Product Description

(Gay / Dark Fantasy / Werewolf / Shapeshifter / BDSM / Romantic Comedy / Suspense / Thriller / Series) What's a shapeshifter to do when the man he desperately wants is allergic to him? Raymond Marvels never imagines his call to the IT department at his graphics design job would result in his meeting Lou Canis, the most gorgeous man he's ever seen. There's one small problem, though--Ray is allergic to Lou. Yet his allergy is only one of the weird things going on between them. Lou, a werewolf, isn't sure how to fix the situation, because it seems his would-be lover's allergy is to Lou's human form and not his canine one. Lou decides to tell Ray his deep dark secret, which has unexpected results when Ray embraces both sides of Lou. Yet after a witch doctor gives Ray some medicine to solve his problem, Ray and Lou discover they must also face a dangerous conspiracy evolving around them...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #228246 in Books
• Published on: 2009-04-10
• Binding: Paperback
• 132 pages

Customer Reviews

Since "True Blood"
Chase, T.A. "Allergies", Amber Quill Press, 2009.

Since "True Blood"

Amos Lassen


The concept of shape shifters has always fascinated me but I guess it is the HBO series "True Blood" that really made me interested in them. In "Allergies" we have a shape shifter that is allergic to the man that he wants very badly. Raymond Marvels never thought that a simple call would wind up with his meeting Lou Canis who just happens to be drop dead gorgeous. The problem is that Ray is allergic to him but there is something even stranger--Lou is a werewolf and he has no idea what to do about Ray's allergy. Ray is not allergic to Lou's canine form; just his human one. Lou decides to tell Ray and the unexpected happens. Ray loves both sides of Lou and they do manage, with the help of a witchdoctor, to solve the allergy problem. It is then that the two men realize that there is another larger problem and that is the conspiracy which is taking place around them.
This is a light read that is filled with humor and it plays with the stereotype of werewolves.
Granted the entire idea seems quite silly, there is some excellent writing here and some excellent satire. I love the way Chase developed his characters and there is a good story here as well. I know that it is not believable but escape can be a good thing once in a while.

PAST THE TISSUE PLEASE
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 by T.A. Chase
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.