The Tutor's Daughter by Julie Klassen

The Tutor's Daughter by Julie Klassen is a nice book, entertaining and clean. I think it'd be classed as a historical romance, or historical fiction. Set in the early 1800's, it's the story of a young woman and her father. The father has been running his own private school to prepare young men for college, but due to his wife's dying and his subsequent disinterest in the students or the business, his school is failing. He has the opportunity to serve as private tutor to two young brothers of previous students and so he packs up and leaves his home, bringing his young adult daughter with him.

The story follows their trip to this new position--from their disappointing reception to the struggles with the students and their mother, as well as some mysterious happenings in the manor. Emma (the daughter) holds secret feelings of affection for one of the older brothers, but throughout the story those are put to the test and her feelings undergo a change. There are some threats made toward Emma, culminating in a . . .well, I'm not going to tell you! You'll have to read it!

I don't want to give too much away -- there is some gentle romantic undertones, some historical settings/living, and some mystery. Some of it feels a bit Jane Eyre-ish, in a good way. It's a long book, around 400 pages, but truthfully I didn't lose interest or find it too slow. It IS a bit predictable, but in a good way :). I will add that I do not usually like historic romances of this time period--but I did like this one--I think maybe because it's not too heavy on focusing on bits of the time period, and definitely not too focused on the "romance".

I would recommend this book to someone who likes to read fiction--historic fiction as well. It's not really a book to learn about history in, but just set in the different time period.

I received a copy of this book from Bethany House publishers for the purpose of this review. I was not required to write a positive review.