A Convenient Christmas Wife by Rebecca Kertz
Publisher: Love Inspired
Publication Date: October 22, 2024
Genres: Amish Romance | Holiday Romance
Pages: 208
Format: paperback
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A makeshift Christmas family

Might be just what he needs

Injured and widowed after an accident, Joshua Miller desperately needs help caring for his four children. So when he proposes a marriage of convenience to their housekeeper, Esther King, she is thrilled. She’s always wanted a family of her own, but it’s never come to be. Now her heart is open to the children, but her new husband is a different story. Joshua’s still reeling from the death of his wife. And Esther’s got a secret that stands between them. Can a marriage of convenience become a love match this Christmas?

My Review and Reflections

What is Esther’s secret? I couldn’t stop wondering what it was and how it was impacting all her decisions. It caused me to pick this up on a Saturday and finish on a Sunday. Not something I do very often, but I just couldn’t put this one down. Between Esther’s quiet shyness around Joshua, her secret, and Joshua’s insistence that he can never love again, you just want to soak it all in. And find out the breaking point when all hearts align and romance takes over.

What I loved About These Characters

Despite Esther’s hope for a marriage filled with love and children, she didn’t trust that God would provide her with that. She was confusing this way. She wanted one thing, a family, but shut out all possibilities at every turn. So when Joshua suggested a marriage of convenience, it seemed like the answer to most of her problems. If you take out the adoring husband factor. But at the same time, the agreement seemed sacrificial for Esther. She connected with the children and wanted to spend time with them and be their mam, even if Joshua didn’t want a conventional marriage.

Poor Joshua was so scared of getting close to anyone again. He couldn’t even think of the possibility of losing someone else, so he just hardened his heart. Especially since he adored his late wife so incredibly much. Being injured and needing to support his four children didn’t help matters much. Despite his grumpy exterior, glimpses of tender feelings would peek out when he thought about Esther. Even if he didn’t want them to.

How This Story Made Me Feel

Joshua’s pain seemed so real to me. It brought out my mama bear in me. I just wanted to hug him until all his sorrow went away. The affection his family poured into him made me long for deeper connections with my own children. They were a blessing to Joshua, and despite everything, he did seem to understand that in his own way.

Sometimes love surprises us. In the middle of life’s chaos and unexpected hardships, someone turns up that you just can’t say no to. Someone who appreciates you and gives you just a glimmer of Jesus’s gentleness here on earth. This person helps you heal, cares for you despite your brokenness, and overwhelms you in a good way. I think that Joshua and Esther just may have found that in each other.

It really had not been that long since Joshua had lost his wife, but the story shows how God’s timing isn’t always our timing. Once Joshua was able to open himself to that, to fully grasp the gift God was giving him, he was able to accept the healing God provided through Esther.

Why You Might Enjoy This Book

This a great book for those who can’t wait to pick up their next single parent or marriage of convenience book. It really gets at the nature of what love can do for someone in pain, both physical and mental. This book opens your eyes to God’s healing and timing, if we just let go and let Him.