There are two books I'm interested in finding again, the second most of all.
A couple days ago I was in a book shop when I was reminded of a story I read in primary school.
It was a story set in Africa I think, and there was a monster or god that needed sacrifices and a village sacrificed a girl, I'm not sure if she was just a girl or had a significant title, but she was saved; I don't remember if someone saved her or if she saved herself but she escaped. I really can't remember what happened but I remember that the escape was just in the middle of the story and there was more after that and it was intense. (As intense a children's book can get for a seven year old). Any ideas?

Another book I read when I was in middle school, I remember a lot more about it.
It starts with a little girl being born facing the wrong way; she's supposed to be facing north I think but she's facing south which is a bad omen and her mother lies to herself and says she was definitely born north (could be the other way round).
When she is older something happens and she's taken by a polar bear to a castle, there she lives with the bear uncertain of why she's there but she occupies herself by cleaning or something; at night she wakes up to find a boy sleeping beside her on several occasions. One night the boy wakes up when she does and freaks out about how he only had one more night to get rid of the curse of being a bear by day and now he has to marry the witch that cursed him.
He sends her back home but she follows him to save him and it ends up being a challenge between her and the witch and the witch is so confident that she'll win that she lets the girl decide on the challenge; she challenges the witch to clean the wax out of the bear-boy's shirt, I think without magic. The witch tries and tries but can't get it out, she doesn't believe the girl can if she can't but she does; there's a scuffle and she and the bear-boy leave, and get married and the girls dad find's it strange that the bear-boy puts the ring on her thumb and not her wedding finger but doesn't dwell on it because she looks happy.

Its also entirely possible I've read four books and just mashed them together in my head, I don't think I have but you never know.

My suggestion is that you call the children's department at your public library (or a bigger one, if yours is small) and ask for reader's advisory help on this. They might be able to untangle your storylines and come up with at least one title for you.

The second book is called East aka North Child.

Thank you very much!

The first one might possibly (maybe?) be:
At Her Majesty's Request: An African Princess in Victorian England
(here's some of the plot)

.....a fascinating and dramatic glimpse into the life of an African princess living in Victorian England. In 1848, a very young Egbado princess watched as her parents were murdered and her village burned. Her captor, King Gezo of the Dahomans, kept her alive to be a human sacrifice. She was rescued two years later by Commander Frederick Forbes of the HMS Bonetta.....
Books R4 Teens - Book Review - At Her Majesty's Request: an African Princess in Victorian England