Ann Christopher

Contemporary

Overall:
Sensuality:
Cover Cheese:

When I was a kid, there was a popular television commercial -- the imagery of which I posit has influenced a generation of romance fans.

The ad instructed us that the longer it took for catsup to slide its way out of the elongated neck of a bottle, the more satisfying would be the taste of the product across tongues.

I like to call it the Condiment Principle: Anything worth waiting for is made sweeter by the anticipation.

We can easily apply the Condiment Principle to romance, because everybody knows that what makes a romance good and sexy is the sense of emotional and sensual expectation built slowly and lovingly by the author.

Which isn't to say lots of us don't appreciate the EZ-skweez approach to erotic sensuality: store the bottle on its head so the flow is right there when you want yummy instant gratification.

But, for most readers, the love story at the heart of romance fiction is successful when the author draws out effectively the time between the meeting of the hero and heroine, their sensual and emotional dénouement, and their Happily Ever After.

Ann Christopher hits those marks splendidly in her hip and romantic new debut novel, "Trouble."

A smart, great-looking over-achiever, Mike Baldwin's a successful attorney who's got the world by the torts. Then, out of all the law practices in Cincinnati, she has to walk into his.

Dara Williams has one goal: Finish law school at the top of her class without letting anything get in her way.

When she's assigned to intern at his practice, she's shocked to learn Mike's the sexy, supercilious guy who -- against her better judgment -- turned her giddy as a schoolgirl when recently they'd had an anonymous-but-heady conversation at a party.

Worse, he's the brother of her best guy friend, Sean, who's been trying to become more than just friends for as long as Dara can remember.

Mike and Dara are individuals driven by principle, loyalty and passion. But their best intentions trip them up at every turn as they struggle to protect Sean's feelings, and avoid the truths that keep them from giving each other more love than either can handle.

"Trouble" is a fun-to-read love story, with attractive characters facing realistic, modern-day challenges.

And Christopher is relentless in effectively keeping the lovers apart. She's especially adept at finding that perfectly heart-rending, frustrating way to re-establish tension even after one believes the excruciating sensual attraction has reached its peak.

One cannot hate that.

As we anticipate the release of Christopher's next Dafina novel, "Risk", we have satisfaction knowing we can get into a little "Trouble" right now, if only we --

Buy the book.

www.AnnChristopher.com

Next Week's Review and AuthorView: "Just One of Those Flings," by Candice Hern