Beth C.
Written on Jun 4, 2019
“Hot and humorous.” —USAToday.com
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.
- ISBN10 1496714377
- ISBN13 9781496714374
- Publish Date 26 March 2019
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Kensington Publishing
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 400
- Language English
- URL https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781496714374
Reviews
Melanie
Written on Apr 8, 2019
I really love Shelly Laurenston’s stories. They are full of snark and fun characters. In this book we get to see the next McKilligan sister meet up with her man. Stevie is the baby sister. She’s also a prodigy in several fields including science and music. Her shifter shape is quite interesting and makes her sisters very protective of her.
So two of the McKilligan sisters are hybrids (Charlie and Stevie with middle sister Max being full honey badger), with their father being a honey badger. Their other half varies, as they all have different mothers. Stevie is half tiger.
Stevie also gets along really well with the Jean-Louis Parker family that we originally meet in Wolf with Benefits (Pride #8). They are a family of jackal prodigies. They are all very narcissistic and exceptional at each of their talents. It is probably because Stevie understands them, being a prodigy herself. She is more down to earth than the Jackals, probably because of her crazy sisters. Not to mention the crazy honey badger family. She also has some anxiety which has affected her career and her personal life. She’s also terrified of bears, which makes living among them difficult. There’s a great scene where she overrides her fear by screaming “BEARS!!” as she runs past them, leaving the bears to scratch their heads.
Shen Li is a panda shifter that we meet in Bite Me (Pride #9). He is working as a bodyguard for Kyle Jean-Louis Parker, who is staying at the McKilligan house. Shen is exactly what you think a panda shifter would be like. He’s constantly crunching on bamboo. He’s also very laid back and just rolls with almost anything (hence his ability to deal with Kyle, who is a pain in the rear).
I really love these Shelly Laurenston romances. They have a fun mix of romance, suspense, snark and over-the-top characters that always make me laugh. She is a go-to for a feel good story to get me out of a bad mood and this story was no different.
Narration
I’m not sure why Charlotte Kane didn’t read the first book in this series (Not that I minded Traci Odom’s narration. She did a great job too). But she’s back for this book (she also reads the entire Pride series. This series is a spinoff from that series). Charlotte does a great job with the narration. I love all the voices that she chose for each character. I think they all fit their personalities perfectly. There is a large cast with very different personalities and she handles it very well. She really brings out the humor in the series.
**I'd like to thank the publisher for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
thebookdisciple
Written on Mar 27, 2019
In a Badger Way was one of my most anticipated reads/listens of 2019. I fell in love with Hot and Badgered last year and couldn't wait to get more of the MacKilligan sisters! Stevie, the youngest sister, is bat crap crazy (literally). She has a serious panic disorder-if you startle her or stress her she turns into a 2 ton badger tiger hybrid. Charlie and Max, her sisters, are very protective of Stevie because she is brilliant and kind of a mess. I was not sure how Stevie could be the heroine. I mean, who would be able to be in a relationship with Stevie? Enter Shen.
A giant panda shifter enters a house full of bears and he is a body guard to a weasel. Nope, not the start of a joke! Shen is super chill. He is the yin to Stevie's yang for sure. He is swept into the MacKilligan chaos because he is assigned to protect Stevie's prodigy friend, Kyle.
"I like my toes. You can't be a dancer and have pretty toes. And from what Kyle has told me...you have some fucked-up hooves."
What I love about this series is how ridiculous it is! Stevie is this genius girl whose life is a total disaster in every area except science. Max is a psychopath (I mean that literally). Charlie is a compulsive worrier. They are surrounded by a slew of crazy characters and I love it all. It's just a mad cap story that is delightfully entertaining because you simply cannot fathom what will happen next. And how can you not love Shen? He is so tranquil even when things get a bit tumultuous. I also loved that Stevie gets her panic disorder under control a bit. I really felt that she would never be a good match for Shen if she was still so neurotic she couldn't function normally. His zen does help her keep from going bat crap crazy!
Gangsters soon learned the local nuns were not to be fucked with.
I adored the audio for Hot and Badgered. In a Badger Way was narrated by a different narrator. Kane was good, but it didn't quite have the same magic as Odom brought to book one. Still, a great listen that I recommend!
- POV: 3rd
- Tears: no
- Trope: shifters, opposites attract, dysfunctional family
- Triggers: none
- Series/Standalone: series
- Cliffhanger: no
- HEA: yes
The Bewitched and Bewildered series by Alanea Alder (the same level of hijinks and hilarity)...then you will probably like In a Badger Way!
See full review on The Book Disciple
annieb123
Written on Sep 14, 2018
In a Badger Way is the second book in the Honey Badger Chronicles by Shelly Laurentson. Published by Kensington Books and with an anticipated release date in late March, 2019 this teaser chapter is a sample of the novel to come.
Paranormal humour/romance readers, especially those familiar with the author's other works will be in raptures. This is fun, full of drama and some whimsy and will please its target audience. The action sequences are completely over-the-top, but it's ecapist and undemanding.
For readers unfamiliar with the earlier stories in this series or with the related characters, this might not be the best entry point; there's not a lot of background information. It would probably be better to hunt down some of the background stories before diving into this one. There are a lot of very badly written wince-worthy paranormal romances out there. This one is well written and not cringe-worthy at all.
Four stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.