Review of In a Badger Way (Honey Badger Chronicles #2) by Shelly Laurenston
In a Badger Way is the second book in the Honey Badger Chronicles.
Stevie MacKilligan, a resilient hybrid honey badger-tiger shifter, is not bodyguard and giant panda shifter Shen Li's usual pick. She's brilliant, sweet, a little nuts, and turns into a deadly twenty-foot tiger-striped badger when she shifts. Being around her is an absorbing occupation to keep her from panicking, and she's more than a little neurotic.
She also won't stop hugging Shen and telling him he's "so cute!" He's a tough bodyguard, not a cuddle toy! When she informs him he's her boyfriend, he fights her a little, then just rolls with it, as he rolls with whatever mess Stevie accidentally finds herself in or causes. He's patient with her as she slowly grows on him.
Then she goes undercover to stop experimentation on hybrid shifters, and he knows he needs to stay close. Especially since she becomes more adorable by the day.
This book was even funnier than the first and had me laughing out loud as I read.
Stevie's panicking and neuroses were hilarious even as I felt bad for her. Her tendency to yell "bears!" whenever she was around them was funny, especially since it would startle them and they'd leave.
The book has many POVs, and thankfully Shelly Laurentston added breaks in between all the switches so the reader wouldn't get confused, even when the next POV was a continuation of the same scene. I don't like when the narrative suddenly shifts POV without warning. I find it jarring and confusing.
The characters were well developed and detailed with plenty of quirks, especially for Stevie, and she wrote habits of giant pandas into Shen's personality. Like his propensity to be easily amused, constantly munching on bamboo he carries in duffel bags, and his insatiable sexual appetite. He wasn't as developed as Stevie, but her quirks, neuroses, panic triggers, and coping mechanisms were plenty to fill out the book.
Sex in the book came later than in Hot and Badgered, but was steamier and more frequent. It was well mapped, just like all the other action sequences in the book. The instance where Stevie panic shifts and nearly destroys a house was both shocking and hilarious.
Descriptions were wonderful, both of location and characters. I had a good picture of where I was and what I was looking at on every page, even locations only visited briefly. It was better than in Hot and Badgered, and the quirks of the animals were written into the shifters better, like the bears' habits of roaming at night, Shen's bamboo obsession, and the time two bears accidentally destroyed a car because it smelled like a sandwich and they wanted to see if there was anything left.
Dialog was excellent, smooth and realistic. There was no cheese that I noticed, and what was said had me laughing. Shelly Laurenston's writing contains some of the best dialog I've come across in quite a while.
The plot was full of twists and turns with surprises around every corner. It was laugh-out-loud funny and filled with comedy gold. It's not often I come across comedic writing that feels this effortless. I wish my library had more of her books since she wrote several other series in this same world.
Overall, this book was a gem in a great series that I wish was longer. Only one more book to go, and I can't wait.
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