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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.

An intriguing start to what promises to be the thriller of the summer. This sampler includes the first two chapters and a portion of the third; these chapters set up the first-person POVs of both narrators. Devon's conflict is quick and clearly present from his first pages, while Chiamaka's first chapter does more to establish the school structure rather than her character's conflict.

But even with so few pages, it's clear that these characters are being set up for crisis. The blurb indicates an anonymous bully is about to wreak havoc upon their lives. As two teens at a prestigious private school, their appearances are cultivated and a breath away from shattering. This alone is fascinating enough to keep reading - the concept is relatable to any teen or former young adult. As the fragility of Devon and Chiamaka's public personas are established in the sampler, it's clear that the anonymous bully mentioned in the blurb is going to carefully pull apart each of their secrets and leave them defenseless. I can't wait to read the rest of the story!

Just from the initial excerpt chapters I can tell I am going to devour this book and the dark magic exuding from its pages. Captivating and deeply compelling from the very beginning, this is a book not to miss if you enjoy contemporary fantasy.

I've started to read this and I'm loving how it is so far. Will dive into the main book soonest. I can't wait to see what Faridah has planned
All the reviews I have seen are so great

This is one of the best books ever , I can assure this to you even though I read only a couple of the initial chapters . I was so invested in every character in this story . The dark academia vibes are on point . The ritting style of this story is soemthing inreally enjoyed and the pacing of this story deserves praise . I have seen a lot of hype around this book lately and i must say that it deserves every bit of the hype because it is simply amazing .

I received the sneak peek version of this book, and while I liked it, it just didn't hook me the way I hoped. The writing was done well, but I personally was not a fan of the main character, Devon, and his inner monologue. I also didn't like how clique-y Chiamaka and her "friends" were. The last page is where I started to get interested, but not enough to make me want to go and buy the book to find out. I believe that if I read the entire book instead of just the sneak peek, I would've enjoyed it more and would've been able to get hooked into the story. but for now, I'd give it 3 out of 5 stars! Thank you very much to the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this sneak peek!

This book is going to be the next big thing. 100% assured. It has deep intrigue, drama and it melds into a perfect story. Chiamaka has a do whatever it takes mentality to stay at the top of the social hierarchy, and it can get ugly. I can't wait for everyone to read this one. Part gossip girl, part get out, is really an accurate description of this book and to tell you more would be a shame.

I just read the first three chapters of this book and oh my god I can’t get enough! I’m adding this to my tbr immediately! I’m so intrigued by the characters and where the story is going to go. I already know the representation in this book is going to be AMAZING. I can’t wait for the release date!

This three-chapter sneak peek introduced me to our two main characters, Devon and Chiamaka, as they attend the first day of their senior year as a senior prefect and head senior prefect, respectively. After the end of the third chapter, I cannot wait to find out what happens!