Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Her Perfect Mate by Paige Tyler Narrator: Holly Adams
Series: X-Ops
Published by Tantor Audio on December 10, 2019
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Length: 8 hours, 51 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm, Barnes & Noble, Apple
He's a High-Octane Special Ops Pro
When Special Forces Captain Landon Donovan is pulled from an op in Afghanistan, he is surprised to discover he's been hand-picked for a special assignment with the Department of Covert Operations (DCO), a secret division he's never heard of. Terrorists are kidnapping biologists and he and his partner have to stop them. But his new partner is a beautiful, sexy woman who looks like she couldn't hurt a fly-never mind take down a terrorist.She's Not Your Average Covert Operative
Ivy Halliwell is no kitten. She's a feline shifter, and more dangerous than she looks. She's worked with a string of hotheaded military guys who've underestimated her special skills in the past. But when she's partnered with special agent Donovan, a man sexy enough to make any girl purr, things begin to heat up...
I’ve always wanted to read this author so when they started releasing these on audio I requested it for review. The X-Ops series is what I classify as PNR where there is a new couple in each book.
The shifters do not change completely. Their eyes change color and they may grow claws. They always have more strength, better hearing, healing and sense of smell than humans. They are born into human families and have just slight genetic differences. Ivy had a great grandmother who was a shifter but her parents are not shifters.
Ivy works for a government covert group which does black ops- the DCO. She worked previously at the FBI but wanted more action than desk work. Her previous partners wouldn’t work with her or trust her special skills. But now she has a partner secure enough in his own skills to work with her.
Landon came from covert special forces team. He went into the military to escape a horrible family situation and to hopefully help finance his education. He was leader of his team, and they are all close. Initially, he wasn’t thrilled with his new assignment with the DCO but quickly makes a good partnership with Ivy.
I loved their missions and the action. Gathering information and doing surveillance, as well as protection work and taking out bad guys was all fun. The mystery of figuring out what the main bad guy was doing and where he was taking the kidnapped scientists was a good story.
The romance in Her Perfect Mate was a bit less appealing. It wasn’t insta-love, more like insta-lust, but then with the life or death style of their work, it quickly became a clear connection. I felt it happened a bit too quickly but this type of suspense situation tends to produce high emotions. There was also a bit of a love triangle with another guy interested in Ivy. Audible classifies it as erotica and there were definitely some smoking sexy times.
Both Ivy and Landon were good-hearted people with excellent skills. They made a great team, supporting each other so each could be their best. I’m excited to read the next in the series.
Narration:
This was my first experience with Holly Adams. I really enjoyed her approach to male and female voices. The chapters alternated between Ivy and Landon’s point of views which I also appreciate. The voices for the non-dialogue parts in the chapter were also more male or female depending on whose chapter it was. That makes sense since it is often their stream of thoughts. I can’t recall hearing others do it, though. I really liked it. I listened at my usual 1.5x speed.
Listen to a clip: HERE
About Paige Tyler
Paige is a USA Today Bestselling Author. She graduated from The University of West Florida with a degree in education in 2000, but decided to pursue a full-time career as a writer in 2004. Since then, she’s written over fifty books in several genres, including paranormal, contemporary, western, sci-fi and erotica. She loves writing about strong, sexy, alpha males and the feisty, independent women who fall for them. From verbal foreplay to sexual heat, her stories of romance,
adventure, suspense, passion and true love will leave you breathlessly panting for more.
She and her very own military hero (also known as her husband) live on the beautiful Florida coast with their adorable fur baby (also known as their dog). Paige graduated with a degree in education, but decided to pursue her passion and write books about hunky alpha males and the kickbutt heroines who fall in love with them.
When not working on her latest book, Paige enjoys reading, jogging, P90X, Yoga, Pilates, going to the beach, watching NFL football, watching movies and hanging out with her husband (not necessarily in that order!)
I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2019 Audiobooks
- 2019 Releases
- COYER Friends
I’m glad you enjoyed it. If you continue, I’ll get to have a bit of a reunion with the stories since its been awhile. 🙂
I always wanted to read these and now that they are releasing on audio I am excited to be doing it.
I read this novel a while back and had some issues with it. It is the first novel and sometimes their are issues or 1st book syndrome, so I had planned on reading on, but never came back to the series. Maybe one day. Glad to see you enjoyed the audio. Thank you for the review.
I agree the first book can be difficult. There were some small things but I still enjoyed it. For some reason, audio helps me with first book syndrome. That’s why I often read fantasy that way. I’d think it would be just the opposite too.
Hmm I find that Contemporary/Suspense Romance(s) move better when I listen to them instead of trying to read. I tried her SWAT in audio and found the first book to be enjoyable. Haven’t listened to the next, but it’s on my TBR. Maybe I’ll try book two in this series in audio. Who knows it might work out better for me.
I’ve been wanting to try this author too. I’m happy you enjoyed this one!
I think I am really going to enjoy this series. I don’t read a lot of PNR but this is one I’ve had my eye on.
I have heard great things about this series and I am pretty sure it would be something I would like. I may have to check out the audio since it sounds so well done.
I jumped in since the audio was new and available. It seemed like the perfect opportunity since audio has been easier to fit into my schedule since the move.