To Best The Boys by Mary Weber Review

Hello Everyone :)


Thank you for joining me today for another book review here on the Preppy Book Princess.


Today I'm going to be sharing with you all a review for an upcoming book release by an 
author I'd never personally read before, Mary Weber.


To Best The Boys by Mary Weber:

Source: Publisher (Thomas Nelson) Via NetGalley

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Publication Date: March 5th, 2019

Genre: Young Adult Fiction/Fantasy


Synopsis:

Every year for the past fifty-four years, the residents of Pinsbury Port receive a mysterious letter inviting all eligible-aged boys to compete for an esteemed scholarship to the all-male Stemwick University. Every year, the poorer residents look to see that their names are on the list. The wealthier look to see how likely their sons are to survive. And Rhen Tellur opens it to see if she can derive which substances the ink and parchment are created from, using her father’s microscope.

In the province of Caldon, where women are trained in wifely duties and men are encouraged into collegiate education, sixteen-year-old Rhen Tellur wants nothing more than to become a scientist. As the poor of her seaside town fall prey to a deadly disease, she and her father work desperately to find a cure. But when her Mum succumbs to it as well? Rhen decides to take the future into her own hands—through the annual all-male scholarship competition.

With her cousin, Seleni, by her side, the girls don disguises and enter Mr. Holm’s labyrinth, to best the boys and claim the scholarship prize. Except not everyone’s ready for a girl who doesn’t know her place. And not everyone survives the maze.

(synopsis from goodreads)


My Review:

It's always thrilling when you get to approved to advance read one of the year's book releases that you've been most looking forward to. I honestly really didn't know too much about what To Best The Boys was even about. I'd heard, however, that it was going to be a novel that spoke to girls standing up for themselves and proving their voices deserved to be heard too, and for that alone I knew I wanted to read this book. Also, from the cover I knew it was going to having something to do with a maze, and I was expecting something along the lines of The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner. While To Best The Boys has similarities to both of these series, it's so much more in its own right, and I think it's going to be a new favorite for many fans of those previous series.

Its premise revolves around a sixteen year girl named Rhen Tellur. Rhen's father is a scientist who's trying with limited means to figure out what's causing the mysterious disease that's killing so many people from the "lower societies", and he's only more driven to figure it out when Rhen's own mother falls ill with the dreaded disease. Rhen is determined to help her father figure out what's going on, but she's limited in what she's able to do. This is mainly due to the fact that those who live in the lower society area have fewer resources available to them than do the privileged ones who are part of the upper society. Fed up with not being able to do anything with what she's been given, and determined to prove that girls are just as worthy as boys, Rhen decides to disguise herself in order to enter the town's annual scholarship competition. Not much is known about either the competition itself, or the mysterious beneficiary who sponsors it, other than that it's not for the weak minded or the weak at heart, and the end results can often be catastrophic.

Rhen's cousin Seleni soon learns of her plan, and is determined to not let Rhen do this alone. Together the two girls enter the Labyrinth with their end goal in sight-get Rhen to finish first to prove that girls are just as good as boys, and to give her access to the education she needs to end this dreaded disease once and for all. However, there's a reason that the details of the Labyrinth have been kept so secret, and both girls are unprepared for the sinister components they're about to encounter within the twisted maze.

To Best The Boys is an action packed, young adult fantasy novel that will keep readers on the edge of their seat from start to finish. Mary Weber hits the nail on the head with her depiction of a strong female heroine who's determined to not take a back seat any longer to the males who continue to try and make her feel like she's less than what she is. This novel definitely does the female empowerment theme in the right way, and is by far one of the most enjoyable parts of the overall novel. Rhen and Seleni were both characters I really enjoyed, as I loved the way they refuse to back down, and the way they're determined to do whatever it takes to help those they care about, despite the dangerous circumstances it puts them in. Both girls have love interests throughout the story, and I enjoyed both Beryll and Lute, and the way that not only are the strong, and dependable, but also the way that they're willing to respect that both Rhen and Seleni are strong willed girls, and both encourage rather than discourage this trait in the girls.

Now all of that being said, this novel was not quite the five star read I was expecting it to be, and I found myself having issues with several portions of the story as it went along.

Firstly, the setting was really weird and off putting. I couldn't personally tell where the novel was supposed to be set, and also couldn't guess as to what time period it was supposed to be set in. The way that the characters talked, and the way that the setting was described made this impossible to decipher, and I wish this had been better stated by the author at the start of the story.

I thought the love triangle was completely unnecessary.  It made absolutely no sense how in one scene Rhen was a determined, strong heroine who wouldn't let anyone treat her in a way she didn't deserve, and yet in the next scene she's letting Vincent talk to her like she's a small child. Her refusal to stand up to him throughout most of their interactions in the entirety of the novel became a massive pet peeve for me. I understood the character of Vincent being an important part of the story line, but I did not understand why Rhen put up with him treating her the way he did.

I found by far that the most interesting part of the whole story was the part that actually takes place in the labyrinth, and I was severely disappointed that this is actually a really small part of the story. It almost felt like this should have been made into a duology, as it felt like the parts in the labyrinth were rushed, and so was the ending. And speaking of the ending, I didn't feel it did its job in giving the reader a satisfying conclusion to the story. With how amazing the plot was for most of the story, I felt there could have been so much more done with the ending, and what the reader is given felt pretty lackluster. 

I also want to mention that the opening couple of chapters were extremely off putting for me. I started this book back at the start of January, and after reading those chapters, it took me a good month to have the urge to want to read any more of this. I didn't enjoy reading about the dissection of a corpse, or said corpse exploding, or where the bodily fluid ends up from said corpse. While after those chapters were over, I became really invested and interested in the story, and found it to be a roller coaster from that point on, I really could have done without those chapters, and it started the book off on a bad note for me.

Lastly, and most importantly, I can't finish this review without talking about the fact that I was a little bothered by some of the content that was included in a novel put out by a Christian publisher. A lot of the content of this book resolves around characters with demonic tendencies, like ghouls and sirens. Now I would have had no problem with them being included, if there were ever a passage that spoke of the light overcoming the darkness, like is usually included in these type of Christian fantasy novels. Unfortunately, that never happens, and I was left wondering why this content was included in a title put out by a Christian publisher, when there was never any mention of Christ or God overcoming the darkness.

All in all, To Best The Boys is not without its fair share of problems, but it is still a really enjoyable read that gives readers a thrilling fantasy adventure and speaks to the notion that girls can too. With strong female characters, two swoon worthy love interests, and a plot line that will appeal to fans of books like The Hunger Games, Divergent and The Maze Runner, I foresee this book being a huge success in the young adult market. However, I wish they could left some of the content out, and corrected the issues I had with it. Overall though, I'm giving it three out of five stars, and I'm thankful I got the chance to advance read it.

Thanks so much to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for the opportunity to advance read this!


I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. I was not required to give a positive review.