Citadel audiobook

Wow, Im an emotional wreck after that!! Absolutely brilliant. I love how Kate Mosse can transport you back in time and really emmerse you in the French landacape. Loved Labyrinth and Sepulchre, and Citadel blew me away, combining some familiar and loved characters and introducing new generations too. I love how Mosse draws us in and weaves these exciting tales through French history. Struggled to put it down and am picking up Labyrinth again to reread right now!!

At last, I got my mitts on a copy of the final part of Kate Mosse's Languedoc trilogy. Citadel was published by Orion in October, it's been a long 5 year wait for this one. Historical fiction has never been my first love, and I'll admit that the first of the series; Labyrinth, sat on my shelf for a long time before I actually read it. I was amazed by the writing, by the story and how Mosse manages to captivate the reader with her complex plots and engaging characters. Labyrinth was followed by Sepulchre in 2007, and again, I loved it and have anticipated the release of Citadel for such a long time.Citadel is probably best described as a 'time-slip' story, with the main part of the novel set in France during the German occupation in 1942 - 1944. Also featuring is Arinius, a monk living in 342 AD. Arininus is desperately trying to find a hiding place for the forbidden 'Codex', which is said to have the power to raise a 'sleeping army of ghosts'.In Nazi occupied France the Citadel are a group of all-women freedom fighters - part of the Resistance, and determined to outwit both the Germans and the evil French collaborators. Led by 18 year old Sandrine Vidal, her sister and their friends, these woman show courage and daring, never knowing who is watching them or who will betray them to the authorities.Citadel is a huge tome of a book, almost 700 pages and although it dragged a tiny bit in the middle, on the whole, it is a fast-paced, if complex story that will grip the reader. As with the previous two novels of the trilogy, there is an element of the supernatural in the story, with some familiar characters turning up along the way.Packed with some terrifyingly realistic action scenes, portraying the horrors of war and the evil that men can do to each other, it is also at times, gentle and down-to-earth - portraying the small French town and it's folk with incredible realism. The day to day struggles of ordinary people during the Occupation, the blossoming romances, the fear, the hardships and sometimes the joys are all captured beautifully here.After such a long wait for this instalment, I was not disappointed in the least. A triumphant end to what has been a fabulous series.

I had reservations about starting this book. Mainly because I loved Labyrinth but wasn't too keen on Sepulchre. But once again I was drawn quickly into the tale and the location, which Mosse paints so beautifully with her words. Drawing the characters from the first two books in the trilogy together. The over riding message for me was one of love and fighting for what you believe in, the truth.A delight to read, evoking a mix of emotions.

Loved it. I've really enjoyed all Kate Mosse's books. They are true stories to get lost in.Wish I had another of her's on hand to read.

Thoroughly heartbreaking but such an amazingly captivating novel with fascinating twists. It hurts all the more because you know for a fact that this stuff happened... and it’s so heartbreaking.

Having read and enjoyed Mosse's Labyrinth, I was interested in taking on the third of the novels that make-up her Languedoc trilogy (I have yet to read the second in the series, Sepulchre). Mosse is more than capable of creating interesting and strong female characters. I was able to detect similarities in themes and plot between Layrinth & Citadel, but this didn't deter me from continuing to read, even when I was quite sure I knew how the story would end. I did like Labyrinth better. However, Citadel was still a compelling, enjoyable, and quick read (despite being 900 plus pages). Mosse is the queen of historical mystery. She understands more than most historical writers how to weave the past with the present. In fact, she's more than adept at writing two parallel tales with hundreds of years between the two. As the stories unfold, it becomes more evident how Mosse intends to connect the parallel tales.Because I haven't read Sepulchre, I can't comment on how that book fits into the trilogy, but there are references to the two previous books that lead up to Citadel. The time frame of Citadel is the 1940's while France was in the midst of Nazi occupation. This story is one of bravery as a group of women partake in the French resistance. The characters are well developed and pull the reader into their worlds easily.Some might suggest that Citadel's ending is shocking, but I did suspect about 75 pages prior to the book's conclusion how Mosse would complete her story. Despite some poetic license being taken throughout the novel, Mosse does stay true to the key facts of the French Resistance and the courage it took to sustain such a movement. The women who envelop the story can easily be imagined to have lived during that time. I gave the book 4 stars instead of 3 because of the fact that for the vast majority of the story, I had a hard time putting it down. There were moments of disappointment but, for the most part, Mosse succeeded in sustaining my attention and creating a story indicative of the wonderful imagination for which she is known.

A thick one, but a good one. I've loved the other books I've read by her and once again this one takes place in southern France. Events occur in two time periods, the 4th century and during World War II. The story has a link back to Labyrinth.In the fourth century a monk, Arinius, has been taxed with saving a document that the Christian leaders have decided is heretical. Like a few others, he disagrees and has accepted the task of taking the Codex to another land and hiding it safely away for a better time.In World War II, another man Audric Baillard is looking for the Codex, trying to keep it out of the hands of the Germans and others who would not honour it. Audric is an old man by now, but still strong and smart and working with the Resistance to save France. Citadel is both the name of a house in a small mountain village, and the name of a Resistance group, a group of women working actively to defeat the Germans. At the centre is a young woman Sandrine and as the book begins we see her becoming aware of what is happening around here and beginning to plan her group. As usual, we have strong women at the centre of the novel, in both time periods, and the men who love and honour those women.While fiction, this novel is written around real events of the Second World War, and was inspired by the massacre at Baudrigues on August 19, 1944 and the women that died there.Carcassonne was once a city of peace and tolerance and it is this legacy that Mosse honours here. A tale of love, of history, and of good prevailing in the end, this novel will grip you to the end.

Recensie kan spoilers bevatten.Een prachtig verhaal wat geschiedenis, bon homme, een codex, een oorlog, en liefdesverhaal met elkaar verweven.De jonge dappere Sandrine leert haar eigen strijd te voeren tegen de duitse bezetter.Ze is de leidster van een vrouwen verzetsgroep in Carcassonne, een stad vol geschiedenis.Warm meeslepend maar zeker een boek voor op vakantie met zijn ruim 760 pagina's.Het heeft niet teveel personages die ook goed zijn uitgewerkt. Je leeft mee met de hoofdpersonen en je wint je bijvoorbeeld op over verraad.Het verhaal speelt zich in twee tijdzones af. Rond 343 en tussen 1942 en 1944.Het is een ficitief verhaal maar wel verweven op het werkelijke raam van de geschiedenis.enkele fragmenten uit het boek:- Treed aan, geesten van de lucht. Treed aan, legers van de lucht."--"Lucie stapt eveneens uit en omhelst haar. "Weet je zeker dat je het verder wel red?" "Ja echt. Maak je geen zorgen."--Aroinius bleef nog even staan en keek zuidwaarts, naar de bergen, en vroeg zich af wat voor hem in het verschiet lag -- Hij liet zijn blik over het place des Armes glijden naar de cathédrale Saint Michel, die oplichtte in de gouden avondzon. Er was politielint gespannen voor de ingang van het Herdenkingsplantsoen.-

Pretty good overall, but I did feel it was lacking in tension at times.

Citadel is part of Kate Mosse's trilogy following on from Labyrinth and Sepulchre. I had really enjoyed these previous two books and Citadel is once again set in the town of Carcassonne in France, with the rumours of a hidden codex hidden in the mountains. But unlike the first two novels, Citadel is mostly focusing on the story of two young sisters living in a town under Nazi occupation during World War II and eventually head up a cell of resistance fighters in the most dangerous way imaginable.The story begins with Sandrine going into town early one morning and coming across a body in the river wearing a strange ring. She tries to help but is mysteriously attacked. When she comes round, she is helped by a young man called Raoul, who disappears quickly when other people come to help. She is warned not to go to the police, but she defiantly goes anyway and is soon caught up in a story of intrigue and betrayal. Sandrine's fate depends on three very different men - resistance fighter Raoul who she quickly falls in love with, an elderly man called Audric Balliard who is an old friend of her family's housekeeper and Leo Authie, a ruthless and vicious man who is trying to track down the hidden codex.The story is interspersed with the journey of a monk called Arinius in AD 342, who is travelling across France with the codex. I have read many stories with the same theme and they are usually told alongside crusades or wars long ago, so it was refreshing to read a hunt to find the hidden artifact set during a more modern conflict. However, I enjoyed the story of resistance far more than the story of the codex, although at times I found it very unbelievable. The character of Sandrine seems very young and naive and the dialogue between the group of young women comes across as very immature and a little grating, but they manage to outwit some very powerful and dangerous men. I did find a lot of the dialogue quite annoying in the first half of the book and at odds with the dangerous time it is set in. But then the last 100 or so pages get extremely violent and genuinely shocking. This is not the best Kate Mosse book and at almost 700 pages long, takes quite a while to get into, but stick with it and it will have you gasping in shock.

This is the first book I’ve read by Kate Mosse and I have to say wow. First I should state that this is a mammoth of a book: 680 pages. Luckily I was able to read it on my Kindle since I wouldn’t want to lug this book around. However, considering I was glued to my Kindle for several days in a row, I probably would have carried the book with me. I had a really hard time putting this one down and I blame Mosse for keeping me up past my bedtime several times in one week. I kept saying just a few more pages.I love historical fiction and my specialty in grad school was World War II. Yet I didn’t study the French Resistance much. Not only did I enjoy learning more about this aspect of WWII, I loved the characters: Sandrine, Raoul, Baillard and many others. Even though this is about the war, the beginning starts off slow. I didn’t mind one bit since I enjoyed getting to know the characters and the setting. Once the action picked up, I found myself reading as fast as possible. Occasionally I had to stop and go back a few paragraphs since my mind couldn’t keep up with my eyes, but it was hard to force myself to slow down.Citadel made me think, cringe, cry, cheer, and then think some more. The ending tugged on my heartstrings. It’s the type of book that once you finish you have to take a deep breath, sad that it’s over, but glad you read it. Now I need to track down copies of her other novels.

** spoiler alert ** I absolutely loved Citadel, finishing it was bittersweet knowing it’s the final instalment in the Languedoc series and I just want to re-read the whole series all over again!! Mosse’s books are the type that you get lost in and find yourself devouring trying to get to the end of the mystery and see where the character’s fate ends. But at the same time never want to end. I love the strong and courageous women Mosse creates; Alais, Leonie and finally the women of the ‘citadel’ network Sandrine, Marianne, Lucie, Suzanne, Liesl, Marietta, Genevieve & Eloise. I enjoyed the time split, between the 40’s with the Second World War and 342 AD with the monk Arinius and his wife Lupa ( Another strong and unfaltering female!!), a lot more than I thought I would. Particularly with the war and the resistance, and the fight to regain the Midi.Audric’s reflective sequences into the past broke my heart but as always loved his feature. He’s such a interesting character, another thing I’m going to miss about the Languedoc series. I find that Mosse manages to weave her romances into the story so well, she doesn’t over do it and they aren’t corny- even though I knew it wouldn’t end with the ‘happily ever after’ I couldn’t help but root for Raol and Sandrine. Again the ending was a lovely but bittersweet touch with the flit to the 2009 with; the remnants of the network aged and Alice & Will( now with their daughter!!) Oh and Max got to meet and raise Jean-Jacques!! I was so happy some good fortune came to them.

I may be known for having a heart of steel, but even I shed a tear at the ending of this one!!The year is 1942, and we are following 19-year-old Sandrine in Nazi-occupied France. After an encounter with a mysterious man on a riverbank, she finds herself drawn into a resistance group made up of ordinary women prepared to risk everything for what is right.Initially, I struggled with the density of the story. The start didn't particularly grab me, and I didn't enjoy the astronomical volume of detail that we were given. Yet, something eventually clicked, and I ended up falling in love with it. The characters worked fantastically together, and I felt like I was experiencing all of their emotions with them. Unlike the other two books in this series, we don't get a modern POV. Instead, we get a point of view in 1942, Sundream, and that of a dark ages monk. Sandrine was a fantastic character to follow, but I wasn't too keen on the monks' POV, and I honestly think we could've coped without it.I really really enjoyed Citadel, and I think it's my favourite of the Languedoc trilogy. It definitely didn't need the extreme volume of detail, but seeing as it's a common theme throughout the series, I feel that it's just the authors writing style. Loved it!