Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - The Cartographers

Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

57 reviews

navayiota's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It gave me Secret History-but they grew up vibes. Now I really want to start a map collection..

Two things that bothered me were how stereotypically not-like-other-girls Nel is, (petite, unruly hair, big glasses, big cardigans, not chic, bookish, quiet but feisty) i struggled to imagine her that way and the wording always prompted an eye roll from me. The second thing was just how easily everyone spilled their past to Nel even though it was the first time they had seen her in 2+ decades, and the fact that they included all their petty drama. It completely broke immersion for me whenever someone who was prev ously reserved started talking about what was going on in their relationship and even their sex lives. I liked the story but the way it was conveyed to the reader felt weird.

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cyndi1966's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.0

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cgreenstein's review

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adventurous mysterious tense 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

4.25

Fast-paced and inventive, with enough hints to make the reveals feel earned rather than out of nowhere but not so many that everything is obvious right out of the gate. That's a hard balance to strike, I think, and this book handles it well, so each time something is revealed it's satisfying instead of prompting eye rolls. I would've appreciated a little more explanation of the climactic scene, and some of the ins and outs of how everything worked required me to go back and reread, and I am still not 100% sure I got it, but I think that's on me-- I'm not a detail-oriented reader, and I was more interested in the plot, which is rapid and twisty. The characters are fun, too, especially the family friends!

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hmwoodward's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I enjoyed the setting of this book, the focus on maps, and that it was a mystery.

Though I predicted the villain and the twist, I didn't predict the ending. In fact, it still doesn't entirely make sense to me. Maybe it will after I sit with it more? On track to be a 4 star read but changed to 3 due to this unsatisfying ending.

I listened on audiobook and can't say this was my favorite narrator. There were several narrators, yet the main female narrator still did the stereotypical gruff male voice throughout. I'd understand if it was a one woman production but that was not the case here.

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alicelalicon's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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ofheartsandaros's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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hello_lovely13's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.25

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tm400's review

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adventurous mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

this was such a captivating read! i feel like it had such a unique premise, and that the author executed it really well. i'm a big sucker for magical realism, and this book hit almost every aspect of the genre that i love!

i love the use of language such as skeleton, ghost, shell, empty, etc when describing wally towards the end of the book, after we've discovered he was the one behind the murders/map disappearances but before they return to agloe. i also really loved the way the story was told, with the intermittent first person chapters from the members of the Cartographers. really helped me immerse myself into the setting!!

i loved how this story was written; it was immediately thrilling from the first chapter, and i read it quickly. i found it perfectly paced and loved the storytelling. personally though... i wished a different ending for the protagonist. i do think that this ending was great, and i think that it was still a fantastic ending for this novel. but part of me, the part of me that just read that whole book, wished for something more...explicit is all. i also got confused a few times on characters' motives for why they do the things they do (mainly/especially wally and tamara)

sorry but i also hate that tamara was still alive in agloe at all... i suspected it from the second we discovered she was the only one who didn't make it back to the real rockland after the fire but i was just hoping maybe it wouldn't happen but then it did :/

i'm giving this a 4/5 stars, and am definitely looking into more books by peng shepherd to add to my tbr!

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outernetbex's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

i really enjoyed this book. i knew almost nothing about it going in which i think made it really fun and surprising- especially the reveal. i had a few issues w the main character, but other than that found the characters believable. they felt like real people making decisions within the world they exist in. however, nell just felt a bit naive most of the time? it was stated throughout the book how smart she is, how good with maps she is, etc etc- yet we don’t really see that. everything going on with the maps she is either told or can’t figure out by herself.

AND WHY DO THEY NEVER TAKE PICTURES?.!,!, i understand that it wouldn’t like be a real copy of the maps, but it would allow them to study them longer? like the seaborn map of the library or whatever it’s called like she definitely could have taken a picture of it and found the hidden room. also i’m not sure about the reveal that her mom is still alive in agloe… like how is she not insane from isolation. idk i know it’s a magical realism story but it seems a bit far fetched even for the concept of this book. maybe it would make more sense if so much time had not passed?? idk

anyway i felt like i was connecting the dots despite nell’s narration, or clue gathering, not because of it. that being said i do like the reveals and think most of them are spot on with setting them up well enough that they make sense while also still feeling like a surprise.

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spineofthesaurus's review

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mysterious

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