisa Malone, as well as the Yun mob family. Several familiar faces return for cohesion including honey badgers Max, Charlie and Stevie MacKilligan, Dee-Ann Smith, Niles Van Holtz, Finn’s cousin Cella Malone, bears Berg, Dag and Britta, Panda Shen, Jaguar ZeZe, Lou Cruschek, Dez MacDermott Katzenhaus, The Group, and a cameo appearance by one lion shifter with a thing for his hair, and a feisty wolf dog on roller blades. BREAKING BADGER follows several paths including the slow building relationship between Finn and Mads. Secondary to the storyline premise, the romance is more of an after thought around the 75% mark, a romance that feels like a friends with benefits relationship more than anything else. The fast paced and often frenetic premise is intense, twisted and entertaining; the characters are fun, familiar and sassy.

What an absolute blast to read! I’ve never laughed out loud so much or so hard. Except when reading the other books in this series. This author excels at creating characters that are unique, engaging, and always quirky and weird in their own ways. While this is light on the romance, I never missed it as I was so entertained by all the antics this motley group gets into. Even so, it does center more on Finn and Mads and there are some steamy moments before the end giving a slow burn to this story. I highly recommend this one if you’re looking for something to pull you out of the doldrums or want a fun, action driven read.