I have loved every book so far Mary Weber has written. The writing and story is probably just as fantastic but I could not make it past the beginning. This one was just too bloody for me. This is the perfect read for mystery and suspense readers.

Rhen Tellur loves science, and she would give just about anything to attend the local university and come up with a cure for her mother's debilitating and possibly deadly disease. The only problem is that the society she lives in does not permit women to attend the university. Instead, women are expected to marry, have children, and promote their husband's career. Rhen is expected to marry Vincent, the son of a wealthy family with political power and questionable aspirations. Instead she is attracted to a boy named Lute, a fisherman from the poor section of town, as well as her scholastic goals. Every year, the university and a benefactor named Mr. Holm host a scholarship competition in Holm Castle's Labyrinth, a place from which some people do not return. Desperate for a cure, Rhen enters the competition dressed as a boy, along with her best friend and cousin, Seleni. Together they will encounter unspeakable horrors and deadly sabotage as they fight to win the scholarship and the hearts of the boys they love.
I loved everything about this book (except for the ghastly creatures, of course!). Rhen's bravery and her relationships with her friends and family were a great example for girls and women who feel like they are held back from doing what they love. I loved that there were bad or ignorant males and females, as well as those who were fighting for what was right. The portrayal of these various types of people was realistic and accurate, and the plot got so interesting towards the end that I couldn't stop reading. The humor was great and well timed, the life lessons were relevant and necessary, and the slow burning romance was excellent. Towards the end of the book, there were some very beautiful and impacting descriptions and observations about life and love. Some of the characters made me so upset that I was clenching my teeth and digging my fingernails into my hand so hard that it stung, and some of the family moments were so sweet that I teared up a little. Women and men are equally valuable and important, and no one should be belittled or dismissed because of who they are. Having experienced this quite a bit myself, this book hit home for me and encouraged me to keep going, no matter what. I highly recommend this book to anyone who needs encouragement, enjoys a great story, and can handle a little violence and gore.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley and bought a copy from Amazon. A positive review was not required, and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

This may be my favourite book so far in 2019. Great and believable protagonist and set in a scifi world. I really enjoyed this book. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for an ARC.

For some reason I thought that this book was going to be slow paced and boring, so I put off reading it for quite a while. Finally a friend of mine wanted to buddy read it, so I decided to give it a chance. To Best the Boys was so much better than I ever expected it to be. I loved the time period of fancy balls and gentlemen callers and I liked the characters even more. Where it did take a while for the book to get to the labyrinth challenge I found the timing to be perfect because I knew the characters and their individual reasons for attempting something so dangerous. I am so glad that I gave this book a chance.

Rhen was really fun to read about as she was a bit outspoken and a forward thinker in a time period that wasn't ready for her. But what I loved about her the most was her huge heart. She had a bit of a caretaker personality, but not to the extent of people pleasing because she chased her own dreams despite societal ideals. She pushed boundaries and stayed true to herself even through the most trying times.

This book also had one of the best romances that I have read in a long time. Lute was an absolute gentleman and sweetheart despite his 'lower' societal status. I loved the way that he treated Rhen throughout the entire story. He was the knight in shining armor to her damsel in distress, yet still respected her and her dreams. He was a really good man and I found that her attraction to him translated well onto the page.

This was my first read of Mary Weber's work and I have to admit that I am impressed. She managed to capture political and societal issues of the story, yet keep the pace moving the entire time. I did find myself getting a bit impatient for the labyrinth challenge to finally begin, but when I reflect back I think that the beginning was so necessary for character development. The labyrinth itself wasn't as challenging as I expected and focused more on teamwork than individual strengths, but it was also kind of perfect for this story. The book seemed to focus on moral lines and challengers both crossed and upheld them, showing who they truly were at their core.

Overall I would say that I was impressed, although I did go into this book with low expectations. While this story was quite a bit different than I had expected, I really enjoyed it. To Best the Boys at its core is about chasing dreams and pushing boundaries while staying true to one's values. I am so glad I took a chance on a book that I thought would be dull and I would love to check out other books Mary Weber has written. I actually got a review copy of Storm Siren years ago that I never read that I can't wait to read now.

I am a huge fan of Mary Weber so I was super excited when I was accepted on NetGalley for a review copy of To Best the Boys. But I am just going to leave with this one as it just wasn't a "me" book? I found it to be slow and I was incredibly bored the first half of the book. It eventually did pick up, but not enough to really keep my interest.

To Best the Boys, by Mary Weber, is an exciting story of a young woman’s quest to do more for her family, in a society that says she is unfit to do so because she is a woman.

This story took me a little while to get into, and the first chapter was a bit confusing, as the story dove right into this new, lightly fantastical world, without any set up or explanation. However, as the story progressed, the setting became clearer and the character development was done well. As we followed the main character, Rhen, and learned about her desire to be a doctor and to cure her mother’s illness, the reader cannot help but root for her to succeed.

Once I got into it, I couldn’t put the book down and I raced to finish it because I needed to know how Rhen and Seleni would do as they disguise themselves to fight for a place at university in this extremely patriarchal and often misogynistic society. It was well-paced and strongly written, and I loved that I could see bits of myself in both of the central female characters.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Publishing for the free electronic ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

My favorite thing about this book was how much Rhen challenged the social norms that were expected of her and she went against the grain every chance she got. I really hated how the guy who was interested in Rhen acted towards her and treated her like she was his property. The competition part of the book lacked something for me. It all felt a little rushed and not really explained very well while the competition was actually happening. I did really like the ending though! I will most likely pick up other books by this author in the future.

The premise of this book was so good. I read in a day. I actually really enjoyed it but i didn't find what i was looking for. The wordlbuilding was really good and i loved strong female characters. Rhen was fantastic. She was brilliant, clever and strong. In the end she did what she wanted. But the labyrint part was so short. Everything happened so quickly. I wanted that part little bit longer because that was the main part for me. But in the end it was really enjoyable book and that cover was gorgeous.

“For the girl who’s been told to quiet down, calm down, sit down, or just leave it to the men—this is for you. And to those who told you such things? Watch. Us. Rise.”

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own so thank you so much for them.

This book was Mulan meets The hunger games vibes which was soo interesting to me.
I like the book in some points it wasn’t that bad but it could have better than that so I recommend it to anyone how want a historical fiction, lovable characters , fantasy adventure book this one is for you 😉
You can find my whole review here in this link :
https://hebabookaholic.wordpress.com/2019/04/02/to-best-the-boys-arc-review/

“You take this world and make it what it should be. And don’t let the beliefs of a backward system define you. You are the one who has to live with the future, baby girl. So you live it. You understand?” (Weber). 

To Best the Boys is a novel about a young girl who's tired of 'leaving it to the men', and decides to take a shot an an all boys competition for a scholarship at an all boys school. 

The book starts off with Rhen and her friends in a lab, attempting to get a blood sample from the newest corpse to test it for disease. I love that we were thrown into the middle of as situation that was used to showcase each of the character's personalities. 

I really enjoyed the premise of the story. I was really excited for the labyrinth part of the story, expecting it to be the biggest chunk of plot, and I have to say I'm a bit disappointed that the main event only started at about 60% into the book, resulting in it not lasting as long as I would have hoped. 

Rhen Tellur is a strong, smart, and determined female character that drove the story where it needed to go, without being too overbearing. I also appreciated Seleni very much as she not only brought balance to the character dynamic, but she represented a strong, smart girl who also liked frilly dresses and being a housewife. The pair showed off two very different people without making one seem less than the other. 

As much as I like fantasy and otherworldly beings, I found that the fantasy element in this novel was unnecessary. The novel is focused on science and women's rights set in the 1800s (correct me if I'm wrong on the time frame) with implied supernatural occurrences coming from the Holm estate. What I don't understand is the ghouls and sirens coming from the sea. I found that aspect to be unnecessary to the plot. 

The theme of the book greatly surrounds women's rights. It is very much implied that girls should do whatever they want to do - whether that be going to university to cure diseases, or becoming a housewife. The message was conveyed without tearing down the image of all men, and I appreciated that. 

I found the novel to be really well written. I liked the way the story was introduced as well as the way it ended (I won't spoil it) because it gave the story a unique feel. There were a lot of well kept secrets throughout the novel that I never suspected and I thought that was brilliant.

The ending was the perfect wrap up to answering most of the big questions that we had after the labyrinth, but there were a few left unanswered. I think that was a smart move on the author's part, leaving some details to the imagination. 

I really enjoyed reading To Best the Boys. I thought it was smart, entertaining, and exciting. I look forward to reading more of Weber's work in the future. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

I had a few major issues with this book. First, let's get into the story itself. As far as YA fantasy goes, there really are some gems out there. But more often than not, I end up feeling like I've seen it all before. This book was one of the latter. It just wasn't a very interesting read to me. The characters and world building weren't fleshed out enough for me to become invested.

But mainly, I was disappointed because this book is promoted as a feminist YA. Let me tell you: if you're looking for feminist YA books, there are much better ones out there and I'm happy to rec you some! This really isn't it. If you're feminism isn't inclusive, it's not feminism. Period. I think in the year of 2019, feminist books should at the very least have basic diversity, but this just didn't. There was a ton of sexism in the book as well, and I really wasn't convinced by the way it was handled. It all just seemed like the bare minimum. For instance, there's a romance (with literally zero chemistry, but that's beside my point) and the love interest describes the main character as "untameable". And she takes it as a compliment. Really. I'm not kidding.

Then there's the way disability was "represented" in this book. Or rather, not represented? There's an author note at the back stating the rep, but she really had to spell it out because of how unnoticeable it was. On top of that, I've seen several descriptions of "a special brain" or "different needs" and the like. Just call it disability, please? It's really not a bad word.

CWs: sexism/misogyny, classism, ableism, illness of a parent, gory details about corpses.

Rhen Tellur wants to be a scientist but as a girl growing up in a world made exclusively for boys, it isn't going to be easy. When the poor people in her seaside town begin falling prey to a deadly disease, Rhen and her father search for a cure. Then Rhen sees an opportunity to better her world through an all-male scholarship competition so she dons a disguise and prepares to fight for her place.

This book was so much fun! It felt like a cross between The Hunger Games, Caraval, and the Triwizard Tournament from Harry Potter. Rhen is super smart which I loved. She really challenged everyone around her. It was great to see a female scientist holding her own in a male dominated word.

I enjoyed the romance element in the book, it was not the main focus of the story and I was really glad of that. The relationship between Rhen and her father was wonderful. The side characters were well fleshed out, in particular Seleni. I liked that she was a strong and smart but in different ways to Rhen and that their journey's and desires were really different but both were shown in a positive light.

I did have some unanswered questions by the end but overall, lots of fun, a refreshing outlook, and well worth a read.

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

This was good fun! I'm not a normally a devoted YA reader but wholly enjoyed this. It definitely resembles the Maze (I have seen the movie) and offered me 3-4 hours good reading fun. Recommended for this genre lovers.

I really didn't expect to love this as much as I did! It's such fun, enjoyable fantasy with a strong female lead, which I always look for. There's also a bit of sci-fi thrown in there, which made it more interesting.
Rhen and Seleni were charming characters and I loved the relationship between them.
It's also hard to find books that capture you from the first pages, and this was one of them.
I read it very fast and had a lot of fun, totally recommend if you love YA fantasy!
Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

To Best The Boys is a story that gives you a strong, intelligent, brave, aspirational female character, loads of understandable science, growing relationships and ardent friendships, humanity, and extreme thrill and anticipation.

The plot is exciting with a lot of things at stake and the evident imbalance of respect between the Uppers and Lowers urging Rhen, the daughter of a scientist father and a mother who is bed-ridden with the 'crippling disease' (a lung disease that gradually kills), to win the scholarship competition and enter the Labyrinth.

The best theme explored in this book is certainly feminism. Rhen's attitude to the societal norms is challenging and gives her a fiery aura to stand tall and strong in a competition that has only ever been played by boys. Not only this, her parents and friends never suspect her energy for equality and in fact, support her feministic views by pitching in their own righteous thoughts.

Another strength of the story is its relationships. Whether it's Rhen and her parents or Rhen and Seleni (her best friend and cousin), the characters have tons of strings attached and no reader can complain because it pulls all the emotions out of you. The science is nothing that one can't understand and not because it's 'easy' but because it's wonderfully incorporated into the plot and explained through excellent writing that makes it easy to understand. Being a fan of adventures and puzzles in books, I found the race through the maze to be a stunning collection of thrilling incidents and surprising events.

A brilliant light fantasy with a strong female lead and a bit of sci-fi. I adored the friendship between Rhen and Seleni and how the author also potrayed other relationships too was a treat to watch.

First five star of the year.

Couldn't find any faults in this one.

Oh what an interesting read. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this book, but I’m so glad that I read it. It follows a young girl, Rhen Tellur, as she is living her life. She is a scientist and works with dead bodies frequently (cool, I know). There is a contest to gain a scholarship to a prestigious university, one that historically only men have entered. But Rhen, tired of her lack of options, has a different idea. She enters as a boy, trying to conceal her gender. The story follows the contest from beginning to end and all that happens in the time leading up to it and the aftermath. I liked this book for the most part. I thought that the plot was interesting and moved at a good pace. Everything about the world was fleshed out just enough, though I was hoping to know some more information. There was just a lot about the world left out that I would have liked to know. But I just didn’t like reading the voice of the main character. She just seemed a little annoying. This could be entirely a me problem. I would highly recommend this book to another person looking for a competition type book, where girls take charge of their own futures.

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

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

I think it's safe to say this book is going into my Top Reads of 2019.
The first thing I want to say regards the genre of this book: it's listed as YA Fantasy, but I honestly feel like it doesn't belong to this category. At least not entirely.
The fantasy elements in this book are very few: the are some sirens, basilisk and ghouls that get named once or twice, and there's a bit of magic to the maze itself, but apart from that this book feels more like YA fiction. Now that I think of that, I almost feel like those elements could've been removed because they don't add anything to the story. They make a good excuse for one or two scenes, but I feel like they could've been easily replaced by something non-magical. One of the main themes of the book is science, which makes me firmly believe that also the magic happening inside the Maze could've been replaced by something similar, but scientifically explainable - like in The Maze Runner.
It is said to be perfect for fans of Caraval, but I feel like it could be truly appreciated by fans of The Hunger Games. What makes Caraval special is the unique magic that surrounds everything, while THG - and TBTB - is more focused on the main character and its actions.
If you like the idea of an untamable girl taking part in a contest she didn't mean to attend in the beginning, a contest that will test out her knowledge, but also her personality, than this is the book for you!

Mary Weber's writing style is phenomenal. She has a way of making you feel involved with everything that is going on that I truly appreciated. There isn't a single character who doesn't feel complex and three-dimensional, which really surprised me! She has a way of portraying them that makes even the most background character feel real and almost necessary, even if - in reality - he isn't. I loved how she added little characters - inhabitants of the village - to give some depth to the village life, I think it's that little something that makes the reader feel completely projected in the world he's reading of.
I appreciated the variety of characters so much, especially their diversity.
One more thing that really surprised me was the romance: Rhen has a little crush from the first pages, which means we get to see a more light and easy romance building from what we're used to. We don't have to wonder too much about how and why the main character falls for a specific person, we just know that she has feelings for this guy and that's it. It could sound shallow and hasty, but I can assure you it isn't.
As soon as we start to know more about this guy, we immediately understand why Rhen has a crush for him and we can enjoy reading about these feelings becoming more and more strong with every page, without struggles or obstacles. Well, there are some struggles to be honest, but they're little and they get easily exceeded.

Another thing I really care to talk about is the perfect balance between the first part of the book - in which we start to understand the world building, we meet the characters, we learn a little bit about their story, and we prepare for what's coming - and the actual focus of the book - the action part in which we get to see the MC facing difficult decisions, obstacles, fighting for whatever she's fighting for.
Sometimes the explanatory part of a book can be a bit boring and annoying, while this isn't the case for To Best The Boys. There wasn't a single page where I didn't feel completely involved with what was going on!
Even if the main focus of the book is the Labyrinth contest, I loved how prominent the background story was and how well it was developed in order to hit almost every character, even the last one you would've thought of.
Honorable mention goes to the friendships/relationships in this book: they're all so pure and genuine, beautiful to witness.

The main themes of this book are feminism, gender role and social classes, and I loved how Mary Weber portrayed them. I admire her so much for being able of writing a book that empowers all kind of women - from the feminine ones to the more wild, from who dreams of being a wife to who aspire to build a career.
It's not something I'm used to seeing, especially in the YA section.
I would honestly make my 12 years old daughter - which I don't really have, just to be clear - read this book, to let her understand that she can do whatever she wants with her life and no decision she makes will ever make her less than the others.
Even though I loved this book, I still have a few things I'd like to criticize: I would've liked for the Labyrinth part of the story to be more complex and detailed, with more tests, more obstacles... I wanted a bit more of The Hunger Games in it. In my opinion, what should've been the center of the story ended up feeling a bit hasty.
I also would like to point out that yes, I get that every boy in the Labyrinth is too preoccupied with trying to understand how to exit the maze, but at the same time I feel like it was almost impossible for Rhen and Seleni to not be recognized. Beryll knows them since they were kids, how could he not know? That's the only thing I found a bit unrealistic.
I was thinking of writing a more detailed review for every single character - as I usually do - but, in this case, I don't feel like it. I think you need to meet them for yourself, without me spoiling even the tiniest bit of their personality. The only thing I can say is that they're beautifully written and they're lovely, especially Rhen and Seleni.
I hope this review was helpful for who hasn't read the book yet. If you did read it and you would like to discuss it further, feel free to contact me whenever you want!

I really enjoyed this book! I loved the way the characters interacted, I also loved the whole idea of competing for a scholarship. It was definitely something I felt like I could connect with even if theis was a little bit more violent. It still feels like its very apropriate for this day.

To Best the Boys is like a mix between Caraval and The Hunger Games (without as much death) and it was really good! I enjoyed the story and this STEM labyrinth competition. I am sad that it seems to be a stand-alone for now. I want to know what Rhen is up to next!