Review: Cross My Heart by Sasha Gould

Publication Date: March 13, 2012

Image and summary courtesy of Goodreads.com:

Venice, 1585.

When 16-year-old Laura della Scala learns that her older sister, Beatrice, has drowned, she is given no time to grieve. Instead, Laura's father removes her from the convent where he forcibly sent her years earlier and orders her to marry Beatrice's fiancé, a repulsive old merchant named Vincenzo. Panicked, Laura betrays a powerful man to earn her way into the Segreta, a shadowy society of women who deal in only one currency—secrets. The Segreta seems like the answer to Laura's prayers. The day after she joins their ranks, Vincenzo is publicly humiliated and conveniently exiled. Soon, however, Laura begins to suspect that her sister's death was not a tragic accident but a cold-blooded murder—one that might involve the Segreta and the women she has come to trust.

I was extremely excited when this book arrived in my inbox. I absolutely adore historical fiction, and anything with a mysterious and romantic twist is sure to pique my interest. Though this book wasn't terrible, I just felt underwhelmed. A fun read for sure, but not one that I will feel compelled to re-read.

I will say that I absolutely adored the protagonist, Laura. Her voice was sweet and inexperienced, but she didn't seem irritatingly naive (despite having spent the majority of her teen years in a convent). When she was agonizing over her impending marriage to Vincenzo, I felt her pain and repulsion. However, I felt that her character, and perhaps those of her father and nurse Faustina, were really the only ones who were truly developed. So, when we are supposed to believe she has fallen in with the Segreta and trusts them with her life, it was a little tough to swallow. Or when she falls in love with the mysterious Venetian painter - very bad case of the Titanics (throwing it all away on a very brief romance) there. These characters didn't feel very real to me, so I guess I wasn't as invested in Laura's interactions with them.

The plot, rather than the characterization, was what drove the novel. Again, though, I felt that it was a little underdeveloped. It was a great story arc, with lots of exciting moments, but those moments were far too short and over too quickly. The mysteries of the painter's identity, her sister's murder, and the true motives of the Segreta are such intriguing topics, yet didn't seem to get the proper time. I would have loved to see the story go on longer, just to develop it more. Plus, the setting had such potential to be breathtaking; the narration lacked a lot of description, though, so the potential wasn't reached.

A strong positive of this narrative was the writing style. I liked that even though it was historical fiction, and the setting is something with which many of us aren't necessarily familiar, the easy voice made it very approachable. Moreover, the covers on these books (all of them - I couldn't figure out which will be the final...) are gorgeous! It was certainly the reason I selected it to read, and I feel that it could intrigue potential readers in the same way. That and the high-interest synopsis could be enough to excite readers.

So, overall, I would recommend this to some of my fans of historical fiction. I don't think the story was strong enough to sell the genre to those who claim to not enjoy it, but for those who want a fast read in a familiar genre, this might just be the thing.