My Review - A Great Catch

A GREAT CATCH is full of great fun! Lorna Seilstad’s amusing story of a young suffragist and a local baseball player is humorous and historical.

Emily Graham is out to change the world. As president of the local woman’s suffragist club, she rallies for the right to vote and speaks out on the subject whenever the opportunity presents itself. Unfortunately, Emily is also a bit of a klutz which gets her into some comical scrapes, especially with the good-looking Carter Stockton.

Carter Stockton has just graduated from college. Though his family’s banking business looms ahead of him, he can’t picture himself in suit and tie and behind a desk the rest of his life. So, he puts his all into the Manawa Owls, the local baseball team. As their star pitcher, he spends his time in the fun and the sun, much to the frustration of his brother who insists he needs to grow up.

When Emily and Carter literally collide at the local roller rink, sparks fly. Carter admires Emily’s spunk, though he thinks she needs to lighten up and enjoy life a little. And Emily can’t help but be drawn to the attractive Carter, even though there is no time in her life’s hectic schedule for a romantic endeavor. When Emily comes up with the idea of having a women’s baseball team come and play an exhibition game with the Owls–as a way to promote the great cause of empowering women–Carter and Emily continue to butt heads. When Emily discovers something underhand is happening at Carter’s family bank, concerning her grandmother’s money, it is no longer just her pride she must guard against but a broken heart as well.

I enjoyed A GREAT CATCH. The premise was fresh and the characters amusing. Though at times the added angst of Emily’s meddling aunts was frustrating, the side characters of Ducky, Lilly, Marguerite, and even the obnoxious Olivia, added colored to the story. Emily was an unpolished heroine with all her quirks and flaws, and Carter made for a great hero in that even when his heart was wounded, he refused to allow others to be disrespectful Emily. Though I didn’t read the first installment in the Lake Manawa Summers series, I thoroughly enjoyed the town that came to life in Lorna Seilstad’s writings.

Book provided for review purposes.

Available May 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.