Another romance set in Wales and 

the amazing wilderness of the mountains of Snowdonia:

The Bride Price by June Francis

Blurb:

She was Welsh, he was English. They had been brought up as enemies and taught to hate each other, but Cadfael needed a guide into the wild mountains of Snowdonia. Sioned seized the opportunity to escape from the marriage about to be forced on her by her treacherous brother. She also had her own quest in the mountains and had no intention of falling in love with a man she suspected of being a spy, but once in his hands she had no choice but to follow wherever he led.

 
I enjoyed reading this book but - and it is a big "but" - in the end I felt as if there hadn't been any real action at all. Or rather there had been action but on the whole it felt as if it was all a bit forced and just meant to prolong the story instead of a real development. They meet, they ride around, problems arise of course every now and then but then it just goes on and on and on until all is settled and fine.

Don't misunderstand me, the story is entertaining and I really liked the characters and of course I was happy to see Sioned flee from her betrothed who is indeed horrible and not at all desirable and I hoped for a better future for her. Cadfael is also an interesting character but some of his actions, well, I didn't always agree with him but well, all is well that ends well, isn't it?

All in all "The Bride Price" is a nice and entertaining story but it didn't keep me glued to the reader and it won't become one of my favorites.

★★★