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jfurnell's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
eclectictales's review against another edition
4.0
This review is part of a book blog tour hosted by France Book Tours. This review in its entirety was originally posted at caffeinatedlife.net: http://www.caffeinatedlife.net/blog/2014/03/25/review-citadel-giveaway/
Citadel is the final volume in the Languedoc trilogy and was quite the epic to read in that compared to the first two novels in that it really encompasses a lot of different historical and story elements as well as storylines. This novel takes place during World War Two, after the fall of France and the installation of the Vichy regime. We follow Sandrine and Marianne Vidal as their lives are ever-more changed by these developments, leading to their involvement in the Resistance, their struggle to both survive and fight back. The story concerning the Codex was intriguing, especially with the 4th century chapters concerning Arinius, but did fall as a B storyline compared to the Resistance storyline and doesn’t really kick in until the last half of the novel.
The characters were wonderful and it was fantastic to follow them both in their involvement with the Resistance and their own internal struggles and character journeys. Survival, betrayal, love, comradery, desperation all come up in one form or another, affecting the various characters in different ways. Sandrine in particular has quite a character journey, from a young woman who is more or less in the dark about the Resistance and the politics that is changing the world around her to a hardened, determined woman who is prepared to do whatever it takes to protect the people she loves and the lifestyle/society/culture (however you put this) she lives in.
Citadel overall is a riveting conclusion to a rich and wonderful trilogy. The author does a wonderful job in utilising Carcassonne in the story and the missions that the characters are engaged in. The reader also gets a sense of what the Resistance members are faced with, the dangers and the horrors, and the ending of the novel was quite haunting.
Citadel is the final volume in the Languedoc trilogy and was quite the epic to read in that compared to the first two novels in that it really encompasses a lot of different historical and story elements as well as storylines. This novel takes place during World War Two, after the fall of France and the installation of the Vichy regime. We follow Sandrine and Marianne Vidal as their lives are ever-more changed by these developments, leading to their involvement in the Resistance, their struggle to both survive and fight back. The story concerning the Codex was intriguing, especially with the 4th century chapters concerning Arinius, but did fall as a B storyline compared to the Resistance storyline and doesn’t really kick in until the last half of the novel.
The characters were wonderful and it was fantastic to follow them both in their involvement with the Resistance and their own internal struggles and character journeys. Survival, betrayal, love, comradery, desperation all come up in one form or another, affecting the various characters in different ways. Sandrine in particular has quite a character journey, from a young woman who is more or less in the dark about the Resistance and the politics that is changing the world around her to a hardened, determined woman who is prepared to do whatever it takes to protect the people she loves and the lifestyle/society/culture (however you put this) she lives in.
Citadel overall is a riveting conclusion to a rich and wonderful trilogy. The author does a wonderful job in utilising Carcassonne in the story and the missions that the characters are engaged in. The reader also gets a sense of what the Resistance members are faced with, the dangers and the horrors, and the ending of the novel was quite haunting.
racheljoy7's review against another edition
I have been debating this in my head for some time now: whether I should rate a book that I cannot find it in myself to finish because I just can't read about characters who are so evil that the word "evil" does not actually suffice?
In the end, I decided that I should not.
I absolutely love Mosse and her writing, and will continue to read her books, but this particular topic in history hits too close to home for me, having lost family members to the Nazis.
In the end, I decided that I should not.
I absolutely love Mosse and her writing, and will continue to read her books, but this particular topic in history hits too close to home for me, having lost family members to the Nazis.
dreamerfreak's review
4.0
It took me a while to read this book, not because it wasn't a great book (it was), but because this is such an intense and emotional read. I knew how it was going to end right from the start, which meant no matter how drawn into the story I was, I dreaded reaching the end. Kate Mosse takes the reader and plops her right into the shoes of the resistance fighters in WWII France.
Sandrine Vidal doesn't start off trying to save people or defeat the Nazis. She's just a normal girl in a small village living life under the occupation. But it's not easy to stay uninvolved when accidentally saving a man's life brings her to the attention of the wrong people. Sandrine just wants to do what's right, but things aren't black and white in a country full of compromises just to survive.
It's hard not to start to love all of these lives as we watch the Citadel reseau sacrifice happiness, safety, health, even family and friends, for a cause they can't not fight for: the freedom of their country and loved ones. Beloved Audric Baillard plays his part as well. Citadel has not only the support of other resistants, but also all of those in the past who have died to protect the same ideals.
Throughout the course of this book, I cried and grieved, but I also laughed and rejoiced. Though it takes place during a frightening and difficult time, it's uplifting to read about those with the courage to stand up for what they believed was right and to still carry on with their lives despite everything that threatens to go wrong.
It's not an easy read, no, but it's beautiful, romantic, suspenseful, and more. Citadel asks for your faith above all else.
[I received this book for free through First Reads and was not required to write a positive or any other type of review. All opinions stated herein are solely my own.]
Sandrine Vidal doesn't start off trying to save people or defeat the Nazis. She's just a normal girl in a small village living life under the occupation. But it's not easy to stay uninvolved when accidentally saving a man's life brings her to the attention of the wrong people. Sandrine just wants to do what's right, but things aren't black and white in a country full of compromises just to survive.
It's hard not to start to love all of these lives as we watch the Citadel reseau sacrifice happiness, safety, health, even family and friends, for a cause they can't not fight for: the freedom of their country and loved ones. Beloved Audric Baillard plays his part as well. Citadel has not only the support of other resistants, but also all of those in the past who have died to protect the same ideals.
Throughout the course of this book, I cried and grieved, but I also laughed and rejoiced. Though it takes place during a frightening and difficult time, it's uplifting to read about those with the courage to stand up for what they believed was right and to still carry on with their lives despite everything that threatens to go wrong.
It's not an easy read, no, but it's beautiful, romantic, suspenseful, and more. Citadel asks for your faith above all else.
[I received this book for free through First Reads and was not required to write a positive or any other type of review. All opinions stated herein are solely my own.]
willowfae's review against another edition
Probably my least favourite of the trilogy but still enjoyed it.
saba_ts's review
4.0
A gripping read. Mosse's writing is unparalleled when it comes to the feel and texture of the whole story, the seamless way in which she knits the (fictional) history together. Lovely.
mia_48419's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
bookalicious_be's review
3.0
Pluspunten: ideaal boek om id stemming te komen als je bijna vertrekt naar het Z van Frankrijk, interessante personages en een mooi uitgangspunt.
Minpunten: een beetje te veel personages en veel te lang uitgesponnen beschrijvingen en verhaal.
Conclusie: 3 à 3,5 sterren, meer niet.
Minpunten: een beetje te veel personages en veel te lang uitgesponnen beschrijvingen en verhaal.
Conclusie: 3 à 3,5 sterren, meer niet.
colls's review
2.0
I'm not sure if it's because it'd been so long since I read the first two or if the thread that binds these together as a trilogy really is that thin. All are set in the same region of France and I think some of the supporting characters families overlap, and it's not until the ending
While I enjoyed having much of the story set during WWII because it lent a sense of urgency, I found much of the details laborious and they detracted from the immediacy of what was going on in the story. It took the author two or three dense paragraphs to say "After a light breakfast, character A left the house and ventured to Town B" because she'd stop to describe the table, the breakfast, the air, the door, the road, the sky, etc. Clearly the author loves creating a sense of space and imagery but after the first couple hundred pages I was no longer paying attention.
Spoiler
in which other characters like Alais and Leonie, etc show up as ghosts that it even dawned on me. This was abrupt and felt tacked on despite clearly being the event everything was leading up to.While I enjoyed having much of the story set during WWII because it lent a sense of urgency, I found much of the details laborious and they detracted from the immediacy of what was going on in the story. It took the author two or three dense paragraphs to say "After a light breakfast, character A left the house and ventured to Town B" because she'd stop to describe the table, the breakfast, the air, the door, the road, the sky, etc. Clearly the author loves creating a sense of space and imagery but after the first couple hundred pages I was no longer paying attention.