Reviews with content warning for Blood - The Cartographers

Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

19 reviews

bluejayreads's review against another edition

4.0

An enjoyable, magic-tinged puzzle with a ton of different pieces to put together, featuring a present inextricably bound to the past, interesting and mysterious family friends that the protagonist's father never told her about, and interesting thoughts on the nature of maps and navigation. The first half was about figuring out why this particular map is so special, and the second half about trying to keep it away from the antagonist, with small pieces of the story behind the map running throughout. My only complaint is that the protagonist just seems to accept that the antagonist shouldn't get the map without reason, as it's never made entirely clear what would be so bad about them getting it in the first place. It was a fun adventure of discovery and magical realism weirdness and cartography, and I enjoyed it.

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laguerrelewis's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.0

I always love the magic in the mundane, and apparently, so does Peng Shepherd. This is a pretty solid and enjoyable story—the characters are great, the weaving of timelines and POVs is creative and fun, and the actual narrative is very engaging. The mystery fuels this book and keeps you reading, and the twists and turns certainly hit! The biggest hurdles are that I absolutely got ahead of multiple revelations, leaving me waiting for the book to catch up with me. MINOR SPOILER:

There is a minor magical element to this world. However, I personally felt like the protagonists were confused/in denial of this for far too long, and time could have been saved by cutting that down.

If you’re willing to stick with this book, and if the concept appeals to your senses, give it a shot!

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aklovekorn's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-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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mandkips's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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? Yes

3.25

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erinmjustice's review against another edition

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adventurous informative mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.0

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caitlinleigh96's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-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

5.0

This was like an adult Nancy Drew book in a library setting with a dash of National Treasure vibes and I ATE it up. Some parts I could see coming and I could get nitpicky about the pacing/writing but I don’t care, it was such an enjoyable read.

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