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.

Rating: 4 / 5

Rating: 5 / 5

I have terrible allergies to pollen, dust, mold, etc. and lately it’s been so bad that I get extremely stuffed up and wake up with vertigo. Even benadryl isn’t quite cutting it anymore. So, I tried zyrtec last night. I took one pill at about 11:30 pm and went to bed. I got up at 7:30 today and barely had the energy to move. I sat down on the couch at about 8:15 and started checking my email and was so drowsy from this medication that I slept for about 2 hours! I would wake up for bits in between but it was soooo hard to keep my eyes open for longer than about 10 seconds. I’m STILL drowsy and it’s 11:15! I also felt really dehydrated this morning, even my eyes were dry and that’s never the case.

The plus side is that it worked for my allergies. I’m not stuffed up at all (and I did not take the “d” decongestant version – it must all be from the pill clearing up my reaction), I can actually breathe through my nose (amazing, never happens!). I would love to take this all the time!

I’ll try cutting it down to half a pill and taking it a few hours before bed so that hopefully the drowsiness will wear off by the next morning.

My recommendation would be – try half a pill first, but in any case, DEFINITELY try this at night, and hopefully not right before a day that will be busy or require much activity!

Rating: 3 / 5

The authors make a distinction between food allergies, which typically involve mast cells going haywire, and food intolerance which results in symptoms not directly attributable to mast cell reactions. This is a very important distinction beyond the terminology since some doctors are skeptical about food causing sickness unless the mast cells are involved. The authors show, citing numerous clinical studies, a lot of research work, and specific individual examples, how food allergy and intolerance works, and they present a program to guide the reader to identify possible causes. They also give a step by step guidance on how to conduct various diets, including the elimination diet that may allow the reader (with his or her physician) to identify foods that are causing health problems. It’s not just asthma and hives and other obvious symptoms that could be caused by food allergies or intolerances. The authors argue very convincingly that a host of other discomforts (and worse) could have as their cause and/or their trigger, certain foods. The most likely suspects in the American diet are wheat, milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, coffee, tea and alcohol. The authors also point to the possibility of sensitivity to a host of man-made chemical substances that can cause debilitating symptoms

What makes this one of the best books of its kind that I have ever read (and I’ve read many books on food and health) is the wealth of information presented, the crystal clear writing, and the frank expression of the controversy surrounding how foods might cause disease. Additionally, the authors shed a lot of light on the complexities involved in digestive and immune system response to foods and how befuddling these complexities can be for lay persons and professionals alike.

Also covered are how microorganisms, especially what the authors call “gut flora,” affect food absorption and digestion, and how they can cause disease. I learned a lot about how our bodies, along with the trillions of microbes we harbor, can either work together or at cross purposes. The material on how antibiotics or exposure to certain chemicals can alter our gut flora and trigger allergies or intolerances is just fascinating.

Brostoff and Gamlin also cover how food allergies and intolerances affect infants, children and nursing mothers. They are specific about what foods can be at fault and how to avoid them and even which foods can be substituted for suspected culprits.

And the symptoms themselves–asthma, running nose, headaches, migraines, arthritis, muscle and joint pain, rashes, hives, diarrhea, bloating, gas, irritable bowel syndrome, all kinds of inflammation, strange discharges, hyperventilation, and many more–are described and given their possible cause from foods.

There are ten appendices covering such things as “Synthetic Chemicals in Food and Water,” a nice discussion of bottled water and water filters and how they work, “Medicinal Drugs,” “Nutritional Supplements,” “Synonyms for Food Ingredients,” (useful when reading labels), etc.

The fact that this book is a little out of date (third edition, copyright 2000) should not deter you from reading it. Yes, there is some controversy about some of the conclusions the authors come to; but they tell you where there is disagreement and why.

Do yourself a favor. If you have any sort of unexplained symptom or have friends or relatives with unexplained symptoms, read this book. There is nothing else quite like it in print that I know of. Certainly nothing on the same level of value to the general reader. In fact, I would go so far as to say that were this book more generally read, an incalculable amount of pain and suffering might be avoided.
Rating: 5 / 5