Readings and Ramblings

I was in a mood for a fantasy so I picked up this one. I chose it more or less at random and I suppose this is what I get for selecting my reading material that way. This is only secondarily a fantasy. First and foremost it is a romance. One of my criticisms of fantasy is that it tends to be a bit too formulaic, but romance is usually many times more formulaic than fantasy. If you believe the formulas of romance apply to your own life then you should be very happy when the object of your affections scorns you and rejects you because that means that you will liv happily ever afterward with that person. Or, if you meet a person of the opposite sex whom you absolutely cannot stand and want nothing to do with then you can pretty much count on happily ever aftering with that person. Another formula is that if anyone finds out that you feel attracted to someone and especially if your own family finds out then the object of your affections will be in great danger of falling victim to violence, possibly death. Shades of Romeo and Juliet, it is that last formula that applies to this one. This kind of story is not really to my taste and I nearly gave it two stars. The reason I nearly gave it two stars rather than one is because it is not without some redeeming qualities. It does contain entertainment value. However, now that I have finished it I am giving it three stars. That is because toward the end of the book both of the protagonists are nearly burned at the stake and must be rescued. The male protagonist is rescued just as the flames are beginning to lick at his body. That gave it enough excitement and increased my interest enough that I decided to give it an extra star.