Scan barcode
A review by looseleafellie
Aces Wild: A Heist by Amanda DeWitt
When Jack Shannon’s casino-owner mom gets put in prison, Jack vows vengeance on Peter Carlevaro, the rival casino owner who ratted her out. Helped by the friends he met on an online asexual support group, Jack must find Carlevaro’s secrets and take him down.
This book was pitched as “modern asexual Kaz Brekker runs a Las Vegas heist,” and that’s a tough comp to live up to. It’s arguable whether the book actually contains a heist, but there was some fun espionage and gambling shenanigans. It annoyed me that much of the plot was made possible by one character being almost magically good at hacking, but that didn’t ruin the story for me.
Aces Wild has a focus on family and friendship, which was lovely to see! Jack and his friends disagree and make mistakes, but care deeply for each other. Jack also gains a newfound love for his complicated family. And there’s a cute subplot of Jack having a crush on his friend Remy, and having to navigate what that means as an asexual person.
I think it does Jack a disservice to describe him as Kaz Brekker — he has a very different past to Kaz, and more of a moral compass and empathy. I liked his arc, though. If you want to see an analytical, introverted kid struggling with his emotions realistically, this book is great! If you want a ruthless criminal who cares only about profit and one (1) stabby Wraith, that’s not what you’ll get here.
If a YA Ocean’s Eleven with an all-asexual heist crew sounds cool to you, you might want to check out Aces Wild!
In closing, a quote I loved: “Sexuality can be fluid, or at the very least a journey, not to mention personal. If someone said they were ace or gay or whatever, you believed them. Assuming that you were straight until you ‘know for sure’ only implied that it was better to be straight until you had no other choice.”
Thanks to Peachtree Teen for the e-ARC!
CWs: Abandonment, blood, acephobia mention.
This book was pitched as “modern asexual Kaz Brekker runs a Las Vegas heist,” and that’s a tough comp to live up to. It’s arguable whether the book actually contains a heist, but there was some fun espionage and gambling shenanigans. It annoyed me that much of the plot was made possible by one character being almost magically good at hacking, but that didn’t ruin the story for me.
Aces Wild has a focus on family and friendship, which was lovely to see! Jack and his friends disagree and make mistakes, but care deeply for each other. Jack also gains a newfound love for his complicated family. And there’s a cute subplot of Jack having a crush on his friend Remy, and having to navigate what that means as an asexual person.
I think it does Jack a disservice to describe him as Kaz Brekker — he has a very different past to Kaz, and more of a moral compass and empathy. I liked his arc, though. If you want to see an analytical, introverted kid struggling with his emotions realistically, this book is great! If you want a ruthless criminal who cares only about profit and one (1) stabby Wraith, that’s not what you’ll get here.
If a YA Ocean’s Eleven with an all-asexual heist crew sounds cool to you, you might want to check out Aces Wild!
In closing, a quote I loved: “Sexuality can be fluid, or at the very least a journey, not to mention personal. If someone said they were ace or gay or whatever, you believed them. Assuming that you were straight until you ‘know for sure’ only implied that it was better to be straight until you had no other choice.”
Thanks to Peachtree Teen for the e-ARC!
CWs: Abandonment, blood, acephobia mention.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood and Abandonment
Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia