ALWAYS REMEMBER, the third book in the Ravenswood series by powerhouse romance author Mary Balogh, is a sweet and introspective Regency romance.  Balogh’s characters tend to do a lot of internal monologues and introspection, much as Anne Perry's mystery characters do, which may or may not be the reader’s cup of tea.  As long as it’s not too overbearing, I enjoy Balogh’s characters showing depth of emotional maturity. I get annoyed at characters who act like flighty idiots so Balogh’s heroes and heroines are right up my alley.

Ben Ellis is the widowed illegitimate older brother of the Earl of Stratton.  Ben is a delightful character, with plenty of honor and insightful, caring behavior.  He’s so easy to love as a reader.  Ben was raised by his natural father’s wife from the age of three and knows nothing about his birth mother’s family.  Being a bastard, he’s part of the Earl’s family but is acutely aware that he is not equal to the rest of his father’s family in the eyes of the ton—poor Ben!  Ben wants to find another wife to raise his little daughter and to fill his estate with care, but he’s resigned to a marriage of consideration but not romance.

Enter Lady Jennifer Arden, the mobility-impaired sister of the Duke of Wilby (now related to Ben’s family by marriage).  Jennifer is a marvelous woman.  I love how Balogh deftly draws her as being determinedly cheerful, while Ben slowly draws out of Jennifer her unexpressed dreams and desires that she has muffled in order to assuage her family’s guilt over her physical disabilities.  Ben sees Jennifer as a whole person who simply happens to have a deformed leg and extreme difficulty walking, whereas Jennifer’s family sees her as an invalid who needs to be coddled.  Go Ben!!

Both Ben and Jennifer are outsiders in their families and society, and Balogh does a great job of exploring this with sensitivity and depth.  I really enjoyed how Ben and Jennifer relate to one another and go on to encourage each other to break free of outside restrictions but in a thoughtful way.  Balogh’s ALWAYS REMEMBER is a gentle Regency romance that manages to defy the genre’s restrictions in a way that feels natural yet powerful.