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Kaethe

Kaethe

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Shadow and Bone - Leigh Bardugo A mixed bag. I really liked the Russian-influenced world. That was a nice change, including the Rasputin-like gentleman. Most of the book is taken up with Alina pining after her best friend, Mal, which I found boring. The formal system of magic, with uniforms, and hierarchy, and training and an awesome library: good. The court, shiny and useless: meh. Of course there have been many rulers who did a horrible job of leading their countries, but it's kind of an easy stereotype, isn't it? Sexually integrated army and Grisha: cool. The utter lack of any other evidence of sexual equality: not cool. The fact that most of the female characters spend most of their on-page time concerned with popularity and sexual jealousy: really not cool. I especially hated the lack of context for unmarried sex. Alina tells us that Mal appears to be pursuing sexual pleasure with any girl he can, but no female is shown to be anything but chaste or assaulted. And more than anything, I hate how passive Alina is about her life. It may very well be probable, given the circumstances, but it isn't interesting. She's busy reading up on history, but doesn't seem to have a clue what is actually going on around her.So, I'm hoping the second book will expand on what I like and at least decrease some of what I don't.Library copy.