Cliches and formulas are only boring if the author doesn't write beyond them. For example, many of Liz Fielding's books employ the following structure:

• A quick establishing of the characters and scenario, followed by…
• An intense, 48-hour period in which we get to know our two characters inside and out, which sets us up for…
• A brief statement that a week has passed, which can then cut to…
• An emotional denouement; all of which has been aided by…
• Sparse, elegant writing, and absolutely no question at all that this is a 180-odd-page fairy tale.

Her Desert Dream follows this recipe to the letter, and it is a testament to the author's skill that despite the book's formulaic nature, I can still call it lovely, heart-warming, and joyful to read.

Lydia Young has lived most of her life knowing that she could pass for one of Britain's royal celebrities, Lady Rose Napier. In fact, she supplements her meager supermarket income by hiring herself out as Lady Rose's lookalike. At one of her functions she meets the lady herself and on impulse volunteers to impersonate her if Rose ever wants a break. Three weeks later she gets a call: Rose has been hounded by the press and, as Christmas approaches, she needs a week to herself – would Lydia mind taking her place and going on holiday to a private "cottage" in a desert kingdom? (As if anyone would say no). What neither of them counted on is Kalil al-Zaki, a scion of the desert kingdom in question and Lydia's escort cum security officer during her holiday.

What follows is pure romance. Forget the plot, although it's a good one. Forget the setting, although it works well. And forget the fact that I can dissect the structure to a T. What matters is the love story, which is as whirlwind, fairy tale-ish and downright romantic as I could wish. Kal and Lydia are so obviously, patently in love with each other, but they're also smart, witty, mature, and thoughtful. They both have good reasons to resist the attraction, but they deal with it as best they can. And I love the ending.

It helps that Ms. Fielding treats her characters and their motivations with finesse and she doesn't beat anything over the reader's head except Kal's immense wealth. But hey, it's a fairy tale, right? I can dream.

There is something delightfully cinematic about Her Desert Dream and much of Ms. Fielding's writing reminds me of the best romantic comedies. You know, the ones with economical dialogue and efficient shots and quick cuts; the ones that produced the warm fuzzy feeling, by the time the credits rolled, that were worth ten bucks. Despite the trappings of sheikh glamour and fairy tale formulas, Liz Fielding deals in true love, first and foremost, and here she succeeds in spades.