Status
Series
Description
"Combining the rugged action of Labyrinth with the haunting mystery of Sepulchre, #1 bestselling author Kate Mosse's eagerly awaited Citadel is a mesmerizing World War II story of daring and courage, in which a group of determined women fighting for the French Resistance risk their lives to save their homeland and protect astonishing secrets buried in time in France, 1942. In Carcassonne, a colorful historic village nestled deep in the Pyrenees, a group of courageous women are engaged in a lethal battle. Like their ancestors who fought to protect their land from Northern invaders seven hundred years before, these members of the resistance--codenamed Citadel--fight to liberate their home from the Nazis.But smuggling refugees over the mountains into neutral territory and sabotaging their German occupiers at every opportunity is only part of their mission. These women must also protect an ancient secret that, if discovered by their ruthless enemies, could change the course of history.A superb blend of rugged action and haunting mystery, Citadel is a vivid and richly atmospheric story of love, faith, heroism, and danger--and a group of extraordinary women who dare the impossible to survive"--… (more)
User reviews
I am always keen to read about the Catharsis etc, but in this case this aspect of the book detracted rather than enhanced the whole.
I look forward to Kate Mosse's next book.
By the way, does anyone know how to get rid of the listing for this book as the work of a certain model?
I didn't realize until I got this book in the mail that it was the third in a series. And while it can stand alone, the reader definitely gets more out of the story if they've
The greatest strength this book possesses is its story. While slow in a few places (the early transitions to 4th century France is a prime example), the many threads of plot come together in a cohesive whole that tells a moving and fast-paced story. I especially enjoyed the story of this Resistance cell of women starting up and fighting against the Nazis and French collaborators. The supernatural stuff was interesting, but to me, the meat of the story was the WWII threads. I was emotionally invested (think tears and wailing when I reached the climax of the book!) and cursed more than once that I had to go to work 'cause I wanted to keep reading, dang it!
The characterization for the most part was pretty solid. There were some examples of static characters and sudden leaps of maturity, but for the most part I was able to connect with most of our main characters. It took me awhile, but I fell in love with Sandrine. She grew into a strong woman whose not afraid to do what needs to be done in the fight against the Nazis. There were a few decisions that I had to raise my eyebrow at that she made, but overall, I felt she was a fairly strong, competent, and sympathetic character.
The romance-y stuff was stronger in the latter half of the book. In the beginning, I felt Sandrine and Raoul fell in love way too quickly. They had almost no build up; it was like lightening stuck and presto, instant love. The latter half of the book, though, I felt the romance was a lot more realistic and emotional. Probably because it had a bit of time to build... The dire circumstances our two found themselves in helped as well in raising the stakes for our couple and investing the audience even more in wanting to know of our two make it out alive or not. And while there was a good portion of the book where Sandrine and Raoul weren't in the same scenes, they had enough of a love connection that I felt the romance anyway.
This book was a lovely look at a little known series of events in 1944 Nazi-occupied France. I felt with the characters most of the time and fell in love with the romance in the latter half of the book. The story and emotions throughout were astounding and enthralling. I'm sure I missed a meal or something like that more than once because I wanted to keep reading. If you loved the first two books in the series, definitely check this one out. And even if you're only interested in WWII resistance stories, still read it. It's a lovely book.