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waclements7's review against another edition
5.0
Very original. I loved the eidelons--I did look it up but it would have become clear if I hadn't, I think. The beginning was a little confusing, but in a way I think that added rather than detracted from the story. After all, it is about characters concerned with going mad, and the whole circumstances the novel opens with are confusing to everyone involved. I really liked the characters, and Twist especially really grew on me. Tiana and Kiar are both strong female characters, and I liked how Kiar really grew into a bigger role.
zannetastic's review against another edition
5.0
Very in-depth, suck you in kind of book. Not a light read, but definitely an awesome read.
kristarainwater's review against another edition
3.0
I received a copy via NetGalley for an honest review.
I rated this book with consideration on the plot....and the potential. It's socloseyoucanfeelitrighthere. Literally a power house plot and I wanted to love this book from the description.
I was confused from the beginning, unfortunately. I didn't want to be and kept trying to straighten who was who, but maybe a little more description or character definition will help that in the future. The potential plot vs the story telling/ content didn't work for me, it was a little lackluster. I do tend to go for more strong willed, in your face, sarcastic female leads, though, so it may be that it just wasn't just my style.
It has the potential to be ah-mazing, I believe. I just couldn't give this go round that ah-mazing review simply because of why I said, being the confusion, the lack of character info. The plot is strong though and is wonderfully creative.... And will definitely be worth seeing another book from this author.
I rated this book with consideration on the plot....and the potential. It's socloseyoucanfeelitrighthere. Literally a power house plot and I wanted to love this book from the description.
I was confused from the beginning, unfortunately. I didn't want to be and kept trying to straighten who was who, but maybe a little more description or character definition will help that in the future. The potential plot vs the story telling/ content didn't work for me, it was a little lackluster. I do tend to go for more strong willed, in your face, sarcastic female leads, though, so it may be that it just wasn't just my style.
It has the potential to be ah-mazing, I believe. I just couldn't give this go round that ah-mazing review simply because of why I said, being the confusion, the lack of character info. The plot is strong though and is wonderfully creative.... And will definitely be worth seeing another book from this author.
gloriouspanic's review against another edition
4.0
See all of my reviews @ https://gloriouspanic.wordpress.com
At the very beginning of the book the amount of foreign information and immense amount of detail had me a bit lost. Once I really began to understand the new vocabulary and had a sense of the world I really began to enjoy the story. There were a few moments I felt the detail was a bit over done but I still really enjoyed it. The characters were what really drew me in from the very first scene. There were quite a few to keep me engaged but not so many I had trouble keeping track. The entire story skated that line between not enough and too much perfectly for me. I was able to get a real feel for the history the family. I related to Tiana the most on a personal level mostly because of her attitude. At times her tantrums annoyed me but after examining how I would react it was very realistic! Kiar though was my favorite character of the story. I felt an incredible amount of empathy for her and the internal battle she was in balancing so much on her shoulders. For me this book was a refreshing break from a lot of the young adult genre I’ve been reading. It was just as clean in content but with more detail and new vocabulary than books geared toward a younger audience. If you enjoy young adult fantasy but want branch out into some material more geared to the older crowd I highly recommend this book.
This eGalley was provided free from the publisher through CBB Book Promotions in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion and I was compensated in no other manner.
At the very beginning of the book the amount of foreign information and immense amount of detail had me a bit lost. Once I really began to understand the new vocabulary and had a sense of the world I really began to enjoy the story. There were a few moments I felt the detail was a bit over done but I still really enjoyed it. The characters were what really drew me in from the very first scene. There were quite a few to keep me engaged but not so many I had trouble keeping track. The entire story skated that line between not enough and too much perfectly for me. I was able to get a real feel for the history the family. I related to Tiana the most on a personal level mostly because of her attitude. At times her tantrums annoyed me but after examining how I would react it was very realistic! Kiar though was my favorite character of the story. I felt an incredible amount of empathy for her and the internal battle she was in balancing so much on her shoulders. For me this book was a refreshing break from a lot of the young adult genre I’ve been reading. It was just as clean in content but with more detail and new vocabulary than books geared toward a younger audience. If you enjoy young adult fantasy but want branch out into some material more geared to the older crowd I highly recommend this book.
This eGalley was provided free from the publisher through CBB Book Promotions in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion and I was compensated in no other manner.
maureensbooks89's review against another edition
3.0
In ‘Citadel of the Sky’ we meet Tiana, a princess of a family with magic in their bloodline which makes her family go mad. There is a lot going on in the world around Tiana. There are some suspicious deaths happening and the Noble’s Councils seems eager to cover everything up. Tiana is determined to find out what is really happening, and who is killing her friends and advisors.
This review is definitely a difficult one for me write. I finished reading this book and decided it was best to write the review immediately after because I found this book hard to understand at times. Especially in the beginning. English is not my first language, but since I have been reading all my books in English since I was twelve years old, I normally don’t have many difficulties in understanding words and sentences. But in the beginning of this book I really felt like I didn’t understand everything. The words Eidolon and logos were not really explained in the book, and I had to look it up to get what they really meant. This made me not get into the story very easily.
But I kept reading and I definitely became fascinated by this story and the characters. There is a lot happening in this book and I’m glad I kept reading because the storyline was very intriguing. I think the author did an amazing job in creating a unique story. Although I would have preferred a little more introduction into the world and the characters, the authors writing style definitely made me want to keep reading and see what would happen next.
This book was definitely a nice read. I had some difficulties, but the story and the writing style really made up for those.
This review is definitely a difficult one for me write. I finished reading this book and decided it was best to write the review immediately after because I found this book hard to understand at times. Especially in the beginning. English is not my first language, but since I have been reading all my books in English since I was twelve years old, I normally don’t have many difficulties in understanding words and sentences. But in the beginning of this book I really felt like I didn’t understand everything. The words Eidolon and logos were not really explained in the book, and I had to look it up to get what they really meant. This made me not get into the story very easily.
But I kept reading and I definitely became fascinated by this story and the characters. There is a lot happening in this book and I’m glad I kept reading because the storyline was very intriguing. I think the author did an amazing job in creating a unique story. Although I would have preferred a little more introduction into the world and the characters, the authors writing style definitely made me want to keep reading and see what would happen next.
This book was definitely a nice read. I had some difficulties, but the story and the writing style really made up for those.
cecelia_isaac_author's review against another edition
5.0
This novel was the F-BOM Fall 2018 Book of the Month. Full review here: https://f-bom.com/2018/10/08/citadel-of-the-sky-f-bom-book-of-the-month-review/
"On Chrysoula Tzavelas’s author website she describes Citadel of the Sky as the first installment of a pentalogy that explores “what happens generations after the Chosen One defeats the Dark Lord”. She takes this premise and runs wild with it, throwing readers into a world stagnating under old traditions and vengeful magic. Thousands of years after epic battles have become myth, the present day magical protectors of the realm have degraded into royal figureheads. You see, everyone that is born with magic is doomed to go mad, and our main protagonist Princess Tiana is no exception."
"On Chrysoula Tzavelas’s author website she describes Citadel of the Sky as the first installment of a pentalogy that explores “what happens generations after the Chosen One defeats the Dark Lord”. She takes this premise and runs wild with it, throwing readers into a world stagnating under old traditions and vengeful magic. Thousands of years after epic battles have become myth, the present day magical protectors of the realm have degraded into royal figureheads. You see, everyone that is born with magic is doomed to go mad, and our main protagonist Princess Tiana is no exception."
buttonsbeadslace's review
5.0
I found this book through Kickstarter, having no previous knowledge of the author's work. I was hooked as soon as I read the preview. I backed the Kickstarter immediately and spent days wondering what happened next while I waited for the Kickstarter to end and my purchase to be filled. This book has a gripping, constantly evolving plot with a tinge of horror, set in a world with unique and complex systems of religion, politics and magic.The only thing I disliked about it is that it ends on a cliffhanger.
I'm surprised to see the royal family's magic described as "making them go mad" in the blurb, because that makes this book sound like every other story that uses a sort of generic "madness" as a trope, when it's the opposite. No one "goes" mad in this book. The "madness" isn't used as a threat-- there's no pretense that the characters are Normal and Sane now, but might Go Mad in some irrevocable, fate-worse-than-death way if they do the wrong thing. None of that. This is a book in which a bunch of people who are mentally ill now, already, do their best to cope and also rule a country, solve mysteries, and fight off invading armies.
I cannot say strongly enough how impressed I am with the balance this book maintains in portraying the characters who have the royal blood, and thus the royal magic and the royal "madness". Too often, disabilities in fiction are either completely tragic-- they make a person incapable of doing anything worthwhile, ever-- or they exist in theory but don't really affect the characters in any significant way. This book balances the significant effects of the royal "madness" with the still significant abilities of the royals to control not only their own lives but the whole kingdom. The royals' experiences are sometimes genuinely scary, and they sometimes struggle with themselves and wish some of their symptoms would go away, but they are also all full characters with their own agency. They make their own choices. They work around their symptoms and live their lives as best they can.
Among the different members of the royal family we see many different attitudes toward mental illness and many different ways of coping. The main character, Tiana, resents being treated as fragile and fears that people will be afraid of her. She tries to hide her symptoms and act as "normal" as possible, especially around strangers, but her desire to be normal and accepted is at odds with her curiosity. Kiar, Tiana's cousin, is introverted and closed-off. She maintains outward self-control and poise by avoiding other people and her own emotions, while inside she's filled with self-doubt. King Shonathan, Tiana's father, drifts through life trying to avoid thinking about painful memories. Shanasee, another cousin, has the greatest magical power of any member of the royal family currently alive, but refuses to use her abilities. She played a large part in ending the last magical threat to the kingdom, and was horrified by the results of her actions.
The Regents, mentioned in the blurb, exist in the confusing territory between friend, relative, and caregiver. They grow up alongside the members of the royal family after being chosen by them, but they are trained to help the royals control their powers and stay anchored in reality, and the Regents as a group have their own political power and interests. This creates a lot of mixed feelings on both sides. Kiar doesn't have a regent and feels that having one would be admitting to weakness; Tiana cares deeply for her regent, Lisette, but also sometimes resents Lisette's kindness and finds it condescending.
I'm surprised to see the royal family's magic described as "making them go mad" in the blurb, because that makes this book sound like every other story that uses a sort of generic "madness" as a trope, when it's the opposite. No one "goes" mad in this book. The "madness" isn't used as a threat-- there's no pretense that the characters are Normal and Sane now, but might Go Mad in some irrevocable, fate-worse-than-death way if they do the wrong thing. None of that. This is a book in which a bunch of people who are mentally ill now, already, do their best to cope and also rule a country, solve mysteries, and fight off invading armies.
I cannot say strongly enough how impressed I am with the balance this book maintains in portraying the characters who have the royal blood, and thus the royal magic and the royal "madness". Too often, disabilities in fiction are either completely tragic-- they make a person incapable of doing anything worthwhile, ever-- or they exist in theory but don't really affect the characters in any significant way. This book balances the significant effects of the royal "madness" with the still significant abilities of the royals to control not only their own lives but the whole kingdom. The royals' experiences are sometimes genuinely scary, and they sometimes struggle with themselves and wish some of their symptoms would go away, but they are also all full characters with their own agency. They make their own choices. They work around their symptoms and live their lives as best they can.
Among the different members of the royal family we see many different attitudes toward mental illness and many different ways of coping. The main character, Tiana, resents being treated as fragile and fears that people will be afraid of her. She tries to hide her symptoms and act as "normal" as possible, especially around strangers, but her desire to be normal and accepted is at odds with her curiosity. Kiar, Tiana's cousin, is introverted and closed-off. She maintains outward self-control and poise by avoiding other people and her own emotions, while inside she's filled with self-doubt. King Shonathan, Tiana's father, drifts through life trying to avoid thinking about painful memories. Shanasee, another cousin, has the greatest magical power of any member of the royal family currently alive, but refuses to use her abilities. She played a large part in ending the last magical threat to the kingdom, and was horrified by the results of her actions.
The Regents, mentioned in the blurb, exist in the confusing territory between friend, relative, and caregiver. They grow up alongside the members of the royal family after being chosen by them, but they are trained to help the royals control their powers and stay anchored in reality, and the Regents as a group have their own political power and interests. This creates a lot of mixed feelings on both sides. Kiar doesn't have a regent and feels that having one would be admitting to weakness; Tiana cares deeply for her regent, Lisette, but also sometimes resents Lisette's kindness and finds it condescending.
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