The romance genre is *so* restrictive! I read so many of them during my early adolescence that I know the formula by heart. I think it's possible to break out of the box though--I think I did when I wrote my romantic novella. I think it ended up being a combination of all the things I liked about romance novels and the exact opposite of the things I hated. I don't know that I could've sold it to one of the formula romance publishers, but it did get a few positive reviews!