Reviewed By Brianna Labuskes

Simply Love, the second book in Mary Balogh's new series set in Regency, England, is a beautiful portrait of two damaged souls finding each other in love.

In a story that takes the reader from the wild cliffs of Wales to the spa town of Bath, Balogh explores the depths of her two main characters, who both live with emotional and physical scars from past traumas.

After being tortured during the war with Napoleon, Sydnam Butler returns home half the man he was. Having lost an eye and -- more importantly -- his right arm, he can no longer pursue his passion for painting. In addition, he must also endure strangers' reactions of revulsion to his mutilated face and his family's well intentioned yet stifling coddling. He flees to the solitude of Wales to work on an estate of childhood friend, Wulsric Bedwyn.

Bedwyn uses his estate only as a vacation home and during a visit there, he brings his family and guest Anne Jewell. Sydnam develops a kinship with Anne, who became pregnant after being raped.

As an unwed mother she faces the same scorn from society as Sydnam. The two strike up a friendship that develops into something more.

However, their pride, stubbornness and baggage from the past get in the way of their blossoming relationship, and they part.

Fate throws them together again, forcing the couple to overcome the emotional barriers keeping them apart.

Balogh's writing in the book is, as usual, fantastic.

Her portrayal of Sydnam, a shy but intelligent and kind man, is just one amazing example of the depths of her characters.

She beautifully captures real human emotions and reactions to situations.

Her characters are not perfect, and sometimes behave horribly, but that is what is so real and powerful about her novels. For example, when Anne first sees Sydnam she flees out of terror, not an expected reaction from the heroine, especially in a romance novel where heroines are expected to swoon over their beloved hero.

My only complaint is that Balogh, as she tends to do in many of her novels, drags out the plot, subjecting her characters to many frustrating trials and tribulations before they can have their happy ending.

I strongly recommend Simply Love, for its wonderful characters -- you can't help but fall in love with Sydnam -- and the touching yet not too clichéd plot. Grade A-