A Great Catch by Lorna Seilstad
Woman’s suffragist Emily Graham doesn’t need a man in her life. She’s committed to fighting for the cause and having a husband would slow her down. She wants to make her own decisions and she really wants to fight for the right for women to vote. In spite of some townsmen objections to her actions, she’s still committed to her cause. However, her life takes an interesting turn when she literally slams into baseball player Carter Stockton. Carter is an old friend of her brother’s and she has not seen him in awhile. There is an old feud brewing between the Stockton and Graham families, and Emily’s aunts object to her spending so much time with Carter.
In spite of her objection to marriage, Emily is attracted to Carter. When she’s determined to prove that a woman can do whatever a man can do, she arranges a baseball game between an all women’s team and Carter’s Manawa Owls baseball team. As a result, Carter has to teach clumsy Emily how to play, which proves to be a delightful and funny lesson on the rudiments of baseball.
This book was sweet, charming and endearing. There was also an unusual combination between baseball and woman’s suffrage that you won’t usually find in a novel. I also enjoyed the thread of mystery involved in the story. Carter is hired as Emily’s grandmother’s bookkeeper. However, he finds some discrepancies in her records – is Carter’s family’s bank at fault for the discrepancy? The book also shows how families can be divided over issues. Carter wants to be a baseball player, and, in spite of his family’s objections, he refuses to work in the family banking business.
If you like a sweet, warm, light-hearted story with a thread of mystery, then this book is for you. I also think you’ll find it interesting when you read about how baseball was played during that time period.
Many thanks to Baker/Revell for providing me with a free review copy.
From the Back Cover
She wants to change the world.
He wants to change her mind.
It’s the beginning of a new century at Lake Manawa resort in Iowa, but some things never change. When Emily Graham’s meddlesome aunts and grandmother take it upon themselves to find her a husband among the resort guests, the spunky suffragist is determined to politely decline each and every suitor. She has neither the time nor the need for a man in her busy life.
Carter Stockton, a recent college graduate and a pitcher for the Manawa Owls baseball team, intends to enjoy every minute of the summer before he is forced into the straitlaced business world of his father.
When their worlds collide, neither Emily nor Carter could have guessed what would come next. Will Carter strike out? Or will Emily cast her vote for a love that might cost her dreams?
The perfect summer novel, A Great Catch will enchant you with its breezy setting and endearing characters.