Courting Cate by Leslie Gould Book Review

Courting Cate by Leslie Gould is the story of Cate Miller, an Amish girl, who has a no-nonsense personality, interested in books, writing and wants nothing to do with marriage.  She raised her younger sister, Betsy who longs to get married to Levi.  Their father has put the law down: Betsy may not get married until Cate does.  This presents a problem until Pete Treger breezes into town and starts working for Cate's father.  He and Cate have a combative friendship, but eventually seem to enjoy each other's company until Cate finds out it was all an act.  Or was it?  Then her sister tells her news that causes Cate to seal a quick marriage to Pete which she immediately regrets and is stuck in a loveless marriage living with her workaholic in-laws. Cate comes to realize that she has fallen in love with Pete, but she is not sure if he feels the same.  Will Cate and Pete have the marriage that they both long for?

I truly loved the beginning of the story when sparks flew between Cate and Pete.  I identified with Cate in so many ways except that I did want to get married.   However, Cate was very strong and opinionated and I thought she was a great match for Pete.  This story has been retold in many ways namely the play, Kiss Me, Kate and the newer contemporary version in a movie, 10 Things I Hate About You.  I knew the general plot, but I after Cate got married, it seemed that Pete immediately turned off his charm to her and she was manipulated to work like a maid for his parents.  The last half of the story wasn't very appealing to me, but I understood the concept of the plot.  But overall, it was a good read and not a typical Amish novel.

*This book was provided to me free of charge by Bethany House for purpose of this review. This is my honest opinion of this book and no monetary compensation was received for my opinion.*