Sasha Gould

My heart went out to Laura from the beginning. How could I not feel for all of the poor girls that were thrust into convents for such awful reasons, regardless of the girls' own inclinations. Laura's narration was rather heartbreaking. As you start reading, it's just so evident that she is completely without hope for her own life; she has given up entirely. So young and her life is already effectively over. Although she is not the brightest (and she lacks worldly knowledge because she spent show more so many years in the convent), Laura does the best that she can, and, because of this, she made a good heroine. The hero was pretty great, too, but I'll leave him a surprise.

Secret societies aren't generally my cup of tea. This one, though, I found much more scintillating than usual. What I loved was that it was a group of women, marginalized in society, but controlling Venice behind the scenes. No one is safe from the actions of the Segreta, even the Doge, the ruler of the city. Of course, they're just as corrupt as male political groups, but I do like to see women getting revenge on the patriarchy.

I also found myself doing a lot of thinking about courtship in that time period. Of course, I knew already that fiancees were regularly swapped to a different child, as though they are interchangeable, and that marriages were arranges after only a handful of meetings. So, none of it was new, but, for some reason, I found myself really thinking about the reality of living that life. Even the guy she gets a crush on, she only meets him a couple of times before they begin an illicit relationship of exchanging letters and talking when they catch a moment alone. Given the limited freedom women had, relationships escalated so quickly.

Cross My Heart is well-written and entertaining. If you love young adult literature or historical fiction, you'll want to get your hands on this one. I know I'll be reading more novels by Sasha Gould! Plus, look at the pretty cover!

3.5 stars show less

There are, to my mind, two basic kinds of historical fiction: those that endeavor to be historically accurate and those that really don't, merely using the lavish historical backdrop to entertain. Personally, I like both kinds. The only time the latter's not good is when it has pretensions to being history as well as historical fiction, and teaches readers a bunch of incorrect information. Heart of Glass falls into the latter camp, and, from what I can tell, the political maneuverings of the show more novel have no bearing on reality. However, it's also a fun, engaging story and written to uphold the power of women, so I really don't mind that I'm not learning Venetian history from its pages.

Sasha Gould built this series around an awesome historically inaccurate idea she had:Venice run behind the scenes by a secret society of women. While there may not be a historical basis for this, I am all kinds of behind this kind of alternative history endeavor. All throughout history, there have been women behind the scenes affecting the course of history through their husbands, but, here, Gould is bringing them together and making them a more independent force.

These women endeavor to keep rocky Venetian politics more stable and less affected by the changes in power. They aim to be more fair and to help Venice, rather than an individual's political aims. I love that the Segreta are shown as powerful in many ways: physically skilled with weaponry, clever, and influential. Laura herself is a perfect example of this, determined, caring and strong. I like that's actually intelligent and puts thought into her actions, not always reacting solely with emotion.

However, much as I love this uplifting of women, I did think that Laura was a bit too powerful. She's engaged to the Doge's son, so she is very high in society, but I still doubt that the male councillors would ask her opinion on things. Certainly they would not with a bunch of other men in the room. The amount that even men respect her at her tender age seems rather out of place.

The only other drawback for me was the villains. Much of the mystery is very obvious and the villains have no real motivations other than grasping for power or unclear revenge. I prefer there to be a bit more depth to a villain. They ought to be somewhat understandable at least, if not relatable. Heart of Glass could have been more nuanced and had a better impact were that the case.

Heart of Glass is engaging from beginning to end, and I never found myself bored or my attention wandering. It's a very quick read, and those who enjoyed Cross My Heart will certainly want to read this one as well. The ending left room for another book, and I suspect I'll be reading that one too! show less

The cover for Cross My Heart may not look all that snazzy, and I understand if you choose to pass it by for a more colorful selection with a lusty boy or artsy pizazz. Pardon me as I grab your elbows, dear Readers, and pull you back because YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK! Behind this demure cover is a rich and luscious story that will seduce you like a tall, dark Italian lover and make you revel in the darkness.

THE GOOD BITS
{Twisty mystery.} Mio Dio, I thought France was the city of love, but show more clearly I forgot how passionate Italy can be! After all, it is the home of Romeo and Juliet – and Cross My Heart definitely contains all the familiar signs of heartaches, heartbreaks, betrayals, and vendettas. No one can be trusted with a secret, and it was nail-biting to watch Laura try to figure out friend from foe.

{Laura + Giacomo!} Can there be another delightful pairing that makes my heart swoon? I haven’t felt this smitten since Anna and Etienne – and from the very second that Laura stumbles upon Giacomo, it was instant love at first sight for this reader. Oh, I am a fool for the artistic of male specimen – and Giacomo was absolute perfection.

{Secret societies.} I love all this cloak-and-dagger nonsense like nobody’s business – and a secret society run by women even more so! While I prefer women use their powers for good, I can understand how the Segreta had to be more cutthroat in an Italy that thrive on vengeance. Men may want to believe that all the power rests in their hands, but I love watching women exercise some of their own ingenuity to nudge the world in a different direction.

THE BAD BITS
{Left some storylines unfinished.} Certain plot points never went anywhere. Laura gives up a secret that could definitely destroy the Doge of Venice, but the Segreta does not do anything with it. One of Laura’s childhood friend has made a love match with the Doge’s son, but panicks when a new Segreta recruit reveals that affects his stature as heir. However, this issue does not get mentioned again. I only hope that these unfinished bits and pieces means that there may be a follow-up, although I am half-afraid that it will not bode well for Laura and Giacomo.

THE OVERALL
If Cross My Heart gets a sequel, it may want to get a bouncer because someone will need to reign in my excitement as I try to push myself to the front of the line. I usually don’t get this excited for a historical novel, but Sasha Gould has created such a vivid and provocative Italy that brings to mind all the greatness of Romeo & Juliet. show less

From the initial sentence of, "His gondola slips through the water like a knife cutting into dark silk," I knew I was in for an atmospheric historical read. I love when settings are strong, vivid and alive almost (see: Constantinople in Theodora: Empress. Actress. Whore; Prague in Daughter of Smoke and Bone; Prague again in The Book of Blood and Shadow, etc.) and my hopes were set high for Venice and for Cross My Heart itself. The cover is pretty apt for the novel as well: showing both the show more light and dark sides to the fabled Italian city and foretelling a dangerous future for our intrepid heroine. Laura della Scala's tale didn't enrapture me as much as I'd anticipated from the eerie first sentence but instead grew on me slowly, involving me more and more as each chapter drew to a suspenseful close. A slow-burner rather than an instantly engrossing read, Cross My Heart should definitely be given the benefit of the doubt and read to the end.

Laura, a likeable if not totally remarkable teenage protagonist, was consigned to a convent at an early age. With an older sister to marry off ("through nothing but an accident of birth, she remains free, while I languish") and a spendthrift father Laura is nothing but a burden on her family. So once thrust from the convent, Laura is generally and genuinely unlike most girls her age of Venice: she is sheltered, naive and trusting - that is to say weak in a city of sharks above water. Laura's subsequent enrollment into the secret society of La Segreta exposes her to dark elements in her own hometown she never suspected. Going from under the thumb of the dictator-esque Abbess to the supervision of her father, Laura is never the one making the decisions about her own life: a situation many teens reading this will find easy to relate with and similar to their own modern-day lives. With that act of quiet rebellion that is simultaneously the first time Laura chooses something for herself, Laura eventually realizes she has only exchanged the convent's reins for her father's and her father's for the mysterious women in the society. There was only ever an illusion of control once she joined them, and Laura's life gets unpredictable and dark in the streets and canals of Venice.

The style of writing is elegant and feels entirely natural. I enjoyed Sasha Gould's consistently smooth writing and simple but steady style. Her style lends itself well to the tone of the book as well as to the city of Venice itself. I did wish for more detail and life from Venice the city; I loved what was there but I just wanted for more about the city and less about the colorful pageantry and parade of the noble class and their balls. There were several side plotlines threaded in with the mystery of Laura's sister's death that seemed slightly generic and fully predictable. The teenage romance with the painter, the "reveal" . . even the decades-long feud that was ended with a whimper... all seemed slightly underdeveloped. What kept me going and interested was Venice itself, as well as the original mystery of what happened to Beatrice and why she was murdered. That compelling plotline was pulled off marvelously well: I was genuinely fooled by many a red herring placed by Laura's suspicions/the author and the eventual villain surprised and delighted me with what it meant for the storyline. In a slowly paced novel, I just wished it had felt less rushed at the conclusion and more in pace with the meat of the story.

Ms. Gould's keen eye for setting and atmosphere provide an excellent - and darkly alluring - setting for a murder-mystery with a splash of teenage romance. Though it was not a perfect outing and better than my first impressions lead me to believe, Cross My Heart ended with me keen on getting my hands on the as-yet-unnamed sequel set in the same beautiful and deadly city. Keep an eye out for this one later in the year: it's scheduled to hit the shelves March 13, 2012. show less