I read the first two books and I haven't gotten around to the third. The second person narrative was something I never got used to either. I kinda lost interest in the story along the way too. Meh.

But women play as male characters all the time considering most protagonists in games are male. It doesn't bother me. Why does it bother you to play as a female character?

I've created male characters so I don't see how it's much different. It's kind of funny though because I usually make female characters, and people still assume I'm a dude. I try to avoid voice chatting and stay anonymous because I don't want to deal with potential assholes.

My 6 year old loves LOTR too! Granted we've only watched the movies together. The Hobbit is one of my favorite books of all time though and I'm hoping once he starts reading proficiently he'll want to read it. I bought a cute illustrated version just for that purpose, it's sitting in a special spot and whenever he's ready I hope he'll pick it up.