The Painter's Daughter by Julie Klassen

Book Description:  Sophie Dupont, daughter of a portrait painter, assists her father in his studio, keeping her own artwork out of sight. She often walks the cliffside path along the north Devon coast, popular with artists and poets. It's where she met the handsome Wesley Overtree, the first man to tell her she's beautiful.

Captain Stephen Overtree is accustomed to taking on his brother's neglected duties. Home on leave, he's sent to find Wesley. Knowing his brother rented a cottage from a fellow painter, he travels to Devonshire and meets Miss Dupont, the painter's daughter. He's startled to recognize her from a miniature portrait he carries with him--one of Wesley's discarded works. But his happiness plummets when he realizes Wesley has left her with child and sailed away to Italy in search of a new muse.

Wanting to do something worthwhile with his life, Stephen proposes to Sophie. He does not offer love, or even a future together, but he can save her from scandal. If he dies in battle, as he believes he will, she'll be a respectable widow with the protection of his family.

Desperate for a way to escape her predicament, Sophie agrees to marry a stranger and travel to his family's estate. But at Overtree Hall, her problems are just beginning. Will she regret marrying Captain Overtree when a repentant Wesley returns? Or will she find herself torn between the father of her child and her growing affection for the husband she barely knows? 

My Thoughts:  Sophie Dupont is in a quandary...she is lovely young woman and has been "taken."  Wet she met handsome Wesley Overtree while on one of her walks, he tells her she is beautiful.  Sophie "falls" for his lines hook line and sinker.  This gets her into "trouble"  for Sophie ends up pregnant by Wesley.  And as a lot of young men do...Wesley like the moments but not the responsibilities.  Wesley sails away to Italy leaving Sophie, the painter's daughter home alone.

But then, Captain Stephen Overtree, Wesley's brother shows up and sees the beautiful, Sophie.  Stephen can't understand why his brother left such a beautiful young woman pregnant and alone.

Stephen is use to cleaning up his brother's messes but he has loved Sophie for a long time and decides that Sophie should not suffer the shame that an unmarried, pregnant woman will suffer.

So, Captain Stephen offers Sophie a way "out."  Sophie agrees to marry this stranger.

Julie Klassen writes a sweet regency romance that is filled with forgiveness and respect.

*This book was provided for review by Bethany House*

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (December 1, 2015)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764210726
• ISBN-13: 978-0764210723