A Bed of Spices

Bed of Spices is very much not your run-of-the-mill historical romance novel. That starts with the setting, which is not Regency England but Strassburg during the Plague, continues with the protagonists, namely a Christian daughter of a local noble and a Jewish apprentice physician, and ends with the plot, which reads not at all like a Romance story set against a historic background but more like a historical novel with a Romantic love story at its centre. So much so in fact that at times I even doubted whether heroine and hero would ever make it to their Happily Ever After or whether it would all end in tears and tragedy. I do not think it’s much of a spoiler to say that they get each other in the end (after all, this is a Romance, show more even though a rather unusual – but very good – one), although many of the secondary characters do not get that lucky – anything else would have been very unlikely considering the period the novel takes place in. Samuel does not shy away from having bad things happen to her characters, and is unflinching of her depiction of anti-Judaism and pogroms, not glossing over the misery and suffering Jews had to endure.

In contrast to the harsh historical setting the love story between Fredrica and Solomon is sweet and touching - reading their wedding scene had me grab for tissues on the train. It is also shown and developed in a very plausible manner: From their initial attraction and the way they get to gradually know and appreciate each other, through their struggles against prejudice, their parents and their own conscience to the final fulfillment and consummation of their love, things never seem forced or implausible and the reader (this one, anyway) never ceases to feel with and for them.

That latter bit is certainly to no small part due to Barbara Samuel being an excellent writer – her prose, lyrical without turning purple, paints a vivid picture of medieval life and is always evocative, whether she describes the beauty of nature, the bustle of city life or the tenderness of young lovers. There are some nice structural touches as well, like the various parallels and contrasts between Rica’s and Solomon’s families, and overall it’s a wonderful, heartwarming book that has become one of my favourite Romance novels. show less

I thought this was a truly lovely romantic story. So often historical romances, nowadays, are what I like to call “regency-by-rote.” No matter the author, it’s the same stale characters and plots, recycled over and over again with only the slightest variations to tell them apart. The feisty, book-loving spinster set against the alpha-male rake. You know exactly everything that is going to happen, from the first page to the last. A Bed of Spices is not one of those romances, however; it features a refreshingly different story coupled with interesting characters that have believable romantic chemistry. That’s pretty rare in romance novels – it shouldn’t be, but it is.

When I started reading A Bed of Spices, it was on the show more recommendation of a friend who suggested it as “something different.” Rica is the pretty, blonde daughter of the local lord, while Solomon is a young doctor-in-training. The plague hit the city where he was studying at university, and he was forced to come back to his hometown of Straussburg. He and Rica meet by accident, as he was receiving medicinal training with her father’s mistress, a healing woman of some repute who was also well-known within the city’s Jewish community. The set-up was written believably, and offered the protagonists a chance to fall in love without having to resort to back-breaking plot contrivances. I also admired how realistically the relationship was portrayed. During the 14th century, a Jewish man or woman who had sexual relations with a Catholic was committing an offense punishable by death. So, any possible happy ending between Rica and Solomon was going to come at a very high price, which – oh my god – it did. The secondary characters, also, were very well drawn, no “stock” characters here. Everyone in the story, from the leads on down, had distinct, well-developed personalities.

A last, little note: I loved Rica and Solomon together. Their personalities were full, complete, multi-faceted; they complemented each other well, and I could see why they were so drawn to each other, despite the obstacles their love faced. I enjoyed reading about their relationship and was rooting for them to make it, in the end. Something else unique about this story is that Solomon is a very gentle, kind beta hero; he is a nice, decent man, who is perfectly at ease with showing Rica his deep feelings for her. Loved that bit, as well.

All in all, a very tense and suspenseful read. The writing was pretty good, excellent for a romance novel, but where this book really shines is in its characterizations of normal, everyday people caught up in the political and social turbulence around them. show less

Bed of Spices by Barbara Samuel is a 1993 publication.

I found this book in the KU program and snapped it up immediately. Oh, how I miss these stories! I’m so happy to see these books digitized so I can still enjoy them!

With the ever-present danger of the encroaching plague threatening in the background- Rica and Solomon’s fateful meeting will lead them down a path of immense heartbreak and danger as Rica has been betrothed to another man, and Solomon is Jewish. Despite the odds against them, they continue to see each other every chance they get knowing their love is forbidden and their days together are numbered…

If you have not read any Medieval historical novels, I do highly recommend them- romance or no. This book is a show more romance- but it is also about antisemitism during the Black Death and forbidden love- with intrigues and manipulations as well as epic heart seizing dramas that had me glued to the pages. These stories capture my undivided attention, my heart- and nothing written today seems to immerse me this deeply into the story. They just don’t write ‘em like this anymore. Sigh…

This is a fantastic story- so good that I might have a little bit of a book hangover- something I have not experienced in years and years. I love being swept away into the past- a past where there are still lessons to be learned and where love conquered all…

5 stars show less

For the second time in as many months, I have been gifted with a little gem of a read that I don't often see mentioned in romance discussion circles, yet I found it to be so unique in both content and presentation that I can't imagine it not satisfying any romance reader who is looking for something different from the norm. A Bed of Spices is an inter-ethnic story of forbidden love between a Jewish man and a Catholic woman who literally risk their lives just to be in each other's company much less realize the fulfillment of that love by marrying. They are also from opposite sides of the tracks, for Solomon is the son of a merchant, while Rica is the daughter of a nobleman. In addition, both characters struggle frequently between their show more passionate natures and the puritanical ideology of the time, and whether their feelings and desires for one another are right or wrong. If the main characters aren't unusual enough, the story has an out-of-the-ordinary setting as well. While most medieval romances take place in England, A Bed of Spices is set in and around the bustling city of Strassburg, Germany against the backdrop of the Black Death no less. This made the story quite fascinating, but until reading it, this was certainly not an environment which I would have thought to be conducive to a good romance novel.

While this book is anything but politically correct, it is very historically accurate, actually teaching me things I didn't know, particularly about Jewish history. I had known that there were other historical persecutions of Jews besides the World War II Holocaust, but I didn't realize that there were other instances of widespread genocide of Jews. In fact, nothing short of another holocaust took place in the mid-14th century when Jews were ignorantly accused of causing the Plague (although greed and religion also played a part) and were executed by being burned alive (a literal meaning of the word holocaust). The Jews of that time also had to wear a yellow patch on their clothes to denote their ethnicity. All of these elements in the story both fascinated and horrified me to the point that I had to do a bit of study on the subject myself. In my mind it is the mark of a good author for them to be able to draw me into the history of a novel so much that I not only learn something from reading it, but want to know more. The other thing in this book that is very un-PC is the inequality of women. Women, even nobles, were typically uneducated and unable to read. Young ladies were pledged in marriage at a very young age, which is illustrated by a vassal of Rica's father asking for the hand of a 12-year-old girl, though he was one of the kind secondary characters and said that he would wait a while to actually take her as his wife. I thought it was rather ingenious that the author doesn't specifically state Solomon and Rica's ages, leaving it up to the reader to imagine whatever age they felt appropriate, but I got the sense that Rica herself was probably no more than a teenager. There is a secondary character who was raped at the tender age of six, and because of her non-virginal status, is thought of as a whore by some of the men in the story, and women in general are ingrained with the idea that they alone are responsible for inflaming the passions of the men around them. I was fully able to reconcile all these things in the historical perspective in which they are presented, but any reader who considers themselves a true feminist should definitely be prepared for some brutal reality in this book. In addition to the actual history, I was impressed with the author's use of a more realistic grammar and syntax for that era. While I know that it wasn't entirely accurate (it would be very difficult for the average person to understand real Middle English in modern times), I thought that it did lend another air of authenticity to the story.

Aside from all the uniqueness in the plot, I absolutely fell in love with the two main characters, Solomon and Rica. Solomon is a sweet beta hero who is very tender and loving and isn't afraid to show his true feelings to Rica. Instead of the typical knight hero of medieval romances, Solomon is a physician in training, and quite well-suited to that profession, in my opinion. He is a very gentle soul which is evidenced by the grief he feels at the the loss of life due to the various medical conditions and diseases of the time. He also possesses an unquenchable thirst for knowledge of the human body as well as why and how certain individuals are able to survive the Plague. He is one of the few men in the story who doesn't try to exert his dominance over the women, instead appreciating Rica as his intellectual equal which is a large part of what attracts him to her in the first place. In addition he does not think himself too good to learn medical knowledge from Helga, a renowned herbalist/midwife in the area, and he is in constant appreciation and awe of the general beauty of all the women around him. Rica is a very strong, capable and intelligent young woman who was fortuitous enough to have been educated by the castle priest who couldn't contain his enthusiasm for teaching, and since there was no male child in the family, Rica became the beneficiary of his knowledge. She too has a hunger to read and learn and wishes that it were possible for her to attend university like the men. Rica is an all-around admirable heroine who is kind and gentle, but also independent and filled with fiery passion.

Since the history of the story isn't romanticized at all, it can sometimes feel rather intense and heavy. Even Solomon and Rica's relationship is constantly tinged with danger and bittersweet moments, yet their love and the joy they share in each other's company stands out as a beacon of light against the dark backdrop of pain and sorrow around them. I loved that Solomon could always tell the difference between Rica and her twin sister, Etta, and near the end when I thought one of those cliched misunderstandings was going to get in the way, low and behold, he actually figured things out for himself which was utterly refreshing. Both characters have very deeply complex family relationships, mainly with fathers and siblings, but I always felt like I understood everyone involved even if I didn't agree with them. Helga, who was like a second mother to Rica and Etta after their own mother died, was a wonderful character, as was the kind vassal, Lewis. Rica's twin, Etta, was a very heartbreakingly tragic character, but I liked that the author kept an air of mystery surrounding her so that the reader is never quite sure if she is sane or not. Rica's suitor and Etta's love, Rudolf, is also mysterious in that one moment he would seem like a good, pious man and the next he would exhibit hints of evil. Although Rica and Etta played a game of who's who with the other characters in the story, I appreciated that the author made sure the reader was always in the know, otherwise it would have gotten very complicated.

Even though I really enjoyed A Bed of Spices, there were a few small things that kept it from quite being sheer perfection for me. Some passages were rather simplistically rendered, and I thought that a bit more details in those areas would have added more vibrancy to the narrative. There were also some repetitive word choices in a few places. I thought the author did a very good job with conveying the sexual tension between Solomon and Rica when they were together and their unrequited longing for each other when they were apart, so I found myself wishing that there had been just a little more steam when they finally consummated their relationship. Normally sweet, non-explicit love scenes are perfectly fine with me, but in my opinion, the mildness of this one didn't quite fully communicate the intense passion and deep emotional connection they seemed to feel for one another. Also, the author was very clear that Solomon and Rica's mutual attraction had an intellectual as well as physical basis. This was an element that I really appreciated and found to be very believable, but there wasn't quite as much demonstration of that cerebral connection as I would have liked to see. These are relatively minor complaints though, which didn't significantly detract from my enjoyment of the story, and I can't help but give it a few extra points for its historical significance and depth of characterizations. Overall, A Bed of Spices was a wonderful book which I would highly recommend to any romance reader looking for something out of the ordinary which breaks the typical romance novel mold. This is another one of those out-of-print books which I sought out through library channels, but will now be looking for a copy to own for my keeper shelf. This was my first read by Barbara Samuel, but it has definitely left me open to trying out other books by her. Barbara Samuel's most recent release was written as Barbara O'Neal, and she has also authored a number of category romances for the Silhouette imprint as Ruth Wind. show less

If you are looking for a romance novel that knows how to pack in the emotional wallop, look no further. I've never had a romance that made me feel so much before. And I'm not just talking about the heat of passion, either, though there is tons of that. But the heart-wrenching pain of sorrow, fear from mounting religious fanaticism, the sweet love of family, and the agony of betrayal. Everything in this book is stark, vivid, and goes right to your soul. Every page is saturated with emotion. A very good quality for a romance novel.

The book also draws in some pretty bleak events from history to set its romance against and to draw into the story. The Black Death plague is ravaging Europe and does not leave our pair untouched. The pogroms show more against Jews that resulted from this plague and the rise of religious fanaticism held me in breathless anticipation on whether this romance novel would actually end like a romance and not a tragedy. The obstacles this pair had to face, from family disapproval to forced arranged marriages to perceived death, all added to a stronger than usual love in my book.

This romance is a step above the norm as it draws on more than just the romance to draw in its readers emotions. It's not afraid to explore some darker stuff and see how those events effect our couple and their lives. I loved that bravery on the part of the author; goes to show her confidence as a writer in being willing to write more than just romantic fluff. This is definitely a book for the re-read pile. show less

Well. This is rare. I can't find any flaws with this book. None. I can criticize anything, but this book? Not happening.

It's just the perfect story of actual forbidden love. This isn't about crossed signals, stern parents or mismatched values. Oh no, this is about a highborn German woman and a Jewish physician. In the 14th century. During the Black Death. In the midst of anti-Jewish pogroms. I mean, there's "forbidden love" and then there's "shit just got real."

What I loved most about the book is how evenly matched Rica and Solomon are. They're two people who are surprised to find everything they've always wanted in each other. Neither had thought they wanted a great passionate love or an easy companionship in marriage, but they show more immediately feel as though they've known each other forever, and suddenly have no idea how they'd live without it. There was a sense of wonderment and enchantment in their conversation that was just infectious. I fell in love, ached and finally rejoiced right along with them.

Everyone should read this book. Plonk down the $2 and read it today. Your life will be richer for doing it. show less

**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 show more 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. show less