Palace of the Winds
By Ashleigh Bingham 

          Young Julia Lockwood is a disgraced member of a well-off family who, after being raped by her cousin's fiancé, is packed off to India to work at Miss Violet Buckley's Till-He-Cometh mission. Through a chance encounter on the ship she becomes the wife of a kind and enlightened man, and falls in love with a dashing (and married) army officer. But many testing experiences are before her as well as happiness and fulfillment.

          I used to love the thrilling tales of Victoria Holt, and since her death, nothing quite like her novels of romance, exotic locations, and adventure has existed for UK readers. This is a story with a gothic thrill but with the added dimension of being more to the taste of modern readers. It is not a cozy story and the characters are certainly put through their paces but this does not make it a depressing read, as there is much romance and adventure to counterbalance the tribulation. The result is a chewy, well-rounded story that ought to appeal to all fans of historical romances as well as people who think that romances are fluff. I do hope this author goes on to pen many more novels if they are of this calibre.