Review of Uncorrected Digital Galley

As Robin Quain works to complete her research for her dissertation based on the history of European witchcraft and folklore, a fellow student Charles Danforth, whom she believed to be a friend, stole her research and into his own dissertation. Following some unsettling events and a decision to write a “revenge dissertation” that will discredit Danforth, Robin accepts a library residency at Hildegard College in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

Secretly hunting for an artifact that she is certain will provide all the ammunition she needs, she finds the mysterious disappearance of another Hildegard professor is linked to the artifact.

As Robin is pulled deeper and deeper into her investigation, will she find what she seeks? And what about the artifact?

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This story, gothic and filled with old, dark academia, lays out a complex mystery to pull the reader into the telling of the tale. The unfolding mystery is atmospheric; the story, eerie and, ultimately, tragic. Readers who enjoy mysteries, dark tales, and horror are sure to find this book intriguing.

Recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving this review.
#AtlasofUnknowableThings #NetGalley

This is the title that I was invited to view. I went back and forth on whether to accept it. The cover is amazing, I love the title, and the blurb was intriguing. But something about it didn't click with me for a very long time, although I did ultimately decide to accept it for review. Unfortunately I should have gone with my gut on this one because I just could not get into the story... I struggled with the writing. It felt repetitive, overly complex, and dry and did not draw me in at all. I am definitely not the right reader for this book, and wasn't able to connect with it enough to keep reading...

This was eerie, cerebral, and totally immersive. I loved the dark academia vibes and the slow unraveling of Robin’s reality at Hildegard College. The pacing was a bit uneven—slow burn early on, then a whirlwind of revelations—but the payoff was worth it. Templeman’s writing is sharp and unsettling in the best way.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the free eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Atlas of Unknowable Things is one of those rare books that feels like holding a piece of someone’s soul in your hands. It’s poetic, intimate, and deeply thoughtful—blending science, philosophy, memory, and emotion in a way that’s both expansive and deeply personal.

Each chapter feels like a constellation: a quiet moment that links to something bigger. The writing is luminous—sometimes playful, sometimes aching, always beautifully observed. There were passages I read more than once just to sit with the feeling they gave me.

This isn’t a book that offers easy answers. Instead, it invites you to live in the questions—to wonder, to reflect, and to accept the mystery of what can’t be fully known. And that, to me, is what makes it unforgettable.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

4/5 stars
Recommended if you like: paranormal, dark academia, experimentation, mystery

This review has been posted to Goodreads as of 7/8 and will be posted to Instagram 8/9 and to my review blog 9/11.

This is a difficult book to rate because there's just so much that's hidden throughout the book, so much mystery, and then just so much general weirdness. At any given point, you're not really sure what to think.

I was expecting more of a murder mystery vibe, so this didn't exactly go in the direction I was expecting. There's definitely a mystery, but it's less murder mystery than unsettling mystery. Something is clearly afoot at the college, what with the way wolves howl at night and strange things occur only to disappear again and the way everyone seems to be evading Robin's questions. However, that lends itself to a more spooky, paranormal and/or haunted atmosphere than one of a murder mystery, even one set in a fantasy world.

That being said, Templeman did an excellent job of creating a spooky atmosphere. There were several times throughout the book where I was thoroughly unsettled by what was going on, and even though Hildegard College is in an idyllic location, when night falls and things (and people) stalk the woods, it can be as creepy as any haunted mansion. I really enjoyed the interplay between 'elite university' and 'creepy locale,' and how the atmosphere was woven with aspects of both, so even the sunniest day could take on a sinister tinge.

Robin is an ABD PhD student who, after being devastated by an academic betrayal, jumps on the chance to visit Hildegard College and dig into a new discovery by Professor Isabelle can't-remember-her-last-name that could put Robin's hypothesis on stronger ground. But almost immediately things seem off. You've got to give Robin props, she's very determined to get her academic work done, regardless of whatever else seems to be going on around the college. Likewise, when things start to get really strange/bad, she does in fact attempt to high-tail it out of town like a smart protagonist. But Robin is also a historian and specifically a historian of the occult, and she can't resist the urge to dig into the going's on at Hildegard.

The other characters are kind of all over the place and hard to get a grip on. One moment they'll be chill friendly and the next they'll be weirdly intense. Sometimes they're willing to answer Robin's questions and other times they seem distinctly uncomfortable and react as though they dislike Robin. Finn and Aspen at least seem relatively universally friendly, though both also have a couple of moments to the contrary. Dorian is just...obsessive it seems, and he frankly gives me bad vibes anyway, and then Lexi oscillates between disinterest and clear hostility. Toward the end, the group seems more cohesive, and I enjoyed the vibes I got from their interactions at that point until the end, but that was definitely an anomaly compared to the rest of the book (at least, in terms of Robin, it does seem like they're all pretty friendly with each other).

Since there is a big mystery component to the book, it's kind of hard to talk about the plot without giving anything away, but the basis is that Isabelle discovers an statue on an archaeological dig that points to a long-existing fertility (?) cult, but then almost immediately abandons her academic post upon returning to the US. Weirdly, but perhaps not related (if anyone believes that), a local girl disappeared after work and turned up dead, seemingly mauled by a bear...but the locals insist it was a werewolf. As mentioned, Robin can't help but poke into things, and the more she does so, the more things seem...off at Hildegard. There are a bunch of bizarre things going on, not all of which seem entirely connected to one another, but then again, you know what they say about paranormal activity and coincidences...

I will say, I did figure out what was going on at about the halfway mark. It takes Robin much longer than that to figure it out, though the clues were starting to stare her right in the face. Perhaps part of it is that she didn't want to know? That being said, I think the layering of things was fantastic, and I enjoyed the analogous pieces of the puzzle.

I really enjoyed this one. I would describe it as somewhat of an dark academic gothic, which is right up my alley. The creepy and secluded setting really worked for me, and I liked the cast of characters. The mystery itself was complex and at times I wasn't really sure how or what was happening, but honestly I'm not sure it impacted my enjoyment much. I've been reading a lot of dark academic, research/old manuscript based mysteries lately, and I think this one is the most successfully done.

Where to even start with this review?!
The Atlas of Unknowable Things was an interesting and unexpected story.
It has mystery, horror, twists and turns, science, folklore, occult, monsters, and a good plot twist.
I would say though, that the 'dark academia' side is very much a sub-plot line, and not the typical style one would think of for the school setting.

However, I waivered back and forth constantly trying to decide if i was fully enjoying it. It was often repetitive, and slow moving at times. That being said, it did make some sense why later.
I didn't connect with the characters and it was almost as though there was too much going on?
This is not a book to sue a light read either there is a lot of info-bombing and paths to follow. The ending seemed super abrupt after everything, and I felt a bit unsatisfied.

Overall, I found it interesting and unique. I didn't love it, but also didn't hate it.

A young occult professor joins a research "think tank" in the Rocky Mountains. With it being isolated, you just knowwww things are going to go down. Mc begins having nightmares and soon finds out a previous member had mysteriously disappeared. She dives into the mystery and as some questions get answered, more questions pop up as she tries to find out what happened.

This is a very intricately plotted story that really takes off about the last quarter of the book. I enjoyed the air of mystery and various historical facts and references sprinkled within, but the characters are thinly drawn and details about the setting are vaguely offered. I found it difficult to accurately picture many settings in the story because the details were sparse and offered hurriedly and quickly moved on from. I also found the main character to be unlikable, personality-wise and only roughly sketched in my mind as no physical description is ever offered. This is a solid read but could be 5 stars were it fleshed out.

This was an interesting one. For the first half I had genuinely no idea where this was going though when the plot found its footing I started to like it a little less. This is a good read but I think it just wasn’t my cup of tea.

I'm a fan of Dark Academia, and this certainly fits the bill. I'd also add this to other genres: fantasy and paranormal. Set in the woods of Colorado at Hildegard College, historian Robin Quain starts a residency, and soon things start to unravel. Witty, intellectual, literate - I loved all these aspects of the writing. My only complaint (and it's a small one, sort of) -- there's no real mystery to unravel from clues embedded in the story. This is not to say there isn't tension and mystery -- there is.

I enjoyed this. Will I read more from the author? Yes.

I received a complimentary copy of the novel from the publisher and NetGalley, and my review is being left freely.

A historian secretly hunts for an artifact during her residency at a celebrated college when she stumbles upon the mysterious vanishing of another professor linked to the artifact. I enjoyed this treasure-hunt type of mystery-horror genre blend. At times I found the voice funny, almost like a cozy horror à la T. Kingfisher. It felt like everything in the occult from A to Z was included in this book. I enjoyed reading the arcane clues and stuff, which ultimately led to things that felt a bit like a cool tech/sci-fi thriller (which made me wonder if the old underground computer system had the required tech). I would have loved to see more of this tech (or how things were done) which was skipped during the ending part, but overall this made me want to turn the pages. Finished it in two days--an enjoyable read!!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read an ARC of this novel.

Were it not for the incredibly promising beginning, I could have forgiven this one a great many things. Only, I really thought we were headed somewhere and the increasing devolution of that theory was a real bummer.

A slow burn gothic read. Very cerebral with lots of nods to old academia, this book winds it way through a mystery that touches on many ideas like witchcraft, werewolves, and religion to name a few. It was an interesting read, but at times I found myself wanting to push the story along. The last quarter of the book is where it really picks up and the reader finally sees the puzzle pieces come together.

I liked the story. It was interesting and kept me engaged. Sometimes the writing was repetitive and it felt like it was longer than it needed to be but still worth reading (just not at night, some parts are terrifying).

3/5

Robin is determined to find the information she needs to finish her dissertation. Someone she considered a close friend hurt her (and her research topic) badly, and Robin must find a new perspective. She heads to Colorado to hopefully discover an artifact she needs to get her work back on track. Hildegard College during the summer has only a handful of staff still on campus. From day one, strange things happen, and everyone is not exactly easily explainable without giving away spoilers.
I will just say that my reading radar did not even come close to figuring out where this story was headed. If you are a fan of dark academia, this was quite a read. Just past the middle of the book, I threw all my guesses out the window and just enjoyed the ride.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC.
This is a beautifully written book with an interesting premise. I tried very hard to get into it, but found it difficult to follow. and just couldn't wrap my head around it.
I did try, but it just wasn't for me..

Ok, so this is the kind of book that is typically a DNF for me, but this one was so incredibly well written. I loved the dark academia vibes, and it was incredibly well researched.

I think this is one of those books that will have a huge following. It just didn't resonate with me.

To start with, I have a hard time with first person writing. It's just a personal preference, but I find it hard to really connect to. In addition to the first person narrative, the writing feels very repetitive. I can't count how many times the statement, "Suddenly I understood," or "I saw something I missed before," or some variation of those statements show up. It was a little annoying. I didn't like being in Robin's head all the time.

The story is really good. It's a little hard to follow at times, because it's so twisty and misleading, but that just adds to the frantic, jumbled atmosphere, and Templeman really makes that work.

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC, my opinions are shared freely.

Robin is researching the history of witches which leads her to a small college in the mountains of Colorado. There her research leads to disturbing and supernatural answers. The story unfolds as a series of clues revealing the truth. I don't want to give away too much of the plot, so I'll stop there. This mystery feels a bit gothic and a bit dark academia, though it is set during summer when the students are absent and the story revolves around the strange campus/staff/research. The author brings in medicinal plants, mystical traditions, and supernatural beings to the story, making this a complex and interesting work.