You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Scan barcode
cookiecat73's review
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement
Minor: Sexual content
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
katiecentabar's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Stalking, Murder, and Toxic friendship
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
markandcover's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Gun violence and Murder
leaflit's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Infidelity, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Grief, Stalking, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Classism
voelve's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.5
Tl;Dr: This book is the reading equivalent of junk food. A simple plot with twists you can see coming from 200 pages away, a cast of entirely two-dimensional characters, and nothing you have to spend any time at all thinking about. When I went back and saw this described as a "thriller", I almost laughed.
I'm sure it can feel good if you're in the mood for that, but I felt my time was entirely wasted on this.
It's been a while since I read a book like this, and 'The Cartographers' reminded me why. We have a main character, Nell, who we are constantly told is mousy, boring, and uncomfortable with herself and her entire life, yet she's constantly compared positively to her beautiful and passionate mother.
The second we're told she's estranged from her father, I knew he would die (and he did, like five pages later). She has two adoptive father figures of sorts who replaced him long ago in the book's timeline, but I-the-reader only ever developed an attachment to one of them.
We're told Swann was like a kind uncle to her while Nell worked at the NYPL, and sure, he never treats her badly, but all the affection we're supposed to have for him is secondhand. Humphrey, on the other hand, we're supposed to low-key despise for his choice of work, yet it's him we get touching bonding moments with. From Swann, we get expensive whiskey (the man is inexplicably wealthy for a researcher at a library struggling with funding).
Nell solves a mystery entirely from a list of first names and the knowledge that these people are vaguely related to the antique map world. Her ex works for an incredibly evil-coded surveillance company, yet this rings the alarm bells of no one until it's way too late.
Worst of all is the final "twist" of the book, which I put in quotes because it's not a twist at all, it's just bad storytelling. The plot device is that things you put down on a map become real, if you only you have that map (because, as the book saccharinely puts it, it's "not a place that makes a place, it's the people"). This somehow is supposed to explain how Nell's mother, who has been supposed dead for 25 years, survived in a phantom settlement - because if you just draw a map of a restaurant, food will materialize inside it. Or something. It breaks the extremely simple rules of magic for this plot device that had been established 250 pages earlier.
The villain - obvious the founder of aforementioned evil-coded surveillance company - is also the distinctly creepy childhood friend of Nell's mother. I cannot stress enough how this person is described by everyone in the flashback sequences as possessive, obsessive, and yeah, creepy - and yet everyone still wanted to hang out with him, and Nell's mother is seemingly oblivious to his general unpleasantness until it's resulted in her almost-death.
This book was a waste of everyone's time, including the author's.
I'm sure it can feel good if you're in the mood for that, but I felt my time was entirely wasted on this.
The second we're told she's estranged from her father, I knew he would die (and he did, like five pages later). She has two adoptive father figures of sorts who replaced him long ago in the book's timeline, but I-the-reader only ever developed an attachment to one of them.
We're told Swann was like a kind uncle to her while Nell worked at the NYPL, and sure, he never treats her badly, but all the affection we're supposed to have for him is secondhand. Humphrey, on the other hand, we're supposed to low-key despise for his choice of work, yet it's him we get touching bonding moments with. From Swann, we get expensive whiskey (the man is inexplicably wealthy for a researcher at a library struggling with funding).
Nell solves a mystery entirely from a list of first names and the knowledge that these people are vaguely related to the antique map world. Her ex works for an incredibly evil-coded surveillance company, yet this rings the alarm bells of no one until it's way too late.
Worst of all is the final "twist" of the book, which I put in quotes because it's not a twist at all, it's just bad storytelling. The plot device is that things you put down on a map become real, if you only you have that map (because, as the book saccharinely puts it, it's "not a place that makes a place, it's the people"). This somehow is supposed to explain how Nell's mother, who has been supposed dead for 25 years, survived in a phantom settlement - because if you just draw a map of a restaurant, food will materialize inside it. Or something. It breaks the extremely simple rules of magic for this plot device that had been established 250 pages earlier.
The villain - obvious the founder of aforementioned evil-coded surveillance company - is also the distinctly creepy childhood friend of Nell's mother. I cannot stress enough how this person is described by everyone in the flashback sequences as possessive, obsessive, and yeah, creepy - and yet everyone still wanted to hang out with him, and Nell's mother is seemingly oblivious to his general unpleasantness until it's resulted in her almost-death.
This book was a waste of everyone's time, including the author's.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Gun violence and Violence
katrinarose's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
If I had read this is middle school I probably would have loved it, given it 4 stars. It has a fun original premise with an intriguing murder mystery and it’s very fast-paced and engaging. Now though, I can’t look past the gaping plot holes, cringey dialogue, questionable “magic” system, and bad character development. Most, if not all of the major conflict in the book would have been resolved if people just talked to each other. Even after it was “explained” later why (can’t say why - spoiler) Nell’s father fired her, ruined her professional and romantic life and cut her out of his life altogether for 10 years, the explanation makes no sense. This is the foundation for a large portion of the book and it is just stupid. All the character’s motivations were so underdeveloped. Another reason why this felt like a middle grade book is because every character acts and talks like a high schooler at the oldest. But Nell is supposed to be 35?! And everyone else is that age or older? I don’t understand why the author chose to make them that old when the story would’ve worked if Nell was 21 years old and at least we can imagine that her prefrontal cortex was not yet done developing to explain the stupid stuff she does. If I got more into the plot I could rant more but I don’t want to hate on it too much, at the end of the day it’s a cute little middle grade mystery that I’d recommend for those ages and that’s it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Infidelity, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
caseythereader's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
- THE CARTOGRAPHERS is part mystery, part ode to libraries and curation. I was drawn in right from the start, happily along for the ride as this strange tale unraveled.
- To be honest, I could see where the plot was going pretty much the whole time, but Shepherd's writing was so cozy and the characters so real that it didn't matter if I figured it out before they did.
- This is the kind of book that I would love to see turned into a movie: the mechanics of the unreality elements would lend themselves so perfectly to the screen. So would the plot twists, tbh, but I won't give those away here!
- To be honest, I could see where the plot was going pretty much the whole time, but Shepherd's writing was so cozy and the characters so real that it didn't matter if I figured it out before they did.
- This is the kind of book that I would love to see turned into a movie: the mechanics of the unreality elements would lend themselves so perfectly to the screen. So would the plot twists, tbh, but I won't give those away here!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail