sophierice1997's review
adventurous
mysterious
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
4.5
This was really fun, I wish the heist was a bit more elaborate since it is described as a heist book, but I loved the characters and I enjoyed the book.
joey_schafer's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
So so good - extremely enjoyable
ri185's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
lgbtrepinbooks's review
5.0
Trigger Warnings: Gambling, arrest, lying, cursing, alcohol
Representation: Ace, Nonbinary, They/them pronouns, Vietnamese-American, Aromantic, Vegetarian, Deaf, Cochlear Implant/hearing aids
Aces Wild is a young adult, contemporary novel about a group of online friends attempting to break into an underground gambling club in a Vegas casino. Our main character, Jack Shannon is pulled out of school to return home when his mother, owner of a Las Vegas casino, is arrested. Jack gathers his online ace support group to try to prove that his mom was sold out by none other than her ex-lover and rival casino owner, Peter. All he has to do is break into Peter’s illegal club and uncover what it is Peter has on his mom.
This ALC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
When you start a book with, this isn’t a love story, you’ve pretty much lost my attention. I have to admit though, this book was soooo good!! I was interested the entire time and I truly loved seeing the Ace rep in various characters. Plus the additional Deaf representation always pulls at my heart strings!
I loved the narration on this story! I thought Robbie did a wonderful job and was both funny and sincere! He really brought Jack to life and conveyed his true self!
I was a little disappointed with the “heist” aspect of the story but I didn’t expect much out of a group of teenagers. I thought the crew worked well together and used their individual strengths to be successful. I loved the vulnerability that Jack showed throughout the story and felt like he was a real person because of it, rather than a fictional character. I thought the author did a great job with the discourse between characters and I loved the found family aspect!
Representation: Ace, Nonbinary, They/them pronouns, Vietnamese-American, Aromantic, Vegetarian, Deaf, Cochlear Implant/hearing aids
Aces Wild is a young adult, contemporary novel about a group of online friends attempting to break into an underground gambling club in a Vegas casino. Our main character, Jack Shannon is pulled out of school to return home when his mother, owner of a Las Vegas casino, is arrested. Jack gathers his online ace support group to try to prove that his mom was sold out by none other than her ex-lover and rival casino owner, Peter. All he has to do is break into Peter’s illegal club and uncover what it is Peter has on his mom.
This ALC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
When you start a book with, this isn’t a love story, you’ve pretty much lost my attention. I have to admit though, this book was soooo good!! I was interested the entire time and I truly loved seeing the Ace rep in various characters. Plus the additional Deaf representation always pulls at my heart strings!
I loved the narration on this story! I thought Robbie did a wonderful job and was both funny and sincere! He really brought Jack to life and conveyed his true self!
I was a little disappointed with the “heist” aspect of the story but I didn’t expect much out of a group of teenagers. I thought the crew worked well together and used their individual strengths to be successful. I loved the vulnerability that Jack showed throughout the story and felt like he was a real person because of it, rather than a fictional character. I thought the author did a great job with the discourse between characters and I loved the found family aspect!
gwenisnonbinary's review
adventurous
tense
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? Yes
4.0
turtlesoftheheart's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
theromanticace's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
onceandfuturebooknerd's review
5.0
In Aces WIld we follow Jack Shannon's story as he is faced with his new reality - his mum, the fearless owner of one of the most popular casinos on the Las Vegas strip was charged with fraud and sent to jail, which sent ripples through Jack's entire family. Now he is determined to get revenge on her behalf, and he knows the culprit for the terrible betrayal that ruined his mum - a rival casino owner and her mother's old flame, Peter Calevaro. And there is only one team he can count on for help, the friends he made online over their shared sexuality - his asexul "Aces wild".
Aces Wild was an epic story of friendship (and, oh, how I adored reading about Jack and Remy, Georgia, Lucky and Gabe - they were a great squad and I wish I could read more books about them. Don't even get me started on their banter and endless loyalty and gentleness they showed to each other), fighting for your family (even if it's far from a "perfect" one), heisting (even if you are only 16 and you need to improvise quite a bit - until those secret skills of your friends make themselves known), and, in the end, deciding to do better and stick to things that will bring you that brighter future (aka your friends and family). The pacing of the story was just right, revealing things as we went along - I actually gasped out loud with that one fateful final reveal! I had my suspicions but they never veered quite as off track as the story did in the end and I LOVED it. Plus I loved Morgan. What a little queen who just wanted to be loved and have friends. Jack was, in the end, my favourite character and I loved his relationships with all the other characters as well - specifically Remy, of course, who was a joy to read about with their humor and semi-awkwardness when it came to Jack (also can we talk about the "WE ARE STILL ASEXUAL OKAY" chat after their kiss? I loved it!). Just a really well-rounded and fun friend group to read about and I loved it!
Aces Wild was a joy to read from beginning to end and I would easily recommend it to anyone looking for a fast paced heist story centered on online friendships that can sometimes mean the world to us. I absolutely adored reading about Jack and his Aces Wild and I wouldn't mind a couple more books set in this universe, following Jack's future - but I am also more than hyped to see DeWitt's other projects!
Aces Wild was an epic story of friendship (and, oh, how I adored reading about Jack and Remy, Georgia, Lucky and Gabe - they were a great squad and I wish I could read more books about them. Don't even get me started on their banter and endless loyalty and gentleness they showed to each other), fighting for your family (even if it's far from a "perfect" one), heisting (even if you are only 16 and you need to improvise quite a bit - until those secret skills of your friends make themselves known), and, in the end, deciding to do better and stick to things that will bring you that brighter future (aka your friends and family). The pacing of the story was just right, revealing things as we went along - I actually gasped out loud with that one fateful final reveal! I had my suspicions but they never veered quite as off track as the story did in the end and I LOVED it. Plus I loved Morgan. What a little queen who just wanted to be loved and have friends. Jack was, in the end, my favourite character and I loved his relationships with all the other characters as well - specifically Remy, of course, who was a joy to read about with their humor and semi-awkwardness when it came to Jack (also can we talk about the "WE ARE STILL ASEXUAL OKAY" chat after their kiss? I loved it!). Just a really well-rounded and fun friend group to read about and I loved it!
Aces Wild was a joy to read from beginning to end and I would easily recommend it to anyone looking for a fast paced heist story centered on online friendships that can sometimes mean the world to us. I absolutely adored reading about Jack and his Aces Wild and I wouldn't mind a couple more books set in this universe, following Jack's future - but I am also more than hyped to see DeWitt's other projects!
snchard's review
3.0
Definitely more aces and less wild, but I very much appreciate the spectrum there! So rare to see ace + aroace both represented and validated, plus a nonbinary love interest. A+ on asexuality here. Would have liked to see more heist, or at least a more plausible heist. It was a bit middle grade for what I expected, but that does make it accessible for younger teen readers, so I'll take it.
nerdy_paladin's review
2.0
These two stars are solely for the ace-energy emanating from every fiber of this book. Otherwise, this was kinda trash.