Courting Cate (The Courtships of Lancaster Country) by Leslie Gould

The character of Cate is based very loosely on Shakespeare's [The Taming of the Shrew]. Cate has many of the characteristics of Katherine from the Taming of the Shrew. Like Katherine she is stubborn, independent and very headstrong. She would rather work for her father in the office of his woodworking business than do the typical women's duties like cooking and sewing. Some of the reasons she is like this is because she has had to be a mother to her younger sister. Her mother died in childbirth so Cate had to grow up fast even though she was still a child herself. Another reason is that she has experienced ridicule by men in the community and was hurt by one potential suitor. As a result she does not trust men at all that is until she meets Pete Tregor and some of her rough exterior starts to get smoothed out. She and Pete share a love of books.

I like this book. There is humor in the book. Can't go into too much detail here without giving away the plot. A couple of characters I did not really like. One of Pete's mother but by the end of the book I understood her and liked her a little better. The other character I did not care for was Betsy, Cate's little sister. She was a spoiled little brat who thought the world revolved around her. She did not change much by the end of the book. At the end of the book she was still a self-centered little brat. This book is the first in a series called The courtships of Lancaster County. I can't wait to read the rest of the series.

Thanks to LibraryThings's Early Review Program and Bethany House for providing me a copy of this book to review.