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.
Book 1 in The Courtships of Lancaster County series.
Link to buy the book: http://ow.ly/eSNfb
My thoughts:
I participated in this blog tour as a reader for Litfuse Blog tours. I love reading books that are based on classics. My favorite version of The Tempest is Kiss Me Kate and that made me want to see how it could be done in an Amish community. I love how a lot of Cate prickliness can be traced to misunderstandings and miscommunication and how relying on God's guidance helps her.
Cate has always been the care taker for her sister Betsy. She started when she was very young and her mother died after giving birth. She is very responsible in all things, but she does not care for housework and loves to read. Going to the bookmobile every week is the highlight of the week for her. After some problems with male members in her community she has given up on finding a husband and hopes to become a published writer, until her father issues and edict, Betsy is not allowed to court or go to social events if Cate doesn't go with her.
When a new man comes to town, an Amish man who loves to read, Cate is intrigued but thinks he will only be interested in Betsy. The last man who showed interest in her was really only interested in her father's money so she is very skeptical about why he would want to spend time with her.
Over the course of the novel Cate comes to see that her prior relationship and its demise has colored her whole life. Not only has she pulled away from other prospects for marriage, but she pulled away from God and stopped looking for his guidance in her life. When she starts to listen and really pray again, she starts to find herself again. When she stops trying to lead her life in the directions she thinks she is supposed to be going and trusts that she will get to where she is supposed to be if she listens she changes in ways that her family can perceive. It can be hard to get past misunderstandings, but often times the one who is getting in the way of success and happiness is ourselves.
Meet Leslie:
Leslie Gould is the co-author, with Mindy Starns Clark, of the #1 bestselling The Amish Midwife and The Amish Nanny . She is also the author of numerous novels, including Garden of Dreams, Beyond the Blue (winner of the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice for Best Inspirational Novel, 2006), and Scrap Everything . She holds an MFA in creative writing from Portland State University and has taught fiction writing at Multnomah University as an adjunct professor. She resides with her husband and four children in Portland, Oregon.
Learn more at www.lesliegould.com.
Landing page: http://litfusegroup.com/author/LGould
I'm on this tour too! And I liked this book, I didn't love it. I wanted to, because I love Taming of the Shrew. I'm hopeful that I will like the later books in this series though as that often happens with me.
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