Review – Her Perfect Mate by Paige Tyler – The Book Pushers | Book Reviews

Publisher: Sourcebooks
Publish Date: May 6th
How I got this book: NetGalley

When Special Forces Captain Landon Donovan is picked for an assignment with the Department of Covert Affairs, he’s stunned to find his new partner is a beautiful woman who looks like she couldn’t hurt a fly, much less take down a terrorist.

Ivy Halliwell isn’t your average covert op. Her feline DNA means she can literally bring out the claws when things get dicey. She isn’t thrilled to be paired with yet another military grunt, but Landon is different. He doesn’t think she’s a freak and he’s smokin’ hot.

Soon they find themselves facing a threat even greater than anyone imagines…and an animal magnetism impossible to ignore.
*Blurb from Goodreads*

When I first read the blurb of this book, I was hooked. While I love my wolf shifters, there aren’t enough cats in the PNR world, so I was stoked to see something new. I loved the spin Tyler put on this book, and am anxiously waiting for more!

When Landon is pulled in the middle of a mission and sent to DC, he isn’t happy about his new assignment. Getting to work with Ivy was nice, but he wasn’t sure he was ready to be a glorified babysitter. But once Landon got to see some of Ivy’s cat skills in person, his interest in his new top-secret job spiked, and not just because of his super sexy partner.

Ivy loves her work, but her luck in partners has been piss-poor. She is hesitant with Landon, but as they spend more and more time together, Ivy realizes that Landon is not only a great guy, but an incredible partner. Their first couple of missions together will test them more than either expected. Not just professionally, but personally as well.

There was so much to love in this book. First was the twist on the standard shapeshifter that Tyler created in her world. Ivy can’t shift into a cat, instead, her DNA shares some of the same attributes of the big cat and as such she has cat-like abilities. Think night vision, enhanced hearing and smell, the ability to heal faster, claws, and the agility to land on her feet. She isn’t a human and a cat sharing the same body, instead she benefits from the boost her cat DNA gives her. I loved that it was such a fun and neat twist, and I loved every second of it!

The other aspect I really enjoyed was the way Tyler did such a great job combining a paranormal romance with a romantic suspense. Much of this book felt like a really great RS book, complete with training scenarios, insane missions, and camaraderie between the characters. I loved the way Ivy and Landon had to not only find a way to work together given Landon’s dislike in his new job and Ivy’s lack of faith in her partners, but they also had to find a way to fit in within the overall organization they work for. The animosity between the humans and elite shifters was off the charts, and finding the perfect balance with each other and the greater team at large were such fun dynamics to read about.

Tyler did a great job introducing secondary characters that I can’t wait to find out more about. I adored all of Landon’s teammates from his special forces unit, and I really hope that they will have the chance to pop up again in future books. I also loved the greater team of shifters that Landon and Ivy worked with. I can’t wait to find out what happens with each and every person, and I hope that Tyler has success with this series so that I can watch them all get their happily ever afters!

There wasn’t much not to love in this book. For me, the beginning was a bit slow, and the end was a tad far-fetched, but I loved it either way. It wasn’t anything that pulled me out of the story, or caused me to slug through with the reading.

All in all, I thought Tyler has an amazing first book in the X-Ops series. I loved Ivy and Landon, and thought their sexual chemistry was so intense and off the charts. The secondary character, the romance, and the suspense were all top-notch! I will be anxious to get my hands on the next book in the series!
I give Her Perfect Mate an A-