Thursday, December 27, 2012

Courting Cate - A Book Review

Courting Cate by Leslie Gould is a beautifully written Amish love story. It is the first book in the series The Courtships of Lancaster County.

Cate is not your normal Amish girl.  Her mother died while giving birth to Cate's sister Betsty.  Cate has spent her life raising her sister and taking care of her father.  She loves to read, desires to remain single and wants to run her own business.  Due to several events in her life she has become a very stubborn, feisty  bitter and standoffish gal.  She tends to think that everyone is against her and feels very unlovable.

Cate's sister Betsy is a very selfish girl.  Cate has always put Betsy's needs first and now the results are a girl that thinks the world revolves around her.  She manipulates Cate to get what she wants.  Betsy's character drove me crazy.  She was irritating and I really wanted to see her get her comeuppance.  Regardless how irritating she was, the book would not of been as good without her character.

Pete is a vagabond.  After leaving his home due to a falling out with his family he travels to Lancaster County.  He looks to Cate's father for a job and makes it no secret that he is also looking for a wife.  Cate instantly thinks he will be interested in Betsy, because she is so pretty and everyone likes Betsy.  Pete on the other hand is instantly drawn to Cate.  Due to her low self esteem Cate builds walls around her and continues to push Pete away, but when the unexpected happens Cate once again puts her sister first and enters a "marriage of convenience  with Pete.   Will a marriage without love be enough for Cate?

I absolutely loved this book.  I could relate so much with Cate.  One of the things she says so often is "I read somewhere...."  I can't tell you how many times those exact words have come out of my mouth!  I usually am not a fan of first person narrative which is what this book is written in, but the story is so entertaining that it didn't even bother me.   You are sure to love this book!  It is full of so many twists and turns.   It has humor, heartache, faith, and love.  What more can you ask for in a christian fiction book?  Well done Leslie Gould!!

***This book was provided to me by Bethany House Publishing in exchange for my review.

If you would like to find out more about the author and other books she has you can check out her website HERE.


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