Winds of Change

In Australia's rural west, Miranda Fox, the old maid daughter of a miserly millionaire, goes to battle with her siblings after being cheated out of her father's inheritance. She struggles to assert herself against chauvinist brother Sebastian who, years earlier, helped have her committed to an insane asylum after Miranda was forced to give up her illegitimate child for adoption. Aiding her quest for independence is Lou, a kind, disabled neighbor who also happens to be a multi-millionaire. While the book is not a cookie cutter romance, Jacobs keeps the trope of the needy woman alive and well. Disappointingly, Miranda remains dependent on powerful men throughout: her brother and father both support and oppress her, a multi-millionaire neighbor saves her with his money and helps her out of her shell, and, when it seems that she'll make an independent life for herself in England with her sister and long-lost daughter, her child's father comes back to claim her heart. Though the characters fall a bit flat, the plot is helped by the presence of Miranda's niece, Nikki, and her career-woman sister, Regina, who bring balance to the portrayal of women in the book. (July)