A Bed of Spices (Harper Monogram)

"I wish she had loved more wisely," Charles said heavily, looking away. "How could she love you, knowing how dangerous it was? How could you let her?"

September's TBRChallenge was “Lush Life”. I'm going back to NOT reading the back of books because this was the synopsis: He filled her dreams with desperate longing...

Son of a wealthy Strassburg merchant, and determined to become a physician, Solomon had come to study the herbalist's art. It was there, in a wild garden, that he first set eyes on Rica. Her golden-haired beauty and bold spirit bewitched him. As plague ravaged Europe, he struggled against his passion, risking his life for the woman he longed to hold in his arms forever on...A Bed of Spices.

Sounds “lush”, right? Y'all. Just, please be aware this book discusses/has antisemitism, rape of a child, physical abuse, and murder. I thought I'd get a purple prose heavy on the sexual tones and instead I just got HEAVY. It took me two weeks to finish this and it's about a month later that I'm sitting down to finally write some thoughts. I kind of wanted to forget this story but for readers that like some not oft discussed historical aspects in their historical fiction, I wanted to at least mention some things about this.

Throughout that summer, plague and pogroms raged through Germany.

It's Strassburg, Summer 1348, and we know what that means, the Black Plague is lurking around. True to form, no matter the time, people are frightened about a disease they don't understand and are blaming Jewish people for it, creating a dangerous atmosphere. So, of course, our FMC Rica, is falling in love with our MMC Solomon, a Jewish man studying medicine under the same midwife Rica goes to for herbs and medicines to help the people of her father's castle. Rica is also the twin sister of Etta, who is mute to just about everyone than Rica. When Etta was six, she was out walking with her mother when soldiers came and raped her mother to death and then raped Etta, leaving her unable to have children or have sex again. I told you, this book gets so dark. One of Rica's father's knights, Rudolf, wants to marry Rica and makes a deal with her father that he'll court her over the summer but if he still doesn't win her over, he still gets to marry her. Even though Etta seems to keep herself pretty distance from everyone, she likes Rudolf and this starts off Rica and Etta pretending to be each other at times to fool Rudolf. Rica thinks he'll eventually fall in love with Etta, not knowing how often Etta pretends to be her. Rudolf is very religious, growing more towards zealot as the story goes on and this causes him to see one of the sisters in his thoughts as a whore and generally just gets more erratic as they play with his mind by switching.

His eyes were grave when he looked at her, and weary beyond measure. "There is no force that can stop fear, liebling. Remember that."

The romance has that “trying to fight it but not too hard” back and forth between Rica and Solomon, as they both know her being a Lady and him being Jewish kind of forbids them to be together. There's also the added danger growing as the Plague gets closer and the danger for Jewish people grows because of antisemitism. It all comes to a head when Solomon's father finds out about their romance and he beats Solomon, trying to put fear into him about he's risking his life and the end of summer has Rudolf wanting to marry Rica. Solomon is told by his father that Rica died and leaves town, while Rica prepares to marry Rudolf thinking it's her way of saving Solomon, only to be drugged by Etta, who has also steadily grown more erratic, and takes Rica's place as Rudolf's bride. Because of the physical damage from the rape, Rudolf realizes he married the wrong sister and this causes him to strangle Etta to death.

We're at 50%. If you're still hanging in there, some comic relief: His limbs trembled so violently he reached for a crotch of the tree to brace himself. Romance, where even the tree crotches get action!

"It seems we are fated to meet, my lady. What are we to do?"

Rica's been miserably living at home as her once bestfriend father won't speak to her because he blames her for Etta's death, thinking Rica maneuvered it so Etta had to marry Rudolf. It takes the midwife straight talking the father to finally get him to see the truth. Meanwhile, Solomon ends up surviving the Plague, causing him to go back home and in his traveling ends up seeing Rudolf whipping himself because he has joined the flagellants (still doesn't feel like a justice enough ending for him to me). Once home, Solomon immediately runs into Rica, who pretends to be Etta but Solomon's not fooled but goes along with it for the moment. Once he is reunited with his father, all the antisemitism catches up with them and we get Solomon relaying this make you tear up story to Rica when he decides to finally go to her: "My father pretended he would leave with me on Friday. I dressed as you see me now to travel. When the mob came to arrest us with the others, he screamed that I was trying to convert him." Solomon raised his eyes, unable to quell his grief. "He would not come with me. He screamed that he'd rather die a Jew than—" Overcome, Solomon bent his head. "And die he did."

With Rica's father also dying (a stroke), they decide that life's too short to be apart and get married. Their love doesn't solve antisemitism though, and they recognize the danger and decide to move to Cairo, where Solomon's ancestors originally moved from. It felt a little out of left field to me but maybe there was a historical movement by Jewish people at this time to Cairo that I'm not aware of. So, they get their HEA but my god, what a not make you particularly feel good love story, however, there was good historical context and feel if you're wanting a different time period historical romance, just be prepared for all those trigger warnings.