The story of Elisa, the central character in the novel Her Forgotten Love, was my introduction to the world of romance novels. The book is set in a small village near Verona (the scene of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet), where Elisa returns to see her much-loved but, sadly, dying grandfather Stephano.
She already has a pain in her heart after finding out that her boyfriend in London has been sleeping with another woman. And then, Granddad Stephano dies, leaving Elisa the tourist hotel where she grew up, along with a million euros.
Her Forgotten Love is partly a crime mystery, typical of pocketbook author Elizabeth McGinty's style. So, who better to have as the male hero than Elisa's childhood friend, Cesare, now the handsome local police inspector? There are many twists and turns in the novel's plot, including the actions of some bad characters who want to steal Elisa's emotions and her money.
Now, the challenge from my editors wasn't just to read this book: it was to say whether I would recommend it to our readers or not. And the plain answer is that I'm not sure. All fiction is, of course, an escape from reality. Fiction is attractive - whether it's experienced in books or films, or on the stage - because our real lives are all too often neither beautiful nor exciting. But maybe this type of fiction is simply too far removed from reality - at least for me.
Market research tells us that most romantic fiction writers and readers are women. White women, aged between 30 and 55, are the main readers of the genre. And the market is huge. Romantic fiction book sales make up almost one-third of the global fiction market, generating about one billion US dollars every year.
Another criticism I have of the genre is that the male characters are perhaps too tough and stereotyped. And the female heroes come across as rather weak, expecting things to happen that aren't realistic. Indeed, there are some mental health experts who think that, if readers start to believe these novels, their own relationships may suffer by comparison.
So, how did I get on with Her Forgotten Love? My personal experiment of reading a romance novel wasn't terrible. In fact, the story made me curious enough to read the book in a single day - something that's most unusual for me.
And you'll be interested to hear that I have another one coming in the mail, from Mills & Boon, the home of romance. The publishing house sells 200 million novels a year. Set in outback Australia, this book follows three bad boys who grow up to become rich and powerful men. I can't wait.