Cross My Heart by Sasha Gould

"In Venice, a secret is indeed more powerful than a sword. " - Cross My Heart

Cross my Heart by Sasha Gould is set during the Italian Renaissance. Laura della Scala, the protagonist, is sent to the convent at the age of 10. When her sister dies her father calls her back home to marry her sister's fiancée. Laura despises whom she is to marry, he is completely disgusting. However, all her father cares about is wealth and power. Laura finds out about someone who can help her; they call themselves the Segreta, a secret society of women all they ask is a secret. At the start they seem to help but soon she realises that it may not have been all good. She thinks they link up to the murder of her sister. 

This book will have a similar review to a recent book review I wrote about Ever . It is a very quick read with a short plot. There was quite a lot of mystery but I wouldn't say it was a complex novel. At the end things got quite gruesome but overall I found the story very cute and romantic. 

Even though it was a simpler story I did get me thinking about what happens still today. There are many people still today that seem to do things just for the power and money. Being the high elite isn't a fairytale but like in this book a mask, a pretend. Also, gossip is one thing that remains very powerful. In the start of the review I used a quote from the book that I found very interesting. I do think that gossip and secret can be really cruel and hurtful even more than a sword because it deals with emotions, it blackmails and traps people into a never ending web. 

I quite enjoyed the mystery in this book and I felt I got quite attached to the characters. I do recommend it for anyone who just wants a short read.