Breaking Badger (Honey Badger Chronicles 4) by Shelly Laurenston-dual review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 31, 2021

It’s instinct that drives Finn Malone to rescue a bunch of hard battling honey badgers. The Siberian tiger shifter just can’t bear to see his fellow shifters harmed. But no way can Finn have a houseful of honey badgers when he also has two brothers with no patience. Things just go from bad to worse when the badgers rudely ejected from his home turn out to be the only ones who can help him solve a family tragedy. He’s just not sure he can even get back into the badgers’ good graces. Since badgers lack graces of any kind . . .

Mads knows her teammates aren’t about to forgive the cats that were so rude to them, but moody Finn isn’t so bad. And he’s cute! The badger part of her understands Finn’s burning need to avenge his father’s death—after all, vengeance is her favorite pastime. So Mads sets about helping Finn settle his family’s score, which has its perks, since she gets to avoid her own family drama. Besides, fighting side by side with Finn is her kind of fun—especially when she can get in a hot and heavy snuggle with her very own growling, eye-rolling, and utterly irresistible kitty-cat .

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Sandy’s Review

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.

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Barb’s Review:
Breaking Badger by Shelly Laurenston is the 4^th book in her wonderful Honey Badger Chronicles series. After reading the first three books in this series focusing on the three sisters, I was thrilled to see that Laurenston was giving us more Honey Badgers, and so much more from Charlie, Max and Stevie.  I love love this series, which is so much fun to read.  As I have said before, no one gives us such great stories, with so much laughter from start finish. As always, thank you  Shelly Laurenston for another fantastic addition to this series, and I hope you continue with more.

Breaking Badger centers on Finn Malone, our hero, who along with his Siberian Tiger brothers and sister, are determined to find out who killed their father.  Mads Galendotter, our heroine, loves basketball and her teammates, who are mostly honey badgers, which includes our wild crazy, Max; they have been together since they were kids, with Mads being the leader of the basketball team. Though the background romance is Finn and Mads, the McKilligan sisters (Charlie, Max, Stevie), their teammates, as well as the Malone family play major parts throughout the story. 

The Malone’s get off on the wrong foot with the honey badgers, especially with Max bringing them Danishes to thank them for helping during a fight; and one of the brothers rudely kicks them out.  Max is fit to be tied (which is dangerous at all times), but it is Charlie who will convince Max, Mads and the girls to help the Malones find information.  Along the way, Finn begins to become attracted to Mads, and even though she doesn’t appear to be interested, it is her funny and crazy teammates who push her toward Finn.  A slow build romance will begin, and I really did like them together.  I also loved how Charlie and the McKillgans treated Mads like their own family, since hers were awful to her all her life, even to the point of hurting her.  It was so much fun to watch the tigers slowly accept the honey badgers and how great they were together.  They are an amazing group that are wild, scary and insane, but hysterically funny; and loved how close they were.  Charlie was amazing in this story, since she always has an uncanny ability to take control of any situation, with everyone frightened of her.     

What follows is an exciting adventure that was also fun-filled, with wild & crazy action, a fantastic group of characters, and so much laughter throughout. When it comes to fun, wild crazy antics, hysterical and exciting, no one does it better than Laurenston.  Telling too much more would be spoilers, and this is the kind of story that needs to be read and fully enjoyed. 

Breaking Badger was another fun, hilarious story, with great characters, sweet romance, action, suspense and so much laughter.  I cannot wait for the next book.   If you have not read Shelly Laurenston, you are missing an author that always gives us fantastic stories, who should not be missed. 

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
Hot and Badgered
In A Badger Way
Badger to the Bone