Popular romance isn't really my cup of tea. This book reinforces that opinion, although I find the world intriguing and might look for other books in the same series, the plot is almost entirely predictable.

There are a couple of points where it doesn't go quite as expected - but on both occasions that is merely delaying the inevitable rather than actually twisting the plot into an unexpected direction.

It's a shame - there's an interesting fantasy world in there but it's dragged way, way down by a plot that is so predictable I could sleep-walk my way through it. ( )

The Fire Opal - Catherine Asaro (7/10)
Romantic fantasy; book 4 in the Lost Continent series.
I personally think Asaro writes science fiction much better than fantasy and this book reinforces that opinion. It was a fine, pleasant read, but she can do much better. It was very slow to start, but picked up about halfway through to have a satisfying ending. I also liked the touch that suggested this "world" is some sort of appearing/vanishing continent in our world. I like these books, but I'm hanging out more for the next Skolian book. ( )