Aces Wild was a ton of fun! @am.dewitt takes the reader on an adventure with a diverse group of lovable characters. I enjoyed the slightly ridiculous/unrealistic storyline of a group of teens carrying out a heist in Vegas. It was a fun escape and made for a fast read! What I wasn’t expecting was that this book also had a lot of heart.

Aces Wild is FULL of amazing representation! Of course, basically every character is Asexual. However, there was also aromantic rep and nonbinary rep! It was awesome to read about a group of young teens discovering their sexuality and finding a group of supportive friends. I also loved the family dynamics in this book as well!

I absolutely adored Jack as a main character. He was a total asexual disaster and I loved him for it! I definitely saw my younger self in Jack in a lot of ways.

I did feel like the ending was a bit rushed. Things just kind of ended really fast. I also wish we got more insight into Jack and Remy’s relationship because they were so adorable!

Overall, I would definitely recommend!

I sat on this review for a solid week. I genuinely have no clue how to summarize Aces Wild: A Heist. It is by no means a bad story - it's arguably a pretty damn good one - but it's also not the story that it's quite advertised as.

Aces Wild is, at its heart, the story of Jack Shannon, asexual teenager and youngest son of a Las Vegas casino mogul, trying to pull his life back together by any means necessary after his mother is arrested on a whole host of charges. While his older sister thinks this is the family's chance to make things right, Jack knows that this is all rival casino owner Peter Carlevaro's fault. And Jack is going to do whatever he can to take Carlevaro down: with the help of the four asexual friends he found through online fandoms, they'll infiltrate a secretive back room casino, discover dark family secrets, and hopefully free Jack's mother from prison.

First, the good. The asexual representation automatically earned this story three stars from me. Jack and his four best friends are all aces of some sort, and that's just delightful. We also get aromantic representation, with Gabe being the delightful romantic voice of reason throughout the story. There is also genuine discussion of the difficulties of romance as an asexual, which is lovely. Each one of the characters are unique and fun and likable. The setting, too, is done well; the casinos are well-described and the story reads like a love letter to the beauty and gaudiness of Las Vegas.

As for the bad... This is not really a heist book. It is a fun story, yes, but anyone going into this expecting anything close to Six of Crows-level plotting will be let down. The plotting is left to maybe the last 20% of the story. In this way, our characters barely get the chance to shine in that heist setting. The romantic subplot feels kind of jammed into it all, too, left largely unaddressed at the end. And, perhaps, the most horrific of all the bad - our vegetarian character eats McDonald's fries at one point in the story with absolutely nothing said about it. (Cue every American vegetarian physically recoiling here) The horror! Unforgivable!

Genuinely, though, this is a lovely book simply because it is largely a first of its kind: an all-ace young adult novel that a lot of teenagers will be delighted to find themselves in. For all of its faults, that representation is everything.

Thank you so much to Peachtree Teen and Netgallery for providing me with an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First just let me say that this book blew me away. It exceeded every expectation I had. My heart is full of joy. This is the ace book of my dreams.

This book is a masterpiece.

I've been hearing talk about this book around the internet for a while. A heist book with an all asexual cast? It sounded to good to be true.

I will be honest I was hesitant to read this. I dont read a lot of contemporary books and I felt like the premise seemed like it would either be very good or super disappointing. I was scared that it would be cringey or sterotyped or the representation would be awkward.

This book was none of those things. It was AMAZING.

This book was FUN. It was compelling.

I am very hesitant to compare it to Six of Crows. I can see why the publishers (or whomever) did but I think it does the book a disservice. They share similarities and I'm sure that lots of people who loved Six of Crows will also love this book (It's me. I love them both. Very much so)

That being said, in my opinion, if people looked at the actual synopsis of the book they would realize that this is not anything like Six of Crows and reset their expectations.

Six of Crows is a dark, bloody, fantasy heist with very traumatized, morally grey teens.

Aces Wild is a contemporary comedy adventure. Very different genres. Although you can definitely tell that it was an influence for the book at the end of the day it's very different.

Now, If you loved the found family, banter, and heist aspect of Six of Crows-

And. AND.

You like fun relatable modern stories about chaotic teenagers, friends working together, with whity characters and lots of sarcasm.
THEN you will love this book.

I really liked the writing style. Including the texts, and the way the main character Jack would sometimes talk to the reader was very entertaining. Kind of reminded more of a more grown up version of the way the Percy Jackson novels are written. Fast paced, funny, with good banter.

So if you take Percy Jackson, Six of Crows, and your average contemprary ya then you have a better idea of what this book is like.

I cant even begin to explain how important the rep is. ALL THE MAIN CAST ARE ASEXUAL. ALL OF THEM. AHHHHH. Also one of the characters is nonbinary and another one is AroAce.

And it was all so casual. And normalized. This isnt a book about asexuality, or discovering asexuality, or struggling with asexuality.

They just are. Asexual.

It's beautiful.

I also thought when it did talk about the strugles of bring ace, it was brought up naturally. And it was VERY RELATABLE. Not wanting to come out to your family because it invariably brings up the topic of your sex life or lack there of? Yep. Finding out about asexuality via the internet? Ding ding ding. Realizing you dont feel the same way as most of your peers and thinking something is wrong with you? Damn. I felt that.

This book means so much to me as a 23 year old I cant even imagine what it would have been like to read when I was a teenager still struggling with my identity.

Even though this book is not a romance, and its a small part of the story, the budding romance is SO CUTE. ROMANCE WHERE THEY ARE BOTH COMFERTABLY ACE? UGH. PLEASE GIVE ME MORE OF THIS!

All in all I am just so excited that this book was written and published. It is absolutely a step forward and I'm so happy to see a wider variety of LGBTQIA+ stories being told.

I dont know if the author has any plans for it but I would LOVE if this got a sequel. Not because the ending needed it, but because I think there are so many places the story could go. I just really want to see more of these characters again.

While this book took a little while for me to get into it, it was definitely worth it in the end. I really loved the entire friendship aspect throughout the book. This was a very fast and super fun read.

Moving on, the heist wasn’t this ‘omg super awesome adventure’ type of heist. This was a group of like modern day teenagers trying to potentially pull of a “heist”, which I felt this book captured very well.

The characters were all super great. My favorite was either Lucky or Remy. They are all asexual, hence the title name (along with the whole blackjack thing).. Remy is non-binary and they’re able to read Jack like a book. Gabe is the oldest (18) and constantly teased for being ancient. Georgia is the mediator and very good at handling feelings. Lucky had the most personality and I loved it. Jack needs therapy and maybe some more group hugs.

Overall, I loved this book. It made me laugh and while it was somewhat predictable, it was still enjoyable and amazing to see more asexual representation in such a fun book.

This book will be good for the ace teens that don't see themselves much in media and desperately want more representation. It's light, it's sweet, has some humour, and there's a plot to get everything going.

However, the pitch for this book doesn't suite the actual contents of the book. I have no clue how "Six of Crows" is fit to be this book as the only similarities is that teenagers are performing some kind of heist. Even then, these heists have two completely different tones as well as interpersonal dynamics.

I was looking forward to reading an ace book that isn't just coming to terms with their sexuality but was disappointed to see that the book is very much targeted towards those that probably don't know what asexuality is. This leads to the book awkwardly inserting explanations to the reader and it breaking the narrative and for me that ruins the enjoyment of reading. The actual plot of the story is very forgettable and the stakes aren't set up to feel very important which makes it fall flat. The narration style relies too much on the character directly talking to the reader and lying about how a high tension scene plays out before backtracking and revealing how the actual events plays out. This is all well and fine for a comedy centric book that doesn't take itself seriously but is jarring and ill timed in what's supposed to be a heist book.

If this book was presented to be a fluffy comedy book and the plot happened to have a heist into he background, I don't think I would have been as disappointed when going into this book.

Overall, if there's a customer looking for an ace book without the heavy themes of finding your identity and coming to terms with it, I'll reccomend this book but will put heavy emphasis that it's more so a comedy with high school friendship drama between teens.

Thank you to NetGalley and Peachtree Teen for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Ace Wilds: A Heist is an ebullient romp that thrives on its central crew's contagious charisma. From the start, Jack is an engaging and messy protagonist who has a habit of thinking he's smooth enough to wrangle together schemes, then tripping over his own chaotic energy. His first-person POV does a good job of bringing you into his teenage head and rooting for him as he introduces you to his underground gambling club, the shady layers of his family, and his support group buddies. Once those buddies make their debut, the fun only heightens with their uproarious banter—mainly the in-person kind, but we get to see a bit of it on Hullabaloo as well.

This isn't an original opinion, since it seems to be shared by virtually everyone who's had the chance to read Aces Wild, but Lucky is my personal favorite in the group. The moment when she threatens "I'll eat your kneecaps" is a splendid encapsulation of her feisty and biting attitude. Remy, who is both ace and nonbinary, is amusing as the target of the adorable crush that Jack ends up growing on them. Admittedly, I do wish the last two members, Gabe and Georgia, had more distinctive personalities. I liked the interactions they had as a pair, but I didn't really get much of a sense for who they are as separate people.

The ace and aromantic representation in this circle is an extra plus, although it wasn't as fleshed-out as I would have wanted. Jack's narration mentions on several occasions that asexuality is a spectrum, but there's never a point where the concept is truly dissected to display the experiences of ace people. Granted, I don't think it's the book's intention to teach readers all the ins and outs of the spectrum, but some additional nuance would have been preferable.

As for the plot device of Jack's sister Kerry's hearing aid being turned into an earpiece for the heist, it definitely leaves me feeling uncomfortable. This flippant inclusion of hearing aids, which play vital parts in the lives of the deaf people who use them, is unnecessary. Aside from a brief reference to Kerry having had a cochlear implant installed in her ear, there's nothing in the writing for her character to realistically designate her deafness and the challenges that come with using cochlear implants.

My biggest problem, intriguingly enough, isn't with the book itself, but rather the misleading marketing. When you promote something as "Six of Crows goes to Las Vegas," you better damn well deliver an intricate, extensive, and electrifying heist that measures up to the Six of Crows themselves and Ocean's 11. The thing is, Aces Wild's heist is very much a background element despite the book's subtitle being A Heist. Sure, Jack and his pals partake in a bit of pre-heisting in preparation for the main heist, but the interrelationships that comprise their found family is what really drives the book. The main heist doesn't even happen until the tail-end of the story. Thankfully, I'd heard this criticism ahead of reading the eARC, so I was able to set my expectations. Again, this isn't an issue in the book itself. If it wants to concentrate on the characters' repartee and emotional growth, that's laudable. It's the PR that requires revision so it can authentically advertise the product and avoid the pitfall of disappointing consumers purely because of erroneous publicity.

Overall, Aces Wild: A Heist is saddled with some flaws, but it’s worth picking up if you’re in search of an ace-representing YA book with loads of hilarious chemistry thrumming amongst its leads.

There is no way that I can articulate in words what this book meant for me, as a young asexual reader, but I’ll try to anyway.
Stories like this are so so important for kids on the a-spectrum. This is the very first time I’ve ever seen myself represented on page explicitly, and not in an offhand comment that an author makes on a panel, or through reader headcanons. This was probably my most anticipated book of 2022, and I’m thrilled to say that it did not disappoint.
Jack Shannon is a brilliant protagonist. You can tell that DeWitt attempted to write him as a modern-day teenage Kaz Brekker, and IT WORKED. Of course, he doesn’t possess the same ruthlessness and emotional detachment that readers love Kaz Brekker for, but Jack’s characterization works perfectly for the setting that he’s been written in—modern day Las Vegas.
The book is told entirely through Jack’s perspective, which I liked very much, despite my initial reservations. I had gone in expecting a multi-pov heist novel, but I realized early on that this book wasn’t really about the heist. Aces Wild is wholly and entirely about Jack, and his emotional journey discovering what it truly means to love while being asexual.
DeWitt possesses a marvelous talent at capturing accurate teenage dialogue, a skill many YA contemporary writers lack, and this makes for brilliant chemistry between the cast of characters. You can feel the love that they all have for each other, and honestly, this may be just about the best ensemble cast I’ve ever read.
I found the plot slightly lacking at times (especially since I went into it expecting a full on heist and that’s not what was given) and there was a new character introduction more than 60% of the way into the book which bothered me a little, but overall, Aces Wild was a phenomenal read. I’m honored to have spent time with these characters and this story, and I’m ecstatic to see what DeWitt brings to the table in the future.

I loved this book from start to finish, the characters are well written and I really liked them a lot. I hope to read more of this author soon!
the setting is amazing and the plot is no less, I really like the vibes at the six of crows and they reminded me of the movie now you see me, top!

As someone who identifies as asexual, I loved this book! It was the second book I’ve ever read that involved asexual representation and I thought that it was handled wonderfully. It seemed similar to Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo because of a heist involving a group of teens, but in a less chaotic/fantasy way which made it more relatable. I definitely want to buy the physical copy when it’s released!

The narrators voice in this book was so distinct. Absolutely obsessed with the writing style, it immediately drew me in and kept me invested!

Aces Wild : A Heist by Amanda DeWitt

Edition: Ebook, 352 pages, first published in September 2022

Disclaimer: I got this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for my honest personal review. Thank you so much for this amazing opportunity!

Summary:
Jack is a rich son of a casino empress. When his mother gets arrested Jack let's his friends be flown in to do a heist, like rich kids usually do. His friends are a pretty diverse group who bonded over being asexual.

This book is promoted with "Six Of Croes goes Las Vegas" and well... Six Of Crows is a very big number in the book heißt business and let me say that Aces Wild didn't even come near it. This didn't feel like a heist, it was more like some kids stumbling through the plot. It didn't feel like anyone had an idea of what they were doing, they just went for it and hoped for the best. Tbh some conclusions they made were like pure invention. Like... there was a sword sticking in some ice and Jack was immediately convinced that the villain would use that sword to store his little black book of blackmail - in a sword which is standing in a room full of people who are getting blackmailed! I ... what?!?! What drugs did he take?!?!

Coming back to that sword, what's with the whole King Arthur wannabe story? Jack's first name is Arthur, then we have a Morgan and the whole sword thing. I mean, points for trying to incorporate some deeper story but then pull it through, please. In my opinion these two parts didn't really fit together and made it all in all kinda superficial.
Another superficial thing imo are the characters. I mean, if you literally introduce the secondary characters via profile, how much more tell can you do? There was no tell between the lines, all infos just plain dumped into your lap. That's not my kind of thing but that's just personal preference.

I was super excited because I am an aroace myself and there aren't many books about ace people yet. So I was so happy that I got the opportunity to read an ARC about an book about a group of ace people. But this was a bit disappointing again. The topic gets brought up a few times but there was not much deepness to it. The kids got to know each other because of some fantasy forum and then sticked to wach other because they are all ace but... eh... that didn't feel like the plotpoint it could have been. Asexuality is such a big umbrella term and there could have been so much education about the different terms (demisexuality, sex positivity or negativity, greysexuality, aromantic ... and so on!), but that's a missed opportunity and I was really sad about that.

The cover art is very very nice though. Perfect choice of colours combined with Las Vegas flair!

All in all I want to give this book:
3.5/5 ⭐
It's not a bad book, it just has some flaws and didn't hit my taste and expectations.

As someone on the asexual spectrum this book immediately caught my eye! It was so great honestly, I envied the friendship group so much I just wanted to be a part of it !! I would definitely recommend this book :]

I was so excited when I heard about Aces Wild - an all-asexual cast of teens pulling off a heist? Count me in! And that cover is perfection 😍

Jack Shannon is the heir to a Las Vegas casino empire. When Jack’s mom goes to jail for organized crime, he makes a plan to exonerate her with help from his online best friends - a mini ace support group.

I enjoyed Aces Wild in the way I enjoy a blockbuster movie on a hot summer’s day, and the ace rep made it even better. This book was a fun ride but I think a little more character development and marketing the story differently would take it to the next level.

Aces Wild shines in its depiction of online friendships. As someone who discovered asexuality in my late 20s, I’m so happy to see an all-ace friend group here and think this could be a great book to introduce younger readers to the ace spectrum. I’ve also found a great ace community online so I could really relate to this aspect. Plus, Jack is a memorable narrator - his voice and the friends’ banter kept me laughing throughout the book.

I would have liked to see more character development for Jack’s friends. Having 5 asexual teens provides a good opportunity to explore how they all define asexuality for themselves or how they sit in different places on the ace spectrum. I also think readers who are looking for a heist story may be disappointed. It seems odd to have “a heist” on the cover when the main plot of the story doesn’t quite fit into that box.

If you love stories about online friend groups, Vegas Escapades, and queer teens, give Aces Wild a go!

I really liked the premise for this story, but I feel like it fell flat in some aspects. For the most part I liked the story-telling, and the characters were wonderful. Gabe is hilarious and my total favorite with his ostentatious personality.
One thing that bothered me was that, when Jack introduces his friends and explains how he met them, the way he talks about asexuality feels inaccurate/misleading, in part due to how it doesn't distinguish between asexuality and aromanticism. The distinction is made later and elaborated on to some extent, but that first introduction to it feels like asexuality is misrepresented (I say this as someone who is asexual and know several people on both the asexual and aromantic spectrums of identity).
That being said, I do love the amount of representation. The intersectionality presented in the cast is something I'm glad to see. Remy, who uses they/them pronouns and is asexual, is the kind of character I wish I'd seen in books growing up because it is amazing to finally see reflections of myself in literature.
I feel like the story leaned too heavily into the Vegas casino vibes, causing it to feel a bit generic. Also, several of the plot twists landed flat for me, including the grand climax. They were predictable to me and some made little sense due to Jack's actions being incongruous with aspects of his character depicted by previous thoughts and actions. However, someone who is typically more interested in heist type stories and those types of vibes may disagree.

Some thoughts on this.
1. I'm not sure I understand the choice to have the boarding school backstory take up as much page time as it did. Maybe I'm just clinging to nothing, but it seemed like the underground blackjack club was going to play bigger in the overall story and it definitely was not as important as I thought it would be.

2. I spent most of this book wondering where the responsible adults were. For some reason I get strong "Big Fat Liar" vibes after finishing this. Like "the adults are trash and the meddling kids are the only hope to set things right."

3. Definitely have to suspend some reality around the security of a Vegas casino to think any of the "heist" portion is plausible.

4. If you have "heist" in the title, it might be a good idea to actually include one in the book.

I don't know about this one. I liked that we got to see aro ace and non binary representation. Didn't love the hearing aids being repurposed as a plot device. I don't feel like the book delivered on the summary blurb, or that the conclusion was particularly satisfying. I had high hopes for this one but I finished feeling indifferent. 2/5 ⭐

ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I was so excited when I heard about an ace heist book, I stalked NetGalley hoping an ARC would be available so I wouldn't have to wait six extra months to read it.
I loved this book.
When Jack Shannon's mother is put in jail and the family's casino empire is in danger, Jack summons his best friends to Las Vegas. So he and his friends all happen to be ace, and maybe he's in love with one of them, but together they plan a heist to take down his mom's rival and get her out of jail.
This was a brilliantly done story, the asexuality is a core piece of the characters' identities and experiences but this is every bit the Ocean's style heist story we didn't know we needed. The character's are endearing and fun, the world is vibrant, and you don't need to understand blackjack to read it (I'm bad at cards).
There were a few elements that were supposed to be surprises that I did see coming, but I don't think it detracted from the story in any way.
Would recommend. And I've already preordered a physical copy.
~I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review~

I received a copy of this from NetGalley.

I LOVED this book. From the beginning the story held me captive. Jack and his Aces Wild were the perfect mix of goofy geniuses that were just enough to pull off a semi-heist to get back at the guy that forced his mom to go to jail. I really enjoyed the way that this was told through a confessional type prose. It definitely reminds me of a 21 (the movie) type story, but for teens and I think that's great. I also really enjoyed the fact that it was mostly romance free and that the characters, while knowing they were all on the asexual spectrum, were still interesting in diving deeper into relationships.

Here's what I did have issue with: the plot seemed to be a little lost in the middle. I wasn't quite sure what the end game would be, but once we got back to around 78-80% it got back on track. I think the ending was surprising and I definitely did not see that revelation coming at all. I will 100% be buying this to re-read once it's available.

Aces Wild by Amanda DeWitt was a unique, original story. The characters were diverse, and the twist at the end was clever. I also loved the setting; the glittering lights of Vegas and the high-stakes blackjack games were fun to read about. Despite these major wins, there were a couple of elements that knocked this down to three stars.

I appreciated the diversity among the cast of characters, but I wish they had more character development and page time. I understand this can be challenging in a single book, but a lack of distinctive personalities made it difficult for me to connect with the protagonists and tell them apart.

The writing was also somewhat problematic. I loved all of the quirky humor and inside jokes, but the descriptive language was lacking. In some scenes of the story, it felt like the characters were talking heads in white rooms. If I can't visualize the setting, then it's nearly impossible for me to get lost in the story.

As I mentioned earlier, one thing this story did an excellent job on was establishing diversity among the protagonists. All five characters of the main characters identify as asexual, and I thought the representation was important for young readers to learn about. This story also touched on themes of found family and finding a sense of belonging, which was very endearing to read.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this story. Some areas of this book shone brighter than others, but I know members of the LGBTQIA+ community and heist enthusiasts will delight in the newest addition to the genre.

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of Netgalley and the publisher; all opinions are my own.

thank you to netgalley for providing me with an arc!

aces wild: a heist is pitched as six of crows going to las vegas, featuring a cast of all asexual main characters. the main issue with this book is that it is not a heist novel. it’s a book about friendship and family that has a vague crime subplot.

what aces wild does well is writing its friendships. there’s no doubt that the crew cares for each other deeply despite living hundreds of miles away from each other. jack’s relationship with his family is also pretty well done— we know that everything jack does is for his family’s well being, despite the fact that he doesn’t necessarily get along with them. the ace rep in this book is also well done, as it explores what it means to be an ace teenager and have a crush and how being ace can impact relationships with your family.

that being said, the book fails to deliver on its main premise. there is no heist, unless you count a few teenagers illegally hanging out in an underground casino and eavesdropping as one. there are almost no stakes for this “heist” either. we know that jack wants to get his mom out of jail by getting back at the conman who put her there. however, it’s never explained how jack’s revenge will free his mom, making it impossible for the reader to really care about the crew’s success. this plan isn’t very well thought out either. granted, the “brains” of the operation is a precocious 14 year old, who is consistently kept in the dark about jack’s true motivations. in fact, all of jack’s friends have one main character trait that defines them— remy is the cool nonbinary love interest, gabe is the worldly older brother who gives great advice that he refuses to follow himself, georgia has a good memory, and lucky, at the ripe age of fourteen and a half, can hack into casino security systems. jack’s siblings are also written flatly— i could not tell you the difference between his sisters, only that they’re exasperated with him. because these characters are so flat, the climax falls flat as well. the final showdown was underwhelming and the ending unsatisfactory.

overall, this book seemed juvenile. it had a lot of potential but i felt like it was written for diversity points at the expense of an intriguing plot and fleshed out characters. that being said, i do want to acknowledge that i appreciated the ace representation in a book that wasn’t about a romance.

This book was SO much fun. Jack's voice was immediately realistic and gripping, as well as plain enjoyable to read. DeWitt's writing of teen language and internet communication was one of the best I've ever read—and Jack's friends were each unique, interesting, and lovable. I loved the queer inclusion and the representation of asexual characters. In all, one of the most enjoyable books I've read in a while!