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A review by ceena
To Best the Boys by Mary Weber
3.0
*I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*
Oh man this one just didn't work for me.
There is a lot of good here -- the messages, the potential talking points for book clubs, the concept, but to me it felt slow. We don't actually get into the Labyrinth until over halfway into the book. So, most of the book felt like build up to me, since that was the part I was waiting for. The labyrinth isn't the point of the book though, but Rhen's journey to finding a cure and figuring out what type of future she wants for herself.
Rhen is a good character -- she's smart, a great friend, and a fighter. She also has dyslexia, which I wasn't expecting. I really liked her friend Seleni though, who knows what she wants in life which is to be a wife and mother. We get so many books where being a mother is looked down on, so to have a book where we get both a female scientist and one who wants to have a more traditional role, is pretty cool.
I did find it weird that for as much build up I still didn't completely understand the setting. There are magical beings and potentially magic, but it isn't said how it all works. I was wondering why the disease couldn't have been a magical one if it was acting so strange.
There are definitely a few suspending belief moments in regards to the girls' disguises and how they flawlessly fool everyone by doing the bare minimum.
There is also a romance subplot. I don't necessarily think it was needed, even if I did like the guy and how supportive he is of Rhen and her dreams.
All in all, it isn't a bad book, it ended up being one I wasn't really interested in. I would recommend this one to people who like contemporaries, but are looking for some fantasy-lite with positive female characters and events.
Oh man this one just didn't work for me.
There is a lot of good here -- the messages, the potential talking points for book clubs, the concept, but to me it felt slow. We don't actually get into the Labyrinth until over halfway into the book. So, most of the book felt like build up to me, since that was the part I was waiting for. The labyrinth isn't the point of the book though, but Rhen's journey to finding a cure and figuring out what type of future she wants for herself.
Rhen is a good character -- she's smart, a great friend, and a fighter. She also has dyslexia, which I wasn't expecting. I really liked her friend Seleni though, who knows what she wants in life which is to be a wife and mother. We get so many books where being a mother is looked down on, so to have a book where we get both a female scientist and one who wants to have a more traditional role, is pretty cool.
I did find it weird that for as much build up I still didn't completely understand the setting. There are magical beings and potentially magic, but it isn't said how it all works. I was wondering why the disease couldn't have been a magical one if it was acting so strange.
There are definitely a few suspending belief moments in regards to the girls' disguises and how they flawlessly fool everyone by doing the bare minimum.
There is also a romance subplot. I don't necessarily think it was needed, even if I did like the guy and how supportive he is of Rhen and her dreams.
All in all, it isn't a bad book, it ended up being one I wasn't really interested in. I would recommend this one to people who like contemporaries, but are looking for some fantasy-lite with positive female characters and events.