Saturday, March 10, 2012

Cross My Heart by Sasha Gould

Old cover
Laura della Scalla is the second daughter of the della Scalla household and as such, has spent the past six years living in a convent. But with the death of her older sister, Beatrice, she is summoned home and finds herself engaged to a horrible man named Vincenzo in place of her sister. But her sister's death was no accident and Laura soon finds herself involved with a secret society known as the Segreta, where secrets are the currency of choice. But can she really trust them?

If you've been following my blog for a while, you probably know that I really love historical fiction and I've been looking forward to reading Cross My Heart for quite some time. Having said that, I definitely feel like it lived up to my expectations. Have I mentioned that there's romance? Because there most definitely is. Better yet, Giacomo (the boy in question) is a painter and well, hot. I definitely liked him quite a bit although I feel that he didn't appear all that often. I think that I--personally--would've preferred a tad more romance as just as I began to really like Giacomo, Cross My Heart ended. Because of that, I'd really love to see a second book--although it's written in such a way that I feel like it could get away with being a standalone.

New cover
If you couldn't tell by now, there's also a very strong focus on secrets. I can't really go into just how important they are, but believe me, they play a huge role and there's also a family vendetta in play as well. Asides from that, there's Carina, Beatrice's old friend who quickly becomes Laura's guide to Venetian society; to put it simply, she's... something else. Don't worry, you'll see what I mean. Then there's Laura, our main character. She definitely makes some mistakes and I wouldn't call her headstrong nor weak willed; to put it simply, she's human.

There were a few times when the plot felt a little slow, but overall it flowed nicely and if anything, I'd love to read more of Laura's tale! I'd recommend it to you if the plot sounds intriguing to you, the idea of a book set in Venice during the late 15th century piques your interest, and you enjoy a bit of a mystery.

Overall Rating: ★★★★

Cross My Heart by Sasha Gould
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Random House.
Release Date: March 13, 2012
Edition: e-ARC
* Received via publisher and NetGalley.

6 comments:

  1. I haven't seen this cover before! I kinda like it--but I love the mask cover a whole lot more.

    Lovely review! I haven't heard much about this book, but your review makes me want to read it more. Yay! :)

    Ashelynn @ Gypsy Book Reviews.

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    Replies
    1. Awesome! :D If you do end up reading it, I hope you enjoy it! Also, I totally forgot to change the cover to the new one! (So now I've added the new cover as well.) Admittedly I personally prefer the older cover but the new one definitely fits into Cross My Heart.

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  2. I really enjoyed reading this as well! Loved all the romance and secrets, although, like you - I wanted more romance!

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  3. This one sounds like it'd be up my alley - a pity there wasn't quite enough romance, but the mystery does sound good! Thanks for giving me a general idea of what to expect without spoiling it :)

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  4. I've been dying to read this for a long time now but for some reason I haven't gotten round to it. I love this cover much more than the horrible pink and yellow one over here. Glad to hear there's some good romance (though sadly not enough!).

    Amy @ Turn the Page YA

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  5. Cross My Heart by Sasha Gould is an epic story of indulgence, secrets, and forbidden love. It was a lovely historical fiction debut from Sasha Gould, and I am very eager to see what Sasha Gould will come up with next.

    regards,
    charmaine of Kansas Pheasant Hunting

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