A review by rezdog
The Mapmaker's War by Ronlyn Domingue

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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? Yes

3.5

The author's rhetorical structure defies the conventions of any period; she addresses herself throughout and appears to be her own audience. 

Have you ever read an entire book written in second-person? The Mapmaker's War is a story about love, challenges, and reflections. The main character, Aoife, grows up in a kingdom that has strict expectations for women... make babies. As a young woman, she is able to become the apprentice of a mapmaker and her trajectory is changed. As she begins to map the kingdom, a mysterious settlement is found. The people who live there are happy and peaceful. Aoife is exiled and goes to live among the mysterious people. 

Ronlyn Domingue creates a fantasy world with deep lore. But what I really enjoyed about this book was the parallels to our own world. The characters struggle with sexism, colonization, and violence. Aoife goes through massive character development that felt realistic and a exciting to read along though. You definitely want to remember that this entire novel is, essentially, a diary and a reflection of Aoife. 

I gave this a 3.5 since some of the passages were difficult to understand because of the second-person and no quotation marks for narration. Although this didn't impede understanding the plot, I felt like this caused some chunks of the book to feel... nebulous and confusing.