This was truly a surprisingly pleasant read for me. Oh yes, it had its hurts, delights, and nuances about grief and mourning, but it was also about two people who work through this together and separately in a world that doesn't want to see them together. It's a wonderful story of a slowly budding friendship that turns into a romance with all the right people and parts to make it work.

I loved both Cecilia and David, and the friends they made throughout their journey. I loved the background of 1660s England, and I can't say I've read a lot of historical fiction that takes place during this time period (I'm more of a Regency or Victorian era girl myself). I thought it was a bit of an interesting choice to choose this time period but I think it perfectly sets the scenes and considers the restrictions and allowance of both Cecilia, as a women during this time period, and David, as a foreign Jew during the time period, but also the important role he plays as a doctor, as someone who actually cares about his patients and learning.

I was a bit worried there for a second though, that Cecilia and David wouldn't have their happily ever after. They're both fragile and not very outspoken about their feelings for one another. I enjoyed how the author brought these two together through two of their close friends, respectively, and how everything just seemed to work for them. I love when there is a cast of supporting characters. I think it commends the author who was able to write such well-rounded characters that really make you feel deep within you.

What an unexpected book! Cecilia and David meet when he is brought in as her doctor to treat her for melancholy but she is not the only one grieving. In the short amount of appointments they have, they each find in the other someone who can truly see them and make them feel alive. What follows is the struggle of two souls trying to find a way to live with grief and forging a relationship during times of religious prejudice and the Great Fire of London.

Natasha Siegel is a beautiful writer. She describes the setting in such a way that the reader can feel the atmosphere. However, this book is maudlin and I struggled to read this love story between twin sisters and between one of the sisters and a forbidden lover. The storyline of Cecelia and her twin Margaret is a realistic portrayal of what happens when sisters marry and must create their own lives, especially in 1666. Cecelia loses one husband, falls in love with another man, and then marries for convenience. The angst she feels is not what I needed to read right now, but it was masterfully crea;ted.

“I shouldn’t say this,” he says, “but you look beautiful – as if you have risen from the flames.”

Image courtesy of British Library on Unsplash
Natasha Siegel’s The Phoenix Bride is a romance set in a historical moment that you don’t see often think of when you think “romance”: London, 1666. Bubonic plague. The Great Fire. Yet this narrative fascinated me from beginning to end.

One year after the peak of the bubonic plague in 1665, main characters Cecilia and David meet. Both are suffering under the weight of grief and the uncertainty of their futures. Cecilia Thorowgood is a widow transplanted from the country to her sister’s townhouse after the plague killed her beloved husband. David Mendes is a Jewish doctor who fled Portugal in search of freedom and safety in London. He spent the previous year watching his patients, as well as his own loved one, die from the plague. They meet when Cecilia’s sister hires David to treat Cecilia’s lack of appetite, nausea, and nervousness. David, though generally unaccepted as a Jewish man, is known for more unconventional means of curing illness and so is hired as a last resort.

Cecilia has been kept under strict supervision by her sister and the multiple doctors she lined up to “cure” Cecilia of her grief. She hasn’t left the house since she arrived. She spends days only going as far as the garden in the back to walk around the linden tree. David, who recognizes that she is severely depressed, earns her trust over the course of a few weeks. He never forces treatment on her and slowly exposes her to more autonomy in her own care.

Mendes says, “Then this is my final prescription to you, Cecilia: freedom, in as large a dose as you can manage. Leave this awful house and go into the city. Find somewhere you enjoy being. Drink coffee, make friends, visit theaters. Live.“

“You say that as if it is easy.”

“It isn’t easy,” he says. “But it is possible.”
Siegel’s writing is breathtakingly beautiful. It felt like a weighted blanket; when held in only your hands, it seems too heavy to feel comfortable. Yet when spread out over your body, it’s like a balm to your soul. I let this story and Siegel’s writing drape over every part of me — my heart, my mind, my soul — and, as a result, I was soothed.

What I like better than anything else in this story are the depictions of mental health and neurodiversity. When Cecilia meets a neighbor, Sir Samuel Grey, they strike a unique and tender friendship because of their shared difference. Siegel writes an exchange between the two that I don’t think I’ll ever forget because of this vivid imagery:

“The physicians I have spoken with say I am afflicted with a permanent restlessness,” he tell me, apologetic. “My thoughts are like bees, swarming in my skull. Sometimes they fly out of my mouth without warning, and sometimes they buzz so loudly I can’t hear anything else at all. I fear afflicting someone with such madness without warning would be cruel.”

“It is not madness, surely,” I say with a flash of sympathy. I understand what it is to fear your own mind. “Only…difference.”

…

“You said your thoughts are like bees. Do they ever sting you?”

He cocks his head, eyes wide. He looks very much like his spaniel. “Why do you ask? Do yours sting you?”

“Yes, quite often.”
The romance between Cecilia and David was not the highlight of the story for me. I enjoyed Siegel’s descriptions of London and its history and Cecilia’s journey through her grief more than I did of the relationship between the two main characters. The story calls into question norms of sexuality and marriage in 1666 London. I just don’t know enough about that time period to make a call on accuracy, but I did find myself wondering while reading. My interest in these norms, as well as the extent to which the group of main characters found each other in their alterity, captured my attention more than the romance did.

The Phoenix Bride is a beautiful novel and one I would recommend to anyone who is looking for an atypical historical romance that is richly told and cuts right to the soul.

I received this book for free from Netgalley. That did not influence this review.

The Phoenix Bride by Natasha Siegel is a gentle yet gripping historical novel. Set in London amidst plague and the Great Fire of 1666, the novel follows Cecilia Thorowgood, a young widow who lost her beloved husband to the plague. She grieves so deeply that her sister is worried for her health and sanity. After a series of doctors fails to cure her melancholy, her sister takes a bold step, bringing in David Mendes, a Jew.

David understands obsessive grief. He has also lost a loved one, a longtime friend. Because the friend was a man, David never confessed his love. As a Jew and a bisexual, David has to take great care in all he does. Falling for an aristocratic Gentile is perhaps even more perilous than falling for another man.

Gentle and understanding, David is able to reach Cecilia in a way no other physician could. They grow dangerously close. But David learns a secret. Cecilia’s sister’s concern is not as altruistic as she wants it to seem. She wants Cecilia cured so that she can be advantageously remarried. She even has a second husband picked out. And when Cecilia learns what David knows, the fragile band of trust is broken. Can it be restored?

The novel is beautifully written. The setting is richly rendered. And readers will find their heartstrings pulled.

I really wanted to love this one😭. The synopsis was intriguing, but the cover truly sold me. This book started off promising, but it became very repetitive. I was immediately interested in the fact that David was bisexual and had just lost his best friend (who’s also the man he loves), and how he was able to provide some kind of companionship for Cecilia at first. But once we got to the “romance” part, that’s where it went downhill.

********SPOILERS past this point*********


Let me prefix this by saying that this is marketed as a romance, but to me it’s more a story on grief, with a sprinkle of romance in it. Now that said, I was annoyed by all the back and forth Cecilia and David were doing. One moment it’s yes, let’s be together, and the next, it’s no, you’re a Jew, we can’t. I was so over it. I skimmed the last 100 or so pages, and the ending felt very rushed and unfinished ? To me. We go from almost a year apart, to all of a sudden, deciding to choose each other, and that gave me whiplash. I enjoyed the dealing with grief aspect of the book, but the execution of the story could’ve been better in my opinion.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher but an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I adored this novel. The characters and the lush writing were both so lovely. The story is so redemptive. I had to take my time reading it, because the emotion in the pages was overwhelming. So many times I read lines out loud to my partner because it was so delightfully sad.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book. Opinions are my own!

This book was so beautiful and engrossing! I went in thinking it would be more of a historical fiction novel, so the lack of a traditional HEA wasn't an issue for me. I loved the setting and time period and found the relationship between David and Cecilia to be completely captivating.

I enjoyed the medical aspects of the story and thought that the way Cecilia described her feelings was so superbly handled. The diversity in the story played such an important role and touches on subjects of mental health, sexuality, and religion.

The characters were all vividly written, and I particularly loved Sam. He was an amazing side character and brought much needed humor and lightness to the story. The friendship and support he offered Cecilia were absolutely delightful.

Overall, this was beautifully written and emotional. It's something that will stay with me for a long time to come.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

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.