Reviews with content warning for Fire/Fire injury - Aces Wild: A Heist

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Aces Wild: A Heist by Amanda DeWitt

4 reviews

melaniereadsbooks's review

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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caseythereader's review

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious 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? No

3.25

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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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arthur_ant18's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

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

3.5

Thank you to NetGalley and Peachtree Teen for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Ace Wilds: A Heist is an ebullient romp that thrives on its central crew's contagious charisma. From the start, Jack is an engaging and messy protagonist who has a habit of thinking he's smooth enough to wrangle together schemes, then tripping over his own chaotic energy. His first-person POV does a good job of bringing you into his teenage head and rooting for him as he introduces you to his underground gambling club, the shady layers of his family, and his support group buddies. Once those buddies make their debut, the fun only heightens with their uproarious banter—mainly the in-person kind, but we get to see a bit of it on Hullabaloo as well.

This isn't an original opinion, since it seems to be shared by virtually everyone who's had the chance to read Aces Wild, but Lucky is my personal favorite in the group. The moment when she threatens "I'll eat your kneecaps" is a splendid encapsulation of her feisty and biting attitude. Remy, who is both ace and nonbinary, is amusing as the target of the adorable crush that Jack ends up growing on them. Admittedly, I do wish the last two members, Gabe and Georgia, had more distinctive personalities. I liked the interactions they had as a pair, but I didn't really get much of a sense for who they are as separate people.

The ace and aromantic representation in this circle is an extra plus, although it wasn't as fleshed-out as I would have wanted. Jack's narration mentions on several occasions that asexuality is a spectrum, but there's never a point where the concept is truly dissected to display the experiences of ace people. Granted, I don't think it's the book's intention to teach readers all the ins and outs of the spectrum, but some additional nuance would have been preferable.

As for the plot device of Jack's sister Kerry's hearing aid being turned into an earpiece for the heist, it definitely leaves me feeling uncomfortable. This flippant inclusion of hearing aids, which play vital parts in the lives of the deaf people who use them, is unnecessary. Aside from a brief reference to Kerry having had a cochlear implant installed in her ear, there's nothing in the writing for her character to realistically designate her deafness and the challenges that come with using cochlear implants.

My biggest problem, intriguingly enough, isn't with the book itself, but rather the misleading marketing. When you promote something as "Six of Crows goes to Las Vegas," you better damn well deliver an intricate, extensive, and electrifying heist that measures up to the Six of Crows themselves and Ocean's 11. The thing is, Aces Wild's heist is very much a background element despite the book's subtitle being A Heist. Sure, Jack and his pals partake in a bit of pre-heisting in preparation for the main heist, but the interrelationships that comprise their found family is what really drives the book. The main heist doesn't even happen until the tail-end of the story. Thankfully, I'd heard this criticism ahead of reading the eARC, so I was able to set my expectations. Again, this isn't an issue in the book itself. If it wants to concentrate on the characters' repartee and emotional growth, that's laudable. It's the PR that requires revision so it can authentically advertise the product and avoid the pitfall of disappointing consumers purely because of erroneous publicity.

Overall, Aces Wild: A Heist is saddled with some flaws, but it’s worth picking up if you’re in search of an ace-representing YA book with loads of hilarious chemistry thrumming amongst its leads.

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