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jg93's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Antisemitism, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Rape, Death, Misogyny, and Sexual violence
Minor: Death of parent
moviemavengal's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. After Ridley's glowing review I had to buy this book, and I'm so glad I did. Forbidden love between a German noblewoman and a wealthy Jewish doctor in medieval times. Tons of angst and not of the contrived misunderstanding variety. The joy these two unlikely lovers find in each other is palpable. In a setting of the black death, Jewish martyrdom by burning, not to mention possibly mad evil twins you can't believe there will be a HEA, but it is extra satisfying when it comes.
kgroberts13's review against another edition
4.0
I'm a sucker for a good medieval romance.
Many middle age romances I've read are hyperbolic: the love/hate relationship between the hero and heroine suffers from Caveman Syndrome wherein the hero wants to just drag the headstrong heroine off to some dark corner and teach her how to behave. I'm all for primal urges, but it can be misogynistic in the wrong hands and becomes boring when it's a large part of the central conflict.
Even though this book is a few decades old, it doesn't have an off-putting, bodice-ripper plot and is quite poetic in its romance. While the ending felt a bit rushed, the overall story was lovely.
And I really liked that it took place in northern Europe instead of Britain - a welcome change of location.
Many middle age romances I've read are hyperbolic: the love/hate relationship between the hero and heroine suffers from Caveman Syndrome wherein the hero wants to just drag the headstrong heroine off to some dark corner and teach her how to behave. I'm all for primal urges, but it can be misogynistic in the wrong hands and becomes boring when it's a large part of the central conflict.
Even though this book is a few decades old, it doesn't have an off-putting, bodice-ripper plot and is quite poetic in its romance. While the ending felt a bit rushed, the overall story was lovely.
And I really liked that it took place in northern Europe instead of Britain - a welcome change of location.
ela_35's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
This book was fine, but it was insta-love and I didn’t like most of the side characters.
Rica and Solomon meet and then can’t stop thinking about each other. After the initial meeting, they might meet a few more times but they don’t really talk about anything significant and suddenly they are in love. I wanted to see more scenes where they spent time together and got to know each other.
There were some side characters, but I didn’t like Etta at all (she seemed to live in her own world where only she existed, so she didn’t care about anyone else), Rudolf was disgusting, and Rica’s father contradicted himself (he liked Rica as she was but then told her that she had too much freedom).
The plot was interesting, but it wasn’t really for me as there is a lot about antisemitism. Also, the description of this book is not what actually happens – Rica doesn’t even know that she is betrothed until nearly the end of the book.
This book was fine, but it wasn’t really for me.
saycheeze37's review against another edition
3.0
It was interesting to read about the struggles this couple faced, the plague, mobs, religious differences. The situations they faced were very real for their time.
tucker4's review against another edition
3.0
**3.5**
Heads up to anyone reading the kindle version: the book ends at the 80% mark (at least mine did). Which I learned after picking the book up today at the 79% mark and then got to the end 4 pages later. Which was kind of annoying.
Anyway, on to the book itself.
Rica and Solomon do experience love at first sight, which I'm not a fan of, but considering, I think the author handled it well. By the end she did have me believing that Rica and Solomon were soul mates. However, in the beginning, I think I cared more about what happened with Etta than I did with Rica. That is until Etta seemed to get a little loopy and I no longer had a grasp on Rudolph's character. He went from seeming normal, to a religious nut-job, to mentally unbalanced. He was kind of all over the place. But then I became more invested in Rica and Solomon again and was rooting for them.
While the writing is good, there were a few places I found the story-telling a little vague. Some people might like this, but I prefer the detail. For example, I think it would have helped if the author had expanded on the relationship between Christians and Jews a little more in the beginning. We are told Rica and Solomon's relationship is forbidden, but never why. It wasn't until a little later that there is a reference to them being beheaded for their relationship that the reader really understands just how verboten it was. Perhaps the author is assuming readers are more familiar with medieval Jewish history, but I am not one of those readers, and it would have helped me to have a little more background.
Another example, was the fire. If someone hadn't read the prologue they might had had trouble following what happened. The reader knows that Jews are being arrested in other cities and some were burned. Then Rica sees smoke coming from Strassburg and that is all we get about the this huge, tragic fire that killed two thousand Jews! Such an event had so much potential for drama and story-telling and it was largely glossed over. It seemed a shame.
Still, this was a well done book overall and I largely enjoyed it.
Heads up to anyone reading the kindle version: the book ends at the 80% mark (at least mine did). Which I learned after picking the book up today at the 79% mark and then got to the end 4 pages later. Which was kind of annoying.
Anyway, on to the book itself.
Rica and Solomon do experience love at first sight, which I'm not a fan of, but considering, I think the author handled it well. By the end she did have me believing that Rica and Solomon were soul mates. However, in the beginning, I think I cared more about what happened with Etta than I did with Rica. That is until Etta seemed to get a little loopy and I no longer had a grasp on Rudolph's character. He went from seeming normal, to a religious nut-job, to mentally unbalanced. He was kind of all over the place. But then I became more invested in Rica and Solomon again and was rooting for them.
While the writing is good, there were a few places I found the story-telling a little vague. Some people might like this, but I prefer the detail. For example, I think it would have helped if the author had expanded on the relationship between Christians and Jews a little more in the beginning. We are told Rica and Solomon's relationship is forbidden, but never why. It wasn't until a little later that there is a reference to them being beheaded for their relationship that the reader really understands just how verboten it was. Perhaps the author is assuming readers are more familiar with medieval Jewish history, but I am not one of those readers, and it would have helped me to have a little more background.
Another example, was the fire. If someone hadn't read the prologue they might had had trouble following what happened. The reader knows that Jews are being arrested in other cities and some were burned. Then Rica sees smoke coming from Strassburg and that is all we get about the this huge, tragic fire that killed two thousand Jews! Such an event had so much potential for drama and story-telling and it was largely glossed over. It seemed a shame.
Still, this was a well done book overall and I largely enjoyed it.
teaandbooklover's review against another edition
4.0
I'm so glad I decided to not heed the negative reviews and let them keep me from reading this wonderful book. I loved both of these characters and the richness of their love and the historical aspects of this story. They did have many things to overcome in that day and age, where the plague and racial tensions ran high.
There are many wonderful supporting characters I grew to love in this story also.
I absolutely love Barbara Samuel's writing! So many good passages I re-read. I love that her stories don't have unnecessary fillers or problems. It's always a very tight story.
There are many wonderful supporting characters I grew to love in this story also.
I absolutely love Barbara Samuel's writing! So many good passages I re-read. I love that her stories don't have unnecessary fillers or problems. It's always a very tight story.
takethyme's review
3.0
3.5 Stars
A BED OF SPICES was, for all intents and purposes, a tale of forbidden love. 'Rica' der Esslingen was a devoted daughter, a loving sister and a friend to many of her father's subjects. She was also a Catholic living in very dark times.
She had a thirst for knowledge uncommon to women of her era. When not required to solve problems in her father's home, she borrowed her sister's wolfhound and visited the village herbalist. She felt most at ease when she was picking and grinding herbs, reading medicinal tomes or learning to heal.
Solomon was a student of medicine and a quick learner of Hilga's herbal remedies. He was the son of a prosperous Jewish merchant and was expected to become a doctor. He had been studying his trade for over four years when he first met Rica. Before too long, their attraction morphed into love but they both knew nothing could come of it.
Ms. Samuels spliced heart wrenching moments taken from real-life events and intermingled them with Rica's and Solomon's story. Pride, contradictions and angst riddled the romance. Etta, Rica's sister, and Rudolf, their father's vassal, added a fair amount of tension to make this romance an emotional roller-coaster.
At times, this group of people in the grip of denial, was a painful thing to watch. I am giving the story 3.5 stars because though I liked it, it is not something I would want to read again.
A BED OF SPICES was, for all intents and purposes, a tale of forbidden love. 'Rica' der Esslingen was a devoted daughter, a loving sister and a friend to many of her father's subjects. She was also a Catholic living in very dark times.
She had a thirst for knowledge uncommon to women of her era. When not required to solve problems in her father's home, she borrowed her sister's wolfhound and visited the village herbalist. She felt most at ease when she was picking and grinding herbs, reading medicinal tomes or learning to heal.
Solomon was a student of medicine and a quick learner of Hilga's herbal remedies. He was the son of a prosperous Jewish merchant and was expected to become a doctor. He had been studying his trade for over four years when he first met Rica. Before too long, their attraction morphed into love but they both knew nothing could come of it.
Ms. Samuels spliced heart wrenching moments taken from real-life events and intermingled them with Rica's and Solomon's story. Pride, contradictions and angst riddled the romance. Etta, Rica's sister, and Rudolf, their father's vassal, added a fair amount of tension to make this romance an emotional roller-coaster.
At times, this group of people in the grip of denial, was a painful thing to watch. I am giving the story 3.5 stars because though I liked it, it is not something I would want to read again.