The Penwyth curse

Lending library find. This is the closest I've gotten to not finishing a book, and I still can't totally articulate what compels me to slog to the end. In this case, I think it was sheer bafflement? Coulter's book is...almost like a cartoon of a romance novel? Or of any novel? The dialogue is laughably wooden, the flirtation between the two sets of lovers is meant to be playful and clever but ends up being more like playground back-and-forth, and...I don't even know what else to say. We get Merlin at the end, which is not a spoiler, because it's not really related to the plot? I can tell from goodreads that many of Coulter's other books are better loved, so I'm sure she is too wise to take this one's reviews to heart, and I will continue on my merry way, amused & bemused by this book and my compulsion to finish it.