Sarah’s recommendation of Shadow and Bone (Shadow and Bone, #1) > Likes and Comments

I'm a little hesitant about this one. I've heard both awful things and good things about it. It seems like a book you either love or hate. The one thing that keeps me away for now is I keep hearing how pathetic the protagonist is… and that's a huge red flag for me.

Hmm, she's certainly not on my list of best protagonists. Or even strong female characters. I didn't think she was bad, just forgettable. However, I liked some of the ideas of the world, and it was a fun read.

The book would also be problematic if you know things about Russian culture and don't like when fantasy authors rip off cultures and get things wrong. I didn't know anything and don't mind to many mistakes, so it didn't bother me any. I was far more bothered by Jay Kristoff's Stormdancer. The world was clearly supposed to be based off Japan, and yet it had pandas. Apparently his research consisted of Wikipedia and anime.

In the case of Shadow and Bone, I'd recommend picking it up from the library and reading the beginning to see what you think.

Good idea. I'm willing to give it a try.