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.

Elemental Mating by Millie Taiden is the first book in her new A.L.F.A. series.  I had mixed feelings about this book, which I will go into detail later in this review.

Melinda Caster, our heroine, is a scientist who is working in Uganda.  She has discovered a virus and a possible antidote.  Parish Hamel, our hero, arrives on the scene a short time after Melinda discovers how the effect of this serum acts on mice. It turns out Hamel is a government agent for A.L.F.A (Alpha League Federal Agency), and he is a Jaguar shifter.  Hamel has been assigned to protect Melinda, though she does not know this, and is told he is another scientist interested in her findings.  

It seems this virus does not kill, but instead increases their ability beyond that of normal humans.  Someone has been tracking Melinda, and looking for the virus; as both her house and workplace were destroyed.  A few times, Melinda finds herself saved by a lone Jaguar, which shocks her, but she begins to look at the Jaguar as her savior.  Of course, it will be much later when she finds out that Hamel is the Jaguar.  Hamel recognizes early on that Melinda is his mate.

This was a very promising story, with some excitement, demons, and a couple that had a lot of sexual chemistry together.  However, despite this, my mixed feelings brought this down at least a star.  I know this was also meant to add humor into the story, but I felt some of it was way too amateurish.  When they both ended up in the Demon realm, it was totally off the wall for me,  being more on the silly (weird) side.  

That being said, Elemental Mating had an interesting and exciting theme, and a sexy couple.  I will try out the next book to see if my mixed feelings change.  If you enjoy a shifter storyline, with this type of humor, then you should give Elemental Mating a try.

Unfortunately, this is a DNF for me. The storyline was very uneven, unbelievable. Which is disappointing as I'm a very big Milly Taiden fan.

I am pushing this to 3 stars due to the author.
I love Ms Taidens’ Paranormal Dating Agency series for its quirky humour, feisty heroines and hot alpha men, so I was looking forward to this new series thinking it would be on the same lines. I know one shouldn’t expect similar but that is Ms Taidens type of writing style.
However, it didn't grab my attention after the first third and I found it very easy to put down and go do something else.
An interesting tale but it didn't grab me and rush me along on the ride like usual.
Hamel and Melinda had good chemistry right from the first contact, being a shifter romance I expected this on Hamels side, we definitely had some insta-lust from the start but Mel’s attitude further into the story because of a past hurt was over the top.
Mel being a scientist, does not believe in anything she cannot prove so when this story goes way into woo woo land I found it funny she coped better than one would have expected.
Hamel is undercover to protect Mel from unknown threats, to find Mel is his mate is wrong timing but I did love him trying to pretend to be a smart scientist, totally out of his comfort zone.
Once the story took a whole other turn into the demon realm it just didn't work for me. I found it hard to follow myself as to what was real and what was dream.
This is where I really lost interest and had to force myself to finish the book.
I must admit that once in the demon realm it lost what little enjoyment I had found up till then.
We didn't meet any of Hamel's A.L.F.A. agency cohorts, and we only met his boss via phone calls. So, there wasn't anyone introduced to set us up for the next book in the series.
If I didn't know better, I would not believe this author had written this. Just too stupid for me towards the end. It won't stop me from reading this author in the future, but I'm not sure if I'd read more from this series. 
This is my honest review of this book.

Interesting plot with likeable characters but not really my cuppa.

I'm into paranormal and shape-shifting but this book went way beyond into a whole new world of bizarre. First 75% wasn't bad but then the story got out of hand. Author threw in too many fantasy elements that it only served to disappoint this reader.

This was a fun read, great for the beach, fairly interesting story line, I'd take it on vacation.

From the very first line I could tell I would love this book and I did. It had everything I was looking for in a gripping PNR book. Mystery, Comedy, good banter and a little of hot and steamy romance entwined. I was so engrossed that I started reading and 5 hours later I was more than halfway done and still loving it. Until I got the next chapter...To say the story took a dramatic turn would be mild. The story started in and had such a si-fi element to the point I got lost. I had to make sure I didn't accidentally get another book mixed up with this one while i was reading. The whole shift and feel of the book threw me off and was for the rest of the book, which I could see if it was for only one or two chapters but noooo,  so much that i completely lost interest and had to make myself finish it.  rating on the first 60% IS 100 % 5 STARS.. the other 40 is a solid 3

Fantastic story with a well written mix of drama, intrigue, fantasy, humor and romance.  My first book from this author and I am looking forward to reading more by her.

Wow, just wow!! This new series is going to be freaking amazing if the first book is any sort of indication. Melinda works in Uganda as a scientist identifying new diseases and looking for cures. She is currently working with an unknown virus that seems to significantly increase brain mass and its capabilities. Hamel is a jaguar shifter and has been sent to Uganda to protect Melinda based on rumors of some dangerous parties wanting their hands on the serum she is working with. Who it is that wants it, why they want it and what do they think it will do for them is all unknown, all Hamel knows is that he has found his mate. Ecstatic to have finally found his mate, the timing is terrible, Hamel is undercover to protect Melinda and can't reveal anything to her until the threat has been neutralized. Melinda's character was great, she's a clumsy scientist and I found that to be a lovely bit of irony. She does things a normal person would never even think to do, like get so excited to get a picture of a jaguar, she walks out into the woods by her house saying her kitty, kitty lol. Definitely needs a keeper and Hamel is just the sexy jaguar to do it. Hamel literally lays his life on the line for Melinda more then once to keep her safe, I think that is the ultimate act of love. I can't wait to read the next books in the series!!!!!!

I really like Milly Taiden's Paranormal Dating Agency series, so I was looking forward to this new series. However, it didn't grab me nearly as well as PDA did. 

Melinda Caster is a scientist working in Uganda on a previously undiscovered virus. It doesn't kill people, instead it seems to give extra cognitive abilities. She's been researching the effects, and trying to come up with some hard facts. That's what she respects, hard facts. She doesn't believe what she can't see. A lot of that is linked to her childhood, and her zealot parents always using their religion as a weapon against her. She left at 18 and never looked back. She doesn't have a good track record with men either. She worked for the CDC until she was betrayed by a former lover who took credit for her work. She'll never make that mistake again. 

Parish Hamel is an agent for the A.L.F.A. squad, a federal agency co-op between the American government and shifters. He's a jaguar shifter, and he's been sent to Uganda to watch over Melinda, and find out the details about this virus. He's undercover as a doctor. He knows as soon as he sees Mel that she's his mate. But, she's a scientist and has no idea shifters even exist. How can he explain it all to her where she won't think he's insane?

Hamel and Mel had good chemistry, but I had a bit of a hard time caring about them as a couple. Mostly, I think, because I just wasn't that into Melinda as a character. For an apparently brilliant scientist, she had quite a few TSTL (Too Stupid to Live) moments. She wasn't irredeemable by any means, I just wasn't a huge fan. Meanwhile, Hamel had multiple opportunities to tell Mel the truth about who he was, what he was, and why he was there, but didn't take them. Technically, he was undercover, so he wasn't supposed to tell her, but as his mate, he could have made an exception. That all could've been only slightly problematic, but then, the story took a whole other turn I didn't see coming, and it just didn't work for me. It caught me a little off guard, and I wasn't a big fan of that part of the story line. I can't say anything more about that without spoilers, so I'll leave it there. 

The main characters definitely had some insta-lust, and due to the mating situation, insta-love as well, especially on Hamel's side. I have no problem with that at all, in fact I love it. I actually expect it at this point in a shifter romance. I liked the banter between them, and their interactions were mostly fun and sexy, especially in their dreams! Due to the setting, we didn't get to meet any of Hamel's agency cohorts, and we only met his boss via phone calls. So, there wasn't much ability to set up the next book in the series with side characters we'd like to see more of. 

Overall, this book was just ok for me. It won't stop me from reading the author in the future, but I'm not sure if I'd read more from this series.

Not one of my favorites.  I think the part that bothers me most about the story is when they end up in the Demon realm.  The Demon King doesn't seem particularly smart or particularly scary.

This is the second book by Milly Taiden that I've read and I have to say that she is an wonderful author, This was an amazing book. The movie references made me laugh and added to the book appeal. The pace was wonderfully set and once I had started it I didn't want to put it down until I finished it. The characters were well developed and the plot well written. I can't wait to see what else this author comes up with.

This book is the Milly Taiden I fell in love with years ago. Funny, witty, sarcastic, hot and sexy. Mrs. Taiden has a wicked sense of humor and this book showcases it. 

The plot is multilevels and I love it! It was unique, interesting and kept me turning the pages to see what new surprise was going to be thrown at us next.

While the characters are Milly's typical alpha's they are never afraid to show their fragile side. Though when our MC claims she is rescuing herself. I did cheer quite a bit!

I can not wait to read more stories in this world.

Elemental Mating was fun and funny with a side helping of adventure. I enjoyed the mystery just as much as the romance. And I loved the witty humor. I would recommend this to anyone looking for some lighthearted romance.

Elemental Mating is the first installment of An A.L.F.A. series by Milly Taiden. 

Melinda Caster is a scientist who has discovered a new strain of the Zika virus that enhances the development of a normal human being. However, when her lab is broken into, she realizes that someone has been secretly keeping tabs on her work. Thankfully they didn’t get any information when she destroys the crucial data, but with her photographic memory, she now has a target on her head. 

A.L.F.A sends out Agent Parish Hamel a jaguar-shifter to protect Melinda while finding out the basic information of what and why someone wants this virus. But when this Parish meets Melinda, his animal can’t help, especially when she suddenly disappears. Now he’s racing against the clock to find his mate and claim her before anything else happens. 

But what happens when his worst nightmare becomes reality? 

Whoo. Elemental Mating is exactly the kind of shifter book I want to read. There’s an amazing amount of action, sexual tension and who doesn’t like a good chase? There is some serious cat and mouse going on between Parish and Melinda. In addition, I love that Melinda is a sassy lady because her remakes had me giggling throughout the story. This couple was the purrfect combination when it comes down to chemistry.

I highly recommend for those who enjoy shifter novels.

That was different.  What a ride!
I enjoyed but didn't love.  This is one of those books that I was fully engrossed while reading, but when I put it down- I didn't think on it.  
Great story though
This book had: demons, witch doctors, a sexy shifter, a scientist, and crazy dreams.
Full of suspense for sure.  You never knew what the hell what about to happen!!!

*I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review