Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - Aces Wild: A Heist

While heists and chases are not my typical direction, I was completely enthralled the entire time. I had an inkling to the twists, but Amy still got me. I loved this work. The narrator was a little distracting at first. They sounded a little old, but the more I listened the more I became accustomed to the voice. High recommend.

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mpbookreviews's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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melaniereadsbooks's review against another edition

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tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

Thank you to Peach Tree Teen and Netgalley for an arc of this book.

When Jack's mom gets arrested for shady dealings in Las Vegas, he invites his online (and also Aspec) friends to come help him take down the man that he swears got his mother sent to jail.

This book was unfortunately a disappointment. I know a lot of people read and reviewed before me and I was so scared because the concept of this is brilliant and the idea of 5 aspec MCs is a dream. I thought the plot was missing some things and the writing style didn't really grab me the way I wanted it to.

Now, there were some issues in the originally release netgalley arc that I heard have been changed and updated. I thought that the version I downloaded came after these changes and was supposed to be more up to date, but I didn't notice? There were still some problems with it. The whole hearing aid part is uncomfortable and least and ableist at best. There were a few discussions about being asexual which I think was one of the complaints I read about? They weren't super in-depth, which I thought was fine--but it did feel like every one of the friends were sex-repulsed. I would have liked for there to be mention that that is not representative of all ace people. Jack said he looked like "a prisoner of war" at one point after getting hit in the nose and that's..... bad. That is bad. I don't know how else to describe it.

I think without the problematic aspects of this book it would probably be 3 or 3.25 stars for me. The problems did take it down a bit for me. I would love to see more books with multiple aspec characters so one like this doesn't feel so heartbreaking if it ends up falling short.

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nobeliumreads's review against another edition

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adventurous funny medium-paced

4.0

Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.

When Jack Shannon’s mum gets sent to jail, he knows the one to blame is Peter Carlevaro; crime boss and rival casino owner on the Las Vegas Strip. Determined to take him down, he recruits his best friends, a group he met on an online asexual support forum, on a heist. Together, this group of asexuals work on finding the key to sending Carlevaro to jail too.

A book I’ve been dying to read since I first heard about it and one I found myself enjoying.

The writing is relatively good, and there were a lot of funny moments that I laughed at, especially between or about Jack and his friends, and Jack’s narration is quite amusing. I loved their friend group and their dynamic, and though I would have loved more about each friend individually, I thought they were pretty fun! There were lots of moments between them that I thoroughly enjoyed, like Gabe and Jack’s ‘guy talk’, and I really liked how Jack made an effort to get closer with Georgia when he felt he wasn’t as close to her as the others. The plot is fairly simple and though the plans did seem slightly juvenile (especially when you consider they’re going up against a crime boss), I didn’t mind it too much. Jack’s crush on one of his friends was also adorable to read.

I did have some issues with the book. One, I personally wish that we’d seen the discussion between Gabe and Lucky about what he said to her, which was disappointing, rather than just being told they were all fine and had resolved it later on. And, I do think there wasn’t as much heisting as I would have liked; it’s not as tense or suspenseful as I would have expected from a book about a heist and it felt as though a lot of the actual important action was done off-page and just mentioned later. As I said earlier, considering they were going up against a crime boss, you would expect a more complex plan than what was presented.

Despite those issues though, I did enjoy the book a lot! I will admit it’s particularly because it’s about a group of a-spec friends heisting together and until I have that myself, I will live vicariously through this book. However, I do think it’s still a fun and amusing read with great asexual reputation as long as you temper your expectations about the actual heisting!

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betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

True to his family history, Jack Shannon runs a blackjack ring at the private school he goes to. After all, none of the other clubs really grabbed his interest. However, when his mother is arrested for her ties to organized crime, Jack is forced to go back to Las Vegas. Where his sister thinks it’s time for their family to get straight, Jack has other plans.

Jack knows that his mom was sold out by none other than Peter Carlevaro, a rival casino owner and his mom’s past lover. So, Jack hatches a plan to figure out what’s really going on. To do so, he recruits the asexual support group he’s become friends with online over the past few years. Nothing like a little high stakes heist to really cement a friendship.

Thanks to NetGalley and Peachtree Teen for an advanced copy of Aces Wild to review! A group of asexual teens going on a Las Vegas heist together? Sign me up! Sounds like something right up my alley.

The upfront nature of asexuality is probably the best thing about this book. Jack and his friends are unapologetically asexual, and I am here for it. Let’s bring more characters like this to YA! Jack also has a romantic love interest, and I love that they make the distinction between sexual attraction and romantic attraction. They’re different, people! And a lot of people don’t seem to understand that.

Unfortunately, for a book that’s advertised as a heist, the heist part is lacking. Jack’s heist doesn’t happen until the last quarter of the book. There’s a lot of build up to it, which is fine! I just wanted more heist when the book has it in the title. I went in expecting something like Oceans 11, but got something different.

Some other reviewers have also pointed out aspects of the story that are ableist. Specifically the fact that they use a hearing aide as part of their heist, for Jack’s sister whose deafness isn’t mentioned until it’s convenient. I recommend checking out some of those reviews (you can find one here) to learn more.

Here for the asexual representation, but not at the detriment of other kinds of representation. Let’s keep that in mind for the future!

All in all, if you’re looking for a heist book, maybe go in another direction.
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We definitely wanted more heist in a book promising heists. And it had so much potential! But there are other issues with it, too; stay tuned for a full review to come!

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bookishflower's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

- Aroace, ace, demiromantic, and non-binary rep

- Unreliable narrator

- Chaotic schemes

- Coming of age

Thank you Peachtree Teen, and NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

‘Jack Shannon runs an underground blackjack club at his private school, but when his casino mogul mother is arrested, he knows exactly who’s to blame: rival casino owner, Peter Carlevaro. Determined to get his own back, Jack and his online best friends also known as the asexual support group are plotting the revenge of a lifetime. Who needs luck when you have five aces up your sleeve?’

Imagine Kaz Brekker had a modern, snarky, ace and chaotic son and you’ve got Jack Shannon. This was a wild ride and had good ace representation, but I feel like this wasn’t technically a heist book and upon reflection, wasn’t as good as I initially thought.

The found family, ace representation, and storytelling was fun but this unfortunately had a passing joke about police brutality that felt wrong to me, and a deaf reviewer has pointed out that one of the characters is deaf, but their hearing aid is used by a hearing person as a plot device. (However, as a disclaimer, always look at what BIPOC and deaf reviewers are saying as I am white and not hard of hearing).

This was unfortunately disappointing as I was very excited about the all ace cast :(

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pagesofnay's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful lighthearted tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

While this book took a little while for me to get into it, it was definitely worth it in the end. I really loved the entire friendship aspect throughout the book. This was a very fast and super fun read.

Moving on, the heist wasn’t this ‘omg super awesome adventure’ type of heist. This was a group of like modern day teenagers trying to potentially pull of a “heist”, which I felt this book captured very well.

The characters were all super great. My favorite was either Lucky or Remy. They are all asexual, hence the title name (along with the whole blackjack thing).. Remy is non-binary and they’re able to read Jack like a book. Gabe is the oldest (18) and constantly teased for being ancient. Georgia is the mediator and very good at handling feelings. Lucky had the most personality and I loved it. Jack needs therapy and maybe some more group hugs.

Overall, I loved this book. It made me laugh and while it was somewhat predictable, it was still enjoyable and amazing to see more asexual representation in such a fun book.

Thank you NetGalley and PeachTree Teen for the ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

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