Book Review- To Best The Boys by Mary Weber

• Author- Mary Weber
• Title- To Best the boys
• Publisher- Thomas Nelson. To be released on April 4th 2019

I’ll put my hand up and admit to not having read any of her other books. Apparently her Sire song series is a spectacular read but somehow it had managed to pass me by.

But when I saw this available on Netgalley, I was pulled in by the description and I am so glad I was awarded an advanced read.

So, 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 a top scholarship to the Stemwick University by making their way through the Labyrinth. This University is all-male, of course, because women are required to be homemakers and spend their time becoming more accomplished. Not- as Rhen Tellur well knows- to be elbow deep in corpses trying to come up with a cure for the mysterious disease sweeping the area.

But she wants to be a scientist and save her mother and the only way she can do this is to enter the labyrinth in disguise and beat the boys. Aided by her cousin, Seleni, Rhen is ready to face the labyrinth, but is she isn’t the only one who wants to win and many don’t leave the labyrinth alive.

I’ll tell you one of the main reasons why I loved this book and it has nothing to do with the well-rounded characters, the eerie atmosphere or the fantastic pacing and excellent storytelling.

It was Seleni. Here we have a girl isn’t a tomboy, doesn’t particularly like getting dirty or fighting but will do anything for the people she loves. She goes into the labyrinth to keep her intended fiancee and her cousin safe. She is scared and sweet and all she wants to do is get married and raise a family.

And that is all right.

Mary Weber doesn’t put her down, doesn’t make her less of a person because her choice isn’t to rally the forces and change the world. Seleni isn’t ‘feisty’ or pathetic. She isn’t a damsel in distress or a love-struck idiot. She is a well-rounded, fully capable woman who knows what she wants and will fight for it.

Rhen’s story is compelling and you genuinely feel for her circumstances. You want her to win, to thrive and overcome the odds. You can feel her desperation for her mother and the way she feels choked by a restrictive society. You understand her motives and her actions and you are rooting for her all of the way.

Even the ancillary characters are well done. The requisite fiancee and the autistic brother, the overbearing uncle and the eccentric recluse all are excellently fleshed out. Even the villains of the piece have some redeeming qualities, although not many.

The main villain was well hidden and the reveal was nothing short of brilliant.

The only thing I wasn’t as fond of was the weird mist creatures which I really didn’t think were useful to the story.

That said I will highly recommend it and will buy it upon its release.