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The Phoenix Bride by Natasha Siegel
It is 1666, one year after plague has devastated England. Young widow Cecilia Thorowgood is a prisoner, trapped and isolated within her older sister’s cavernous London townhouse. Burdened by grief, at the mercy of a legion of impatient doctors, Cecilia shows no sign of improvement. Soon, her sister makes a decision born of desperation: She hires a new physician, someone known for more unusual methods. But he is a foreigner. A Jew.
David Mendes fled Portugal to seek a new life in London, where he could practice his faith openly and leave the past behind. Still reeling from the loss of his beloved friend and struggling with his religion and his past, David is free and safe in this foreign land but incapable of happiness. The security he has found in London threatens to disappear when he meets Cecilia, and he finds himself torn between his duty to medicine and the beating of his own heart. He is the only one who can see her pain; the glimmers of light she emits, even in her gloom, are enough to make him believe once more in love.
Facing seemingly insurmountable challenges, David and Cecilia must endure prejudice, heartbreak, and calamity before they can be together. The Great Fire is coming—and with the city in flames around them, love has never felt so impossible.
Why you should read it: I absolutely adored this book. It strikes a truly overwhelming balance between grief and joy, with characters who find each other and truly see each, other despite a world arranged to keep them apart. The depth of this story left me winded, and made me cry more than once. No spoilers of course, but there's one line that hit me in the chest so hard that I actually said, "Oh my god." Like. Out loud. While crying (good tears.) And then I had to rewind my audiobook, because I missed the next several paragraphs. This might well be the best book I read this year.
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Slippery Creatures by KJ Charles
Will Darling came back from the Great War with a few scars, a lot of medals, and no idea what to do next. Inheriting his uncle’s chaotic second-hand bookshop is a blessing…until strange visitors start making threats. First a criminal gang, then the War Office, both telling Will to give them the information they want, or else.
Will has no idea what that information is, and nobody to turn to, until Kim Secretan—charming, cultured, oddly attractive—steps in to offer help. As Kim and Will try to find answers and outrun trouble, mutual desire grows along with the danger.
And then Will discovers the truth about Kim. His identity, his past, his real intentions. Enraged and betrayed, Will never wants to see him again.
But Will possesses knowledge that could cost thousands of lives. Enemies are closing in on him from all sides—and Kim is the only man who can help.
Why you should read it: Oh this was lovely. I devoured it even faster than I anticipated. It's a marvelous tale of spies and sex and inconvenient feelings, setting up a very fun dynamic to follow, through more books in the series, and I enjoyed it enormously.
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The Perks of Loving a Wallflower by Erica Ridley
As a master of disguise, Thomasina Wynchester can be a proper young lady—or a bawdy old man. Anything to solve the case. Her latest assignment unveils a top-secret military cipher covering up an enigma that goes back centuries. But when Tommy’s beautiful new client turns out to be the highborn lady she’s secretly smitten with, more than the mission is at stake…
Bluestocking Miss Philippa York doesn’t believe in love. Her cold heart didn’t pitter-patter when she was betrothed to a duke, nor did it break when he married someone else. All Philippa desires is to rescue her priceless manuscript and decode its clues to defeat a powerful enemy. She hates that she needs a man’s help—and she’s delighted to discover the clever, charming baron at her side is in fact a woman. Her cold heart… did it just pitter-patter?
Why you should read it: Charming and lovely and so incredibly satisfying, this book was a wild ride. I loved the chemistry between Tommy and Philippa, and their mischievous-partners-in-crime dynamic was such a delight to behold. I was also impressed by how well the story incorporates such a wide cast of characters without leaving me remotely confused about Tommy's numerous siblings and their distinct personalities. I didn't realize until I started that I was stepping into a series in progress, but I thought the author did a deft job of getting me up to speed without too much info-dumping. A genuinely fantastic read, I absolutely loved it.
The Phoenix Bride by Natasha Siegel
It is 1666, one year after plague has devastated England. Young widow Cecilia Thorowgood is a prisoner, trapped and isolated within her older sister’s cavernous London townhouse. Burdened by grief, at the mercy of a legion of impatient doctors, Cecilia shows no sign of improvement. Soon, her sister makes a decision born of desperation: She hires a new physician, someone known for more unusual methods. But he is a foreigner. A Jew.
David Mendes fled Portugal to seek a new life in London, where he could practice his faith openly and leave the past behind. Still reeling from the loss of his beloved friend and struggling with his religion and his past, David is free and safe in this foreign land but incapable of happiness. The security he has found in London threatens to disappear when he meets Cecilia, and he finds himself torn between his duty to medicine and the beating of his own heart. He is the only one who can see her pain; the glimmers of light she emits, even in her gloom, are enough to make him believe once more in love.
Facing seemingly insurmountable challenges, David and Cecilia must endure prejudice, heartbreak, and calamity before they can be together. The Great Fire is coming—and with the city in flames around them, love has never felt so impossible.
Why you should read it: I absolutely adored this book. It strikes a truly overwhelming balance between grief and joy, with characters who find each other and truly see each, other despite a world arranged to keep them apart. The depth of this story left me winded, and made me cry more than once. No spoilers of course, but there's one line that hit me in the chest so hard that I actually said, "Oh my god." Like. Out loud. While crying (good tears.) And then I had to rewind my audiobook, because I missed the next several paragraphs. This might well be the best book I read this year.
- — - — - — - — -
Slippery Creatures by KJ Charles
Will Darling came back from the Great War with a few scars, a lot of medals, and no idea what to do next. Inheriting his uncle’s chaotic second-hand bookshop is a blessing…until strange visitors start making threats. First a criminal gang, then the War Office, both telling Will to give them the information they want, or else.
Will has no idea what that information is, and nobody to turn to, until Kim Secretan—charming, cultured, oddly attractive—steps in to offer help. As Kim and Will try to find answers and outrun trouble, mutual desire grows along with the danger.
And then Will discovers the truth about Kim. His identity, his past, his real intentions. Enraged and betrayed, Will never wants to see him again.
But Will possesses knowledge that could cost thousands of lives. Enemies are closing in on him from all sides—and Kim is the only man who can help.
Why you should read it: Oh this was lovely. I devoured it even faster than I anticipated. It's a marvelous tale of spies and sex and inconvenient feelings, setting up a very fun dynamic to follow, through more books in the series, and I enjoyed it enormously.
- — - — - — - — -
The Perks of Loving a Wallflower by Erica Ridley
As a master of disguise, Thomasina Wynchester can be a proper young lady—or a bawdy old man. Anything to solve the case. Her latest assignment unveils a top-secret military cipher covering up an enigma that goes back centuries. But when Tommy’s beautiful new client turns out to be the highborn lady she’s secretly smitten with, more than the mission is at stake…
Bluestocking Miss Philippa York doesn’t believe in love. Her cold heart didn’t pitter-patter when she was betrothed to a duke, nor did it break when he married someone else. All Philippa desires is to rescue her priceless manuscript and decode its clues to defeat a powerful enemy. She hates that she needs a man’s help—and she’s delighted to discover the clever, charming baron at her side is in fact a woman. Her cold heart… did it just pitter-patter?
Why you should read it: Charming and lovely and so incredibly satisfying, this book was a wild ride. I loved the chemistry between Tommy and Philippa, and their mischievous-partners-in-crime dynamic was such a delight to behold. I was also impressed by how well the story incorporates such a wide cast of characters without leaving me remotely confused about Tommy's numerous siblings and their distinct personalities. I didn't realize until I started that I was stepping into a series in progress, but I thought the author did a deft job of getting me up to speed without too much info-dumping. A genuinely fantastic read, I absolutely loved it.
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