Real people who behave in very human ways but sometimes fall under quite understandable misapprensions make for a wonderful book. Full of regency charm. Heartwarming love story.

Kate Huntington does it again with a wonderful, witty story. Her characters are delightful and, in my opinion, the books are too short. I want them to go on and on. Please, keep up the good work, Kate, and keep those stories coming! Ms. Huntington reminds me of Georgette Heyer with her clever plots and sympathetic characters. If you like a good Regency, you'll like this and any of Kate's other novels.

Lady Diana Milton is still mourning for her late husband, but her friend Caroline Benningham is urging Diana to attend a gathering at the house of a known womanizer. Diana agrees to go but only to see the wonderful art work rumored to be at this man's house. The gathering turns out to be rather risque, and Diana's reputation would be ruined if the true nature of evening were revealed to polite society. Fortunately there is little chance of that happening until her late husband's cousin walks in, Nicholas Rivers rescues her the dubious situation. Nicholas had gone to the gathering to persuade his cousin Bernard to abandon his patron and return to England with him. Imagine his surprise at finding Rupert's widow there as well. He decides to keep a close eye on her for the sake of Rupert's son and to please his aunt as well. Kate Huntington has written a story that is heart warming as well as entertaining. Who needed to watch the sky for fireworks? Read this winner instead, it sizzles!

I actually picked this book up because of the beautiful cover and unique title. I don't usually pick an anonymous author, but I'm glad I did. The story was an easy read, once you get past the hard pronounciations of names and cultural words. This is a necessity to the story so is easily overlooked as I tried to pronounce these foreign terms. There are so many facets to the story that all tie together in the end in an amazingly simple way. It makes one want to visit Bali, but not the Bali of today as much as the one told about. I would recommend this book to any reader of love stories, fantastical reads, suspense or drama.

...and a beautiful culture it is, too -- Bali. Diana Darling has taken an ancient Balinese folktale, re-set it in modern times (allowing outside 'advanced' cultures to conflict with the peaceful nature of her exotic setting), and given the reader a treasure.

The author is very knowledgeable and sensitive to the Balinese culture and language -- and her work is an immensely compelling fable, with much for the reader to harvest, both as 'mere' entertainment and as a valuable immersion into a rich world that is so different from our own that it could easily be on another planet. The lessons are gentle and not too hard to grasp -- the love with which the Balinese people treat their environment and each other is wonderful to behold. Her characters are well-developed and entirely believable -- and the story itself, while uniquely applied to Bali, is really a universal one: good versus evil and questions about life values -- things which all of us need to consider from time to time, no matter how 'enlightened' we think we are.

This is an absolutely beautiful book -- I can recommend it highly.

Diana Darling's Painted Alphabet from Periplus provides an unusual story based on a Balinese epic poem. Romance, philosophy, and women's issues blend within the context of Balinese culture in this gentle tale.