Holy crap this is amazing!
The story is well written, the characters are developed beautifully, and there's more than enough drama to remind you that humans suck.
The narration of the audio is beautifully done, with clear distinction between characters.
Much love to NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for my DRC.

Thank you to NeGalley, Macmillan Audio, Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, Jeanette Illidge (narrator), and Tapiwa Mugweni (narrator) for the opportunity to listen to Ace of Spades in exchange for an honest review. I would also like to thank the publisher in correspondence with Yallwest for offering me a digital ARC of this novel as well.

I used the NetGalley Shelf app to listen to this book. While I also have an e-galley, listening to the audiobook was much more entertaining (and time manageable, as I have many books on my plate). Both narrators did a fantastic job portraying the characters. They were spot-on with their voice acting and it was just a really great listen.

This book is told in alternating first-person perspectives: Devon and Chiamaka, two seniors who just became prefects at Niveus Private Academy. Senior year is supposed to be fun, thrilling, and everything that leads up to the excitement of graduation and college. When a mysterious person going by the name of Aces begins socially sharing scandalous posts of the two new prefects, senior year becomes a bit more complicated.

There is great LGBTQ and Black representation in this book. In fact, race plays a major role in the plot of this novel. Ace of Spades highlights and breaks some of the stereotypes that people often have towards Blacks. Both of the main characters are extremely intelligent and have kept up excellent grades with the promise of goin to a top tier university. When the negative posts begin to roll out through the school, that puts their chances at said top schools in jeopardy. Some people do this kind of thing on purpose. While the novel is brilliantly written and excellently executed, it takes a number of issues regarding race and sexual orientation in society today and slaps the reader right in the face with reality. 

There is also a nice thrilling aspect to this novel. Who is Aces? Why are they doing what they are doing? What is their motive? I'm generally not a huge fan of thrillers as such, but the mystery was so intriguing, and I was dying to know what kind of person would want to affect someone's life in such a negative way. The mystery is fun and engaging to think about as a reader. this is a well-thought out and brilliant novel!

Stunning, brilliant, and highly recommend this book!

Gossip Girl meets Get Out in this incredibly immersive thriller from Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé. I read a few chapters via @bookishfirst and immediately added it to my tbr.

Devon and Chiamaka have wildly different upbringings, but the two are thrust into the negative spotlight together during their first week of their senior years at Niveus Private Academy. Devon lives for making music, but his Julliard-bound dreams are at stake when an anonymous texter--Aces--starts sharing dark secrets around school. Aces also has it out for fellow student Chiamaka--whose plans to become queen bee are quickly veering off course. The only tie connecting them--they’re the only two black students at Niveus.

It has the BEST twists and turns, but not necessarily the kind that give you whiplash. It’s like you’re making your way through a super creepy house and what’s behind each door you open is even freakier than the last. I love the pacing and the plot execution and found myself holding my breath to see what “Aces” would uncover next. We take some DEEP dives into institutionalized racism, and although this is fiction, it had me seriously questioning places irl that could exist.

If you’re looking to a fresh new voice to add to your pride reads picks this month, there is plenty of on-page main character gay/queer rep. I won’t say too much about it because I don’t want to spoil anything ;).

Thanks to MacMillan audio for an ALC of Ace of Spades via NetGalley. The dual narrators-Jeanette Illidge and Tapiwa Mugweni are phenomenal together. Devon’s voice is definitely more laidback and a bit quieter than Chi’s confident, bold vibes that Illidge perfectly captured. I highly recommend the audio! It’s a bit of a time commitment for a YA at just shy of 12 hours, but the payoff is worth it!

Please note that although I do not reveal the ending, this review may allude to things that could be considered a spoiler.

Jordan Peele set the bar high with "Get Out" and we are seeing a cultural shift where anything in the horror genre that covers topics of racism is understandably being compared. (This of course is a much-welcomed shift from the history of Black characters in the horror genre. See Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror.) The comparison of this novel to Get Out is well placed, but I would argue that Àbíké-Íyímídé creates something unique as well. Peele opened the gate of taking the history of eugenics and racism in the United States and turned it on its head in Get Out, Àbíké-Íyímídé does the same by using an experience that many Black people and other people of color have experienced in school and added a thriller/horror element to it. There is a particular scene in the novel that brings up similar feelings of dread and then relief that we feel at one of the scenes at the end of Get Out.

Those that have had the experience of being "the only or one of the only" Black people in their school or classroom will understand the feeling of isolation, dread, and otherness that this can bring. This impacts our mental health and can even impact our performance in school. For anyone who grew up learning about the crimes committed against Black bodies from your family; some that seem to sound like conspiracy theories until you find out they are true (okay some are conspiracies, but you can't fault them), and reading about Henrietta Lacks, the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, and everything described in "Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty" by Dorothy Roberts will be able to figure out or at least have an inkling of what is going on in this book. For me, as soon as I saw the Get Out reference, who was being targeted, and the first few instances of the "attacks" I immediately figured it out. This does not make the book any less thrilling or engaging.

At the heart of this, you have two teens trying to not only figure out who they are but also trying to make something of themselves. It's all too relatable and I would have been invested in anything with characters like Chiamaka and Devon to be quite honest! They are complex and you can't help but admire them. Adding the horror of the anonymous Aces, the twists and turns, the dread of not knowing who to trust--- makes the book all the more suspenseful, amazing, and truly a piece of work that I will be recommending for years to come.

Finally, I would be remiss not to mention, that I, like the author, went through a period of time where I was obsessed with Gossip Girl. The glitz, glamor, and drama were unlike anything I personally experienced and I'm grateful that on top of the horror genre we also get a little bit of the GG, XOXO-ness thrown in.

𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘴 . . . 𝘐’𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘳. 𝘓𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘺𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘥𝘰. ―𝘈𝘤𝘦𝘴

𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘵, 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦!

What a stunning debut! I saw this all over insta, loved the cover and decided to pick the audio, and holy moly, it was a wild ride!
A story about homophobia, racism, privilege and classism that will keep you turning pages until the very end.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ALC.

https://www.instagram.com/booksandcoffeemx/

I cannot rave about this enough. I saw it sold as Gossip Girl meets Get Out, and that's absolutely correct.

The dual narration between Chamaka and Devon was done very well. Both characters were likeable and I was attached to the right away. Devon is laidback and shies away from the spotlight while Chi is highly motivated and has a detailed plan to get to the top. You can't help but root for them as they're targeted by an anonymous bully.

I was so heavily invested in the story I couldn't put it down. I needed to know who the Aces were and where the story goes. There were some twists that had me screaming.

This book really highlights microaggressions and how racism is so ingrained in our society and institutions.

If you're looking for a good YA thriller then I highly recommend Ace of Spades.

I was immediately intrigued by the premise when I had first read the description of this book, Get Out meets Gossip Girl, genius.
Ace of Spades follows two students as they are being targeted by an anonymous bully. I loved the dual perspectives, especially Chiamaka. I was rooting for both characters to get to the bottom of this mystery.
This book focuses on issues such as racism and how ingrained racism is in our institutions. In Faridahs authors note she mentions how she wanted to keep the locations as neutral as possible to highlight that this is a systematic problem that can happen anywhere. I think this book was so amazing, and really shows how insidious these issues can be.
The second half of the book moved a little slower than the first half but at this point I was so invested in the story and finding out who Aces was.

Dark Academia as a subgenre is filled with stories about rich white people, rich-white-people-ing their way through life in academic settings.

As much as I enjoy reading them, I constantly find myself wishing someone would break down the predominantly white mold of the usual dark academia storylines and give us something outside that framework and point of view and that's exactly what this book did.

When two Niveus Private Academy students, Devon Richards and Chiamaka Adebayo, are selected to be part of the elite school’s senior class prefects, it looks like their year is off to an amazing start. After all, not only does it look great on college applications, but it officially puts each of them in the running for valedictorian, too.

Here's the twist we've been waiting for. Talented musician Devon buries himself in rehearsals, but he can't escape the spotlight when his private photos go public. Head girl Chiamaka isn't afraid to get what she wants, but soon everyone will know the price she has paid for power. Someone is out to get them both. Someone who holds all the aces. And they're planning much more than a high-school game.

I couldn't stop when I started and it has incredible characters, a mystery full of so many plot twists that you don’t see coming, important conversations, queer representation, and so much more! If you love books with an excellent cast, and killer mystery and thriller vibes, that discuss relevant topics, this is the perfect book for you!

Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé follows two Niveus Private Academy students, Devon Richards and Chiamaka Adebayo, who are selected to be part of the elite school’s senior class prefects, Shortly after the announcement is made, someone who goes by Aces begins using anonymous text messages to reveal secrets about the two of them that turn their lives upside down and threaten every aspect of their carefully planned futures.

I loved Chiamaka so much and I really enjoyed the friendship that developed between Devon and Chiamaka throughout the book. I also really loved the mystery and horror elements mixed with the racial commentary. I also loved the LGBTQI+ representation particularly how the book displays intersectionality. This book is pitched as Gossip Girl meets Get Out which is a very apt comparison. My main issue with the book was the slow pacing in the middle of the book. I also felt that I would have liked a little more resolution and time spent at the end of the novel to wrap up all the plot lines.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank You NetGalley, Macmillan Audio & Faridah for this audio copy!

Summary- A private school called Niveus Academy filled with ivy legue students. The story is told in the POVs of Devon Richards and Chiamaka Adebayo who are selected Senior Prefect and Head Prefect! Someone who goes by Aces begins sending anonymous texts to them, revealing their secrets.
Someone is out to get them. But Who?.

This was seriously a great book! I just loved the characters Devon Richards and Chiamaka Adebayo! Like Chi I just LOVED HER! She isn't afraid to hold back what she is thinking. She is just awesome!
Devon is more laid back and very into music.
The book shows us what is happening in our world today and the author touched these serious topic issues.. 💜
Such as racism and homophobia.
The storyline was interesting and intriguing... The only reason I'm not giving this a five star rating is because I felt like somewhere in the middle it got a little slow.
I actually had to stop for a bit because I started to lose interest.
But I got through it and all was fine! Enjoyed it!
The narrators..... Wow they seriously made the book that much better!
Overall-- A great, interesting, intriguing, suspenseful Young Adult novel.
Also adding I loved the authors note at the end. She started writing this in college going off some events that happened to her personally. 💛
Highly Recommend.

When I first heard Ace of Spades described as Gossip Girl meets Get Out, I knew I had to read this book. And now that I have, I can say that this comparison is 100% accurate. Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio for my ALC - I loved listening!

Devon and Chiamaka have one thing in common: they are the only two black students at Niveus Academy. Other than that, they couldn't be more different - Chiamaka is the Blair Waldorf-esque queen of the school, while Devon likes to stay in the background. When the mysterious Aces begins to target them, spilling their secrets to their classmates, they team up to try to find the culprit and salvage their futures.

This book is a wild ride - the plot will grab you and entertain you, but definitely also make you think. I really enjoyed the author's note (read by the author) in which she explains that she started the book when she started university and realized how few of her fellow students were minorities. She views this story as an allegory for discrimination against students of color in the educational system.

Both Devon and Chiamaka are well-drawn characters, and I loved hearing their stories orally. Devon is gay and Chiamaka is bisexual, and I appreciated that their queer identities were well explored in their stories. Both narrators did a great job showing the emotion and fear that their characters felt as they saw their hard work begin to crumble. I felt very connected to the characters and was eager to see how they fought back against Aces.

If you like YA mystery/thrillers, I would definitely recommend this book. Fans of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder should enjoy this one! Also Gossip Girl and Get Out fans of course!

Thank you so much to McMillan Audio for a copy of this audiobook!

Ace of Spades is an absolutely heart-pounding YA thriller that kept me glued to the page in horrified determination to get to the end.

Chiamaka and Devon are the only two Black kids at their exclusive private school. They both excel, Chiamaka rising through the ranks to become the popular 'it' girl, Head Prefect, and a shoo-in for Yale. Devon is happy fading into the background, concentrating on his music and his audition piece for Julliard. When someone named Aces starts distributing rumors and private information about the two of them, everything changes. Chiamaka and Devon have to fight for their place at the school, and their lives in general.

This book had me absolutely screaming at what was happening in the pages. In the best way possible. It becomes obvious pretty quickly what's going on, but it goes so much deeper than I thought it would. Chiamaka and Devon have to question the motives of every single person around them, and I questioned them, too. I don't want to give anything away. I went into this book not knowing really what it was about, and I'm glad I did. It set me up for a whole entire ride, and I'm sure I'll be taking it again.

It's a good commentary on how when Black people are put in a place when they're made to feel other, it's because they're being viewed as other. Despite Chiamaka's Head Prefect and popularity status, she still has to deal with microaggressions that she brushes off. She still makes her hair is straight and smooth, and not curly. Devon, coming from a Black neighborhood, accepts this situation by keeping his head down. Don't bring attention to yourself. Don't give them a reason. It's powerful in its simplicity, really. Something white people take for granted every single day, and Black people have to think about every single moment they're not with their community. There's a really emotional scene where Devon cries after being confronted by a cop because he legitimately thinks he might die then.

The audiobook is very well done with a different narrator for our two main characters and their POV's. They really brought the story to life in an emotional and believable way.

When people say this is Gossip Girl meets Get Out, they're absolutely right. It's the story I didn't know we needed, but here we are!

Loved this one! The narration was amazing for the story and the narrative and perspectives were so good.

thanks for the arc!

I'm not sure I can put my feelings about this book into words. It was beautifully written and very thought out. The plot was haunting but eye opening. The book follows two students of color in their senior year at a prestigious high school that has a dark secret. While the two students are trying to work for their future, the anonymous Aces is trying to destroy it. The author opens the door and shows racial bias in the upper classes and queer prejudice in the lower class in an amazing way. The book is marketed as Gossip Girl meets Get Out and it could not be more on point.

Along with the blatant racism and homophobia, the book also explores the bubble that is elitism. One of the main characters, Chimaka, has lived in wealth her whole life and that blinds her from the reality of the world for people like Devon, the other student we follow, who grew up on the other side of the tracks. I definitely was not expecting such deep topics to be addressed in this thriller but it was an amazing read and very eye opening.

Ace of Spades is set in a private prep school that is rocked by the text revelations of Aces. Aces is going after the school’s most popular girl, Chiamaka, who has her entire life planned meticulously, and musician, Devon.

It’s best to know nothing about the plot going in. I listening to the audio version while organizing my house. The book is awesome! The plot is similar to Gossip Girl until it makes a radical twist in the middle. Then, it makes you want to flip those pages even faster so you can read the startling conclusion. I turned up the speed to 2X.

The narrator, in normal speed, has the perfect dramatic timbre for a young adult. Everything is life or death—just as it is in a real adolescent’s life.

Overall, Ace of Spades deserves 5 stars!

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

I listened to an audio arc of this novel and the full cast audio did an absolutely phenomenal job! These narrators are so talented and they really made this reading experience such a great one for me! Highly recommend this route if you’re planning on reading this book.

The overall story was so thrilling and addictive, I finished the entire book in two sittings. I just couldn’t get enough of Faridah’s excellent writing and of these characters. The actual plot kept my attention and focus— so many good twists! Just when I thought I had something figured out, I’d be completely wrong within the next few chapters as new things were introduced and revealed. I love when that happens! Honestly, I love being wrong in books cause that just means the next twist will be even more of a shock and thrill.

This book does deal with a lot of heavier topics and dark themes such as suicide, racism, homophobia to name a few so if you don’t think you can handle these issues— I’d hold off until you can or feel in a better place mentally for it. But I think the way Faridah talked about them was so well done and realistic and truly showed that racism and homophobia aren’t gone in 2021, people still have to deal with it, especially racism.

Faridah is a talented writer and author and I truly hope we get more work from them in the future! I will eagerly be awaiting my chance to read them. I loved this book and I hope that you do as well.

5/5 ⭐️

TW: death, fire, racism, homophobia, suicide, violence, death of a parent, gun violence, drugs.

This book was brilliant, tackled so many social issues, and kept me on my toes. Even though it is a YA novel, this book kept this adult reader hooked and ready for more! I fell in love with the characters and was mesmerized by the plot. The bar has been set!!!

This is a heart wrenching story full of twists and turns that leave you breathless and honestly? Furious. It's an amazing commentary on white supremacy, racial and economic disparity and systematic oppression. The characters are so human, and the queer and POC representation is also amazing. Honestly this is a book everyone should read at least once.

Whew boy y’all. To be succinct: ‘social eugenics’

A bit of Pretty Little Liars, a bit of Gossip Girl with a big ol swirl of racism and dastardly plans to ruin promising black youth at the hands of students, faculty, alumni and those they can buy off.

The depth of the deceit is intense!

Ace of Spades stressed me out in the best way possible. At no point did I know what was going to happen, and I trusted absolutely no one. This was a spectacular book - I was riveted. The narrators were so good at bringing these characters and their personalities to life.

I feel like I can't say more without spoiling it, but dang, this was a wild and fun ride. I am so excited to talk about this book with everyone.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this!