To Best the Boys is my first Mary Weber book, but definitely won't be my last! (Seriously guys, how have I not read Sofi Snow yet? This is a fail that needs to be remedied immediately!) Anyway, let's talk about this one, shall we?
The Stuff I Liked:
- •I love a competition. Especially when people can legit lose their lives, not just a contest. (Does this make me seem like an awful person? It's okay, I can live with it.) And while this competition's prize, isn't quite life-or-death, that doesn't mean its competitors are safe. I don't know why, but this will always appeal to me.
- •Rhen being into science is awesome. Especially because she is also tackling it with dyslexia, and extra especially because she absolutely has the chops to make a name for herself. You know, if only the patriarchy wasn't a thing.
- •Rhen's close friendship with her cousin is seriously everything. Seleni is a great character in her own right, but the fact that this women have each other's backs is really refreshing. The fact that Selini believes in Rhen and her dreams... well honestly it's the female friendship we all deserve.
- •Family is a huge focus. Rhen doesn't just want to win to pursue a career, she's straight up trying to save her mom's life with her scientific pursuit. Which, of course, makes the stakes of the competition that much higher. But I loved that the author really explores the relationships between Rhen and both parents. It would have been easy to just use the "sick mom sympathy card" but the author really fleshes out the bonds, and I loved that.
- •The romance is very shippable! I swooned. The love interest is quite the nice guy in a sea of creepers, which I suppose is helpful, but I found him genuinely likable in his own right.
- •It started off a wee bit slow, but wow did it pick up! I flew right through the story, because when the action got going (not far in, either!) things got good.
The Stuff I Didn't Like:
- •I would like some more background on the world. So I was fascinated by the world, and I like it, I just didn't fully understand it? So more, please and thank you!
- •There were times it required some suspension of disbelief. Like, only one person saw through her shoddy boy disguise? Sounds fake, but okay.
- •A few bits were pretty predictable. That didn't take away from the story a ton, but I did guess some of the twists early on.
Bottom Line: Strong female lead, loads of great relationships, and a ton of adventure make this one absolutely worth the read! Can't wait for the next book!