The Portrait: A Novel

by Danielle Steel

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A gifted portrait artist and a high-powered subject confront past wounds to embrace new love in this poignant novel by #1 New York Times bestselling author Danielle Steel.

Devon Darcy’s reputation precedes her. As a highly sought-after portrait artist, she seems to have the ability to peer into the souls of her subjects and then capture them on canvas. But the world doesn’t know about the devastating losses she has endured, first as an orphan, then as a far-too-young widow.

When entrepreneur Charles Mackenzie Taylor sees her at a New York gallery event, he is instantly haunted by her beauty and her talent. Having lost his mother when he was thirteen, and still living in the cold shadow of his late banker father’s disapproval, Charlie has given up on love. He’s resigned himself to a loveless marriage to avoid the inconvenience of divorce.

But Devon awakens something in him across that crowded gallery, and she is in turn intrigued by Charlie. He approaches her to paint his portrait, and while her schedule is booked for many months before she can accommodate him, with the electricity between them palpable.

When they encounter each other over the summer in the Hamptons, their connection deepens as they each release years of pent-up emotions and unfulfilled longing. But the ghosts of their pasts are not easily put to rest. Charlie wrestles with his fear of real intimacy for the first time in his life, while Devon struggles with her fear of abandonment. And after an accident endangers Devon’s career, they must decide together what their future holds.

Danielle Steel’s sensitive portrait of two successful people who have built walls around themselves is a wise chronicle of the rocky path to true courage and connection.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Audiobook, Realistic Fiction, Love

242 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 30, 2025

About the author

Danielle Steel has been hailed as one of the world's bestselling authors, with almost a billion copies of her novels sold. Her many international bestsellers include All That Glitters, Royal, Daddy's Girls, The Wedding Dress, The Numbers Game, Moral Compass, Spy, and other highly acclaimed novels. She is also the author of His Bright Light, the story of her son Nick Traina's life and death; A Gift of Hope, a memoir of her work with the homeless; Expect a Miracle, a book of her favorite quotations for inspiration and comfort; Pure Joy, about the dogs she and her family have loved; and the children's books Pretty Minnie in Paris and Pretty Minnie in Hollywood.

Facebook.com/DanielleSteelOfficial
Instagram: @officialdaniellesteel

Reviews

[chantalsbookstuff · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm holding out for that 4/5 star read. I hope it comes soon. These books are always quick and easy reads, but the storyline stays the same. A romantic story, but also one I would probably forget by the next day. I did like Devon's background and her passion for painting.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

one day i’m gonna quit these books! but sometimes you just need something mindless to listen to. i’m not sure i could keep track of the number of times i rolled my eyes during this one. just silly.

[Tim · Rating 1 out of 5]

Great, if you want to tolerate abuse and are weak.

[Janet R. · Rating 2 out of 5]

typical Danielle Steel

[Esther · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Portrait was actually very bad, and not in a way where something awful happened in the plot, but more so that the book was just not good. As I was reading, I was more and more convinced that this was a debut novel by a young author just starting their career, because this book reads like someone’s first attempt at writing professionally.

It was a lesson Faye hadn’t learned yet, and maybe never would, like his father. He realized now that he had married a woman who was very much like his father.

There were several issues I found with The Portrait, but the biggest one was the constant repetition. Something about a character would be stated, and then one line later, it would be said again, almost verbatim. It's like the author forgot she already wrote the line.

He rapidly did the math, and was surprised by her age. She looked so much younger. She made it all sound so simple, and didn’t say that she left France and came back to New York because Axel had died. She felt private about it. Axel belonged to her.

The random POV switches were very confusing and unnecessary. There was no method to them, either. First, I would be in Charlie's head and quickly begin to wonder how he knew something so personal about Devon, before realizing that it's her POV I am now in.

“Oh my God, no, not that exquisite face. She’s so beautiful.”
“She still is. Brandon, this is serious…”

Brandon is a very strange character, and I don't know why he was portrayed as anything other than a creepy guy. The other characters treated him like an eccentric puppy with a bit of a strange disposition, when in reality, he is an unsettling old man.

It was hard explaining to Devon what he did every day, and why he was running from one meeting to the next, in cities across the country, with video conference meetings in between. He’d never been busier in his life. And to anyone outside the company, none of it was very interesting.

Also, what the hell does Charlie do for work? I don't know, you probably don't know, and the author definitely doesn't either. Yeah, he starts up businesses in some mysterious way, but what are all of these important meetings that take up all of his time? What would you possibly have to discuss so much?

He took her hand and they ran down the beach, laughing, with the dog following them into the future.

The ending was so irritating. There's no way that after all of Devon’s insistence that she wasn't getting back with Charlie, she runs off into the sunset with him (literally) because “love is worth taking risks for” or something like that.


Rating: 1 star

[Veronica ⭐️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
It always takes me a few chapters to get into a Danielle Steel novel. I think it's a combination of the 1st person narration and her "tell" style of writing. However, once I get into the story and the characters I'm always fully immersed in their struggles and relationships.

Life is never easy and Devon and Charles both have previous traumas to work through. I really warmed to Devon but Charlie was a chauvinist, selfish and over dramatic about everything. I did not like him at all and was wishing something bad would happen to him. 😂
I was invested in this story for Devon only and wanted to see her grow and find peace.

The Portrait is a great story to get your emotions rolling and your blood boiling. It evoked a lot of different feelings.

[paige (ptsungirl) · Rating 3 out of 5]

“The silence was where they each felt safe.”

[Brandy Lemire · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 stars. It was a quick read but overall a good book!

[Nina Dolan · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.75 / an easy and quick read, but I couldn’t forgive Charlie for his poor decisions as easily as Devon could. Sweet sweet Devon, you deserved so much better. (This was my 20th book of the year, so I met my goal!!)

[tei hurst · Rating 4 out of 5]

feeling like an old lady being like hm okay danielle steel i didn’t understand your game at first but now i surely do

[Gloria L. Barnes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Do not waste your money on this book. I am used to the repetition in her books but usually find a simple enjoyable plot as the story moves forward. This plot was monotonous and repetitive over and over for three fourths of the book. A man and a woman meet, fall in love, but have emotional issues because of deaths in their families. The woman is wonderful. The man is scared and dumps her due to his fear. Then he does it again when she gives him another chance. The plot did get more interesting for a bit near the end and then suddenly ended abruptly with a few paragraphs.

[Tatyana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slow romantic story filled with immature behavior and silly excuses. I liked Devon, but her beautiful character fell victim Daniel Steel's writing style that made her seem shallow and cliché instead of showing her depth and strength.

[Amy Warren · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I am in a reading slump, I always reach for a Danielle Steel novel. Her stories have such effortless flow, her characters are well-developed and ultimately its like sitting with a friend and hearing them tell a story. Here, a couple is brought together by fate and kept apart by issues they never saw coming. Her books may seem formulaic, but they always manage to hold my attention and give me comfort, while ALWAYS snapping me out of my slumps! Would recommend.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 It took awhile to get used to this style of writing, which is mostly a narrator telling the story without much dialogue. I guess this is considered third person omniscient. I like the story, but the middle third of the book was a bit slow. However, I had strong feelings of frustration toward one of the main characters, and sobbed at the end, so I give it a 3.5!!

[Tina Prince · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

[Jennifer Silva · Rating 3 out of 5]

The latest from Danielle Steel ..I enjoy all her books ..They are light and easy reading

[Janet · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a disappointment to me.

[Denise Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good characters with realistic lives and responses. Though a romance, the novel is more about healing from past hurts and being courageous enough to live and love.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was reminiscent of normal people in a way but like 1000x better. Something beautiful about meeting the right person at the wrong time and never forgetting them.

[marijane · Rating 3 out of 5]

comfortable read

Easy to read and par for the course. One read a year and I was set to move on till next time. A typical Steel story, ends well

[Lindsay Schukei · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was ok. I feel like she would describe characters as being one way, and then when they interacted they would be a different way which made it a little hard to follow. Which I guess makes it a little thought provoking as well.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know. I am always sucked in by a Danielle steel book but I have read everyone she has written. I just love them. Her story telling the way she tells you about a character the way she writes the story. This was another great one.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

"I don’t know if was a good book or a bad book" was the first thing I said ofter I finished the book. I really wanted to like this books but there were a lot more cons than pros. It started in the beginning. I felt like this book could’ve been at least 10 pages less if she didnt repeat details of the characters. She would be describing how Charlie's wife, Faye, is very stern and career driven in one paragraph and then describe her again exactly the same in the next paragraph. Is as if she forgot she already introduced the charcuter and shes writing it all over again. This proceeds throughout the whole book with different scenes and after a while it’s eye-rolling.

Charlie. He is so infurating but at the same time I somewhat understand him. His committment issues and marital status could have all been solved if he wasnt a pussy. He had to wait until Faye brought up divorce for him to agree but then have the audacity to say he was surprised that she would even bring it up. He noticed how his marriage was voided after Liam moved half way across the would for school and how his relationship with Faye is just for saving money. He has been in a loveless marriage for so long that he believes that he would end up back in the same situation if he ended up with Devon. Not to mention how he told her that he never will see himself get a divorce, and he will forever stay married to Faye. I think that it shows he is both truthful, but also a coward. He was upfront and truthful about his marital status and his beliefs of them not changing, but I think it’s also shows cowardice cause, even though he knows there is no gain to staying married, he does it anyway cause it’s convenient. He could’ve had something real sooner but instead he was comfortable where he was and didn’t want to out in any work to fight. I hate to be very traditional but I think his ways were not masculine / assertive the way he presents himself to be.

For Devon, I somewhat see myself in her. I see the good in someone and I give them the benefit of the doubt before I realize that they actually didn’t have me in their thoughts. In a way I sympathize for her cause she just wanted someone to love her, to make memories with her, someone to go the extra mile for and to feel loved like the way she did for Charlie.

Even though the book was shorter than most of the books I’ve read this year, it felt longer to complete cause of all the disagreements I had with the characters.

[Liz Rewolinski · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5*, rounded down. Pretty typical Danielle Steel novel. Takes place in NYC/San Francisco with the requisite half French character, parents lost at a young age and another character living in France. All plot lines found in nearly all of her novels, in recent years. And one of the same old French names she loves to recycle thrown in, too (no "Veronique" in this one but we do get yet another "Sabine.') Charlie was super unlikeable and didn't have much of a personality. What did a fascinating woman like Devon see in him, anyway? Ending of this one was not very believable and didn't tie anything up. Just not one of her better novels. If her books weren't so quick to read, I would have stopped reading them long ago. But occasionally DS still gives us a winner - this just isn't one of them.

[Merceda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable, quick reading novel by Danielle Steel. Devon was a portrait artist who was extremely popular for doing portraits of rich people such as politicians, actors, old-time money, etc. Devon had lost her parents at 5, her grandmother at 16, her husband after they were married for 2 years, and the son they created when he was 5 from meningitis.
Charlie was an entrepreneur who made a lot of money from start-ups and from "clean" fast food. He was in a loveless marriage and had a son named Liam. He met Devon at an art show of hers and fell in love with her bright green eyes and the calmness of her demeanor. He tried to get a portrait done by her, but she was booked up the rest of the year, and wasn't booking the next year yet.
He did manage to convince the owners of the art gallery to pass along his information and sent her a large bouquet of roses. She booked him for January for a portrait.
Then he ran into her in the Hamptons as he vacationed there every summer for 2 months, and she owned a barn where she did painting that she wanted to do during the summer rather than portraits. They quickly became lovers and then he disappeared for a week. He was too caught up in his work and wouldn't return her texts or phone calls. They eventually did get back together and had a great end of summer with each other.
Then they both went back to their jobs and became too busy. But he spent the week of Thanksgiving with Devon and left to go back to California and went back into isolation as he couldn't deal with having a companion because he lost his mom at 13, and his dad was a hard ass and wanted Charlie to go into banking as his father, grandfather did.
Devon ended up going blind with the liquid she was using to clean her paint brushes when she tripped and her splashed into her eyes and onto her hands and arms. She was hospitalized for several months where they used saline solution and ointments and steroids to help heal her eyes. Charlie knew none of this because he was out of the picture after Thanksgiving and his making no attempt to contact her again.
Devon regained her site when Brandon gave her a guide dog for sight impaired people and she slowly began getting her sight back. She went back to the barn in the Hamptons for her summer break, and Charlie went to his rental for summer and they ran into each other on the beach. And love blossomed.

[Alex (Alex's Version) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this piece quite disappointing; it felt more like a summary than a fully developed story, and the repetition made it a tedious read. Although I managed to finish it, it certainly wasn't the author's best work. The narrative style didn't resonate with me—it was as if I were reading bullet points rather than an engaging story. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel the immersion I was hoping for. While the storyline had potential, it seemed more like an outline, lacking the crucial details that bring a story to life.

Devon Darcy is known far and wide for her exceptional skills as a portrait artist, possessing a remarkable talent for capturing the essence of her subjects on canvas. However, beneath her celebrated exterior lies a past filled with profound grief, marked first by her status as an orphan and later by the heart-wrenching experience of becoming a widow at a tender age.

When entrepreneur Charles Mackenzie Taylor encounters her at a gallery event in New York, he is immediately captivated by her striking beauty and extraordinary artistry. Having lost his mother at thirteen and now living under the oppressive expectations of his late father, a stern banker, Charlie has resigned himself to a loveless existence, settling for a marriage that spares him the hassle of divorce.

Devon, however, stirs emotions within him that he thought were long buried, while she finds herself equally drawn to him. Although her calendar is fully booked for months, Charlie requests her to paint his portrait, igniting a spark of anticipation between them.

Their paths cross again over the summer in the Hamptons, where their bond deepens as they confront the emotional turmoil and unfulfilled desires that have plagued them for years. Yet, the shadows of their pasts linger, complicating their budding relationship. For the first time, Charlie grapples with his fear of true intimacy, while Devon battles the anxiety of being abandoned once more. When a serious accident threatens Devon’s artistic future, they are faced with a critical decision about what lies ahead for them.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading Johnny Angel, my first Danielle Steel novel, I wasn’t impressed—but I decided to give her another shot. Unfortunately, I ran into the same issues I had with the previous book. Steel is undeniably a master of formula writing, and I’ll always give her credit for that. Millions adore her work, and while I can appreciate the appeal, I personally struggle with her style.

Four things consistently stand out in her writing:

1. She tells more than she shows. Steel excels at exposition, but her first chapters often feel like information dumps—front-loading backstory instead of letting it unfold naturally. I’d prefer to see these details revealed through action and dialogue as the story progresses.

2. Her characters feel like cardboard cutouts. I don’t fault her for sticking to a formula that works, but after reading two of her novels, the similarities are hard to ignore. The characters serve their roles, but rarely surprise or deepen.

3. Her books are easy, non-thinking reads. You can finish one in a day—most are under 250 pages. They’re great for a weekend escape, but don’t demand much engagement or reflection.

4. She repeats the same information non-stop. Throughout the book she mentions the exact same information about someone repeatedly. It's like she just repeats the same bits of information over and over again during the entire course of the book. Repeating and repeating the same stuff again and again... Get the picture?

In this book, Charlie, the son of a wealthy banker, is told to have his portrait painted to join the gallery of bank chairmen. He meets Devon, a middle-aged artist, and commissions her for the job. They spend a summer in the Hamptons, and when danger arises, they must decide whether they can build a future together.

Just like Johnny Angel, this novel recycles familiar themes and stock characters. Only the names, occupations, and settings have changed. This book could have been edited down to under 200 pages and just felt like it was trying too hard to stretch out very basic ideas into something more substantial. I guess I'm coming to the realization that I'm just not the right audience, but I understand why people do enjoy her work.

[Helane Becker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Typical DS book

This was so bad.
The editing of her books is getting worse as is her writing although I’m not sure when this was published. It was available for $1 or $2.99 on Amazon so I bought it.

The first chapter was ridiculously repetitive. The descriptions of the main characters were written about at least twice. Charlie had an apartment in NYC but in one description he “went back to the hotel to change” so his friend could pick him up.

Also at one point he was in NY where it was 3 AM, but midnight in SF and he wasn’t tired yet did not go to sleep but his buddy called him at 8 AM.

He had a rental car in the Hamptons until he didn’t and used a car service. Finally. The first mention of seeing the Rock Center Christmas Tree was before Thanksgiving. It would have had scaffolding around it as the tree doesn’t get lit until the Wednesday after Thanksgiving.

An editor should read her books before publishing. I know she is a best selling author but the mistakes are so bad. And these are just a few of the mistakes and contradictions I found. It only takes 2 hours or so to read these books. Someone should really edit them. I’ve said that before about her books.

I used to read her books whenever they came out but I stopped partially because of inconsistencies, timing errors and the like. I guess I’ll go back to not reading her.

[Shelby Schafer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is my first Steel novel so I may just not be familiar with her writing style, and I may be partial to the authors I am used to, but I was not connecting with it. The way the two main characters fall instantly in love with each other, the stilted sentences, the lack of dialogue, and the mannor of telling us the characters' emotions rather than letting us feel them through the writing, just did not work for me.

The story itself I was fine with, after I got past how quickly they fell in love. I liked exploring Charlie's family dynamics and Devon's accident, but the ending to all of the storylines felt somewhat anti-climactic. I wanted more emotion out of it, something to get me invested in these characters and their story, but there wasn't much. The two hardly spent any time together and just talked about how infatuated they were with the other person without ever speaking. Even the ending, I almost expected Devon to reject Charlie as she had seemed to move on and find happiness and comfort in her life after the accident, but she still goes back to him following the most underwhelming apology I have ever seen.

I am not opposed to trying another book from Steel, but this one was not it for me.

[Jaynie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a bit unfair, perhaps, to give this a three star review when maybe it should be a four (as far as contemporary romances go, that is), because it's just another interesting read from Danielle Steel. It's hard to believe she is in her 70's and still churning out romances and murders like she is. The problem (to me) is that I have read every romance (and a few of the "In Death" novels) that she has written and they are so similar to each other that I only read them for the background "noises". However, even those situations aren't as good as they used to. I used to really enjoy reading about the very rich, learning about wine-making, or portrait-painting; but it seems to me like she isn't researching enough like she used to do. But, really, should she be? Why not, when she doesn't have to worry about her next book selling, or even it being very good. She's raised her family. It is unlikely that any of the children still live at home. So maybe that's why she continues. I myself know what it is to have an empty nest. Hmm. At any rate, yes it is a good story. Is the ending predictable? Or is it??