Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Cartographers, by Peng Shepherd

25 reviews

atamano's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief

Moderate: Abandonment, Blood, and Gun violence

ikeastorage's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I really enjoyed this book. Phantom settlements are incredibly interesting to me, the idea of them becoming real when following the map is great. The magic(?) system seemed well thought out and wasn't too confusing, although it was a bit confusing because it was introduced ~halfway through the book though it worked out well.

Spoiler

The way the original Cartographers were integrated with Nell's life was done very well. I did guess that William was Wally pretty early after he was introduced but Humphry caught me by surprise. /pos Nell's mother being alive was not my favorite part of the ending but, personally, it also didn't take anything away from the ending.

All in all, I think this was a great, enjoyable read and I would recommend it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Gun violence, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief

Moderate: Infidelity

livwoods's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

This book got me out of my reading slump. What a fantastic, intriguing story about maps and their power to bring people together, or, unfortunately, drive them apart. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Blood, Murder, Grief, and Death

renyoi's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

Really engaging text on cartography, interpersonal relationships, and familial dynamics. Author is good at making complex ideas understandable, but falls short near the end of the book in making her character motivations understandable,

Spoiler

specifically Wally, whose villainy went rather unexamined in any meaningful way the entire time

.  Thoroughly enjoyable ready with fully fleshed out characters you will absolutely grow to care for deeply, even when they make seemingly nonsensical decisions. Recommended!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Stalking, Abandonment, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Infidelity and Grief

Minor: Gun violence

cookiecat73'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

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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

raquelcanread's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious 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

3.0

Pretty entertaining! Gave me da vinci code/ national treasure vibes. If it gets picked up for a film it could be a cool adventure movie!!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Death of parent, Mass/school shootings, 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Murder, and Infidelity

Moderate: Classism, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Stalking, Mental illness, Grief, and Gaslighting

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Infidelity, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

tamara_joy's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Murder, Infidelity, Death of parent, Death, and Grief

taelights's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.5

I started off really loving this book so I'm a bit disappointed that it went so downhill for me by the end. 

The first half quarter of the book was honestly so good. I was so drawn in by the story and the mystery and the characters. But towards the halfway point I thought the story had grown very repetitive and boring. I was kind of desperate for it to be over so I could move onto another book which is never a good thing. 

Also by the halfway point I had already guessed the two biggest twists in the story so I didn't really feel surprised at all when either of them were revealed. I was just like "oh okay cool I was right" but not even in a satisfying way. 

I thought the ending was super unsatisfying and a bit too open ended for my tastes at least. 

Also I felt like a lot of the sacrifices and choices made by the characters were just dumb and unjustified. 

Spoiler

Wally's whole motivation made no sense to me and his actions were so extreme. Like turning into a serial killer just to protect the secret of this town??? And for what reason??? Literally makes no sense to me still. Also Tam deciding to live in the Agloe for multiple decades just felt pointless. Like what person would give up their whole life with a loving husband and a tobbler just for some town even if it was a secret town. Turning the husband you are supposed to love into a single parent when you could idk just call the police and/or run away. Also Swan's death was overly dramatic and I thought it added nothing to the story.

 

Honestly the idea of the book really interested me but the execution of it was disappointing. Most of the characters fell flat and were unbelievable to me. The story also felt underdeveloped and had a few obvious plot holes. Plus the world building just wasn't it and left me with so many questions. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, and Murder