Book Review: Foolish Games by Karen Wiesner

This is another beautiful, inspirational story from Karen Wiesner.

Foolish Games

by Karen Wiesner

Book 3 of the Family Heirlooms Series

Reissue available now from Whiskey Creek Press
978-1-61160-015-5 (trade paperback); 978-1-61160-014-8 (electronic)
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Genre: Inspirational Contemporary Romance

My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0

(Book Description from Amazon)

Publication Date: April 6, 2010

Falling in love will take letting go of their fears. That, or a miracle…

Nuggets of faith can be passed down as family heirlooms from parent to child, sibling to sibling, spouse to spouse.

Family Heirloom, Book Three – Healing

A year after he lost his beloved wife, Peter Samuels still struggles with overwhelming grief. As the sole caretaker of growing children, the first anniversary of her death hits especially hard as he faces the world without a partner.

There is only one man for Kimberly Wolfe. Her boss, Peter. But he’s taken. First, by a marriage she envied from afar. Now by his grief. However, she’s used to the idea that happily-ever-after may never happen, not with a childhood haunted by a domineering father who used the Bible to justify his God-given place as the head of their household. A father who still refuses to repent for the wrong he’s done. Kim has tried, but forgiveness comes hard when trust is in short supply.

An innocent kiss on New Year’s leads to a growing awareness—of each other, and of the gaping holes in their lives that only love can fill. But before they can take the first steps on the road to healing, first they have to build a bridge…

Review:

Kimberly is a beautiful, caring and giving young woman. She is loved by many in her community. She was raised in a troubled household with a father who used the Bible and scripture to brow beat her mother under the description of “submission.” After her mother died and Kimberly had a violent altercation with her domineering father she found the courage to move out on her own. Although Kimberly would love to have a family of her own she is not sure she can ever find a man who will not use his position as “protector” to make decisions for her and ‘keep her in line’ as her father did to her mother and tried to do to her.

Peter is Kimberly’s boss and she has had a crush on him for years. But she had always honored his happy marriage. Now Peter has been a widower for a year and Kimberly is wondering if it might be possible for him to care for her. Peter recognizes that his children and his family all care for Kimberly. Suddenly he is seeing her in a new way. Is it possible that it would be all right for him to love a second time?

There are several secondary story-lines running along with Kimberly and Peter’s sweet romance.
Peter’s younger sister, Samantha, is ready to go to college and begin to move apart from her family. Yet her father, the local Pastor, wants her to help him witness to a young man being counseled under a delinquency program. Samantha is frightened of the boy but she continues to honor her father’s demands rather than disobey him.

Ms. Wiesner weaves some excellent Christian dilemmas and good responses and truths through the story-lines. The characters’ deal with issues including submission, forgiveness, the fine line of honoring parents and exercising personal discernment.

As usual Karen Wiesner writes wonderfully real and warm characters with real life scenarios. I love how both characters trusted God and were willing to let Him lead to get things right. Kimberly’s fear was almost unreasonable but that is easy for me to say never having been in such an abusive situation. I found it difficult and sad that Kimberly had such trouble forgiving her father and that caused only more pain and bondage for her.

I recommend this story for enjoyment and for sound biblical solutions in difficult life issues. I have enjoyed many stories now by Ms. Wiesner. If you enjoy christian romance I hope you will try her books.

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Some of Peter's thoughts:

Kimberly helped him refocus. She accepted that the Lord was God, and His reasons weren’t humanly understandable to them.  Location 488.

Either he accepted the bad with the good in life, or he didn’t. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t leave the Lord behind because he’d trusted Him as long as he could remember. That was that. Location 496

Kimberly’s wise advice to Samantha:

You need to decide what the Lord wants you to do. He’s leading you. Even with the best of intentions, someone else could steer you wrong. Location 1069.

Thank you to Karen Wiesner for providing this for review.