Leslie Gould's Courting Cate ~ Reviewed

Courting Cate
By Leslie Gould
Published by Bethany Publishers
ISBN#978-0-7642-1031-0
344 Pages

Back Cover:

When Amish farmer Pete Treger moves to Paradise Township, Pennsylvania, seeking a better life, he meets sisters Cate and Betsy Miller. Both are beautiful, but older sister Cate is known more for her sharp tongue and fiery temper than her striking appearance. Betsy, on the other hand, is sweet and flirty--and seems to have attracted most of the bachelors in Lancaster County!

However, the sisters' wealthy father has made one hard and fast rule: elder sister must marry first, before the younger can even start courting. Unfortunately for poor Betsy, and for the men who want to court her, her older sister, Cate, doesn't have any suitors--until Pete comes to town, that is.

Though he finds both sisters attractive, something about Cate's feisty demeanor appeals to him. Soon the other bachelors in the district convince Pete to court Cate. She hardly seems receptive to his overtures, though. Instead, she's immediately suspicious of his interest

Review: I’m thankful for the review copy of this book that introduced me to Cate a business Amish woman. Cate is quite content with her life; she was employed by her father as his book keeper for the family business.  She also helped raise her baby sister Betsy after her mom died. Life was good until her father made this announcement, “I’m implementing a new policy, beginning tonight. Betsy doesn’t go to the sing along if Cate doesn’t go…Betsy doesn’t court unless Cate courts…and Betsy doesn’t marry unless Cate marries first! Understand?... that’s the final word. Dat said. “I’ll not budge an inch.”

With this decree life took on a new dimension. Cate had already checked out the boys in their ward district. None of them were interested in her they wanted Betsy. She was ok, with being single. Why did her dad have to make both of their lives miserable?

Cate escapes into what she loves, books! She checks out books from the book mobile. It was Cates favorite place on earth. This is what she thinks of books, “I loved the endless possibilities of the stories. I loved the places they took me. And I loved being with Nan (the bus driver). There was something so accepting so kind and hopeful about her, that for a few minutes I’d forget how disappointing I was to others in my life! Couldn’t her Dat be as encouraging as her friend Nan?”

Cate explains to Nan her situation, “there are two given roles for an Amish woman: being a wife and mother. But there were a few single women who supported themselves. I could too. There was no reason for me to marry a forty-five-year old widow with lots of kids to have a fulfilling life. Sure, I’ve been responsible for Betsy her entire life, but I was not going to marry for her sake. She’d have to figure out this one on her own.”

I enjoyed Cate’s spunk as she maneuvers life to go along with her fathers wishes at the same time staying true to herself. I liked this novel because it doesn’t take place all inside the one district. I also liked that it wasn’t your typical Amish story. Cate is a fighter and is very loyal to God and her family. It was fun to read.

This is the first novel I’ve read by Leslie Gould it won’t be the last! This novel is plain fun and will bring a smile to your face and make you say, Oh, My! As Leslie takes readers on a ride or two they didn’t expect to go on! I liked that too!! This is the first book in the Courting series! Jump aboard! You’ll like the ride!

Reviewed by: Nora St.Laurent
TBCN Where Book Fun Begins!