Becoming Bea

For Beatrice Zook it has always been about who will have the last W-O-R-D. To stay that her and Ben Rupp are competitive would be a sheer understatement. For as long as they were in school, the annual spelling bee determined who was the winner. At first it was all about studying definitions, spellings, and root meanings, but for as long as either of them could remember it was about so much more. Until the Amish district decided that there was too much pride in winning the spelling bees, and they were banned.

Last time Bea could remember, she was the final winner, but after all those competitions between her and Ben, it was tied. Since the Amish graduate at the 8th grade, that was where it ended. In a tie. Bea at one time had hoped for something more between her and Ben, but an argument between them ended things before they ever got started. And now, every time, they see one another, it's a contest of wits, words and emotions.

Bea believes her life is content keeping people at arms length and sees no reason to step outside her comfort zone to make friends, find a suitable husband or even venture outside her home. Between her books and taking care of her Mamm who survived surgery to remove a brain tumor, she believes her life is complete. Until her sister Molly arrives home from church and announces they are all planning a trip to Montana to visit her husband's family and to give the family a much needed vacation. That is the last thing Bea wants and the only way out of it, is to find a job before the start of the trip.

Lucky for her, Nan and Bob Miller have been looking for someone to help with the care of triplet preemies, as well as taking care of the house, cooking and anything else Bea can help with. Nan is still recovering from their birth and to say that taking care of three infants is more than a handful, would be an understatement. Not only that but Bob's business in cabinet making is taking on more business than he can handle and he's hired a few of the local boys to help out. One of them just happens to be Ben Rupp. But will Bea have the last word this T-I-M-E?

I received Becoming Bea by Leslie Gould compliments of Bethany House Publishers and Litfuse Publicity for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions contained here are strictly my own. I absolutely LOVED this novel. I'd read Courting Cate quite some time ago and was anxious to get back to Lancaster County to see how things were going. I love that Bea and Ben still have that competitive edge and I found myself relating quite a bit to Bea because all through high school, I was what some would call a loner. So to see her trying to find her way in the world, while her sister believes she has Bea's best interests in mind was something I could relate to. It's a great reminder of just how the Amish community works together to help one another out when they truly have a need and families are always looked after. This one easily rates a 5 out of 5 stars in my O-P-I-N-I-O-N! This is the fourth novel in the Courtships of Lancaster County Series.

For more information about Becoming Bea, Leslie Gould or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

Becoming Bea by Leslie Gould

You can also find Leslie Gould on Facebook to stay up to date on all her latest novels.

To see more reviews on Becoming Bea, please visit Litfuse Publicity's Book Tour Page. 

Leslie Gould is back with the latest book, Becoming Bea, in her Shakespeare-inspired series, The Courtships of Lancaster County. Don't miss the other books in the series, Courting Cate (retelling of The Taming of the Shrew), Adoring Addie (inspired by Romeo and Juliet), and Minding Molly (inspired by A Midsummer Night’s Dream).

Leslie is celebrating the series with a Kindle giveaway and a Facebook party on November 11th.

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A Kindle Fire
• One copy each of the entire The Courtships of Lancaster County series: Courting Cate, Adoring Addie, Minding Molly, and Becoming Bea.

Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on 11/11. Winner will be announced at Leslie's 11/11 Becoming Bea Facebook author chat party. RSVP for a chance to connect with Leslie and Amish fiction fans, as well as for a chance to win some great prizes!

{NOT ON FACEBOOK? ENTER HERE.}

RSVP today and spread the word—tell your friends about the giveaway via FACEBOOK, TWITTER or PINTEREST and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 11th!

Courting Cate

"An ultimatum has been issued by Bob Miller, father to Cate and Betsy, "That beginning tonight, that Betsy doesn't go to the singings if Cate doesn't go, Betsy doesn't court unless Cate courts, and Betsy doesn't marry unless Cate marries first. Understood?"

Betsy burst into tears - something she'd perfected through the years. When she was little she had been known to put her finger in her eye to make herself cry.

I fell back against my chair.

Dat boomed, "That's the final word, I'll not budge an inch."

Dat sat back in his chair and opened his Bible, holding it like a shield between him and me. "I finished Revelation this morning."

It seemed as if it had been a lifetime ago.

"So tonight, Genesis one," he proclaimed.

Betsy whimpered. I stared straight ahead. Dat ignored us both. "In the beginning," he read, "God created..."

The only other words I heard were "Be fruitful and multiply." (pg18-19).


In the novel, Courting Cate, the first book in the Courtships of Lancaster County by Leslie Gould, we find a challenge has been issued by Cate's father to find her a suitable husband so she can experience the love and happiness he had once shared with his now deceased wife. But it seems as if no Amish boy ever has wanted to genuinely court Cate and instead has only been interested in Betsy, her younger sister. Cate has been fine with the arrangement of keeping the books for her father's growing business and resisting the efforts of the single men in her community who insist on giving her a hard time.

Now fearing resentment from Betsy, now 17 and with more suitors than she can count, Cate feels pressured to find a husband otherwise Betsy will never marry. But the only love Cate truly has is being an avid book reader since she was caught by her Dat reading under the covers by candlelight, now Bob Miller fears it is the love of books that have captured Cate's interest and kept all prospects of finding a suitable husband away at the old age of 23. It seems that Cate could spend some time brushing up on her culinary skills as well as she burns most anything she attempts to cook, while her sister Betsy is the dream of what an Amish young woman should be. They're as different as night and day, but unless Cate marries, she will doom all of their lives and pass up any hope of finding true happiness.

Betsy wants to settle down and raise a family that she didn't even participate in Rumschpringe, a running around time and immediately joined the church. It seemed as every Amish boy who had met her dreamed of courting her, and now she can't move forward in search of her own future unless she helps her sister, Cate find a husband. But who will she be able to find to court Cate, that she hasn't already rejected? I mean there has to be an eligible bachelor somewhere considering her Dat's money. But Cate isn't willing to accept just 'someone.' She had already experience that 'someone' who was only interested in her Dat's money before and she won't do that again. But when Betsy puts the word out to find a suitable husband for Cate, it seems that fate will bring Pete Treger to town just in time, but is his interest in Cate or is there a scheme at play? 

I received Courting Cate by Leslie Gould, compliments of Litfuse Publicity and Bethany House Publishers for my honest review and could easily see the dilemma facing Cate. Her father truly only wants what he believes is best for Cate and Betsy, but when faced with the fact that Cate might never make the move on her own, he does what he thinks might motivate them both and issues a plan to find a husband for Cate. For those of you looking for something a bit different in your Amish Romance books, you might have found a true treasure in Courting Cate, the first book in The Courtships of Lancaster County and I can't wait for the next one. This one hands down rates a perfect 5 out of 5 stars.

For more information about Courting Cate, Leslie Gould or where to pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

Courting Cate by Leslie Gould

You can also find Leslie Gould on Facebook by clicking here. 

To read more reviews from the Courting Cate Book Tour, click here.

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (November 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764210319
• ISBN-13: 978-0764210310
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches

Courting Cate

"An ultimatum has been issued by Bob Miller, father to Cate and Betsy, "That beginning tonight, that Betsy doesn't go to the singings if Cate doesn't go, Betsy doesn't court unless Cate courts, and Betsy doesn't marry unless Cate marries first. Understood?"

Betsy burst into tears - something she'd perfected through the years. When she was little she had been known to put her finger in her eye to make herself cry.

I fell back against my chair.

Dat boomed, "That's the final word, I'll not budge an inch."

Dat sat back in his chair and opened his Bible, holding it like a shield between him and me. "I finished Revelation this morning."

It seemed as if it had been a lifetime ago.

"So tonight, Genesis one," he proclaimed.

Betsy whimpered. I stared straight ahead. Dat ignored us both. "In the beginning," he read, "God created..."

The only other words I heard were "Be fruitful and multiply." (pg18-19).


In the novel, Courting Cate, the first book in the Courtships of Lancaster County by Leslie Gould, we find a challenge has been issued by Cate's father to find her a suitable husband so she can experience the love and happiness he had once shared with his now deceased wife. But it seems as if no Amish boy ever has wanted to genuinely court Cate and instead has only been interested in Betsy, her younger sister. Cate has been fine with the arrangement of keeping the books for her father's growing business and resisting the efforts of the single men in her community who insist on giving her a hard time.

Now fearing resentment from Betsy, now 17 and with more suitors than she can count, Cate feels pressured to find a husband otherwise Betsy will never marry. But the only love Cate truly has is being an avid book reader since she was caught by her Dat reading under the covers by candlelight, now Bob Miller fears it is the love of books that have captured Cate's interest and kept all prospects of finding a suitable husband away at the old age of 23. It seems that Cate could spend some time brushing up on her culinary skills as well as she burns most anything she attempts to cook, while her sister Betsy is the dream of what an Amish young woman should be. They're as different as night and day, but unless Cate marries, she will doom all of their lives and pass up any hope of finding true happiness.

Betsy wants to settle down and raise a family that she didn't even participate in Rumschpringe, a running around time and immediately joined the church. It seemed as every Amish boy who had met her dreamed of courting her, and now she can't move forward in search of her own future unless she helps her sister, Cate find a husband. But who will she be able to find to court Cate, that she hasn't already rejected? I mean there has to be an eligible bachelor somewhere considering her Dat's money. But Cate isn't willing to accept just 'someone.' She had already experience that 'someone' who was only interested in her Dat's money before and she won't do that again. But when Betsy puts the word out to find a suitable husband for Cate, it seems that fate will bring Pete Treger to town just in time, but is his interest in Cate or is there a scheme at play? 

I received Courting Cate by Leslie Gould, compliments of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for my honest review and could easily see the dilemma facing Cate. Her father truly only wants what he believes is best for Cate and Betsy, but when faced with the fact that Cate might never make the move on her own, he does what he thinks might motivate them both and issues a plan to find a husband for Cate. For those of you looking for something a bit different in your Amish Romance books, you might have found a true treasure in Courting Cate, the first book in The Courtships of Lancaster County and I can't wait for the next one. This one hands down rates a perfect 5 out of 5 stars.

For more information about Courting Cate, Leslie Gould or where to pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

Courting Cate by Leslie Gould

You can also find Leslie Gould on Facebook by clicking here. 

To read more reviews from the Courting Cate Book Tour, click here.

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (November 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764210319
• ISBN-13: 978-0764210310
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches