stagemanaginger's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
Easily hands down the best book I’ve read in a long time. I’m usually pretty good at figuring out twists before they happen, but this book got me almost every time! Truly magical.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
amplify'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? No
3.5
I read through the first 3/4 very quickly and found the storyline engaging and enjoyable but, as expected from other reviews, the end did fall apart a bit and what plot holes were forgivable did become rather annoyingly obvious and distracting.
It almost felt as though the publisher put pressure to speed the process up and the author didn’t slow down to question motivations enough to make them believable. Not enough, “not what would I like to see happen and what should really happen” questioning going on while developing the finally thesis.
That said, I loved the concept and I really enjoyed a solid 75% of the book so…
It almost felt as though the publisher put pressure to speed the process up and the author didn’t slow down to question motivations enough to make them believable. Not enough, “not what would I like to see happen and what should really happen” questioning going on while developing the finally thesis.
That said, I loved the concept and I really enjoyed a solid 75% of the book so…
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Death of parent, Death, Murder, and Bullying
ejanephillips's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Murder
adamsbookshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I loved the idea of this novel and the overall plot was well executed. However there was something about this novel that just couldn't keep my interest. It just felt so long and I had to force myself to keep reading by locking my phone in the other room. Maybe my attentions span is the problem here? Who knows.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Murder, and Stalking
coookiecat's review against another edition
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 of parent, Emotional abuse, Violence, Grief, Alcohol, Gun violence, Murder, Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/injury detail
Moderate: Confinement
Minor: Sexual content
quidproqueer's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Excellent concept, but only decent execution. The ending didn’t quite stick the landing for me personally, but I enjoyed the ride for what it was. I liked the amount of magical realism and could’ve done with a bit more world-building connected to that magic. The characters could’ve been more developed but I liked the variety of personalities. Still generally a fun read.
Content Warnings
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Death, and Death of parent
maethereader's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
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, Death of parent, Gun violence, Murder, and Violence
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?!) and honestly atleast 100 pages could've been dropped.
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 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.
Spoiler
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
Spoiler
(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).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Abandonment, Murder, Violence, Gun violence, and Death of parent
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 of parent, Murder, Toxic relationship, Death, 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 of parent, Emotional abuse, Death, Gaslighting, and Violence