"in this kingdom, the queen doesn't inherit the crown. to get to the top, she destroys whoever she needs to.'

As a sneak peek of three chapters, I could not be more excited for this book and I will most definitely be sprinting to the bookstore. Honestly, I knew I was going to love it from the first sentence alone and these twenty five pages pretty much prove such. The diversity is already popping out and I literally cannot wait to get further into it, as someone who values diversity. And from these three chapters, I'm already in love with Chiamaka. I can already tell that she is going to be a strong female lead, and I love that with everything in me. Conclusion? I am so excited for this book ahh.

I read a lot of praises on how good Ace of Spades which made me ​want to read it ASAP. This sampler is short, 25 pages only! But I really enjoyed the story and got cut on such a cliffhanger that I can't wait to get my hands on a copy to read more! Adding it to my TBR pile and will definitely pick it up on its publication date.

Will not read the rest of the book. All Devon did in his chapter was complain and Chiamaka was just toxic with some good old internalized misogyny sprinkled in. Not my thing and cannot see myself rooting for these characters. However... I do have to admit that that bit is intriguing so in a pinch I'd pick it up for a bit of entertainment.
Also, that cover art is absolutely gorgeous!

Interesting start to a book. I can't wait to read all of it !

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing this sneak peak.

Would it be overdramatic to say I finished this sneak peek with my palm clasped over my mouth and a whisper of "oh my effing God" leaving my lips? Because that is exactly what happened!

I cannot emphasise how brilliant this book already is! It's drawn me in and I'm not even trying to resist the appeal! I mean, a Nigerian Queen Bee as a main character, a closeted queer guy as another main, and the dark academia scandals to arise when a picture he'd rather no one saw surfaces at the very end? A clear recipe for drama!

It is perfect for every YA thriller fan who is seeking a diverse twist to cliché tropes. What makes 'Ace of Spades' even more enthralling is the fact that it's a debut novel, and it splays out a deck of cards to give you every reason to root for the characters!

I'm definitely counting the hours to its release!

I’ve been hearing nothing but great things about this Dark Academia book, so I had to read the sampler. *grabs popcorn* it was so good!!! I already preordered my own copy because i know excellence when I see it 😌

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the ARC. The version I read was a 25 page, sneak peek.
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Senior year has started at Niveus Private Academy. Chiamaka -- popular and star student, is picked as head prefect for her third year in a row. Devon -- music student with a scholarship, is very surprised he was chosen for a prefect role. But both are happy, since being a prefect makes you stand out on college applications and helps your chances in the running for valedictorian. Someone starts exposing their secrets though. Secrets that may have an impact on their plans for the future.
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Even though this sneak peek was only 25 pages, I really enjoyed the story. I can tell it's going to have a lot of mystery as to who the person behind the leaks is, and I can imagine that it will be a suspenseful story as well. This ARC ended with Devon finding out about his first exposed secret. It left on such a cliff hanger that I just am dying to read more!

This was my first Dark Academia book and HOLY MOLY SMOKES!!

I can’t even begin to articulate exactly what EXACTLY happened in this brilliant dark academia book!

Chiamaka is a planner - she is; on the top of the school and she is finally on the verge of getting her best friend to understand that they are meant to be together. Devon, on the other hand, comes from the wrong part of the town, is a talented musician and while he is out in the school, he is not out to his own mother.

Both Chiamaka and Devon have one thing in common - they are both the only black students in the Niveus Private Academy, an all white privileged private school.

It’s their senior year - Chi’s need to shine, to be the best while Devon just wants to put his head down, get into Julliard and make the sacrifices his mother makes, all worth it.

Everything is going relatively smoothly until an anonymous person slowly starts unravelling each secret that Chi and Devon have to the entire school; one by one.

I would tell you more, but trust me, you have got to go in blind - the anxiety, the nail biting tension that starts off from the first page and doesn’t let you go, not for a second while you are reading it.

The Dark Academia is a recently popularised genre - and it’s certainly a new one for me - however this debut, the way it handles the topics of social eugenics and institutionalised white supremacy had me in awe. It questions everything from privilege to racism to ingrained white supremacy in established institutions through the eyes of not just marginalised community of Color but also from the Queer lens!

If you are a fan of this genre, then you should know Ace of Spades is a *MUST* read book. And if you are a newbie like yours truly; pick this one up, I would bet half my library that you wouldn’t be disappointed!

Sign me up!!

Thank you to Feiwel and Friends for providing me with a Sneak Peek Exclusive of Ace of Spades. This is going to be a knock-out book for readers that love drama, thrillers and exciting characters! Just within the first couple of chapters, we are introduced to the snarky, private school popular girls, the brilliant, socially inept, quiet girl and the brilliant artist type student who appears to be squarely in the sights of someone that is ready to wreak havoc through the school.

I can’t wait to read this book!

I've been reading a lot of great reviews about this book so I've wanted to read it myself. This was a really short sampler but it started really good. I added my TBR list and definitely pick it up when it's published.

I've been keeping an eye on this one, there's a lot of buzz around Ace of Spades, and after reading this preview I'm even more excited!

Love the initial set up and introduction the main characters Devon and Chiamaka here - particularly seeing Chiamaka through Devon's under-privileged viewpoint as spoiled, privileged and popular vs. seeing her perspective which shows her as quite lonely, with fake friendships in order to stay at the top of the hierarchy because she believes it will lead her to the best future.

The revelation at the end of this preview means I will definitely be picking up this book!

Just a excerpt of this book has me wanting for more! The characters, the writing, the academia setting, and the mystery is just perfect.

ace of spades (preview)
faride àbiké-Íyímídé

pros: i love the characters, devon and chiamaka are super interesting characters with depth and intrigue surrounding them! the writing style of this book is incredible, laid-back yet detailed, fast paced but not overwhelming. i really enjoyed reading this short extract!

cons: from this i honestly can't think of any!

overall thoughts: i can't wait to get my hands on a full copy to read more! the type of book to read under the covers with a torch late at night, desperate to unravel the mysteries that will surely unfold.

@alibraryofpages on instagram!

As described on the blurb, the book truly is a mixture of Gossip Girl and Get Out. Even though only the first two chapters are available I could tell it will be a book I easily get lost it too. The characters seem quite interesting and I'm looking forward to see where this story takes them.

It's a first person POV, and both narrators are stablished in the first two chapters of the book. Devon and Chiamaka, are very different but they are both attending a prestigious school. Devon appears to be more of a low tones person, while Chiamaka is short of a queen be, and she leads a clique of girls. Even though I couldn't quite bring myself to like her, I'm interested to know more about her. In the blurb it is indicated that an anonymous bully (Pretty Little Liars and Gossip Girl style) will torment them and slowly reveal all of their secrets.

Even though it was short, I cannot wait for the release day. It appears to be a very intriguing book that will be quite a hit.

Ok here are my thoughts:

Things I Loved:
-really loved this book conceptually, the idea of social eugenics or traditionally white American institutions weeding out or destroying the futures of Black students in very tangible ways

- definitely tackled the idea of getting comfortable living in a white world and having a rude awakening to the fact that really all American institutions have been built to oppress Black people in some form or fashion

-did a great job of entertaining the nuances/ different levels of racism that exist from systemic racism in established institutions to behavioral day to day micro aggressions, to shifting belief systems

-I don’t usually like thrillers but I really loved the Gossip Girl and Get Out hybrid going on here, it picked up in a really entertaining way in the second half of the book (from the second half of part two on)

Some problems:
- At times the characters seemed a bit inconsistent. Like the characters would make these succinct cookie cutter statements about themselves and then they just wouldn’t be consistent with their behavior or any of their other dialogue. Maybe they’re supposed to be like that, though lol? Maybe I’m reading too much into it. I’m thinking about Devon in particular, like I still don’t really know what kind of person he is all the way??

-I also feel like I’m trying to subvert them, the author fell into a lot of stereotypes. In an attempt to maybe explain or humanize these stereotypes in a constructive way, it just ended up furthering them a bit. Like Devon is a poor Black kid from a bad neighborhood who gets into a good private school, but he also deals drugs (stereotype) but it’s ok though because he’s really poor and that’s the easiest way he can make money to support his family (rationalization). While these things are true and realistic, it does sort of put Devon in this box of his own circumstances in a way that is not necessarily original in any way I guess?? I dunno. Just sometimes these attempts to create multiple dimensions in stereotypical roles ended up just being more square than anything.

All in all, this was a really enjoyable and entertaining read for me. At times it was almost unsettling because it was so close to my private school experience (not the explicit social eugenics but the experience of attending an elite predominantly white school as a Black girl). I think being unsettled is a good thing, though. If you are unsettled by the proximity of brutal and blatant racial prejudice and institutionalized oppression then being unsettled by this book is a good thing.

Just like Get Out, the realization that something as mundane as meeting your girlfriend’s family or going to school everyday can suddenly become unsafe or foster intense trauma is a very present and honest reality for both Black people specifically, and marginalized people all over. Once you begin to understand this, stories like these aren’t as far fetched as they may seem.

I have been highly anticipating the release of this book ever since the synopsis was revealed. The author's writing style definitely set the mood in these few pages and I'm very intrigued about the mystery and the development of the characters.

Thought this was a great sample piece of a new book and I from what I read so far I think I will be picking up this book in the near future. I think so far the characters and plot sound like something I would love to read more about.

Loved the 25-paged sneak peak. Her writing is captivating and so easy to read. I literally breezed through it in minutes. The dark academia trope is extremely intriguing. I would love to read this book.

I read the 25 page sneak peek in no time at all.
I really like the idea of the book and the characters are well written because, I was already disliking the Chimaka and the whole queen bee thing. Devon was a much more likeable character and I am interested in how it will all turn out.

I think I may pick this one up for myself just to see how everything turns out.

With a 25-paged sneak peak, Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé managed to establish impressively strong voices for the characters. Her writing flows well and is so easy to read. I literally breezed through it in minutes. The switching perspectives is a refreshing quality I will never tire of. I am so excited for the release so I can finally read and experience the world through the eyes of Devon, our main character who is a queer, introverted, rightfully-discontented Black American boy who happens to be a music-lover as well! The representation 😍?! I think this dark academia trope is extremely intriguing and I seriously cannot wait to finally get my hands on a real, physical copy.