This book was lovely, and refreshing territory for a historical. I enjoyed getting to meet these characters and spending time with them.

I don't know why I requested a book that has a large part to do with a man being Jewish. Especially when I have no clue if the author is Jewish or if there have been sensitivity readers. This is not an "overwoke" thing but a "hi I'm Jewish and I would like to not be upset by this book" thing. Kinda exhausted by this kind of stuff.

THE PHOENIX BRIDE is historical fiction with a touch of romance that is taboo in all cases. The story takes place in the mid 1600's with so many stories being told. There's the plague, the London fire, widowhood, Jewish people who are ostracized, family, friends, medical treatments, loving and love and so much more. This is David and Cecilia's story who can never be together for several reasons but still manage to do so at times. It's hard to believe that Cecilia is a twin since she and her sister are nothing alike.

There are so many characters and we only get to scratch the surface of most of them. The story has a good flow when there is action but is sometimes bogged down with so many details some of which go nowhere. There are hints of their lives and some of their proclivities but nothing outright. There's a lot of inferences in the telling of the tale which is sometimes told by David's point of view and other times Cecilia's.
The descriptions of the locations and the outfits were vivid and I could visualize the places, the clothing choices and even the fire as it consumed London. There is some closure but the story ended abruptly for me.

I rated the book 3.5 stars but rounded to 4 stars here and on other sites.

4 1/2 stars!

My first time reading this author and I really liked her writing style, how well the story flowed.

I read a lot of historical novels, but very few of this period and theme. It was a treat and I couldn't put it down.

I really liked Cecilia and David, and I especially liked that he's Portuguese. He's also Jewish, which is fine since he's only Cecilia's doctor. Cecilia is a widow and still reeling from her husband's loss, which has left her sick physically and mentally. During the course of him caring for her health, they develop a friendship, even though they both know it's not socially acceptable.

It's a forbidden love with so many obstacles and problems, and I kept wondering the whole time, how is this going to work?

I highly recommend this one!

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

3.5 stars

In Natasha Siegel's "The Phoenix Bride," readers are transported to the gritty streets of 17th-century London, a city still reeling from the devastation of the plague. Amidst the chaos, we meet Cecilia Thorowgood, a young widow trapped in her sister's suffocating mansion, her grief a palpable force. Enter David Mendes, a Jewish physician with a past as turbulent as the times he lives in. Their forbidden love story unfolds against the backdrop of impending disaster, with the Great Fire of London looming on the horizon.

While the plot occasionally feels stagnant, Siegel's meticulous attention to historical detail and her portrayal of characters grappling with prejudice and personal demons make for a compelling read. What sets "The Phoenix Bride" apart is its representation; Siegel deftly explores themes of identity and love, offering a refreshing perspective with Jewish and bisexual representation.

This book is great for anyone craving a slice of history intertwined with a heartfelt romance.

This book CAPTURED me from the very beginning.
The hold this book had on me was absolutely insane, in the best of ways of course!
The writing itself is GORGEOUS.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!

I decided to give the book a try and got confused within the first couple of pages. Going back through and reading the summary of the book, I found that this book is not for me.

I basically went into this book with no background knowledge on the historical timeline it’s set in or the plot itself, and I ended up being pleasantly surprised with historical fiction mixed with a romance that felt like how people talk about the hand flex scene from Pride and Prejudice. Even when I didn’t quite know where this book was going, I was invested. From the get-go we have some very well developed and nuanced characters, and several supporting characters that get the same treatment. It’s also a dual-POV romance which just made all the tension and character development hit that much harder. It’s a study of love out of grief, and still has funny moments regardless. I’m not quite sure if I would have picked this up unprompted, but I’m definitely glad that I read it, and I’d definitely recommend it for a 17th-century historical romance between a young widow and the (bi!) Jewish doctor who helps her see the world again!

A captivating historical romance. The tale blends plague, fire, and forbidden love and is beautifully written. The characters are well developed and vivid
Many thanks to Random House and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Heat Factor: Mostly pining with a teeny bit of (non-explicit) hanky panky.

Character Chemistry: He’s the first person who has listened to her in ages.

Plot: “It is impossible for us to be together, so we must take advantage of this, our last meeting!” But repeat that seventeen times.

Overall: The second half dragged so much that I no longer cared about the solution to their impossible relationship quandary.

Meet Cecelia. Cecelia is a young(ish?) widow, whose first, beloved, husband died due to plague. Now, no one knows what to do with her and her grief. She sleeps all the time. She refuses to eat. She doesn’t leave her sister’s townhouse. She’s generally unpleasant to be around. None of the doctors, with their leeches and whatnot, have had much effect on her state.

Cecelia’s sister is desperate for Cecelia to get better—because she loves Cecelia, but also because she really needs her sister to marry her husband’s heir so that she’ll be taken care of if she dies childless. (This secondary reason is not immediately revealed, but it’s hinted at from quite early on.) Enter David Mendes, a doctor with different methods. Also: David is Jewish.

David, it must be stated, is also grieving, having also lost his best friend slash the man he loved to last years’ plague. So he’s sympathetic to Cecelia, and perhaps more empathetic than the previous doctors have been. Plus he uses herbs, not leeches, and even though those weird tisanes don’t taste that great, they help Cecelia keep her food down.

Once the course of treatment is established, this would be the end of their relationship, except Cecelia freaks out when she hears she is to be married and runs away and meets David by chance in the park. They spend some time together, and then, before you know it, Cecelia is sneaking out to meet David again.

Now, at the beginning of their relationship, I was all about the angst. Cecelia is a noblewoman, or at least noble enough that she’s introduced at court. Jews might be allowed in England, but there’s no way Cecelia could marry one. It might not even really be safe for them to be in public together. And if Cecelia wants to not live with her sister forever—and she doesn’t—she needs to get married. “Widows have more freedom” is all well and good as a plot device, but not if the widow has no money. Plus, David also has a prospective marriage partner. Anyways, it was very clear that they were in an impossible situation and I was very curious how they were going to make it work.

I mean, look at this delicious angst:

"“I am a Jew, Cecilia!” I cry, too loud, and she flinches. “Your heart shouldn’t beat like that for a Jew.”

"“But it does.”

"“And if I could prevent it from doing so, I would. If I could prevent my own from doing the same. …But I can’t. It does not matter whether you are betrothed, whether what you feel for me is real, how we met or how we will meet again—we can only ever be a fantasy. A brief dalliance we must forget.”

"My voice is strained and shaking. I should be calmer than I am. I owe it to her to maintain my composure; I am only upsetting her further. But I am frustrated and grieving and wanting, even now, and I cannot control myself. I want her as a river wants the ocean, as night wants the dawn, and it feels as if I will waste away for want of her if I leave her here like this. But I must leave her."

However. The second half of the story is extremely repetitive. They have multiple meetings where one or both of them declares that they will never see each other again. Then they cling to each other. Then they separate and *mope*. That delicious angst? It gets much less delicious when we’re rehashing the same information for the third, fifth, seventeenth time. While there was forward movement in the plot (the book takes place in London in 1666, which means the whole friggin’ city burns down), I didn’t particularly feel that there was a lot of forward movement in Cecelia and David’s relationship.

I do want to talk about the solution they come to, but that’s spoilery, so here’s your warning that the rest of this post contains spoilers.

Ok, so Cecelia does get married to Lord Grey just like her sister wants. It turns out Lord Grey is also being heavily pressured to marry somebody—anybody!—to keep the line going, but is having trouble because he’s strange (he describes himself as having a head full of bees, like his thoughts are constantly buzzing around) and also because he doesn’t particularly want to get married (it is heavily implied that he’s attracted to men, though never confirmed). Anyways, he and Cecelia decide to do a convenience marriage for mutual benefit.

Now, while Cecelia and Lord Grey are negotiating their marriage deal, David is moping. Part of his moping is continuing to do his work as a doctor, and this happens:

"Time does pass, albeit slowly. The fifth day, the sixth, the seventh. On the eighth, the Myddletons call me back to their townhouse. I go, because I must, and they rain praise upon me for Master Myddleton’s improvement. There is a young woman there with them, plump and pretty, who is introduced to me as Dear Ellie by Mistress Myddleton, and who is carrying Master Myddleton’s baby. Mistress Myddleton seems exceptionally fond of her husband’s lover, cooing over her as I do a general examination of her health. When I tell her all is well, Mistress Myddleton presses a kiss to Ellie’s cheek and cries, “Marvelous!” as Ellie flushes.

"Perhaps, I think as I leave, I have misunderstood something fundamental about Christian marriage."

So I figured, “Ah, ok, we’re going to do some polyamory here, and this scene is priming the pump.” (Remember: David’s dead love was a man.) After all, the Myddletons appear in perhaps three scenes in the entire book, and are never heard from again after this interaction. Why else include this detail about entirely incidental characters? Plus David and Lord Grey have a very weird first meeting in the park, which could have easily been used as a jumping off point to attraction.

That’s not what we do. Lord Grey gets his own love interest, and the book ends with the hint that they’ll work out an arrangement with their respective side pieces. Of course, ethical non-monogamy takes all kinds of forms, and dividing David’s attraction between Cecelia and Lord Grey would have made for a very different book.

However, I was left a bit unsettled by the ending, wherein they declare their love for each other once again and decide to live without fear. Given that 1) they have just spent nine months separated while Cecelia goes to the country, 2) David has spent that entire nine months moping and being sure that Cecelia would not actually return to him, and 3) how impossible their love has been presented up to this point, I really wanted a bit more than a declaration. An epilogue would have gone a long way here in reassuring me about the logistics over the long term.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report.

Included as a top pick in weekly March New Releases post, which highlights and promotes upcoming releases of the month (link attached)

Cecilia is struggling after losing her husband to plague the year prior. She's stuck in her sister's home in London and despite seeing multiple doctors, she's not getting better. Cecilia's sister enlists a new doctor David Mendes, who is a Jewish foreigner, to see if his methods might help. Cecilia opens up to David and she sees there may be other options. As their relationship progresses, they also have to decide if it'll be worth the sacrifices. Overall, a compelling romance set in eventful 1666 England. Readers who like a descriptive setting will enjoy this one.

This book is such a great example of a well-rounded story; with amazing imagery, beautifully complex characters written in alternating perspectives, and a lesser common historical backdrop, this was a fantastic read. Our author does a tremendous job dealing with heavy topics of religious prejudice, racism, grief, and healing despite it all.

Cecelia and David are almost perfect foils of one another and I've always been a sucker for this trope. Though the book begins with both of our heroes grieving the loss of their great loves, Cecelia and David have processed their trauma differently and it has shaped them to their core. Cecelia's bitterness and David's guilt feel so real as we get to know them, and their unique outlooks and flaws really play off each other, which drives their healing journeys as they work together in the face of many tragedies. These characters work so well together because their reliance on one another feels genuine in a way that other authors struggle to pull off.

This story also offers in-depth perspectives of serious social issues. Cecelia is suffering from the lack of autonomy women experienced at this time and the lack of mental health resources available, while David faces antisemitism and prejudice as a foreigner fleeing to England. David's own story told so well that I felt true heartache for his experiences.

I found this to be such a touching story of love, hope, and overcoming the odds life stacks against us. I definitely recommend this read to anyone who is in need of a good laugh, an even greater cry, and a tale that leaves you a little more tenderhearted.

I devoured this book--partly because the setting was 1666 (mention the plague and I am all in); but also because of the treacherous sister. Cecilia and Will are deeply in love when she loses him to the plague. Her mourning is so deep that her sister brings her to London in the hopes that she and her husband can "help" her break free from her melancholy. The London of 1666 is an interesting place with some intriguing people and the book moves along quickly for me. This book should appeal to historical fiction lovers of this era. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the complimentary digital ARC. This review is my own.

I have enjoyed this author's past works so I was excited to see another book out. This is an interesting take on a woman who has suffered great loss and then is tucked away in her sister's house to recover. The sister has other things in mind. Like marrying off her recovering sister to the wealthiest bidder. I enjoyed this book and would recommend.

*3.5 stars

This book was very interesting and was a quick read/easy to follow. This was a dual POV between Cecelia and David, our main characters.

I wish this story had pulled me in more than it did. I found it be interesting and there were so many characters that I really enjoyed - Cecelia, David, Jan, Lord Grey, etc. I appreciated that this historical fiction had queer representation, which I have not seen in most books. It brought so many characters to life and gave much more depth to the story.

Overall, this was a good read!

I had trouble getting into this book, I think perhaps it’s just not for me. It has some beautiful description and it well written

I ate this up! An English Restoration-era romance? I don't know if I've ever read one before. The dialogue was sometimes jarringly modern-sounding, but that's a minor quibble. The story was compelling and deeply emotional, and the setting was evocative. Cecilia and David were just so sweet together and easy to root for.

This was so lovely. The Phoenix Bride by Natasha Siegel is set in London during the 1660s. We meet Cecilia, a grieving gentlewoman, who is living with her sister near St. James. Cecilia’s grief is debilitating and her sister seeks out an unconventional doctor, David Mendes, to help. (You know I love a dual POV!) David understands Cecilia. They have an immediate connection, even though it takes them a moment to recognize. But David is Jewish and a foreigner. The cards are stacked against them. They are from different worlds - the expectations from their families, friends and ‘community’ are not easily ignored.
This was romantic and the setting was perfection. I find this era fascinating. I wanted to be on the street with the flower seller and in the garden at the Eden townhouse or in the barge sailing down the Thames. (However I did not want to be in east London seeing a giant fire coming my way!).
Cecilia was a feeler. She reminded me of Marianne from sense and sensibility. I really liked her. And I worried for her. She was in an almost impossible situation and I loved how she persisted and took risks and took control of her own destiny. Her relationship with her sister was complicated and frustrating and at times mysterious. I was so happy Cecilia had her friend Sam and David had his friend Jan. There was enough tragedy around them - the MCs needed these positive friend forces in their lives. David was like Cecilia- while he was more quiet, he felt things deeply. His ability to be supportive to all those around him while also dealing with his own grief was admirable.
I was frustrated that one of the MCs took longer to work through their emotions. It felt unnecessarily extended but it also supports the idea of how hard it was to overcome the expectations of the time.
The language and writing was probably a little contemporary for the time but not enough that it was distracting. This was a romantic, unconventional novel that I highly recommend. 4.5 stars. I look forward to more from this author.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the e-ARC.

The Phoenix Bride is a beautifully written forbidden love story set in seventeenth-century London. It combines two of my favorite genres, historical fiction and romance. The romance is between a Jewish physician, David Mendes, and an English widow, Cecilia Thorowgood. David is hired to provide treatment to Cecilia, who suffers from grief and melancholy after her husband's death from the plague.

I enjoyed the forbidden romance between David and Cecilia and appreciated reading chapters with dual POVs. I loved the beautiful prose. My favorite aspect of the book was learning about 16th- 17th-century Jewish history and culture. One of my reading goals this year is to read more books with Jewish representation, and I am happy I've read The Phoenix Bride! I highly recommend this book to historical fiction and historical romance fans.