4.5 stars. Courting Cate by Leslie Gould is an absolutely charming novel that is entertaining and heartwarming. To read my review in its entirety, please click HERE. ( )

An Amish retelling of "The Taming of the Shrew," a story I strongly dislike and have strongly disliked all the movie versions as well- "Kiss Me Kate", "Ten things I Hate About You", etc. This version I actually didn't dislike. Lots of the characters made me mad and frustrated but it was very well written and I liked the message that you can find peace even when the people around you are jerks. ( )

A wonderful story to begin this series. It took me in a direction I wasn't expecting when I started reading this book and I appreciated that. I had a hard time really liking Cate Miller through most of this story, but by the end, I understood her and appreciated the way she saw herself and how she changed.

Cate Miller is known for her sharp tongue and fiery temper in Paradise, Pennsylvania. She is also known for her love of books and her lack of cooking and housekeeping skills. Her father has made an edict: Cate, as the oldest, must get married before Betsy can do so. Unfortunately Cate has driven away every suitor, that is, until Pete Treger comes to town and starts working for her Dad. For many reasons Cate doesn't trust him, but what happens next took me by surprise, so I won't spoil it. Needless to say Peter has his work cut out for him when it comes to getting Cate to love him. ( )

The plot was different and refreshing for an Amish novel--definitely not the usual "will she or won't she leave the Amish for the city?" plot. I'm not sure the first person style is right for me. Showing and telling were alternated as if interchangeable, not necessarily at the best times.

The taming of the shrew is one of my favorite story lines. The actual "taming" that takes place during the second half of the book is less comical and more drudgery, brought on by a harsh mother-in-law rather than the Petruchio character himself. In fact, the hero and heroine aren't together for much of the second half of the book, but based on some brief interaction and "courting" outings, they supposedly love each other by the end of the book. Also, some of the plot elements needed more clarity.

The hero was not cookie-cutter. His candid humor was fresh and fun, though I wasn't always clear about his motivation.

I did love the heroine. She was single, in her twenties--a near old maid in her community. She liked to race her buggy along the back roads, a bookworm, who raised her sister from a baby. These were all interesting to read about.

I'd like to read more of this series, especially the book based on Much Ado About Nothing. ( )

In the beginning, I thought Cate was a very stubborn sort of woman, but as I continued reading, I began to see that the things she experienced in life affected her severely and shaped her outlook on life. I believe she unfairly judged herself by the circumstances beyond her control and unintentionally made things harder on herself. But the book is well worth the read and I found the ending quite satisfactory. ( )