Elemental Mating by Milly Taiden was just okay for me. Nothing super special. A good little PNR story if you're looking for a book without a bunch of substance to get lost in for a while.

I'm afraid I'm getting a bit burnt out on paranormal romance as all of the plots are beginning to blend into one another. This book is good, but nothing out of the ordinary.

I found Elemental Mating while browsing NetGalley and was intrigued by the premise. Alpha shifter vs nerdy scientist? GIMME! Unfortunately, it wasn’t as successful as I’d hoped it would be.

Melinda Castor is a research scientist who discovered a new strand of virus that seems to give those infected supernatural powers (ESP, telekinesis, etc). Parish Hamel is an A.L.F.A. (Alpha League Federal Agency) agent and a jaguar shifter. He’s assigned to watch Melinda and keep her – and her research on the virus – safe. When Melinda is attacked and her lab broken into, both Hamel and Melinda race to find out who is after her information..and more importantly, what they want to do with it.

Since Hamel is essentially a Black Ops solider for the US government, I expected a certain level of competence from him. Sadly, he seemed like a bumbling amateur. He didn’t guard Melinda when he should have, ignored critical evidence in favor of flirting with her and, in general, put them both in danger when he could have avoided it. Melinda wasn’t much better. She constantly put herself in danger without considering the consequences. From following a wild jungle cat into the woods after dark to trusting the suspicious janitor with vital information, she didn’t often employ common sense.

Around Chapter 15 or so, a demon possession happens and Melinda is whisked off to Hell. Aside from some subtle hints here and there, it really came out of left field (both the demon possession and the trip to hell).
As much as I wanted to like this, I just couldn’t read any farther once a woman in Hell introduced herself as “The Head Harem Ho.”

This may be a case of the book just not being to my taste. I may have been looking for something a little more serious. Elemental Mating was just too campy.

DNF

I love Milly Taiden books! She does something special with shifters and is able to captivate her readers from the start. I was excited to see she was going to have a new series and once I started I knew it would quickly because one of my favorites.

Hamal was awesome! Watching him from right the mating Instincts was funny but at the same time, he's protective nature was amazing to see. I loved his personality.

Melinda was headstrong, and very smart. I'm not sure this author knows how to write a week heroine. It's a very good thing in my book. You could see her live for her job, and I love that.

The plot was interesting. I will say that some of it confused me with the whole viruses and it trying to understand the different things, but the author did a good job at outing in layman terms. It was fascinating to see not only working inside the lab, finding out the results, but I love the mice!!! Once you read the book, you will understand why. Towards the end, we get a whole new setting that blew me away. I would love to see more about it!

Overall Milly has done it again. She makes not only the settings seem so erotic, but each character has they one unique characteristics. I can't see where the author is going to take the rest of this series and the other characters. I wish we had gotten a chance to really meet them, so that we could anticipate their books, but I'm still excited! 4 Stars

This was a super fun sexy shirfter read that was non stop from the very start. I love a Mates-at-first-sight type of book. I feel like they are full of need and I love the angst that seems to come with them.


A brilliant, headstrong, and wonderfully sassy scientist, and the man sent to protect her under the guise of being from the CDC. From he very tart I loved the tension between these two. Hamel was smart, alpha, and still a bit goofy. I loved that he tripped over himself for Melinda but truly just wanted to protect her and to things the right way.

Then there was Melinda. She WANTED this man like no other, but she has no idea he isn’t who he says he is, or thats he is a shorter and her mate.

ALL THE SECRETS. It was fun. Throw in a demon plot and a virus that could change the world as we know it and things for messy fast.

In the end Melinda had her SMH moments, but I got the ending I was hoping for and the answers I wanted came out.

Milly was a fun author. I loved how she gave us dual POV for some chapters and gave us the depth of insight into other secondary characters. She has a real talent for setting her plot up for success without being too transparent. I can’t wait to read more from her.

3.5 stars - I'm on the fence with this one. I like the strong female lead and the beginning of the book has some witty parts, but as the book goes on it veered off and left me questioning the characters & story.

I couldn't get into this book. I wasn't a fan of the heroine, Melinda. I couldn't relate to her. I wasn't too fond of Parish either. He went undercover as a scientist, but couldn't keep up the guise because he didn't have that level of education. I know it's a small thing, but it took me out of the story and the plot just wasn't keeping my interest. I'm going to try the second book to see if I have better luck.

Overall, this was an enjoyable book with a good plot line. I think it could have been even better. The main lead at the start is awesome. Some of her decisions and thought process annoy me at times but I guess that could be a good thing. Love the start of the story and the quick pace. I do say give this a try if you want a quick read.

In this fast-paced paranormal romance, the reader will quickly see the author's' creative genius as she weaves an exciting story around the Zika virus and the unusual anomalies it creates. Her portrayal of Melinda as a klutzy extraordinary scientist is done to perfection allowing some humorous scenes that will cause the reader to laugh. This part of her personality takes the could be boring scientist and gives her an adorable quirk.

Parts of the story involving jaguar-shifter Agent Parish Hamel at times felt too plain for his larger than life personality but those instances are rare because this man knows how to be in charge and get what he wants. It is quite adorable how he forces himself to be patient, focus on his mate's welfare and not try to bulldoze her into accepting him.

Additionally, secondary characters such as Sefu, Lamozierus, and Cuzork expand on the mysticism and danger in this story creating a very exciting plot that will keep the reader mesmerized to the very last page.

I give this 4.5 stars for the author's superb manner of keeping the forward movement of the story intricate, exciting and smoking hot.

I was so disappointed by the second half of this book that I only kept reading out of disbelief that a book with such a promising start had taken such a weird turn for the terrible. ELEMENTAL MATING began with an intelligent protagonist, living in Africa, doing her thing. By the end of the book she had not used her brains or her photographic memory in about a hundred pages.

The author made a strange decision to go from a hyper-scientific story with surprise magical elements to a fully magical story with no basis in science at all. I don’t know why the story couldn’t be as exciting in the human world. When the characters end up in a dimension where they can basically wish their troubles away, It just feels like lazy writing.

I was thrilled by the first part of the book, and it’s hard for a book to burn through so much goodwill that quickly. Add to that the “communal dream space” that mates share, and I was totally turned off this book. A brilliant premise and a brilliant heroine, dashed against the clichés of alpha males and “it was all a dream”.

Fabulous start to a series, Elemental Mating is the book 1 in the A.L.F.A. series. Parish Hamel is a member of the Alpha League Federal Agency. A jaguar shifter Hamel is tasked with protecting the brilliant scientist Melinda Caster. The chemistry is hot the mating call hotter but will the danger cost them everything. I look forward to reading more of this series

As a fan of shifter novels, I'm always on the look out for new books & authors that will fill that paranormal craving and Elemental Mating's blurb interested me from the start. Maybe because of my obsession, and having the bar high because of that, Elemental Mating fell short for me. I couldn't connect with the characters or feel the natural rhythm of the story. I was very much aware of what was being told to me rather than falling into it and becoming a part of it. I'm disappointed because I really wanted to love it, but I can see where others will really adore it. Maybe I had an off week, but I'll definitely give Milly another try in the future.

Just when I start to think it’s too difficult to find a good shifter romance series that brings back those feelings I used to have when reading these years back, here comes Milly Taiden with the A.L.F.A. series. And I’m so glad for that! Light, fun and sexy shifters, yes please.

ELEMENTAL MATING is a classic fated mates story with “some” military elements. The hero, Hamel, is a jaguar shifter (OMG MY FAVE!) and part of the ALFA team. Think CIA but for the paranormal. His mission is to protect a known scientist working in Uganda that has found a new virus strain. When he meets her for the first time, his jaguar recognizes her as his mate immediately. But he still has a job to do to protect her and figure out who is after her, her research and why.

The premise here really worked for me. I am a big fan of jaguar shifters and the author used the animal side of the hero really well. Cuddly and cute while also growly sexual. This is definitely a more character than plot driven story and we don’t get a whole lot of world building in it. The main focus are the two main characters and luckily I was so on board with both of them. The heroine is super smart, the virus issue was also interesting, and I can’t wait to find out more about the ALFA team in general since we don’t get much of it in this one.

There is also a deviation from a straight up shifter world here including some magic and demons. I’m not so sure this was done to my liking necessarily and this was where I lost some of my interest. But it was still entertaining and I’m happy that this will be a more complete paranormal world.

If you’ve read Vivian Arend’s Tahkini and Granite Lakes series, then you’ll definitely enjoy this one as well. I can’t wait to see the overall world building develop more in the next one.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/review/B06XVQZSS7/R3F4UJGIOP8MOE?ref_=glimp_1rv_cl

Awesome book!!! Loved reading it, it was suspenseful and sexy hot at perfect levels!!

From the moment I saw the cover of Elemental Mating I knew I wanted to read it. I've never before read Milly Taiden but that fact didn't deter me. In fact, it was a plus. I love trying new authors.

Some I love, some I don't, and some, I find so-so.

Elemental Mating turned out to be a so-so for me. After looking so forward to read it I was a bit disappointed in it. I think for me it was the writing. I'm not saying it was bad, just not for me. I tried and tried to love it but I just couldn't.

In the end I read it, but couldn't wait to finish. I did love the idea of the book and the characters, Melinda & Parish are both very likable. You wanted to know their story. I just had trouble getting through it.

And as I said, the idea of the story is a good one, though the main characters actions weren't always what I thought as of smart. Don't get me wrong, if everything went perfect in a romance book it would be a very boring store, but who wants to wonder about the characters intelligence?

I do feel that even though it wasn't my cup of tea that it's worth trying.

Elemental Mating is a quirky, light read that mixes humor, heat, and shifters! I loved that Melinda is a smart, independent woman who is driven in her career area. I also loved that Hamel wasn't the brightest tool in the shed, but he had to fake it in order to protect her.

Hamel knows right away that Melinda is his mate, but he can't say anything because he is on the job. Melinda is attracted to him (you get some insights into her thoughts about his hotness!) but just assumes its a simple attraction. Hamel knows its more. Melinda has discovered a strain of a virus that gives animals an extra sensory power of sorts. Hamel is suppose to be there to help her (he has NO idea what he is doing when it comes to the science stuff Melinda is working on). Really, he is there to keep her safe. As Melinda starts to realize the monumental impact of what she has discovered, she is under attack. Her lab and her home are ransacked but she has managed to keep the virus serum safe (mostly because she is a bit of a scatter brain who doesn't label anything correctly).

Elemental Mating is odd, off the wall, and enjoyable as long are you are looking for a book that is serious and filled with hidden meaning and depth. Light and fun is the name of the game for this book, with some steam thrown in for good measure (and because its romance!). I enjoyed both Hamel and Melinda. While I am usually not a fan of the 'inner monologue' when used in a 3rd person story, it worked in Elemental Mating because its such a wacky story.

Fated mates, jaguar shifters, strange viruses, and steamy dream sex all combine in Elemental Mating as we meet the first couple of the A.L.F.A. world!

My first book by this author whose name I've frequently seen pop up and I'm a little on the fence with this one I'm afraid. I really liked that Melinda is a bright scientist doing a job that's really important and not just an average girl on the street. It meant that she could talk about things to Parish that totally confused him which added greatly to the sense of fun. Melinda has discovered something that on paper shouldn't be that dangerous to mankind but this story went in a completely unexpected direction that for this reader just felt a little too far.
This story right from the beginning is told in a way that it's obvious the author wanted her characters to be light and feel approachable although at times I struggled to reconcile the two sides of Melinda , dedicated scientist and horny woman! Parish shifts into a jaguar but the text kept referring to him as a transformer which with recent film offerings meant I had a difficult time not thinking about machines! There is instant chemistry between Melinda and Parish as she's his mate but no instant love as they connect a lot through dreams which meant the actual romance in the physical world didn't seem terribly rushed. I liked the ideas, the setting but I wanted to know more about the organisation Parish works for. Plus as the first in this series I'd hoped that other characters would be introduced so I'd at least have an idea what might happen next. My first book by this author and I think if she hadn't included demons that felt farcical I would have enjoyed it more.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are my honest and I believe fair opinion

In my opinion, this is probably my favorite book by Ms. Taiden yet! A scientist, a jaguar shifter, and a virus someone or something is willing to kill for. To me that sums it up. There was so much action that I was on the edge of my seat reading this book. Yeah the sex scenes were hot, but the action and mystery are what made me fall in love with this book.
Melinda is a scientist who had discovered a virus, one that causes her to need a bodyguard that she doesn't need to know is there as a bodyguard. In walks Parish Hamel, jaguar shifter, A.L.P.A. agent, and pretend doctor. One sniff and, oh hell, he knows that she is his mate. This assignment just got a little more important to him.
I loved the interaction between these two. The situations they get involved in and that Hamel needs to get out of.