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maethereader's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
2.0
This was an engaging story in the beginning, then I got bored (the characters weren't especially likeable or believable) and this could have easily been a DNF... but at around the 50% mark, it picked up again, weaving together the characters' lives & pasts, and I was quite engaged from that point on. The different voices for different characters in the audiobook was quite enjoyable as well. I also found myself really liking the magical realism, mystery element, and excitement in the second half of the book. And I love that this is based on a true story! That little history section at the end, so fascinating! It makes it feel all the more magical.
Unfortunately, the magical bits did not have rules or logic, something which I had been waiting the whole time to be put together. That was quite disappointing and leaves a lot of large plot holes which make the whole story just not make sense. The second disappointment was just that the characters didn't seem super real -- many of their motivations and actions just didn't make sense (especially the "evil" character). I think if the magic in this book made sense or if the characters were genuinely believable, this would have been a favorite for me.
Unfortunately, the magical bits did not have rules or logic, something which I had been waiting the whole time to be put together. That was quite disappointing and leaves a lot of large plot holes which make the whole story just not make sense. The second disappointment was just that the characters didn't seem super real -- many of their motivations and actions just didn't make sense (especially the "evil" character). I think if the magic in this book made sense or if the characters were genuinely believable, this would have been a favorite for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder
th18's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This book was just fine. Nothing amazing. The writing felt juvenile and so many events were happening it felt rushed. I was irritated by the author constantly reminding us of how small the FMC was - her 'tiny frame' and how cardigans engulfed her etc.
Also she has a ton of bad personality traits that are just brushed away as her being a Young, like being too stubborn for her own good,not listening to anyone and not giving the map to the police like a sensible person after the break in and when she realised it would put a literal target on her back.
Lastly, her relationship kinda came out of nowhere after ignoring eachother the past 7 yrs. (Idk why Felix couldn't understand that she couldnt control her father firing him?!)
The nicer things:
Great idea but not great execution. It's nice that she still chose to stick with her passion for maps instead of going for a different higher paying job (though unsure how she was going to be the SENIOR researcher at NYPL 2 days after returning to the place even though she hasn't even been working in a library the past 7 yrs). Also somehow kept me reading until the end so props to the author for that.
Also she has a ton of bad personality traits that are just brushed away as her being a Young, like being too stubborn for her own good,not listening to anyone and not giving the map to the police like a sensible person after the break in and when she realised it would put a literal target on her back.
Lastly, her relationship kinda came out of nowhere after ignoring eachother the past 7 yrs. (Idk why Felix couldn't understand that she couldnt control her father firing him?!)
The nicer things:
Great idea but not great execution. It's nice that she still chose to stick with her passion for maps instead of going for a different higher paying job
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment
meredith_williams_'s review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
The Cartographers was a book that had great potential, but fell flat for me. The academia setting and mystery elements were interesting. However, the pacing and execution were not very well done. The beginning was a slow build up to an admittedly intriguing mystery about the main character’s past. Once more of the backstory was revealed, I felt like I couldn’t read fast enough only for the ending to be very rushed and unsatisfying! There were too many characters to keep track of and the main character felt underdeveloped. If you’re looking for a fantastical mystery set in the world of academia, you might enjoy this. Overall, I think there are better fantasy options out there!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Gun violence and Injury/Injury detail
monnibo's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The Cartographers is a book with lots of disparate elements which I enjoy, all combined to make a satisfying read. We’ve got elements of a campus novel, a once close friendship group that slowly becomes toxic, a murder mystery involving the New York Public Library, found family, a romance, plenty of matter-of-fact low key diversity representation, a family secret, a character with a singular obsession, magical maps with the power to transport people to hidden places, plus plenty of fascinating factual information about cartography folded in. I also enjoyed the structure which follows Nell in the present and has her learn about the past through conversations with her parents’ friends. On the downside I found a couple of the big reveals and twists easy to predict and the motivations for some characters’ actions didn’t always make sense. But overall an enjoyable read - and such a fabulous cover.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
le3713's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Death and Murder
emilylovesgoodbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
raquelcanread's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-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? Yes
3.0
Pretty entertaining! Gave me da vinci code/ national treasure vibes. If it gets picked up for a film it could be a cool adventure movie!!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
amandabcook's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
ecn's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
If this sounds like the book for you (and you’re also into books that are way too long and don’t care about specific incorrect details) then you’ll probably like it. Though, I can’t say the same for me.
The book was fine enough, especially if you have a lot of time on your hands and choose to read the audiobook instead. However, there were so many details (about geography and institutions specifically!!!) that I could not get past that I found laughable. While these come down to editing errors… you’d think an author would do a bit more research prior? Specifically, the geography that they describe the Catskills being as well as the house that all the friends stayed at (especially on regard to where NYC is is not at all correct). Additionally, unless I misread/misheard, the author describes the one friend as working (initially) as *University of Pennsylvania* and then later continuously refer to it later as Penn State which is…. Absolutely NOT the same institution. Maybe it’s standing out to me more bc I live in PA but it’s laughable to mix up UPenn and Penn State (the first being an Ivy League school and the other being an overreaching party school with too-committed football fans).
In terms of the story, it was fine. Way too long and could have been easily shortened. I also found the love story of the MC and her ex to be boring and did not care about their plot point at all. So he lost his dream job bc of the MC’s father… who also destroyed the MC’s career….? Seems like something you can work through if you’re as obsessed and in love as you were ten years ago. Also, I found the antagonist’s purpose to be absolutely ridiculous and not at all believable.
I also wish we would have found out more about the maps themselves !! Where did they come from? Was this the case for all maps with a hidden throw off and if not, why? I need there to be a sequel just for the sake of the author answering questions and fixing plot holes. This book is fine but good if you have a lot of time to waste and don’t care about specifics.
The book was fine enough, especially if you have a lot of time on your hands and choose to read the audiobook instead. However, there were so many details (about geography and institutions specifically!!!) that I could not get past that I found laughable. While these come down to editing errors… you’d think an author would do a bit more research prior? Specifically, the geography that they describe the Catskills being as well as the house that all the friends stayed at (especially on regard to where NYC is is not at all correct). Additionally, unless I misread/misheard, the author describes the one friend as working (initially) as *University of Pennsylvania* and then later continuously refer to it later as Penn State which is…. Absolutely NOT the same institution. Maybe it’s standing out to me more bc I live in PA but it’s laughable to mix up UPenn and Penn State (the first being an Ivy League school and the other being an overreaching party school with too-committed football fans).
In terms of the story, it was fine. Way too long and could have been easily shortened. I also found the love story of the MC and her ex to be boring and did not care about their plot point at all. So he lost his dream job bc of the MC’s father… who also destroyed the MC’s career….? Seems like something you can work through if you’re as obsessed and in love as you were ten years ago. Also, I found the antagonist’s purpose to be absolutely ridiculous and not at all believable.
I also wish we would have found out more about the maps themselves !! Where did they come from? Was this the case for all maps with a hidden throw off and if not, why? I need there to be a sequel just for the sake of the author answering questions and fixing plot holes. This book is fine but good if you have a lot of time to waste and don’t care about specifics.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury