Review ~ Courting Cate by Leslie Gould

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.

My Review

Don't you just love this cover? I'm a highly visual person, so when I first saw it I was intrigued. The author paints some lovely word pictures of the countryside but the story didn't pan out exactly like I expected. About a third of the way through I was thinking that Cate was a real biddy. I wasn't liking her or the story at all. Courting Cate is sort of an Amish retelling of The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare. I continued to read until the half way point, maybe a little more, but finally had to stop. The story was slow and depressing to me. I just couldn't get into it with so much negativity and deceit going on. 

If you enjoy Amish Fiction or Shakespeare (grin) then you might enjoy this book. Lots of people have, according to the reviews, I'm just not one of them :)

Bethany House provided a copy for review purposes. Only my honest opinion is required, which I have given. No other compensation has been received.

It's not often I don't enjoy a book and I know that we all have different opinions after we read one, so I asked my MIL to read it. A summary with her thoughts are below. 

Reviewed by Sharonne Payne

Set in Lancaster County, Pa., Courting Cate is an Amish novel with a different twist.

Cate Miller feels that she is not pretty like her little sister, unlovable and known in her district as a fiery tempered shrew. She has been subject to bullying, mocked, and feels used. All she wants is to remain single and enjoy her books.

Then her father gives an edict that changes everything. She must marry first so her sister can marry. What will she do?

When Pete Tregor comes by their cabinet shop looking for work and shows interest in Cate, her father thinks he is the answer to Cate’s dilemma.

Should she settle for a marriage of convenience, or refuse to wed and break her sister’s heart? Can she leave the past hurts behind and learn to trust Pete or is he after her father‘s money? Will she put her life is God’s hands and learn to trust Him again?

If you want to know the answers to these questions then I suggest you read this book. I found it very interesting and enjoyable.