Thanks so much to the publisher, author and NetGalley for this eARC!

Natasha Siegel blew me away with this beautiful novel, filled with a sweeping landscape of characters recovering from grief and finding love in spite of societal prejudices tearing them apart.

It's incredible how much heart she was able to pack into a relatively short amount of space. In one chapter alone, she's able to describe the main character's first marriage in a way that truly takes the reader through a roller coaster of heartwarming wonder and heartbreak.

The pacing was excellent, and I felt like the resolution to the conflict was happy while still being true to the unfair challenges of these historical times.

Can't wait to read more by Siegel!

"The Phoenix Bride" by Natasha Siegel is a beautiful historical novel that weaves together the threads of love, resilience, and self-discovery. The novel follows the journey of Cecilia, a widow whose resilience is akin to the mythical phoenix rising from the ashes. Siegel's writing is rich and evocative and the characters are well-drawn, each with their own complexities and depth, making them relatable and endearing. Wonderful novel and I highly recommend it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

After reading Solomon’s Crown last year, I was so ready for anything else Natasha Siegel decided to make. Solomon’s Crown blew me away and became one of my fave reads of the year.

Natasha is back with another story of forbidden love in a historical setting. When I began reading again a year and a half ago, I didn’t expect to be so invested in historical romances, but here we are.

My heart broke so much for Cecilia and David. Both dealing with a grief that is too big for them to bear. Love is such a beautiful and devastating thing. I wanted to hug them both tight and tell them they were allowed to be happy. I almost wanted to cry on my lunch break from how bleak it became at times. But then I also wanted to cry at the end. Natasha is such a master with the way she writes both hope and despair.

While romance is a huge theme of this book, it also goes into mental illness and religion. David is Jewish and has fled to London with his Father in order to practice freely. I appreciated seeing David struggle with his religion as well as with his sexuality in this story. We also see Cecelia struggle so much with her depression. I don’t think this is a normal thing in the 1600s, so it was so interesting seeing how it was dealt with.

While Cecilia and David were amazing characters, this story is also one where the side characters are just as great. Jan and Sam stole the show in some parts for me. Sam was a really friend. I was cheering him and Jan on the entire time.

I kept going back and forth on if anyone in this book was worth hating. I can say that things were said and done that made me angry and I felt like they would be unforgivable, but the time period gives me pause. At least the right people seemed to understand in the end.

This will obviously be one of my faves of the year and I’m so excited I got to experience it early. I will deff go buy it in March.

I am in love with this book. Such beautiful prose, weaving together interesting and complex characters in a riveting story. The setting of a great fire in London raises the stakes while grounding the fiction in reality. I wholly recommend this book.

Absolutely beautifully done book. Brilliant writing full of wonderful specifics and fantastic minor detail that really makes the story magic. The historical 1600's time frame was fascinating. I feel honestly lucky to have read this. Excellent work, author.

Forbidden love? Say no more!

The year is 1666. A grieving widow meets a grieving doctor who find a connection at the right time. This is a story filled with loss, hope, and healing. You will most likely cry - so get plenty of tissues!

The cover artwork is beautiful enough to have you pick up a copy alone, but this couple's story is well worth reading.

“Are you in distress?” he asks. A short, bitter laugh rises in my throat. It emerges before I can stop it. “Constantly.”
Cecelia, you’re a gem. Chefs kiss.

The chemistry between Cecelia and David in 'The Phoenix Bride' by Natasha Siegel, is palpable, and their love story in 1666 England was captivating. Cecelia's hilarious one-liners add a delightful charm to the narrative, showcasing her wit and resilience, making it a book I couldn’t put down. I read it over the course of 24 hours! Jan and Sam's characters were perfect and they brought an additional layer of greatness to the story, creating a well-rounded ensemble. Exploring prejudice, heartbreak, and tragedy adds depth, making love's triumph amidst the Great Fire truly unforgettable. A compelling historical romance with rich character dynamics.

I wasn’t personally a fan of the writing style (which was heavily expositional), and stopped after chapter 1 (6%). I am not familiar with the author’s first book, so I can’t say how it aligns.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.

<b>“Every moment of grief reminded me of losing you; every moment of joy reminded me of when we were together. You have become the moon and the water and everything between them. I can’t let go of you. I realize that now.”</b>

This was a beautiful book and I’m glad I stuck with it and despite it being different from what I normally read. The beginning is slow and the romance is very insta lovey but I really liked the historical fiction and the angst in the romance. For a book that takes place in the year 1666, the writing is very fresh and modern. This book takes place in London and Cecilia the fmc is widowed and going through immense grief that resulted in sickness. She gets a new doctor David (mmc) and they get to know each other more when he was her doctor. David is a Jewish immigrant in London from Portugal who is also grieving and navigating being openly Jewish after leaving Portugal because of persecution. There’s so much nuance in his story dealing with the generational Jewish trauma and living in a world that sees him and his family differently.

There’s this push and pull between the main characters as their relationship is forbidden because David is Jewish and other reasons. They have stolen moments, loss, friendships, angst and it all comes together in a such beautiful way. The writing was good, it’s not a long book but it’s fast paced and had some good prose/quotes. This is a good historical fiction and romance about life, joy and hope in the midst of injustice and darkness. Thank you Random House Ballantine for this arc for an honest review!

Rating: 4.5/5

A passionate tale of plague, fire, and forbidden love in seventeenth-century London from the acclaimed author of Solomon's Crown


I had tears in my eyes before the first chapter ended. Cecilia is a character you want to comfort, champion, and be a friend to. I love that.


1666. Cecilia Thorowgood is a widow before her marriage has really begun.
A plague has devastated the country and now Cecilia, having gone to her sister, is trapped. Living in London with her sister and her husband. More about him later.
She is obviously grieving, but her sister is having doctor after doctor giving her heaven knows what! The sister is desperate to have her well, so she can marry her off again. All behind her back of course.


But the desperation leads her to seek out Dr. David Mendes. An immigrant and a Jew. Nothing works, but then as David says, Nothing can cure grief. It takes as long as it takes.


Together they may begin to believe in love again. Maybe. Can they survive the prejudices of the town? And will they survive the horrible things coming their way?
A beautiful story of love, loss, grief, and hope.


Netgalley/ RHPG Ballentine Dell March 12,2024

Just like Solomon’s Crown, I absolutely adored this book. I find Natasha Siegel’s writing absolutely beautiful and immersive. I felt like it was in the 1600s. The romance was compelling and had me flying from page to page to find out what happened. Love this book!

This one keep me engaged from the first page until the end. The characters were fleshed out in such a way that I felt I knew them personally. Cecilia is a young bride who marries the love of her life only to lose him a short time later to the plague. David, a Jewish doctor who settles in London after escaping persecution in Portugal, loses his best friend, Manual, to the plague as well. The two meet when Cecelia falls into a state of depression that no doctor can cure. As a last hope Cecilia’s sister hires David who does what no other doctor did before him. He listens. Gradually Cecilia begins to feel better and a friendship blossoms. What results is a beautifully told story of loss, grief, forbidden love, hope, and healing. Highly recommended. Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for giving me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I adored this book. It was absolutely gorgeous. I always admire romances that are as much about healing and self love as they are about the relationship between two people. And - despite some liberties taken - the historical research that went into this book is very evident. The way that not only Judaism but queer identity and feminism was woven into the novel to really talk about ideas of belonging was so brilliantly done. So much of the book is about grief and yet it is a really beautiful hopeful story. I am incredibly lucky to have been given an ARC of it and I will be recommending it to everyone.

Tore through this book over the course of two nights. It’s a perfect escape and was a great antidote to a lot of the heavier reading I wanted a break from. Even though themes of grief and prejudice, it was full of hope and inherent goodness. I loved the time period, with the plague and the London fire in the background, along with the mention of medicinal herbs and Judaism. Thanks for the opportunity to read!

“The Phoenix Bride” is a historical fiction book by Natasha Siegel. I think from a historical perspective, this book is well done. It covers a number of things ranging from life in England around the time of the Great Fire, religious biases, and classes. There’s also a love story between the two main characters, who alternate chapters. I found the love story at times a bit too much (but social classes, expectations, and the like came into play there - so they were rather formal with each other and not communicating) but I got it. I thought the ending between the two sisters was a bit too neatly tied up (I’m not sure I could’ve forgiven a family member that quickly), but overall I think this was a well done book.

From the cover to the finals page, this book was gorgeous. The flow of the story and relationship was perfect. I cried within the first chapter which is a new record for me. Then I cried several more times throughout. I would love an epilogue, or even another book, explaining how exactly David and Cecilia got their for of HEA and their life together. Well written. I’d read anything this author wrote.

I loved Natasha Siegel's previous book, Solomon's Crown, so I was very excited to read this one!

This was a lyrical book, lush with description, and layered with emotion. The main characters are engaging from their first appearance–Cecelia is funny, hopeful, wry, loving and David is capable, caring, empathetic and kind. The grief that envelops them within the first chapters of the book is all-encompassing and deep. Palpable. Heavy. The way they are to recognize it in each other and how their meeting and subsequent encounters help them both through the process.

Despite so much of the book centering around grief the book is not a sad one. There are upsetting and sad situations and experiences but overall the book is uplifting and hopeful. I was quite fascinated by the time period referenced in the book. The time is one of upheaval and change, a clash of new and old and the specter of plague still devastating. The themes of change, desire, finding oneself, bigotry, identity, the challenges of immigrants, the social and societal disparities of the time–all of those are woven through this book in a deft and creative way. It's not a long book but it packs a lot of story into those pages. I found the author's notes with historical info to be quite intriguing and pushed me to do some research/reading of my own after I finished the book.

The writing is gorgeous. The way Seigel writes is masterful. This is a book that has heart achingly sad moments, powerfully uplifting moments, and ones of genuine joy and laughter as well. The descriptions were visually arresting and the emotions so well conveyed.

The side characters are also rich and varied and endearing in their own way (Jan! Sam!). The setting and historical detail made me curious to know more about this time in history.

All in all a book I could not put down. I would say at this point Siegel is an auto-buy for me. Her writing is luminous and rich and she writes yearning in such an achingly tender way.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this digital ARC. This is my honest review.

I cannot wait to get my hands on the actual book. The cover is gorgeous!

This is the definition of what a historical romance should look like. This book gives you all the feels. It grabs your emotions in chapter one and holds you throughout the book. Our main characters must over come so much, but share such a strong bond in their common connection through grief. It is truly a beautiful story.

I think this is the best book I've read through NetGalley. I genuinely enjoyed this, and I'm going to be upset when my 54 days are over and I can no longer go back and read it.

I have always been a sucker for a forbidden romance plotline. I always like to see if the characters are going to overcome in the end, and a book like this that really keeps you on your toes the whole time is wonderful. I really liked Cecelia and David as protagonists, and I really liked Cecelia's relationship with her sister. The way she and Margaret grew and changed throughout the book was interesting.

David's backstory was so well done, and I loved all the time and attention taken to really talk about the hardships that he would have faced as a Sephardim during this time. I really liked that there was more than just "we can't" as the reason behind why the main characters couldn't be together. There would have been real risks with their relationship, and the fact that it was explored was great.

I also really liked all of the side characters in this book, especially Jan, Margaret, and Sara. <spoiler> I really appreciated that Sara was likable even though she could have been seen as an obstacle of the main couple. I liked that since David was never interested in her, she wasn't really a threat, and was never presented as a real option for him. It's so much more mature than him turning his eye at anyone who comes near him. </spoiler> Jan was a delightful amount of chaos added to the mix, and I really liked the scenes that he was in.

The only thing that kept getting me with this book was I kept thinking it was the 1800's for some reason, and had to keep reminding myself that it was 1665. I think that was a me problem more than anything else so I didn't take a star off for it, but it was just something I noticed throughout the book.

Overall, I had a great time reading this book, and I know when it comes out for real I'll have to buy a copy.

What a magnificent book! I absolutely loved this! Right from the beginning, Siegel establishes Cecilia as a strong, funny, loving young woman. I liked her immediately. She is very much in love but then the worst happens - the plague strikes her household - and she’s soon widowed. I was in actual tears by the time the first chapter had ended.

Cecilia’s grief over her beloved husband’s death is all-consuming when she meets David, a physician who is brought in to see her. David has also recently lost someone important to him and they end up establishing a connection because of it.

The grief is palpable and drives much of the book yet somehow it doesn’t feel weighed down with sadness. The writing in TPB is beautiful and powerful. It’s an exquisitely rendered love story set amid a backdrop of political and social turmoil. The profound relevance of this aspect of the story rather took me by surprise. The characters have just come out the other end of massive political upheaval, endured a plague, and are struggling with religious persecution and bigotry. Their social stability is questionable at best, especially for refugees and minorities. (The Author’s Note at the end has some interesting historical info that I recommend checking out.) David’s Jewishness and the forced relocation of his family from Portugal to England, as well as the relentless disdain he experiences in public, feels so timely.

Siegel has crafted such unique characters and a unique story in The Phoenix Bride. It is a stunning, gorgeous work, a quiet story with weighty and profound themes and exquisite writing. All in all, a very worthy successor to Solomon’s Crown. The rare sophomore effort that bests its predecessor. An absolute must read and a new favorite!

5 stars out of 5