I wanted a more complex book than I got. I did like some elements--it was quite feminist and such a clever concept but did not draw me in as much as I would've liked. The ending of good, though, with enough questions answered to be good, but with enough ambiguity to leave things to the imagination. I did enjoy it, though.

This had an interesting premise but it fell short. I liked the science aspect of it and I enjoyed Rhen as a character but that’s about it.

I love a good thriller! Fast paced plot and an interesting cast of characters that kept me on edge until the end! Definitely would read again and recommend to my friends!

I'm always a sucker for dystopian books so To Best the Boys was one I was immediately interested in reading. I haven't read a really decent book in the genre in a while so this book was an incredibly refreshing read! I enjoyed the writing and the world (obviously) and found myself turning the pages in excitement because I wanted to know what would happen next!

I am very confused about how I am supposed to rate this book. I enjoyed it, it kept me on my toes but I felt something was missing. Still, it was a very enjoyable read that loved up to the hype.

I absolutely loved this. I loved the characters and their relationships, the atmosphere, the positive female empowerment, all of it was captivating. If I have one complaint it is that I felt that the ending was a little rushed and some things were either not resolved or resolved too quickly. However, I still greatly enjoyed reading about Rhen and her path to finding where she belonged.

What a fun, fresh adventure! I love YA because they are more entertaining than television. Mary Weber cooked up an amazing adventure complete with crazy mazes and slightly crazed fellows. Plus ghouls, anyone? The only downfall is that I wanted to read more about this world. I would love to see another story set in this land she created!
Also, this book was definitely #girlpower but in a way that was fresh and perfectly feminist. Meaning the females get choose what is best for them (not just females are better than males which I feel so many #girlpower books do). Thank you Mary for this book!

This felt like it could be really good but never seemed to really get there, a little underdeveloped.

I LOVE Mary Weber. LOVELOVELOVE her. I will happily promote what she writes. But this book just was not for me. I tried really hard to read it, but just could not get into the story. I think I'm just over the Hunger Games/big competition angle. I am excited for more Mary Weber books to come. I am only rating this because the form made me.

I went into this book expecting something like Maze Runner with a more feministic vibe to it and did not get that at all. In reality, the maze/labyrinth aspect was only a very short portion of this book and it didn't even start until about halfway through. The rest of this book dealt with this mysterious plague and Rhen dissecting and violating dead bodies. It just wasn't what I had signed up for at all.

I also couldn't really connect with any of the characters and they all felt kind of flat to me. I just didn't think there was anything special about them and even when they were in the labyrinth, I was expecting something exciting but to be honest, it was very chill. I didn't feel that sense of urgency or anticipating as to what will happen next.

There was also this romance in this book that felt really awkward but at the same time, I kind of understand because there was this history between the two of them but as the reader, I didn't get that history nor was there any flashback or explanations about said history. So for me, it felt rushed and forced. There was also this annoying amount of staring from Rhen's part at someone's automatically perfect lips. Like, what. I didn't need that repeated 100000x.

Overall, this book was mediocre. I didn't get what I had expected, the characters were nothing special, the romance was meh and the plot itself was okay at best.

This book sounded so good i couldnt wait to read its but unfortunately I couldnt get into its tryed 3 times but never finished its. Its like getting something off wish.com the cover is brilliant but content is a disappointement.

Hovering somewhere between 3 and 3.5 stars.

The Scorpio Races meets The Hunger Games, <i>To Best the Boys</i> was an entertaining and exciting read, but at times it felt a little undeveloped.

The feel of this story was so interesting! A fun mix of science and fantasy. It was like magical realism with focus on the knowledge that science is just as important as magic... which I don’t think I’ve ever seen done before.

I always love when protagonists have a passion that is (for lack of a better term) “out-of-the-box”. Rhen’s love of science and anatomy was so inspiring.

Plus this was basically an entire book dedicated to Girl Power. I do love a good feminist story.

As much as I enjoyed this book, parts of it felt rushed, and I feel like it could have benefited from 50 more pages to help flesh out certain parts of the story.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

So the first part of the book, the first pages, really threw me off my game. I was definitely not expecting that start, but I ended up really loving the characters and story. I absolutely loved not only a strong female lead, but the puzzle aspect aswell. I loved the riddles and puzzles and the macabre feeling you get at the start. The fact that Rhen's parents were cool too, it's not something you see a lot in YA books. I will definitely be rereading this one soon!

Girl power! I really enjoyed this story because it had such a strong female presence in a male-dominated world. The story was entertaining and action-packed. There was great chemistry with the characters and would recommend this to everyone.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

To Best The Boys starts off with our character Rhen dissecting a dead body and then antics ensue. I was actually really drawn in by the first chapter and was excited to keep reading.  Maybe I just waited too long to come back to the book, or maybe it wasn't just for me but I ended up quitting it. 

For me the story just seemed to move so slowly.  Which was disappointing after the first chapter was so well paced and funny. And while Rhen was a half decent character the plot was just not that interesting. We've all read stories about people who have to save their parents before they die of some plague. It's not new and I found it boring. It didn't help that Rhen's mother was a one sided character that I just couldn't feel for.  Both of her parents felt like cliches. 

The writing style was also not my favorite, it felt clunky and of course it didn't help that the ARC I got was so badly formatted. I'm getting really tired of poor quality ARCs from NetGalley.

In the end I didn't even make it to where Rhen is in the labyrinth, I was so bored and didn't want to read another straight romance. I gave this book two stars because at least the book was about a girl interested in science.

I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. This is a really compelling tale. I love science and took all the classes I could so I understand what she is wanting to accomplish in do what she and her cousin set out to do. I had to think about all the books that contain mazes and labyrinths. I did not like how the society is sent up that only males could go to school and females were taught to be wives. It is a search for a better life. It is well written and the description of the places is done wonderfully. Making the book much more enjoyable to read.

DNF
Thank you for the opportunity to read this title. Unfortunately, presently I have no interest in reading this title as I am in a YA slump. I may come back to it when I am in the mood in the future. I apologize for the convenience.

When a book is so utterly focused on one huge event then spends half the book discussing other matters, it's incredibly boring and by the time you get to the event (in this case, the maze) you're exasperated. It didn't feel as though there was that much of a focus on the maze in the end, it was more of a small obstacle the MC and her friends needed to overcome rather than the huge competition it was meant to be.
This book was supposed to celebrate strong, intelligent women but it fell very flat. The romance was cute, predictable but cute none the less. However the main character was so lacking to me in personality, she was your typical headstrong girl and that was it.
There was definite potential with this story as it contained some very unique and interesting ideas, but the execution was very lacking. A rather disappointing read.

A fresh, fun, quick read to quench your YA thirst! :) It’s not what I would usually read but I did enjoy myself and think others will too!

Simply excellent!

I loved this imaginative foray into the labyrinth and Mary Weber's creative mind. To Best the Boys has a positive message for girls and boys alike and tugs at the heartstrings in all the right ways. As some have pointed out, it is NOT a man-shaming book but it does uplift women and I loved that about this!

To me, this was a bit of a return to the Storm Siren trilogy in the way it was written and I really enjoyed that. It's definitely different, so you'll find a new experience in this book, but I just really enjoyed the characters, snarky whit, romance, and head-strong (in a positive way) characters.

If you enjoy Young Adult fiction at all and small hints of fantasy I think you'll LOVE this book!


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I received this book for free but was under no obligation to post a review. I do so under my own motivation and the opinions I have expressed in this review are honest and entirely my own.