Courting Cate by Leslie Gould

In Paradise, Pennsylvania, Cate Miller is known more for her sharp tongue and fiery temper than her striking appearance.  Her sweet and flirty sister, Betsy, on the other hand, seems to have attracted most of teh bachelors in Lancaster County!

But the sisters' wealthy father has made one hard-and-fast rule:  Cate, as the oldest, must get married before Betsy can do so.  Unfortunately, untamable Cate has driven away every suitor - until Pete Treger comes to town, that is.

Prodded by the men of the area, Pete turns his attention to winning Cate's hand.  But is his interest true or is there a scheme at play?




Evidently being a self-sufficient, bull-headed female isn't unique to Englisch  women.  As Cate Miller shows us, there are Amish women who want to be self-sufficient and not dependent on a man.  Cate Miller is a sharp-tongued, independent woman who hides behind her temper in her attempt to shelter her heart. With a head for business, she wants nothing more than help her Da run his many businesses and maybe, just maybe, start one of her own.  Unfortunately, Cate lives in a culture where women are there to take care of and be taken care of by a man.

Due to an unfortunate and embarrassing event with a young man who she thought was a suitor she now makes sure she hurts others before she gets hurt.  The only person who seems to be able to get under skin is her sister, Betsy.  Unlike Cate, Betsy wants nothing more than to get married and will do absolutely anything to make sure she gets the chance.

The story was well told, but it ran a little slow for me.  I had a little trouble connecting with the characters, and while I understood the motives behind why Cate acted the way she did, I just had a hard time feeling empathy towards her.  I did, however, fall in love with her big, burly, gruff dad and was really hoping he would get together with one of the secondary characters.  Maybe he will in one of the following books.

All in all, not a bad book.  Probably not a re-read, but I didn't feel like I wasted my time or anything.

If anyone would like to read this book, please leave a comment below and I will get it out to you.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Bethany House book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”