"Let's get one thing straight: this is not a love story."

Five aces walk into a casino... no seriously, they do. And they are ridiculously good at gambling.

My quick brief of this story would go like this:
A gaggle of aces team up to gamble and try to get rid of the blackmailer from the Las Vegas streets. What could go wrong?

But in reality, there is a lot more that follows.

Jack Shannon is a blackjack extraordinaire. Well, why wouldn't he be, with his mother owning one of the famous casinos on the Las Vegas strip, where he was brought up and taught how to gamble just as you and I were taught our ABC's?

Everything was fine for him, he was successfully running a blackjack club in his school, he was chatting with his online friends in their group chat daily, and he barely had to see his father which is always a plus. It was all going smoothly... until his mother was arrested.

Now, Jack is back in Las Vegas with the rest of his family and meeting all of his online friends in life for the first time.

Emotions and frustration are high as he tries to come up with a plan to save his mother, his family and their home and business.

But does he really need to do it alone?

Aces Wild is a story of Friendship, Family and High Stakes. What lengths would you go through to protect someone you love? Whether it be a family member, close friend or lover?


This story was absolutely brilliant! I was fully immersed in the story, in love with all of the characters as soon as they were put onto the page (I have a special love for Remy, my nonbinary child who I want to protect at all costs) and the action and tension just kept growing with each chapter.

I honestly could not recommend this story enough, I stayed up late, my eyes drooping and wanting to close because I needed to finish it!

Just like gambling, this book and its characters are addicting but in the best way possible (that definitely won't put you in debt!).

For lovers of queer characters, risky plans and online friends finally meeting each other in real life, this book has everything to draw you in and make you never want to leave.

But in the words of Jack Shannon himself, I need to remind you.

"This is not a love story. It's a confession."

What do you do when a crew of asexual teens decide to play “Ocean’s 11” when one of their own’s mother has been thrown in jail and his family’s casino legacy is on the line? Well, you get this bouncy, clever, cute, and screwball YA casino heist novel, “Aces Wild”.

This is the third title from Peachtree Teen I’ve read this year so far, and so far they’re knocking it out of the park with these unique titles in the OwnVoices category. Saying that I enjoyed reading a YA book where the last thing most of these teens are thinking of is sex seems incredibly patronizing and reductive, but I can’t deny that taking the usual sex and objectification that would usually be part and parcel in your usual heist novel out of the equation leaves a lot of room for more story, more actions, more genuine friendship and character development, and just a more well-rounded story all around.

Now, I’ve never been to Vegas, so I can’t tell you if half the stuff the characters manage to do in this book are even possible. I mean, from what I’ve seen in other movies and on television, I don’t think it would work that way, but I chose to suspend my disbelief because the book was fun and an entertaining page-turner full of characters that were so easy to love.

Was the turn a surprise? No. But a lot of this book wasn’t surprising because these kids are just teenagers who are wrapped up in their ideals and want to be the ones to save their friend and the day. Of course they aren’t going to walk away with the keys to the kingdom. But they sure are going to give it their best try, and it’s a lot of fun to read about it all going down.

Thanks to NetGalley and Peachtree Teen for granting me early access to this title.

🌟: 4.5/5
I never knew I needed a book about a group of chaotic asexuals doing crimes to get back at a mobster, but here we are. This book was fun, fast-paced, and fabulous in just about every way.

My favorite part of this book was the found family element. Jack and his friends, our Aces Wild, truly feel like a family. They fight, they keep secrets, but they always overcome their differences. Each character in the group was fully unique in their own right, whether it was Gabe and his fashion choices that go all the way like he does, Georgia and her level-headedness, Remy and their steadfast loyalty, or Lucky and her utter chaos. It was hard to choose a favorite when each character is wholly original, which speaks to the quality of this story.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the Las Vegas setting of this book. The world was well described, so much so that each time I picked up the book I felt like I was stepping into the gaudy glitz and glamor of the Strip and its more nefarious underbelly. The more technical aspects, like the game of blackjack and the concept of card counting, were so well and concisely described that I never felt confused over what Jack was doing.

The only downside is that I would have liked to have more variety in the group’s planning and execution of their heist. Their repeated visits to the Avalon Club reached the point of feeling repetitive, and were the only moments that I wished the book were written from multiple POVs. While I understand the artistic choices behind employing a single perspective, which made the book feel like Jack’s confession in which he is directly having a conversion with the viewer. Having multiple perspectives in the Avalon Club scenes would have brought variety to scenes that have a lot of similar and repeated actions, and I think there are some creative ways that these outside perspectives could have been brought in without taking away from Jack and the primary narrator.

If you are looking for a book that is utterly chaotic, makes you laugh out loud, with a cast of characters that is entirely loveable, and has a few solid twists, then I would absolutely recommend you check out this gem of a novel.

A teenagers’ heist to save his mum, the Shannon family’s name and empire on the Las Vegas strip, and put the ‘right’ person behind bars? That sounds like a fun time.

Here we have a first person POV with Jack Shannon, who is a delightful MC. He’s a proper disaster child and I loved him from the very beginning. Jack has a complex family and it is quite interesting to see his interactions and dynamics with his family members, a mothering older sister, an usually drunk and out of it father, and a second sister who is more like himself and often understands him without much being said.

Jack manage to bring his group of online friends to Vegas to help him on his solo fight with the current Vegas strip king and the person he suspects conspired to get his mum arrested. The friendship between them started as a support group for ace kids and I find this wonderful! Ah, Jack’s love for his friends is refreshing and heartwarming.

I haven’t read first person POV in a while and I was delighted with how good the writing was and how easy it was to get wrapped up in Jack’s head. Also, their plans are such disasters and make the book that much more enjoyable. I don’t know what to tell you, it just is.

And the representation? You can already guess that ace is a theme in this book, but I wasn’t expecting to have it be so present and wonderful. I love seeing ace rep and this book delivers it just fine.

I may be back with more comments once I have processed the book fully (sometimes it can take a while for me to get over everything)

True rating: 4.5/5

I liked this book. The author has a great voice and I liked how all the characters interacted with one another and felt like family. If I were to rate this book based on that alone I would give it a 4. But this book is about five online ace friends who pull off a heist together. While they do deliver on the breaking in part the plot still comes across as slow. It never feels like much progress is made. It doesn’t actually feel like a heist until the last 10% of the book. I wish it had more of that same feel throughout the story but it felt more like a bunch of friends hanging out. There wasn’t any real pressure throughout the story like time constraints or worsening situation so the tension doesn’t rise as the story moves forward. Honestly, I would have preferred if we just got to know the crew just as themselves without the heist aspect.

Loved the ace rep, and as someone who loves heist novels, this was a delight. Also, the found family was amazing.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book!

rating: 4/5 stars

When I first read the blurb for this book I thought “group of teens go on a heist together? tik tok’s gonna love this.” And while I think that’s still true, I can add that it’ll also be loved for its balance of lighthearted scheming and emotional maturity surrounding some heavy topics as well as just generally good writing throughout.

While the plot of this book is technically “wealthy Las Vegas hotel-owning family being torn apart by the arrest of the matriarch”, it still manages to not feel too heavy or too inaccessible to a younger crowd. This book is firmly within the YA genre which makes me a little old to be its target audience and occasionally the writing reflects that with some cheesy comedic beats and occasionally predictable twists. That said, it’s an enjoyable read the entire way through.

Let’s talk asexuality. The mc of Aces Wild is Jack Shannon, kinda traumatized youngest child of emotionally immature hyper-rich Vegas casino magnates. He is also asexual and has found a community in a group of online friends all of whom are also asexual. I found Jack to be an extremely charismatic mc to follow through this experience and the occasional fourth-wall breaks are fun and witty. Although we get insight into how he discovered asexuality and how the label fits him, it’s not the main plot which I found refreshing. The fact that all the friends are asexual is brought up and talked about throughout the book, but it never feels forced or unnecessary. It truly just feels like a group of teens who are excited to meet people who identify the same way they do and reading along, I felt excited for them.

All in all, I loved this book and I can’t wait to read more from Amanda DeWitt in the future!

I just love all the ace rep I’m this book! It’s amazing to see! I also adored the mystery/heist aspect, it’s so great! I’m so excited to see this one go out into the world, and I will definitely be recommending it, especially on some LGBTQ+ lists!

ack Shannon has been raised among Vegas royalty, his family is one of the prominent casino families. But he's been in boarding school, far away for a while now and only comes back when his mom is arrested. He is persuaded that an old friend of his mom turned enemy and competition is responsible for her arrest and intends to do everything he can to prove it. And that's why he invits his best friends to Vegas, to meet IRL for the first time and help him get his proof.

This was okay. I listened to it and it went by pretty fast but I wasn't all that invested and the story just didn't captivate me. A lot of it was a bit too far-fetched for me I think, it kept me from getting into it properly.
I also had trouble truly feeling for Jack cause he was so self-centered through a lot of the book. And I felt like many of the side characters blended together and didn't have a very layered personality.
Some parts were kinda fun and I really enjoyed the asexual representation but that just wasn't enough.
I'm glad the book was changed so that the main character didn't pretend to be deaf but I still don't get how anyone thought that was a good idea in the first place.
Oh but I loved the narrator, I already knew him from his narration of the Apollo books and he is truly wonderful.
But, also, I wouldn't call this a heist book? There were no actual heist in it, just a couple of stings...
Basically this was kind of entertaining, but disappointing...

Asexual YA Vegas Strip Heist. What more are you really looking for in a book?

Without being a member of the Asexual community, I think this is a very positive and informative representation of Asexuality. It was a cute story about family — biological and found — and finding one’s self.

What a fantastic novel. Aces Wild combines heists and all the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas, plus behind the scenes of what makes a casino run. You’d be right to think Ocean’s 11, but we also get a fantastic diverse cast and strong friendship themes.

Jack runs the underground blackjack club at his prestigious boarding school. It’s in his blood - his mother owns and runs one of Las Vegas’ mega hotels and casinos. But when the FBI go after her, Jack knows she’s been set up. He vows revenges but knows he can’t do it alone.

It’s hard to miss - because it’s in the title - but in case you did, all the main characters are asexual. Brought together through an online chat/support group, these characters find it a little bumpy to bring their online dynamic into real life. When Jack brings them to Las Vegas for help to seek revenge for his mother, he knows he’ll have to reveal the truth about his life. Fortunately, Remy seems to understand. If only Jack could figure out his changing feelings for them.

Aces Wild is an awesome novel that will fit perfectly on our mystery/thriller shelf and delight our readers.

The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.

Find more reviews, reading age guides, content advisory, and recommendations on my blog <a href="https://madisonslibrary.com">Madison's Library</a>

Such an adorable little read about a group of asexual teens, who met in an online support group for ace people, coming together in Vegas to help one of their own.

I absolutely LOVE the fact we got a novel full of different representations of who ace people can be and the umbrellas and spectrums that exist within it. I've never read a book that shows asexual people in a group before, so I was so appreciative of that.

I found Jack, the MC, to be a fantastic narrative voice. I thought he was fun and interesting. However, I wish we focused a little more on the bonds and characters themselves rather than the heist plot as I thought the characterization of certain members of the group was a little weak at times. I have absolutely no idea who Georgia was as a person and Gabe's personality shifted drastically scene-by-scene. I wish we'd gotten to know them better.

The plot itself was convoluted, but in a fun way! It's what you should expect from a piece of heist media. That's the whole point. Aces Wild was action packed and things were on the move constantly, so it was a super quick read.

I felt like the marketing on Aces Wild was a little strange as it led me to believe there were a few more similarities to Six of Crows other than a heist being a major plot point. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that but I think it may have made people's expectations of the book a little different to what the content delivers.

All in all it was fun, but the opportunity was there for it to be just a little bit more.

Thank you Netgalley!

Hello! This book was EVERYTHING??? I laughed out loud so many times during the story, the characters were so relatable and fun (a group of friends I would love to meet in real life) and the narrative was perfect. AND THE HEIST! I loved it. This is the kind of book I will always recomend to everyone who loves a good story about friendship and heist.

This book was lovely; I laughed harder than I've laughed at a book in a while. I fell deeply in love with this ragtag group of friends, and the setting and premise were simply delightful. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves heists, found family, Asexual rep, or secret societies ;)

Never in my life have I read a heist book before Aces Wild. I came for the blackjack and the shiny lights, but I ended up staying for the characters. Top-notch ace rep, and a heap more relationship dynamics than I anticipated make this story about so much more than the caper itself. I loved watching Jack and his cadre of online buddies learn how to navigate their friendship IRL for the first time, loved watching an unexpected crush blossom into an asexual romance, and loved watching the push and pull of Jack's sense of loyalty and morality develop as the plot thickens. It's rare to find a book that balances character growth and plot momentum so deftly.

DNF @ 50%

I was also approved to review the audiobook after downloading this through the Read Now feature, so I read the audiobook instead of the ebook.

I was really excited to read this when I saw that it featured a group of asexual characters, and the synopsis sounded fun. But I just couldn't get into it... The plot was dragging on and didn't seem to be getting to the point of what was mentioned in the synopsis, which I see is a common complaint in reviews. I ended up dozing off multiple times while trying to read this book, didn't connect with the characters, and ended up quitting halfway. I hope there is a younger audience who will appreciate it more than I did!

Aces Wild by Amanda DeWitt is described as a fast paced YA book involving a group of friends and a high stakes gambling club with the promise of shenanigans and a glamorous Las Vegas setting, So far so good. The main protagonist is Jack Shannon, son of the owner of one of the most famous casino's on the Las Vegas strip, and founder of his school's secret Black Jack club, When his mother is arrested on suspicion of involvement with organised crime Jack hurries home from boarding school, only to discover that it looks like his mom has been sold out by her business rival and former friend Peter Carlevaro. Determined to uncover the truth of what is really going on and hopefully free his mother in the process, Jack calls on his best friends for help. An unlikely bunch, they connected online as members of the ACE community, and have no idea of Jack's true identity, but when he asks them to come help they rally round and together they hatch a plot to break into the Carlevaro casino and find the proof they need .

This was a fun book with a lot of snarky teenage humour and witty quips. Jack is a charming protagonist with a complicated family life, and I liked how the family dynamics were woven into the story. His group of friends are wonderful , I loved the diversity in the asexual representation, each of the crew was different and interesting and the found family they became for one another was really uplifting to see. I thought it was really great that the author included a storyline examining the complexity of the intersections between asexuality and aromanticism and the confusion that can cause to a young person.
The real weakness of the book was the heist aspect, it was very underwhelming and pretty unbelievable and the ending felt very weak even with the inclusion of a twist that I admittedly did not see coming.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher all opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange of honest review.

Aces Wild is an amazing balance of comedy, high stakes and coming of age story. I really enjoyed the reprsentation (SO.MANY.ACE.PEOPLE!!!) and the closer look in how the casinos in Las Vegas operate. Jack (the main chatacter) and his best friends/heist crew were delightful while at the same time not being one note (but I would have prefered just a tad bit more character development). The heist operations felt quite realistic which I liked, and I didn't expect the big plot twist! I just wish that the audience would have had the oppurtunity to see more of the other characters (like Jacks sisters) and the relationships between them

4 stars, definitly reccomend!

Very interesting and cool concept. I loved the characters and the core of the plot: a boy assembles his online friend group to Las Vegas in a desperate attempt to save his casino-owner mom from jail with a heist to the casino owned by the man responsible.
Honestly, the plot promises al lot and the writting is very enthralling. But somewhere on the way it flops a little bit.
I still quite enjoyed it and had a great time, though.

I was so excited to read Aces Wild, but honestly the book left me a little underwhelmed. This ended up being a book with such a fantastic premise that it simply couldn't live up to. I will say, maybe the issue was that I expected too much of it, but whatever the case, I enjoyed the book but I didn't love it as I expected I would.

Aces Wild is a book following Jack, who runs a secret blackjack club at his private school. Then Jack's mom gets arrested for some illegal business regarding the Vegas casino she owns, and all hell breaks loose in his life. Jack is convinced his mom has been set up by Peter Carlevaro, rival casino owner and jilted lover. He forms a plan to find out Carlevaro's secrets and his accomplices are his closest friends - his online friends he bonded with on the fact they're all asexual. So now he has to sneak through Vegas to find Carlevaro's secrets, while he navigates family drama and what being in love means for him.

First of all, I will say I love that this book features an all-ace crew, I always love seeing ace rep in books. I really enjoyed the parts of this book that deal with figuring out yourself and the friendships between the characters. I definitely love a good queer found family (which I say in pretty much every review, but as you see it never fails to make me happy).

However, I will say that for all I did like the characters and their relationship I had some issues with the book. This book is advertised as a heist and while I wouldn't say that's wrong, it definitely feels a bit like overselling it. I think, and I've only recently realized this, with a lot of heist books (or convoluted plans performed by teenagers) you really have to suspend your disbelief quite a bit. A lot of it feels quite juvenile and way too convenient. I also want to say that most of the book is a preparation, of sorts, for the heist that happens at the very end. And the 'preparation' is more about gaining intel, but the characters are really not doing all that much. It's mostly just 'sneaking' around and going to a secret gambling club (which is way too easy to find for supposedly being so secret). I say 'sneaking' as I feel like they weren't actually hidden for a lot of it, they just thought they were sneaky enough.

As I said, I really did like the characters. I found them all charming and funny in their own way. I really like the dynamic of their friend group and their inside jokes. I liked how they all bring something else to the group, and how all of them have such different personalities. I wish we saw more of some of them, I think they were pushed to the side a bit for the sake of the 'heist'. And besides the plot, I think Jack was definitely the focus of the story, and I had the impression it would be all of them. I liked Jack, though I think he is not an easy person to like. But I feel like I understand why he acts the way he does and given his family situation, I am feeling sympathetic.

I do want to say that I thought one of them being 14 and apparently a super capable hacker that can override pretty much any system was definitely a big stretch and a little bit weird. I wish that said character was older, I think. It would still be unbelievable but maybe less so at least. I enjoyed the character aspect more than the actual plot, which is fine but slightly disappointing when the plot sounded so promising.

I did mention how I think most heist books are quite unrealistic, but also a big issue I had was not understanding how this plan was supposed to help. There is very little elaborated on how exactly this would help Jack's mom. First of all, we do know for a fact Jack's family has been doing some illegal stuff, so even if she's been sold out by Carlevaro, I don't think the evidence is fake. And at most, it would just mean that both she and Carlevaro are gonna be in jail. Also, the big revelation at the end was quite predictable and I didn't really care about it either way.

All in all, this book ended up being quite different than what I expected. I liked it, but the plot simply felt too underwhelming to rate it higher than this. I would still recommend it if you're interested, but don't go into it expecting an elaborate heist. I think you should read it for the all-ace cast of characters, as they truly were the strong point of the book!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review!