Customer Reviews

Allergies

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Allergies Ray Marvels computer goes dead, so he calls the IT department for emergency repair. An hour later, IT tech Lou Canis comes into Ray's office. Ray has an immediate reaction to Lou, first he sneezed, then instantly attracted, Lou also has an immediate attraction to Ray, however the problem is, Ray is allergic to Lou and Lou has secrets. Ray tends to be shy except when he's with Lou, then he's all action, asking for intimate contact while blushing at the same time. Lou is easy going, but very protective of Ray. This is a fantastic love story with hilarious interaction between the characters.

Allergies is the classical shapeshifter story that got me hooked to the genre years ago. It's light and funny and plays with the stereotype of werewolves legends turning them in a joke between the partners.

Ray is a computer geek. We haven't a real physical description of him other than being six feet tall, that it would be a considerable height if not that his soon to be partner is six feet and half, giving to Ray an aurea of fragility that arises the protective feeling of Lou (short for Lupine). Another thing I noticed is that probably Ray for human standard is more or less a plain-john type of man, not the one you would turn to see on the street, and he is not even the party animal, preferring his couch and a videogame, to night club and dancing. So no, Ray has very little chance to find the man of his life if that man didn't enter his life by force. But Ray has to have something that makes him irresistible for lycan standards, since as soon as Lou sees him, he has the suddenly need to claim the man, and also other lycans have pretty strong reaction to him as well. Should be something in his smell... Anyway, the attraction is mutual, very much physical, and Ray doesn't struggle to much to let Lou have his way with him. There is only a problem, Ray is allergic to Lou, and not since Lou has a "inner" furry side, since Ray is not allergic to him when he is in shifted form. All the sneezing and sniffling thing adds humor to the story; there is even a bit of "adventure" streak, a threatening to the pack from an outside enemy, but I believe the author is planning to use it in a further story, since in this one is really a second line aspect, not fully developed.

Where Ray is not exactly the usual pretty and cute hero, but more a normal man, also Lou si not the classic "alpha male"; true, with Ray he can play the role of the Alpha, he can growl and bite as he likes, since Ray loves him, and lets him be the one "apparently" in control, but in the context of his family, it's pretty clear that Lou is far from being the leader... sometime he is even directed by his sisters, letting alone the fact that the real Alpha of the pack is his mother. Anyway, being Lou as he is, adds again humor to the story: Lou is really a playful soul, very much alike an uber-energetic puppy, with much chagrin of his partner Ray, that wouldn't want to think to puppies when he is with Lou! Lou is the youngest son after six brothers and sisters, and maybe he was also a bit spoiled by his mother. He begins his relationship with Ray with all the energy of a puppy with a new toy, and doesn't let many choice to the man. He is only lucky enough that Ray is so attracted to him that at first he is blind to all the oddities around him: a family where all the siblings have names more suited to dogs than kids, a family that always refers to themself as "pack", that instead of kissing you on the cheek to greet you, lick you... only a very infatuated man can overlook to all of this. But Ray is not stupid and sooner or later will start to wonder about all of this.

There is a lot of sex, very explicit and detailed, but maybe since I pay more attention to the funny side of the story, I found it really enjoyable with a bit of kinkiness that never sounded wrong. I really like when a man plays "alpha" without giving too much importance to the thing, and Lou does exactly that, all the biting and the forcing are more foreplay than real dominance acts.

Allergies is a fun and interesting tale about a human who falls in love with a werewolf. Well, a "lycan", to be exact.

Ray works in web and graphics design for a large company. When his computer is acting up, a gorgeous technician from the IT department named Lou shows up to fix it, and they're immediately smitten with each other. The only problem is that Ray seems to be allergic to something about Lou.

Lou is a werewolf and comes from a large pack. His mother, who he states is evil (though she's really not), named all of her children dog's names.... Spot, Rover, Patches, etc. Most of the family work in their family-owned pub, with a few of them working the outside. Lou is hooked on Ray, and even visits him in wolf form. Interesting, Ray isn't allergic to him in this form. Lou's family warns Lou to be careful with Ray, even though they really like him. Most humans don't take well to the knowledge that werewolves exist.

T. A. Chase added his own twists on the romance werewolf genre with this new book. In this world, there are Preters, which are any beings who aren't human. They're broken down into four different groups, werewolves being one. Being a lycan, Lou can shift fully into a wolf form and back again, no half-man/half-wolf type thing. The concept of "mates" (or "soulmates") is brought up, which is a common theme in many other werewolf romances. Here, the pack acknowledges that many other packs believe in mates, though this pack does not. Well, most of them. In any case, it's not like in other authors' books where mates recognize each other immediately and feel deep physical and emotional attraction just from proximity to their mate. It's more subtle here.

The characters are well-developed, and the story is swift and paced very well. The main plot thread is the relationship between Ray and Lou, but another plot line is present that isn't resolved... that of hunters seeking out the werewolves to kill them. This implies there will be more in the series. I enjoyed it enough to hope that there will be.

While I was at first unhappy with the fact that all of the siblings' names were dog names, it grew on me quickly as it was apparent it's a quirk to this particular family, with other shifters being much more normal. The characters are all unique, and even secondary characters are developed nicely. T. A. Chase is a very good writer, and it shows here with a finely-crafted book that will (hopefully) lead to many more with these characters.

Raymond Marvels has computer problems, calls the IT department. Lou Canis comes in to fix it. Sparks fly, and they quickly find themselves on their way to a HEA, only one small problem Lou has to figure out a way to tell Ray he's a wolf and Ray is apparently allergic to him, not as a wolf, but his human form.

I loved this book so much more than I did "Nick of Time" and I'm not sure why...other than the blaringly obvious sin I made by reading them out of order. But absolutely loved reading Ray and Lou's story and Lou's somewhat crazy family and their twisted sense of humor.

If your expecting another Without Reservation, then your dead wrong. No offense personally to this author, but dialog and flow of this book just grated on me. It was like watching a car crash slowly, with no way out. I did indeed finish the book... and it never got better, in fact it tended to get worse.I felt the changes in personality of ray, from blindingly accepting, to deathly afraid, to mindlessly accepting again was just unrealistic. The character names were a joke, and yes I can take some sarcasm in a name like Rover, but to have six siblings and to all have them named outrageous names goes a little too far. It would have done better to go with more obscure references. All in all I would not recommend this book, unless to maybe a middle school child, or someone who doesn't appreciate literature.

Side note for the author, I do think it is a valiant first attempt. I have some of the same personal writing habits as I have seen in your book, but I have spent months and months going over and rewriting things to sound more adult and well thought out. Please take editing more seriously in your next book.

When I bought _Allergies_, I was expecting a homo-erotic romance about a werewolf. Instead, this book is just an endless string of unconvincing sexual encounters (like something from an adolescent's diary) loosely held together by an implausibly-developed "plot." The pacing is like an outline for a low-budget porno movie. After the first 80 pages or so, I found myself laughing every time the main characters had sex; it was SOOO predictable and SOOO foolish.

The shallowness of this "novel" is an insult. An insult to gay men for the silly, cliched images of us that it portrays. An insult to wolves for conflating them with domesticated dogs; wolves and their society are nothing like dogs. An insult to everyone for advocating the idea that unprotected anal sex is okay, as long as it's with "someone you love" (whom you have only met a couple days earlier).

The one good thing about this book is that it's only 119 pages long (minus the silly dedication and the self-important author's bio). With any luck at all, T.A. Chase's future "literary" efforts will grow progressively shorter, until -- after a single bad haiku -- he finally stops writing altogether.

Its a good story, Cute, funny. Lots of passion. I will read more of TA Chase's work.

Shy graphic designer Ray Marvels is horrified when his computer stops working in the middle of a project. When the IT guy shows up, Ray's astonished by how hot he is, and stumbles all over his words. He also starts sneezing uncontrollably.

Lou Canis is surprised by his immediate attraction to Ray, but he doesn't hesitate to act on it. One smoking hot kiss later, he asks Ray to go to lunch with him the next day. Ray agrees, much to his delight.

Now all Lou has to do is woo Ray, tell him he's a werewolf, and figure out how to cure Ray's allergy--to him!

Allergies is a cute, hot little tale of werewolves, allergies, and attraction. Shy, awkward Ray was easy to root for, and I liked the more dominant Lou as well. Lou's very strange family added a lot of amusement to the story. There's some conflict involving Ray's allergies, Lou's secret, and a bad guy who seems to be hunting paranormal creatures (which seems to set up for a future book). If you're looking for a super-serious or angst-filled book, Allergies isn't for you, but if you're looking for a cute, fun read with appealing characters and quite a few laughs, or you're a TA Chase fan, pick it up--it's sure to amuse.


Cassie
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

I like this book. But I would call it an intro to a series. While the romance between Raymond and Lou is good, by itself its not spectacular. What makes this book stand out is the introduction of Lou's family who are all Werewolves and there's a lot of background introduced on the siblings, some of whom hopefully will get their own book. There's so an intro to troubles with a group that hunts the were's.

Its definitely worth a read and while I would originally rate this book a 3/5, the background is good enough to make this a 4/5. Here's hoping there's more on the Canis family to come.

I was very please with my purchase and it arrived in a very timely manner. Thank You.....